Owner Operator

Drive2020 · Nov 29, 2020

I lot of the common expeditor terms & lingo just flies over my head like birds. Can we break this all the way down to an elementary level.

Does being ‘Leased-on’ & ‘Contracted with a company’ mean the same thing?? Is there other options for owner operators besides ‘leasing on or contracting with a company’? Is leasing-on or contracting with a company (with fair to good pay) considered success for a newbie owner operator? Does ‘leased on’ or ‘contracted with’ a company basically mean an owner operator applied for a expediting job with a carrier company & the carrier company decide to hire the owner operator to expedite for the company. If GOD is on your side & you are ‘Leased-on’ & ‘Contracted with a carrier company’ what are some of the basics lease terms (As far as if things are not going well are you stuck in the lease or contract)?? What are the NO NOs

I hear so many ‘where can I find loads’ comments. Are those ‘where can I find loads’ people looking to ‘lease-on or contract with a company’ or ....????

I hope these are not dumb questions but that’s the only way to learn

Greg · Nov 29, 2020

Leased to and Contracted with a carrier are essentially the same for owner operators.
Owner operators are not employees, so they sign a lease agreement, or contract, with a carrier.
Drivers can be hired, owner operators are contractually leased to a carrier.
Owner operators who are looking for loads may have their own authority to haul freight and are not hired by a carrier as a driver or leased to a carrier as an owner operator. Most lease agreements stipulate exclusivity, meaning if you sign a lease with a carrier, you will not be looking for loads from other carriers. You would get your loads from the carrier that hired you as a driver or leased owner operator.

Hope that helps.

Drive2020 · Nov 29, 2020

Definitely helped. THANK YOU!!!!!

Drive2020 · Nov 29, 2020

Greg said:
Leased to and Contracted with a carrier are essentially the same for owner operators.
Owner operators are not employees, so they sign a lease agreement, or contract, with a carrier.
Drivers can be hired, owner operators are contractually leased to a carrier.
Owner operators who are looking for loads may have their own authority to haul freight and are not hired by a carrier as a driver or leased to a carrier as an owner operator. Most lease agreements stipulate exclusivity, meaning if you sign a lease with a carrier, you will not be looking for loads from other carriers. You would get your loads from the carrier that hired you as a driver or leased owner operator.

Hope that helps.

So if you are owner operator contracted with a carrier, the owner operator don’t worry about loads. So the owner operators that are under contract is typically guaranteed loads (has job security) for the amount of time which they are contracted? What are some common leased-on terms (as far as the amount of time; multiple days, multiple weeks, multiple months)? Is there ever instances where an owner operator lease-on with a carrier only to struggle getting loads? If so, how is that worked out??

Greg · Nov 29, 2020

Drive2020 said:
So if you are owner operator contracted with a carrier, the owner operator don’t worry about loads. So the owner operators that are under contract is typically guaranteed loads (has job security) for the amount of time which they are contracted? What are some common leased-on terms (as far as the amount of time; multiple days, multiple weeks, multiple months)? Is there ever instances where an owner operator lease-on with a carrier only to struggle getting loads? If so, how is that worked out??

Owner operators have no guarantee of work.
Hired drivers have no guarantee of work.
Whether you are a driver looking to drive a company truck for a carrier, or a truck owner operator looking to lease to a carrier, both are subject to market conditions and a customer base for consistent loads.
One should choose wisely before hiring on or leasing on to ANY carrier.
You should vet the carrier just as they will you.

Greg · Nov 29, 2020

Drive2020 said:
Definitely helped. THANK YOU!!!!!

Your welcome

Drive2020 · Nov 29, 2020

What are the general ‘Owner operator’ options??

I KNOW ITS NOT RECOMMENDED TO JUST BUY A VAN & START AN EXPEDITING CARRIER. I COMPLETELY FULLY UNDERSTAND!!!! IT HAS BEEN MADE VERY VERY VERY CLEAR IN THESE FORUM DISCUSSION THAT YOU ARE DESTINED TO FAIL. It has been made very clear.

But I would just like to know what are the general ‘Owner operator’ options (as far as being successful in this industry). I know it nearly impossible but inquiring minds would like to know.

No offense. I really appreciate all information, insight & experiences that are shared on these forums. It is very informative & helpful. I just want to be very direct about what information I’m searching for

Drive2020 · Nov 29, 2020

Greg said:
Owner operators have no guarantee of work.
Hired drivers have no guarantee of work.
Whether you are a driver looking to drive a company truck for a carrier, or a truck owner operator looking to lease to a carrier, both are subject to market conditions and a customer base for consistent loads.
One should choose wisely before hiring on or leasing on to ANY carrier.
You should vet the carrier just as they will you.

Very Helpful. Thank you!!!!!

Greg · Nov 29, 2020

Drive2020 said:
What are the general ‘Owner operator’ options??

I KNOW ITS NOT RECOMMENDED TO JUST BUY A VAN & START AN EXPEDITING CARRIER. I COMPLETELY FULLY UNDERSTAND!!!! IT HAS BEEN MADE VERY VERY VERY CLEAR IN THESE FORUM DISCUSSION THAT YOU ARE DESTINED TO FAIL. It has been made very clear.

But I would just like to know what are the general ‘Owner operator’ options (as far as being successful in this industry). I know it nearly impossible but inquiring minds would like to know.

No offense. I really appreciate all information, insight & experiences that are shared on these forums. It is very informative & helpful. I just want to be very direct about what information I’m searching for

The reason it is so difficult to get a straight answer is simple - everyone has their own set of circumstances to determine what is "best" for them.

As for some "general" owner operator options, what exactly are you looking for? Need to be more specific.

If you own a truck (or van), you will have different options than someone looking for a job as a driver.

danthewolf00 · Nov 29, 2020

Expediter work is like a roller coaster sometimes your hauling azz and sometimes your sitting for days.

