Up Front Costs

[davekc]

The owner should give a percentage of every load to cover fuel, food ect. A new driver would need that in the beginning. The three week deal sounds like a owner is waiting for his/her settlement check before they pay their driver. It would appear that it is a very cash strapped owner. I have always given 40% of the load up front and the rest in a settlement check mailed every week. Or they had the option to use comdata and recieve their money weekly. Drivers have their own account and just draft off of that.

 

[guest]

I find it funny that davekc would gripe about an owner being short on cash yet need money upfront because he is short on cash.

 

[davekc]

Childsafe you might have misunderstood my post. It is not a gripe, but a casual observation. As I own my own trucks, I can see the situation as to where an owner doesn't forward the drivers pay for three weeks. I personally am not in that situation. It would be an owner that doesn't have the nessessary cash flow to provide to drivers. Many drivers that are new to expediting don't have the cash reserves to remain running and buy fuel and other expenses for that period of time. It would be for that reason, I would advocate paying drivers a percentage of that run via comdata at time of dispatch, and forward the remaining balance in their weekly check. This is the practice I have used since 1998 and have had no problems of drivers running out of cash while on the road.

 

[BigRed32771]

I talked to one O/O about their program, and was told that they paid 60% of the truck revenue to the driver(s), but that driver's were responsible out of that for fuel and tolls. If I remember correctly, they also kept 40% of any fuel surcharges, but I may be mistaken on that point. Regardless, I wasn't too impressed with that plan, as it would have left me with not much income at the end of the month. Not saying I won't consider signing on with someone like that for a brief period until I get my own truck, but I'll sure be looking for an O/O with a better program if I can find one.

 

[ATeam]

>The owner should give a percentage of every load to cover
>fuel, food ect. A new driver would need that in the
>beginning. The three week deal sounds like a owner is
>waiting for his/her settlement check before they pay their
>driver. It would appear that it is a very cash strapped
>owner. I have always given 40% of the load up front and the
>rest in a settlement check mailed every week. Or they had
>the option to use comdata and recieve their money weekly.
>Drivers have their own account and just draft off of that.


My wife and I currently drive for a fleet owner that pays similar to how Davekc pays. It gives us a sense of comfort knowing the fleet owner is eager to get our money to us. We've personally heard from other drivers whose fleet owners keep a stash of their money (beyond the damage deposit) in hand. When they left, a fight ensued to get the money rightfully due them. 40% up front and the remainder coming to you in weekly settlements is the way to go.