Cargo Van Starting Next Week with Panther and I've Got Questions

[Turtle]

On a 60/40 split, whoever gets the 60% and pays for fuel, the fuel cost is about 20% anyway, so you end up getting 40% and the owner getting 40%. On owner/driver splits, if nobody had to pay for fuel, it would be a 50/50 split, which is essentially what happens with 60/40 with 20 of the 60 going to pay for fuel.

It's actually a little less than 20% for fuel, but you're not getting royally screwed or anything. If you owned the van yourself, you'd end up paying yourself about 30-35 cents a mile, with the rest going for fuel, maintenance and other costs.

50/50 plus FSC isn't the greatest deal out there, but there are a lot worse deals you can run into with van fleet owners.

 

[Ragman]

On a 60/40 split, whoever gets the 60% and pays for fuel, the fuel cost is about 20% anyway, so you end up getting 40% and the owner getting 40%. On owner/driver splits, if nobody had to pay for fuel, it would be a 50/50 split, which is essentially what happens with 60/40 with 20 of the 60 going to pay for fuel.

It's actually a little less than 20% for fuel, but you're not getting royally screwed or anything. If you owned the van yourself, you'd end up paying yourself about 30-35 cents a mile, with the rest going for fuel, maintenance and other costs.

50/50 plus FSC isn't the greatest deal out there, but there are a lot worse deals you can run into with van fleet owners.

I think the OP has a misunderstanding of what a fsc is. I get the feeling he thinks it will cover all his fuel expenses.

 

[Turtle]

I think the OP has a misunderstanding of what a fsc is. I get the feeling he thinks it will cover all his fuel expenses.

Yeah, it won't. 10 cents a mile FSC certainly helps with it. But if gas is $2.29 a gallon and you get 17 MPG, then the fuel costs is 13.5 cents a mile.

 

[RoadTime]

I think the OP has a misunderstanding of what a fsc is. I get the feeling he thinks it will cover all his fuel expenses.

Yeah, it won't. 10 cents a mile FSC certainly helps with it. But if gas is $2.29 a gallon and you get 17 MPG, then the fuel costs is 13.5 cents a mile.

Plus he mentioned it being a gas dodge sprinter. Since I don't know of any gas Sprinters, must likely he will be paying diesel prices. A little better MPG, but diesel prices have been on the rise

 

[dalscott]

Plus he mentioned it being a gas dodge sprinter. Since I don't know of any gas Sprinters, must likely he will be paying diesel prices. A little better MPG, but diesel prices have been on the rise

If I'm not mistaken, they made some gas Sprinters around 08 or 09. They got around 10 to 12 mpg and didn't sell so they discontinued them..



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[Worn Out Manager]

Or, assume he meant Dodge Promaster because this business refers to all high tops as sprinters.

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[RoadTime]

Or, assume he meant Dodge Promaster because this business refers to all high tops as sprinters.

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Yeah, that's probably it.

 

[Moot]

I think the OP has a misunderstanding of what a fsc is. I get the feeling he thinks it will cover all his fuel expenses.

Yeah, it won't. 10 cents a mile FSC certainly helps with it. But if gas is $2.29 a gallon and you get 17 MPG, then the fuel costs is 13.5 cents a mile.

Panther's fsc for vans this week is .12/mile. Panther also pays all deadhead miles from layover point to shipper, currently .12/mile.

 

[Moot]

Wolfhouse, you mentioned: "If I could make $2500-3000/month, I would be ok with that." You could gross that amount but probably closer to $2500. If you have money in the bank or no large fixed expenses, like a mortgage or car payments, then this might be a good chance to try out van expediting for a few months.

Keep in mind that winter is coming. Will this fleet owner's van be insulated? What about a source of heat other than idling? How long has this person been a fleet owner with Panther? These are questions you need to ask the fleet owner. I'd also ask why there are typos on a legal and binding contract.

Good luck and keep us in the loop on what you decide to do.

 

[Wolfhouse]

Wow, I was not expecting all these responses, my email was lacking way behind. Just asked the questions you all mentioned.

- It is a 2015 Dodge Promaster Diesel, and it is insulated, but no external heating. Runs at about 18mpg?

- He says he's been doing this for about 3-4 years now. I think it's just him and one other driver on his fleet so far, so I will be his third. He is building a team and I can only assume it was the incompetency of the other driver that works for him that he didn't check the vocabulary on the contract more closely (hence, why I am here asking the experts).

