Becoming a fleet owner

[shadow7663]

That is good for you....since you seemed to see a need to explain....

Let me clarify...we have a fleet owner in the EO membership that pays that way....

Each fleet owner has their own business to run and what works for them. Many different factors come into play and for many different reasons. Just because one guy may pay drivers 60% doesn't make him more of a better person than one who pays 40% and visa versa. It all comes down to maintaining a healthy business. To me I have a business to protect and in that business are the team of drivers. I owe it to those drivers and my family to sustain a healthy business that will last and it doesn't really matter what I pay as long as the drivers are happy and we are happy and business is here to stay.

 

[T270_Dreamin]

Not to mention we do some extra things every once and while for them too.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app[/QUOTE]


What kind of extra things do you do for the drivers and how many times a week do you talk to them on the phone?

 

[OntarioVanMan]

I would not have made week #1 for a fleet owner and I knew that right off.....no way was I working for a grumpy butt.....LOL I just decided to join the grumpy butt group.....

 

[shadow7663]

Not to mention we do some extra things every once and while for them too.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using EO Forums mobile app

What kind of extra things do you do for the drivers and how many times a week do you talk to them on the phone?[/QUOTE]

We will give bonus $ here and there ( no set system just if we feel they deserve it for going above and beyond ), buy them dinner here and there, put them up in a motel room to get them out of the truck and re charge from time to time and other things.

Talking to them really depends on each situation. If they have issues they can call us 24 hours a day and they do when needed. Otherwise we will do a weekly call on pay day to check on them to see if they need anything and if the truck is in need of any repairs.

 

[davekc]

Just speaking for myself, the teams in our fleet except one, have been with us for a long time. They are all former owner operators. They already know the costs and all the variables. In my case, I get very experienced teams and eliminate any goofy stuff. They already know what is out there and what isn't.
Since they aren't new, I seldom call them unless it is something important. Sometimes about a load but that is it. No one wants a babysitter unless they are just starting out and learning the ropes. Usually send a email or message if I need to know something or working a load for them. Outside of that, who wants called when one of the drivers may be sleeping?

 

[driven2succeed]

Run smarter not harder. That's what my first trainer taught me

Sent from my SCH-I605 using EO Forums mobile app

 

[Dynamite 1]

What kind of extra things do you do for the drivers and how many times a week do you talk to them on the phone?

We will give bonus $ here and there ( no set system just if we feel they deserve it for going above and beyond ), buy them dinner here and there, put them up in a motel room to get them out of the truck and re charge from time to time and other things.

Talking to them really depends on each situation. If they have issues they can call us 24 hours a day and they do when needed. Otherwise we will do a weekly call on pay day to check on them to see if they need anything and if the truck is in need of any repairs.[/QUOTE]

we are kinda new to this fleet owner thing. we just jumped in cause someone said the water was warm !!!!!! LOL we do some of the extra things also and have the same business attitude. take care of your drivers, your equipment, and your family and be loyal to you carrier.

 

[xiggi]

All I care about is my trucks. The Promaster easily makes it on 20%!

Like I said already, you pay your imaginary drivers to drive your imaginary trucks to whatever imaginary profit or loss you want.

I'm paying what I pay and I have drivers waiting to drive the truck I just bought and the next Promaster I just ordered while the drivers I have told me they aren't going anywhere else. That's good enough for me. You don't get a vote in my corporation.

Calm down the post wasn't personal in any way. I simply used it to make a further point of conversation in the thread as a whole. What you do is your business but if you post it here and it can be used to discuss another point.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123

 

[Dynamite 1]

this whole thing got us looking at our drivers paychecks since we started in september of 2013. aside of weeks when they went home they have been making anywhere between .45 and .52 per mile for driving the truck at 40%. so far, no complaints and they have not run off.

paying 60% plus fsc to the driver is the other standard option in this business but dont go thinking it doesnt come with its own set of circumstances. even if the driver is paying for fuel extra cost can be incurred. the biggest of those is maintenance. if the carrier you are leased to pays well in either base rate or fsc and the driver watch the fuel mileage and calculate how many extra unpaid miles they can run each week chasing freight it increases your maintenance intervals costing you money. people always seem to forget about that side of the equation.
we can pretty much pay for fuel with the fsc we get paid provided the drivers fuel smartly. meaning not just filling the truck every time they stop for fuel.

maybe this is a better scenario of how to explain what i mean.
so if the driver was buying fuel and chose to they could spend the fsc for fuel on the loads they run and choose to take the extra 20% of the 60% they are being paid and blow it out the tailpipe chasing freight or whatever they choose to. at the end of the week they are still netting 40% and costing the owners extra money out of their 40%.

there is no perfect way of doing things. there are issues either way. as a fleet owner you have to choose which you are more comfortable with. having good drivers and a good relationship with those drivers goes along way. the drivers confidence in the owner to keep things running and fixed promptly and trust that they get paid properly and on time go along way. drivers will stay with owners who do these things. sometimes even if a better deal is out there just simply on the respect they have for the owner.

 

[skyraider]

Just speaking for myself, the teams in our fleet except one, have been with us for a long time. They are all former owner operators. They already know the costs and all the variables. In my case, I get very experienced teams and eliminate any goofy stuff. They already know what is out there and what isn't.
Since they aren't new, I seldom call them unless it is something important. Sometimes about a load but that is it. No one wants a babysitter unless they are just starting out and learning the ropes. Usually send a email or message if I need to know something or working a load for them. Outside of that, who wants called when one of the drivers may be sleeping?

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If a team knows all the cost and all the variables, what does that mean?
My guess is some former o/o's got tired of the hassle of ownership and all the details to attend to , to make a profit,,,only the strong survive.

 

[xiggi]

I personally think if both sides know the agreement when the contract is signed and both sides stick to that agreement then all is good regardless the split. The exception may be a newbie driver that gets taken advantage of by a not so honest person.

Sent from my - Fisher Price ABC - 123

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Here's what I'm seeing. People are so stuck on 60/40, 40/60, it's crazy. I'm taking it West is at Load-1. Our fsc is 30% of the rate, with 70% being linehaul. On an average load of (in my experience) 1.50/mi all in, that comes out to 1.05 linehaul. Now for a guy who doesn't pay attention to how much fsc is, compared to the whole deal, that's fine. But to an owner or driver, it makes all the difference...

 

[davekc]

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If a team knows all the cost and all the variables, what does that mean?
My guess is some former o/o's got tired of the hassle of ownership and all the details to attend to , to make a profit,,,only the strong survive.

No...I think it means they understand the true exposure of truck ownership since they have owned in the past. The new folks generally don't have that realization until they have been doing this for awhile. EO is littered with posts that pretty much confirm that.

 

[davekc]

Here's what I'm seeing. People are so stuck on 60/40, 40/60, it's crazy. I'm taking it West is at Load-1. Our fsc is 30% of the rate, with 70% being linehaul. On an average load of (in my experience) 1.50/mi all in, that comes out to 1.05 linehaul. Now for a guy who doesn't pay attention to how much fsc is, compared to the whole deal, that's fine. But to an owner or driver, it makes all the difference...

That does make a difference in fleet owner relationship. If one is using your numbers regardless of the carrier, it puts a owner at just the 40 percent in a different position. Doesn't mean you can't make a profit, but those margins are much tighter if that is the consistent average. If in this case where deadhead isn't paid, that average is driving the fleet owners 40 some cents per mile into the thirties. You can run used equipment in that situation but the numbers don't work on anything new or over the 100k mark.