Adding a van

[Johnp3337]

So I'm becoming a fleet owner.
My wife and i are leased to a company.
Bought another sprinter and are hiring a solo.
I'm hiring the driver as a company driver, not leasing him the van.
I'd like info from other fleet owners on

-Insurance set ups for your company (what additional coverages do you have for your company outside from non-trucking liability you may be purchasing from whom your fleet is leased to)

-do you have an active mc number even though your vans are leased to a "large expedite company"?

 

[asjssl]

So I'm becoming a fleet owner.
My wife and i are leased to a company.
Bought another sprinter and are hiring a solo.
I'm hiring the driver as a company driver, not leasing him the van.
I'd like info from other fleet owners on

-Insurance set ups for your company (what additional coverages do you have for your company outside from non-trucking liability you may be purchasing from whom your fleet is leased to)

-do you have an active mc number even though your vans are leased to a "large expedite company"?

1st..you sure you want to have him as a employee?? then you are paying for fuel..payroll taxes ..etc. there's not a lot of $$ to be made in a van to begin with..

 

[OntarioVanMan]

1st..you sure you want to have him as a employee?? then you are paying for fuel..payroll taxes ..etc. there's not a lot of $$ to be made in a van to begin with..

I think what he means is he is going with an A Blair business type mode.....a straight .40 across the board...

 

[Tomtom]

Have you ever dealt with hiring a driver? If, and that's a big if, you find the right one you are still dealing with life stuff. Plus in a business with low, unforgiving margins you are going to take the high road with businesses when almost everyone else is cheating the system but tells each other it is ok. Invest your money, don't throw it away.

 

[Johnp3337]

Thanks for the responses. I had my own authority for several years and all drivers ran as company employees.
I look at how all the fleet owners have different set ups and how some do and don't make sense.
When the IRS comes knocking ill be square. And yes, they do come knocking.
I had been entertaining the idea of an LLC and leasing the van to the driver etc, etc. However I like the employee route plus my business is an S-Corp and Inc.

 

[Johnp3337]

Have added a sprinter and a CV. Working well so far. Got my fingers crossed. Another sprinter on the way. Wanting 5 units total.

 

[crich]

So if you have an mc number why would you want to lease the vans on direct? why not just run as an outside carrier and bid on the loads? I have an mc number but I don't lease the vans to another carrier. I use brokers and 3pls to find my freight.

 

[Tomtom]

Don't worry about the IRS. It is the state and WC.

And my point was not to be like all the others but to invest in a more stable business.

I have not meet a person getting into this business that has a real business plan. Because those that do craft one run from the sprinters and cargos. If you must, look at straights.

 

[CharlesD]

Yeah, stick with straights. A couple years ago we had a lot of vans and since then we've switched the focus to straights. Now out of our 30 units, only 6 aren't dock high.

 

[BillChaffey]

Speaking of business plans. You may want to look and see if Expedite Now magazine has a Archive on line. Mr. Masden (sp) of "A Team" wrote a series articles on the subject.

 

[Johnp3337]

Money in today's freight market is made on volumes of loads. Working with broker and. 3pl is fine for the one or 2 man show maybe even up to 5 units.
Unless your DIRECT with a customer and have no one else's hands in the cookie jar your just fooling yourself and spending more time hunting loads than driving and sharing your money with a broker that gives 2 seconds thought at most what's in your best interest.

 

[crich]

I would rather sit at home do 1 1000 mile plus run per week @$2.00 + per mile and deadhead home than live in a van all week waiting on a beep. 9 times out of 10 the beep won’t be worth more than $600 or if it is you will be expected to swap even though you’re unregulated. That’s what most of the big expedite companies do to singles
Read up most of these guys think it is part of the job to sit and wait on freight. If you’re in a van it’s no fun baking in el paso for 3 days hoping to get a load before all the Mexican food catches up with you.
So a single van with the major expediter can’t really expect to gross more than $3,000 on the better weeks. You got to factor in time and I don’t know about you but there are 24 hours in a day and my clock starts for the driver when he leaves the house.so in 120 hrs your 5 loads will gross you $25 dollars an hour if you don’t have any dead days. My driver in turn only works about 50 hours to gross $2000 or $40 per hour gross if I have a terrible week.
All I am getting at is volume from the biggest expedite companies is not better and there is more money to be made out here. Also many of these expedite carriers share resources so even though you get the load from the company you lease on with does not mean that it’s not a watered down fed-ex load that was originally brokered out to express1 who in turn sold it to C&M with every one of them taken a bite.

 

[crich]

Also don't sign on with any expedite carrier thinking they will care anymore for you than those 3pls will. the only caring going on here is for the customer so they call back again. they don't care if your still with them or not there will be someone in the next orientation that will be.