- Yeah, the fsc has been explained to the point I understand it, and as Turtle said with the .12/mile fsc, it might not cover all the gas, but it should cover most or a big chunk of it.

I think those are the answers to all the above posts. As a newbie with no experience, it's hard to find a better opportunity that doesn't require experience, that has current openings.

Now, I looked through the ad again, and it did mention most of the driving will be on the east coast. While I am ok with all the other conditions discussed so far, I was really hoping to drive west of the Mississippi, so that might be a deal-breaker for me (as I am from the west, ABQ). Does anyone know any companies that do regional or consistently send their drivers out west? By west, I'm not talking California, I mean anywhere from Washington all the way down to New Mexico, Colorado, etc..

 

[Ragman]

Does anyone know any companies that do regional or consistently send their drivers out west? By west, I'm not talking California, I mean anywhere from Washington all the way down to New Mexico, Colorado, etc..

The vast majority of the loads you will get are from manufacturing facilities, which for the most part are in the central part of the country.

I think Mailer covers the left coast. You might want to get a hold of him for details.

 

[Turtle]

... it might not cover all the gas...

If it runs on diesel, don't call it gas. Call it "diesel," or call it "fuel," or call it "diesel fuel," but don't call it gas. You're about to be a real trucker. Gotta get the real trucker lingo down.

 

[LDB]

I'm late to the party but here goes. And I'm writing this for anyone and everyone considering expediting so while it's snippy and snarky at times it's not personal to you, it's in general.

Have you ever heard of electricians? Plumbers? Dental hygienists? They are all careers. They all require hundreds of hours of education and training for competency. Expediting is a career. You should be approaching it the same way.

You should read back at least 3 years in the General, Newbie and Recruiter forums. You don't have to read every single word but you should read every single thread title and take the time to think about if it might apply to you. If so, then you read every single word in that thread. It will take you dozens and dozens of hours. That's the minimum basic education for this career. Kind of like getting a 2 year Associates Degree from Community College.

Then you'll know enough to ask all the questions you need to ask and you'll know enough to understand the answers given, as well as which answers to focus on and which to pretty much ignore.

The FSC (fuel surcharge) doesn't pay for your fuel. It helps you pay for your fuel. Be very clear about when it's paid and when it isn't and how much it is. The same for deadhead pay, if any companies still do that, detention pay, layover pay etc. etc. etc.

The standard, meaning most people go with it, split is 60/40. The 60 side pays for all of the fuel. The 60 side gets 100% of the FSC money. Anything other than that and you are being ripped off because you are too new to know any better and like so many people you don't get the proper education before entering this new career. Good luck.

 

[Moot]

... it might not cover all the gas...

If it runs on diesel, don't call it gas. Call it "diesel," or call it "fuel," or call it "diesel fuel," but don't call it gas. You're about to be a real trucker. Gotta get the real trucker lingo down.

Last night on my local news a story aired about a semi crash [tractor/trailer] that resulted in an inferno due to the semi's [tractor/trailer] two 100 gallon tanks of gas.

 

[Turtle]

I have a gas pedal.

 

[Moot]

I do too but I call it an EcoBlaster Heart Defibrillator. Technically it is a "foot feed".

 

[mark mantia]

Whos the fleet owner

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[Moot]

... it might not cover all the gas...

If it runs on diesel, don't call it gas. Call it "diesel," or call it "fuel," or call it "diesel fuel," but don't call it gas. You're about to be a real trucker. Gotta get the real trucker lingo down.

Last night on my local news a story aired about a semi crash [tractor/trailer] that resulted in an inferno due to the semi's [tractor/trailer] two 100 gallon tanks of gas.

Here's a link to the broadcast story. Gas tanks come in at about the 00:30
Fiery semi crash closes part of I-494

 

[Ragman]

... it might not cover all the gas...

If it runs on diesel, don't call it gas. Call it "diesel," or call it "fuel," or call it "diesel fuel," but don't call it gas. You're about to be a real trucker. Gotta get the real trucker lingo down.

Last night on my local news a story aired about a semi crash [tractor/trailer] that resulted in an inferno due to the semi's [tractor/trailer] two 100 gallon tanks of gas.

Here's a link to the broadcast story. Gas tanks come in at about the 00:30

No link

 

[Moot]

No link

Thanks! Just edited it in.