Questions about the lease program from Stevens Transport

I used to work for Stevens. They pay refer fuel. They pay 30% of tolls. You pay for plates and permits, it's included in your weekly payment.

Don't do the lease unless you're a trainer. You'll starve and/or never see home if you try to do it running solo. Don't do the lease unless you can get at least 7.5 mpg out of your truck, as fuel mileage makes or breaks your checks. Also, the health insurance offered for lease operators is expensive and worthless.

All of my info is 2 years old, so some things may have changed. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

If you think of leasing a truck like leasing a car... you get to pay for almost everything and at the end are left with...nothing. Just a much more expensive... nothing.
Good luck.

 

Leasing is like Renting a truck. If you want to buy your own truck, work, get your experience, save your money, go to a Dealer or pay cash for your truck.

 

A friend did a lease purchase with stevens,,after fuel and payment every think he made went to truck repairs,,,after 6 months he had not drawn a personal paycheck so he gave the truck back. stevens like many other will sell you a wore out truck , no a good Idea.

 

Yes Stevens pays 0.85 per mile, but they also pay the fuel surcharge on loaded miles. Not sure what that is right now, but around 0.45.
I leased with Stevens, but my last truck was a '10, before the DEF engines. I put 573,000 miles on the truck and had almost no problems. I made decent money solo...over $45,000 after all expenses. As a trainer, I made much more.
the 2011 trucks were mechanical disasters and slowly are getting better, so anyone buying a 2 or 3 year old truck, no matter who sold it, was buying a piece of junk. At least with the Cummins engine.
There are a lot of things you need to do to be successful as a lease operator, no matter who you run for. And leasing isn't for everyone.
The lease at Stevens is not a lease purchase (unless you have it written in before the start). It is a straight lease. When it's over, it's over.
A couple good things about the lease is if you get a bad truck, they'll swap it out without penalty to you. If you try the lease and decide it's not for you, it's a walk away contract. No penalties.
There are a lot of ways to be successful at Stevens, but just as many ways to lose your butt.
I'm on the inside now. I see it all. You can't believe the number of drivers that can't find their butts without a GPS, wouldn't know a deadline if it struck them upside the head. They can't read a fuel gauge (literally), run engines out of oil, don't secure their loads, forget to check fuel or temps on the trailers.... it goes on and on.
Many of these drivers try the lease, then when they fail, blame Stevens for the failure.
There are some good drivers that fail at them also. It takes a lot of work, some breaks, but it can be done.

 

What Emulsified said is spot on. I was a company driver for all of 2 months and signed the Lease. It is NOT a lease purchase.
As for money solo, I ALWAYS made more as a lease Op than I would have as a solo driver. I looked at the numbers every month. I put off being a trainer for a long time. Didnt think I would like it but found I like it a lot, and make even more money. After my lease I purchased a truck and have done very well. Been here about 4 years now.

 

If you are a company driver, then stevens pays for everything. However if you choose to enter as lease operator then you will be responsible for all expenses for the truck, tolls, ifta, tags, maintenance. Stevens will still cover all trailer costs and expenses including the ones you mentioned.