Introduction

[RoadRage007]

Hello People, I've been in and around trucks all of my life, I am a third generation trucker, and started my career as a truck driver, but quite frankly I took a bow out of the industry about 7 years ago for a number of reasons, low freight, and being screwed over by TEI are the two biggest reasons. Now I find myself looking to get back into it, I have taken a few local side jobs now and then just to maintain my skills and DOT Physical Card. I am thinking about going back as an owner operator and was wanting some advise on the companies that I should be looking at to sign on with, I don't currently have a truck yet, but will get one once I find the right fit, I was going to check into ATS, Landstar and Venture, I don't know if any of the above are worth their weight or not, or If there are any others that I should be looking at, but I have seen these companies around everywhere and assume good things. Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for anything that you could add.

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

BIG TRUCKS equal BIG BUCKS, do not believe this tripe!!

One can make a small fortune in Trucking if first one begins with a LARGE fortune.
- - -
Landstar takes a % off the top just for listing the load, then takes another % of that % and another as well and while they seemingly had decent paying loads, they as well do not care about empty miles (your problem) to the pick up point and sometimes do not alert drivers to the fact that a load has been canceled till the driver appears at the Shipper.
Say a $1.60 a mile load is listed, then after the deducts you'll get about a buck or thereabouts and YOU pay ALL Fuel, Tolls, etc.
They, like most companies, also have a trailer fee per month.

It looks good on paper but usually not in reality.

There are some drivers that will state Landstar is a good company to pull for and other drivers to state the opposite as with ANY company.

There are MANY companies where an O.O. can lease on. Some may appear decent, some may not.

Unless one can make a decent living on a $1.00 a mile (with A LOT of loads paying less), one is best not to invest in this business unless first one has reliable contacts and secured freight in place.
Dealing with BROKErs is the main name of this game which is where the majority of the freight is secured.
IF one can deal DIRECTLY with a Shipper and eliminate the BROKEr, one will be better off in the long haul.

[Double-D]

If you want to make $1.00+/mile, buy a cab.

[RoadRage007]

This is why I posted this. I wanted to hear from the drivers themselves. I have talked to Venture, and of course they promised me the moon, but I am a bit skeptical. So I guess trucking is still not very profitable. I was thinking about obtaining my brokers license and getting my own authority, maybe I'll do just that. Thanks for the feedback; any more information would be greatly appreciated.

~R/R

[Cerberus_Kelpie]

You can tell I have no love for BROKErs.

There are a LOT of fly by night BROKErs about with minimal Bonds so when sued as happens A LOT, they can simply pull stakes, change their name a bit and resume business, sometimes at the same location.
It's been happening for many years and will continue.

Very few BROKErs are trustworthy such as cough, cough, gag, c. h. robinson, hack, choke.
MANY BROKErs claim "we're all in" when stating $1.05 a mile but the Driver states a need for $1.40, no stop pay, no deadhead mileage pay, etc.
Some few BROKErs pay deadhead mileage yet these are the random exceptions and somehow do not seem to stay in business very long.

I spell Broker as BROKEr because one doesn't get along very well when dealing with most of them and Drivers generally have MORE hassles with BROKErs than anything else in the entirety of Trucking because of faulty or NO directions to pickup/delivery, pickup/delivery times incorrect or non existent, NO info regarding Lumpers, NOT willing to pay for or reimburse for Lumpers, pathetic delays when settling up with Drivers/Owner Operators having completed runs, requiring pointless paperwork from Owner Operators in order to complete payment processes, not returning phone calls or e-mails, etc.

Maybe you'll be a good BROKEr. Only satisfied Drivers/Owner Operators will attest quickly enough. If you take more money from Shippers than you give to the people that actually do the work, well then ya may as well become an office of cheap haul robusome.

[RoadRage007]

Originally Posted by Cerberus_Kelpie

You can tell I have no love for BROKErs.

There are a LOT of fly by night BROKErs about with minimal Bonds so when sued as happens A LOT, they can simply pull stakes, change their name a bit and resume business, sometimes at the same location.
It's been happening for many years and will continue.

Very few BROKErs are trustworthy such as cough, cough, gag, c. h. robinson, hack, choke.
MANY BROKErs claim "we're all in" when stating $1.05 a mile but the Driver states a need for $1.40, no stop pay, no deadhead mileage pay, etc.
Some few BROKErs pay deadhead mileage yet these are the random exceptions and somehow do not seem to stay in business very long.

I spell Broker as BROKEr because one doesn't get along very well when dealing with most of them and Drivers generally have MORE hassles with BROKErs than anything else in the entirety of Trucking because of faulty or NO directions to pickup/delivery, pickup/delivery times incorrect or non existent, NO info regarding Lumpers, NOT willing to pay for or reimburse for Lumpers, pathetic delays when settling up with Drivers/Owner Operators having completed runs, requiring pointless paperwork from Owner Operators in order to complete payment processes, not returning phone calls or e-mails, etc.

Maybe you'll be a good BROKEr. Only satisfied Drivers/Owner Operators will attest quickly enough. If you take more money from Shippers than you give to the people that actually do the work, well then ya may as well become an office of cheap haul robusome.

I hear you, I do. I had my share of experiences with BROKErs as you put it. I am just tossing around some ideas in my head, I want to get back into the industry in some capacity, I would love to get another truck and hit the road for a year or so, never looking back, but not at the going rate. I've pulled a skateboard most of my trucking life, but I have done some Heavy Haul, so maybe I'll check into that avenue. It just seems that the whole trucking world has changed since I was a kid. And by the looks of things it's not ever going to go back to the way it use to be, and that’s a shame.