Thinking of signing on with a company

[Dakota]

I hate starting a new thread and I read alot of this forum over the last couple months. Please bear with me and my many questions.
I am thinking of signing on to a company and have received alot of information from them. It sounds good to me but want some advice, I will give the facts and figures and I just want an opinion from people that have at least a years experience.

This is for a 26' straight truck under 26000 non-cdl Indiana this will be a non sleeper truck

$1.20 a mile loaded $.15 a mile empty(dead head on approval only) plus 100% fuel surcharge. Local runs are a 65/35 split not paid by mile. Mileage paid by PCMiler
Extra pay for lift gate, inside, white glove deliveries 65% to me 35 % to company
Detention time is $16.25hr
No forced dispatch
A fuel discount program including a COMDATA card with fuel advance, no fuel taxes
Able to get own authority and use the truck with logos on it DOT# has to be covered.
truck can be no older then 7 years and rental truck(penske,ryder can be used in case of breakdown)
Most if not all of business is east of Mississippi with the majority of loads being within 500 miles of my home, occasional over nights usually home every other day with local work available.

Sounds good to me, but would love everyone's opinion


Also I could purchase or lease a truck the lease would cover all maintenance and breakdowns not sure of a final figures but it would be about 1500 a month and 8 cents a mile with 4000 down Is it better to buy or lease?


Thanks

 

[Dakota]

Off the subject but since tv is switching to digital Feb 17 how are all the rabbit ear tv's gonna work. I have heard that even with a converter box if your not just a few miles from the station signal that you won't get a picture. What is everyone using rabbit ears? Satellite? Internet? anything else I forgot. I have heard unlike the analog the digital won't have the range since they will only be running 25 watts or so.

 

[moose]

* ask the recruiter for phone # of at least 3 owners ,
** no sleeper - you will have to show a hotel receipt for every night out .
***can you rent a truck for the first few weeks ?
**** when covering the Co. DOT# , you will still have to run with you (or someone else )dot# and cargo insurance.
GL



Moose.

 

[Dakota]

*ask the recruiter for phone # of at least 3 owners
I know and have talked to two O/O's they seem happy one does more local work though can get a third contact though

** no sleeper - you will have to show a hotel receipt for every night out .
I am hoping to get more local with a few overnight runs a room would be on me but may be tax deductable? The one guy has a foam pad and sleeps in cab most runs under 500 miles
***can you rent a truck for the first few weeks ?
YES, and when truck breaks down I can use a rental, actually it might be about 6 month to receive truck
**** when covering the Co. DOT# , you will still have to run with you (or someone else )dot# and cargo insurance.
Would getting my own authority cover that?
I need 1 million general, 1 million auto and 250k cargo(about 145 a week through company or can search for my own)


Thanks

 

[pjjjjj]

It would be helpful if you could post the carrier name, you might perhaps get some replies from other OOs signed on with them.

It would be even better if you could hang out at their facilities and try to chat with some of their OOs in person.

Do a search on leasing and try to educate yourself on why it wouldn't be a great idea to lease a truck from your carrier.

Many will recommend starting as a driver, vs getting your own truck right away.

They will mostly all say 'non forced dispatch', however there are ways to get around that, rendering it 'forced dispatch' afterall.

You can get your own authority and cover up signs, but who's paying the insurance for which parts and how much is all that going to cost and which company is really going to cover a claim when push comes to shove?

Would be good to take your contract(s) to your lawyer to get any fineprint explained to you (before you sign).

Sounds like you might benefit from reading back in the EO archives. Nobody wants to stamp out your flame, but knowledge is power and you are less likely to be disappointed if you know exactly what to expect.

 

[Dakota]

The lease would not be thru the company I'd be leasing from Penske, Ryder or Idealease or whatever companies lease trucks. Personally I think leasing a car is a ripoff but the idea of all maintenance and breakdowns being coverd on a truck sounds appealling as big trucks can cost big money to repair
Carrier Name is CEVA Logistics formerly EGL/Eagle Global Logistics
They are a little different from the other expedite companies more of an airfreight company
I have been driving a truck for a courier company since 2000, so I kinda know what
breaks down on these trucks that why looking at lease options but not against buying a truck
Thanks Pjjjjj for the advice I am not taking this decision lightly my current job is secure the pay just sucks. That is why everyone's opinions are so helpful, also I am no stranger to the archives been going through them all LOL
Every post just arms me with more info and more questions to ask.

 

[Dakota]

Okay, I got the lease agreement. It's about 18 pages long and written in legaleze. Has anyone taken their lease to a lawyer to have it looked over and if so how much would that cost?

