To fleet owners or company recruiters

[ARJtransport]

I have been doing a lot of reading / research for a while now and ask anyone who has any knowledge of the industry (local, interstate and intrastate), but most have a lot to say about driving, companies- good and bad, equipment, expenses, benefits, training and so on.
What Im looking for is to become a fleet owner. There aren't that many post that speak about fleet owners. Im not interested in driving my own trucks for now unless needed. I would like knowledge on what companies offer to fleet owners. I realize the fleet owner / company becomes a contractor for the expiditer company but I would like to know what reasponsiblity issues fall on the fleet owner and what does the carrier handle, for example are things like - do we find our own drivers / teams or will the expiditer company get a driver for my trucks? Do the drivers work for the fleet owner or do they for the expiditer company? how is pay handled do they pay the owner and the owner pays his employees (drivers) or directly to the drivers? If anyone has more information on becoming a fleet owner feel free to add your comments or point me in the right direction so I can find the answers. Thank you

 

[davekc]

Generally, the truck owner would receive a settlement statement from the carrier and the fleet/truck owner pays the driver. Some companies advance money on a load and some don't.
Lot of variables depending on which carrier you are talking about. I would keep researching on here for the answers you seek. I would also advise, this is a high dollar hobby with one standing in front of the expediter roulette wheel. You really need to know what you are doing unless you just have money to throw away. The best way to that path is to drive yourself. How are you going to hire someone and tell them what to do if you don't know or have never experienced it?
A thought to ponder perhaps.
Keep on researching and welcome to EO.

 

[BobWolf]

The Borker or Carrier pays you and you pay everyone else. You typicaly own the vehicals, pay the bills, and expenses, and hire and pay the drivers yourself.
I agree with davekc... First cut your teeth driving if you dont have any experiance you will most likely fail. Most experianced high quality drivers, the ones you want will see right through your inexperiance and move on to another company.

First of all you need to learn abbout the types of species you will be living and working with known as shipper, receiver, broker, and driver-sapian. And lets not forget the subspeies D.O.T.-man-. You need a good understanding life on the road. Case in point, trying to sleep after your fourth or fifth on the clock 14 hour work day, of your third week away from your wife and kids, in 103 degree heat in a parking lot and your A.C. is defunct, youre sweating faster than you can drink the water, you cant idle to keep cool, and everytime you close your eyes somone is banging on your door telling you to move, trying to sell you hot merchandise, Lucy the lot lizard, or other bull crap reasons and lets not forget our roomate Mr/Mrs Qualcom. Or spending four grand on a truck repair and being down for a week without access to a shower. No, Im not exagerating this is just a small slice of what you must experiance.

Ownership also has its rewards, heres just a few. Impatient customers calling every ten minuites asking wheres the driver, is the freight delivered, how much longer, etc.. You are now an employeer you have to carry at least workmans comp, full auto, and business liability, and now health insurance. You will have to deal with F.M.C.S.A., D.M.V., and other state government and labor departments trying to shake you down, and you will have plenty of revenue (taxes) to pay. State, Federal, Social security, IFTA, New York State Highway Use Tax Fuel Use Tax, IRP fees. Highway and bridge tolls, You will need to have Motor carrier authority, you will have to pay for vehicles, fuel, maintenance, physicals, driver salaries and bennifits. Have a driver show up late and get a charge back from a customer? Yep, you have to pay the customer. You also have to pray that your drivers dont ruin your CSA score, or from lack of experiance you get caught ordering a driver to do somthing stupid, illeagal, totals your vehicle and you get shut down, fined, sued, or posably jailed. Or a driver gets an attitude problem or piszed off at you because he wanted to get home and deserts your vehicle. As for start up money and cash reserves you need at least six months per vehical to keep a vehicle on the road and a driver paid in case you get screwed on an account or you loose a major customer this money is to be seperate not as part of your revenue or expenses.

Im not trying to crush your dreams but, You REALY need to know how this business works. There is allot to learn. For example right now with just myself and one S/T and a van running local and regional an trying to keep it together can be a challange.

Anyway, if youre new welcome, and feel free to ask questions or PM me.

Bob Wolf.

 

[Rocketman]

You will need to have Motor carrier authority, you will have to pay for vehicles, fuel, maintenance, physicals, driver salaries and bennifits. Have a driver show up late and get a charge back from a customer? Yep, you have to pay the customer. You also have to pray that your drivers dont ruin your CSA score, or from lack of experiance you get caught ordering a driver to do somthing stupid, illeagal, totals your vehicle and you get shut down, fined, sued, or posably jailed. Or a driver gets an attitude problem or piszed off at you because he wanted to get home and deserts your vehicle. As for start up money and cash reserves you need at least six months per vehical to keep a vehicle on the road and a driver paid in case you get screwed on an account or you loose a major customer this money is to be seperate not as part of your revenue or expenses.

Bob Wolf.

I agree with most of what Bob says except the part quoted above. As a fleet owner with trucks leased to a carrier, everything quoted above does not apply. Bob, I think, does run his own authority so I understand that he is relating his experiences, but those experiences are quite different from a fleet owner who leases trucks to a carrier.

Read what DaveKC says. Study it and live by it. He is likely one of, if not the most successful fleet owner in the business...especially here on EO.

 

[Turtle]

What Im looking for is to become a fleet owner.

Why?

That's the question you need to answer. If the answer is because you think it's easy money, just get a bunch of trucks (or worse, cargo vans) and put them on the road and you just sit back while the cash starts rolling in, you will be incredibly disappointed.

The thing is, every one of the questions you asked about being a fleet owner, every one of them, are questions that you should already know the answer to. If you have to ask those questions, then you do not know the industry well enough to become a fleet owner. You need to get into the industry first, and learn it, and then the answers will come to you without asking the questions. To enter an industry as a business owner which you know nothing about is the surest road to failure with that business. Even if you were to get straightforward answers to every one of your questions above, that will not put you any closer to being prepared enough to be a fleet owner. As has already been said, unless you have a really lot of money to throw away, you would be well advised to get some experience in the industry first.

 

[Bruno]

ARJtransport we offer a service to people like you called Mayfield Management LLC. It's division of Mayfield Express LLC that works with fleet owners like yourself. We do all the paperwork, the hiring of drivers and keeping the trucks moving. You can learn more about us by going to Home Page

 

[sthfl2000]

"Interested becoming a contractor with Mayfield Express LLC? Please fill out this form completely and put what Class of CDL you have in the comments section. Once you are finished with this form, please click here and fill out the application with Panther Expedited Services. List Anna Reyman as the recruiter for the application process as Anna is the driver recruiter for Mayfield Express LLC. "

So you have to associated with Panther to contract with Mayfield?