To Lease or Not to Lease......

jmv5945

Expert Expediter
I have been wondering if it would not also be financially feasiable to not lease yourself to a major carrier and use an online service such as www.getloaded.com to find and negotiate your own freight jobs. Seems to me I could keep myself as busy as I want and even choose my times and locations to haul freight. Anyone have any opinions on this way to conduct busy?
 

Weave

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
If you have your own operating authority, and someone at home, etc. who can bid on the loads for you, you can do that. There is quite a bit of work involved having your own authority as opposed to leasing though.
-Weave-
 

RichM

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
The problem is that you will always be in the wrong place at the wrong time.You may build a relationship with a company and when they call for you to pick up now,chances are you will be 500 miles away.One other drawback is you will spend lots of time chasing money in order to get paid. There is a rule that shipping charges are suppossed to be paid within 15 business days,hardly ever happens,more like 45. But it!s worth a try. Give it 4-6 months and see,there are success stories out there.
 

jmv5945

Expert Expediter
Thanks for all the responses... Gives me alot to think about before making that kind of decisions.
 

jmv5945

Expert Expediter
Do companies frown upon getting own loads between dispatches? I would like to keep moving and not deadheading many miles. What is the normal time a person would give the company to find you another load before looking for own freight?
 

Weave

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Some companies will allow you to trip-lease. Here again, you need your own operating authority and liability insurance. Plus, the lease company will usually make you cover their signs on the truck.
I won't sit much more than 24-30 hours in one spot before relocating to a hopefully better spot or heading home to wait.
-Weave-
 

teacel

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
The best place for you to get your info is right here in the archives. Go back and start reading all the hundreds of answers to all the question from the members and nine out of ten your answer will be there. As Weave told you Most of the bigger companies will not let you trip lease but some will. If you call anyone of the companies that are hiring and ask them to send you a info kit they will send you a copy of the contract and it will tell you all the things you can't do.

To get your own Authority it is going to cost you some money anywhere from $300 to $600 depending on how you go about getting it. If - IF you make a mistake and fill it the wrong way then you will pay 2 times. The best way to get your own Authority is to have your Attorney do it for you. To start your own business the best and safest thing to do is to get an attorney and he will guide you over all the unknown hurdles you while come upon.
 

jmv5945

Expert Expediter
Thanks Tony

I have been reading hundreds of the questions and answers and that is why I am really interested in this business even though this is the toughest time to be getting in it. I feel that if I begin getting my experience now I can be better prepared to make the big money when the economy turns better. I have also requested information from several companies now and alot of them are not leasing to new drives at the present time. Might be harder than I anticipated getting started.
 

Weave

Veteran Expediter
Charter Member
Most companies aren't leasing on at the moment as it is typically really slow right now. They will begin leasing in late March when things pick up again. I would definitely lease to a carrier and gain some experience before attempting to obtain your own authority, which is a BIG comittment. The money you will invest into getting operating authority will make it a do or die situation- trust me, it's not something for the beginner, reagrdless of how smart you are.
-Weave-
 

Lostmarbles

Expert Expediter
I was thinking of my own authority and asked a friend that has been selling semi's for 25 years what He thought. He told me that last month there were 250,000 trucks turned back in to Banks ( highest # ever)nationwide. "THEY all knew that they could make it on their own too" he said. There were 17,962 trucks listed on Truck Pages.com last night........I don't want mine to be one of those trucks..........



Life is what happens to you while your busy makeing other plans.
 

jmv5945

Expert Expediter
Thanks to all who have expressed their opinions. After much research and thinking, I agree with you guys about getting ones own authority. I feel that it would be much better to at least start off working for someone else before attempting this own my own. I feel that one day I may chage my mind but that is for now a long way down the road.
 
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