 

[cheri1122]

No idea on the cost for an attorney to read/interpret the contract, youu'd need to call a few to ask. Geo is one member who drives for CEVA, maybe a private msg to him would get you some of the info you seek.

 

[Turtle]

I'd want to make absolutely sure that the lease covers maintenance and breakdowns if that's the impression you are under. Most of them don't.

 

[moose]

O.O.I.D.A provide this service for free for its member ,
25$ to sign in
1-800-444-5791
make sure you are ok with the lease termination terms .
take your time.
and Good luck.



Moose.
somewhere cold...

 

[bluejaybee]

I doubt sleeping on a foam pad or anything else in the cab, will fly with DOT man. Unless it meets requirements of an approved sleeper.

 

[toddhicks]

How many 500 mile runs do you do in a week to make it a profitable venture? If you are only doing 1 run per week and you use the cost structure you described above, that does not seem to leav much profit or money for maintenance?

Todd

 

[Dakota]

I was going to join OOIDA if I decided to hop aboard, but if they will help me with the contract that is $25.00 well spent

The pay structure I posted is for the out of town/state runs
they also pay per drop for local. Ceva has just started up the expedite arm of the company, before that I believe most runs were local air freight. Most of the previous trucks did not have or require sleepers because you could make it home most days.
I am not against a sleeper, but figure I could try it out without one and if it makes sense to buy one in a year or tw that could be a possibility. Although eventually I'd want to do more local if possible. My friend is leased to Ceva and is usually home most nights, but has had to sleep in the cab or rent a room occasionaly. I guess I'd need to find the happy medium between having to rent a room two or three times a week over having a sleeper, since the sleeper will cut truck length down from 26' to 22' (correct me if I am wrong) Regular straight trucks are half the price or more over an expedite truck.

As suggested, I did get some more contact numbers of drivers and will be calling them. Thanks for all the suggestions and keep them coming. If I do sign on it won't be till Feb or Mar.
Thanks

 

[gotta go]

I drove a day-cab, below 26,000 lb. truck for 5 years. I was inspected frequently by D.O.T. and only came close to being asked for a motel receipt once. I did carry a tent with me, did not have a foam pad (that would be obvious). I had a self-inflating air mattress that rolled up nicely to put behind the bench seat.
I was informed by an officer in Iowa, that I was pulled in for inspection as a terrorist alert. A day-cab straight truck more than one state away from home triggers an alert.
Realize you can not log sleeper berth time because you don't have one.

 

[Wingnut]

Dig out your phone book and start shopping around for a lawyer. That's what I did before I got my legal degree. It might take alot of time on the phone getting quotes till you find a lawyer within your price range, but it's well worth it in the end. You can never be too prepared or well informed. Getting a lawyer to go thru your contract and explain it to you in 'layman' terms, is a very smart thing to do.

 

[jaminjim]

Unless things changed EGL does not run that many out of town runs, maybe four a month per driver. A lot of the drivers buy/rent a city truck with a extended cab. They then throw a pad in the extended part put a curtain up and so far the DOT left them alone.

Most of the time you will either book your own load to get back to Indy (they charge about 15% of the load or so), or come back empty. You can try the other Stations for loads but they won't give them up unless your their last resort.

The real money is made running the local freight. Pays very good IF you work hard and smart You will not make money running the "hotshots" because of the deadhead.

If you are willing to work 10-12 hour days hard and smart you can out perform most expediters. (if you don't pi** off the dispatcher)

When I ran for them a buddy that worked there grossed around $2,300.00 a week, but he was one sharp hard working dude. He only filled his fuel tanks once a week (small tanks) He ran a city Cabover.

 

[Dakota]

I'd really like to run the local but am up for some long runs. I don't really want to invest in a sleeper truck for two night a week out

 

[jaminjim]

Most of the people running the hot shots just used them as a break once a month or so. There is NO money to be made running them as the DH eats up any real profit.

 

[MSinger]

In regards to your dtv converter box question: I have had mine since late November and love it. We are pulling in more channels than we ever have. This is strictly with rabbit ears (no outside antenna). I live 35 miles southwest of Indianapolis and 50 miles east of Terre Haute. I pick up stations from both markets. I also am able to get stations from Decatur and Champaign, IL and Cincinnati, OH occassionally. I have the DTVpal that is mfd by Echostar dba Dish Network. I researched before I bought and this unit had the most favorable reviews and I am very happy with it so far. Most of the sub-channels available through the converter box are not available via satellite or cable.

 

[Dakota]

Okay, I have been doing lots of research. Does one of those extended cab trucks from International or Freightliner(cab is extended 26") qualify as a sleeper for DOT purposes? The trucks do have a divider curtain and a mattress back there.