Drive2020 · Nov 30, 2020

Greg said:
The reason it is so difficult to get a straight answer is simple - everyone has their own set of circumstances to determine what is "best" for them.

As for some "general" owner operator options, what exactly are you looking for? Need to be more specific.

If you own a truck (or van), you will have different options than someone looking for a job as a driver.

Yes I own my own van. I’m looking to drive some loads, learn the industry & make money. I know that may sound silly & simple-minded but I’m just trying to learn what the options are. Basically I’m looking for a list similar to the one below. (Some of these may not make a bit a bit of sense but I’m just trying to get you to kind of understand what I’m fishing for).

List of most common & practical ways an Owner Operator can get into the industry (aka get their foot in the door). Some are great or not so great, but all & all these are typically the most common ways to get started as an owner operator.

1. Lease on with a company.
2. Drive for a fleet manager as an owner op.
3. Just freelance on ‘Indeed & other sites’
4. Drive for a company company ‘Z’ (No lease or contract)
5.

naturalway · Nov 30, 2020

You can try load boards. Look on the net there are some companies that will let you download a trial.Also videos of how to look for loads on load board

Ragman · Nov 30, 2020

naturalway said:
You can try load boards. Look on the net there are some companies that will let you download a trial.Also videos of how to look for loads on load board

For the most part, loads on load boards are junk loads nobody wants to carry at toilet money losing rates.

Can i suggest calling Bolt. They are known to be a good company for newbies.

Greg · Dec 1, 2020

Drive2020 said:
Yes I own my own van. I’m looking to drive some loads, learn the industry & make money. I know that may sound silly & simple-minded but I’m just trying to learn what the options are. Basically I’m looking for a list similar to the one below. (Some of these may not make a bit a bit of sense but I’m just trying to get you to kind of understand what I’m fishing for).

List of most common & practical ways an Owner Operator can get into the industry (aka get their foot in the door). Some are great or not so great, but all & all these are typically the most common ways to get started as an owner operator.

1. Lease on with a company.
2. Drive for a fleet manager as an owner op.
3. Just freelance on ‘Indeed & other sites’
4. Drive for a company company ‘Z’ (No lease or contract)
5.

Since you already own a van and want to put it to work, try looking in the EO Trucking Jobs ( Truck Driving Jobs ) . See if any carriers like Bolt, Load1 or others are looking for vans.
You might also try calling some of the carriers that advertise on this site. Different carriers will have different qualification requirements for new leases.

Drive2020 · Dec 2, 2020

Greg said:
Since you already own a van and want to put it to work, try looking in the EO Trucking Jobs ( Truck Driving Jobs ) . See if any carriers like Bolt, Load1 or others are looking for vans.
You might also try calling some of the carriers that advertise on this site. Different carriers will have different qualification requirements for new leases.

Greg Thank you for the Very Straight coward Direct answer!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!

Drive2020 · Jan 23, 2021

Drive2020 said:
Greg Thank you for the Very Straight forward Direct answer!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!

Drive2020 · Jan 23, 2021

Drive2020 said:
Greg Thank you for the Very Straight coward Direct answer!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!

I just noticed a typo in this message. I am very sorry. I meant to say *Forward

Drive2020 · Jan 23, 2021

Drive2020 said:
Greg Thank you for the Very Straight forward Direct answer!!!! I really appreciate it!!!!

blizzard2014 · Jan 24, 2021

danthewolf00 said:
Expediter work is like a roller coaster sometimes your hauling azz and sometimes your sitting for days.

Sitting on fat stacks of money for sure lol!

blizzard2014 · Jan 24, 2021

Drive2020 said:
I lot of the common expeditor terms & lingo just flies over my head like birds. Can we break this all the way down to an elementary level.

Does being ‘Leased-on’ & ‘Contracted with a company’ mean the same thing?? Is there other options for owner operators besides ‘leasing on or contracting with a company’? Is leasing-on or contracting with a company (with fair to good pay) considered success for a newbie owner operator? Does ‘leased on’ or ‘contracted with’ a company basically mean an owner operator applied for a expediting job with a carrier company & the carrier company decide to hire the owner operator to expedite for the company. If GOD is on your side & you are ‘Leased-on’ & ‘Contracted with a carrier company’ what are some of the basics lease terms (As far as if things are not going well are you stuck in the lease or contract)?? What are the NO NOs

I hear so many ‘where can I find loads’ comments. Are those ‘where can I find loads’ people looking to ‘lease-on or contract with a company’ or ....????

I hope these are not dumb questions but that’s the only way to learn

Just call Bolt Express, lease on and go all in. You have to be like a junkie/gambler and go all in to see what it's like. It will take you a least six months to tell whether or not you are making any money, or if you are breaking even. I made 16k gross my first six weeks with Bolt back in 2010. I started with a paid off van (5500 for Chevy Express 3500 with 120k miles on it) and 250 dollars in checking/savings. I had no credit cards. One blown tire on my trip up from Los Angeles to Toledo for orientation would have put me in a homeless camp. It worked out though, I guess God was with me. But you get the point. It's all speculation until you just dive in. Some only get 2000 miles their first month. Individual results will very demonstrably. If you are like most drivers "myself included" you're going to try it anyways, no matter what advice you get. The only bad thing is the pandemic. That is a whole nother level of problems on top of being new at this. I took every single load they gave me, stayed in service the entire first 6-7 weeks. Like I said, you have to be all in and let the loads/chips take you/fall where they fall. Then sit back for a day and deduct all your fuel expenses, food, maintenance account expenses, and van payment/insurance to see what you have left over. If you can live with that, or even less "as there will be some bad weeks and you have to save for those" you might be cut out for this.