SHORT TERM LEASES, (6 month)

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Nahbrown, Oct 7, 2023.

  1. Nahbrown

    Nahbrown Medium Load Member

    370
    1,671
    Sep 6, 2021
    Illinois (the sane part)
    0
    Long story short. We what to go OP , Someone suggested that my wife and I rent or lease a semi instead of the financial commitment that buying entails. ***Not lease to own but a short term 3-6 month to test the waters. ***


    Anyone have experience with short term leases or rentals?

    recommend companies (like Penski)
    Companies to stay away from ( like penski?)
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

    13,078
    25,826
    Mar 29, 2008
    TN
    0
    Sounds like somebody gave you really bad advice. Renting a truck from Penske, Ryder etc to go on a 1 truck owner operator adventure is the most expensive way you could probably do it. Well, you *could* buy a used truck that looks great but needs $50,000 or more sunk into it after it leaves you stranded on the side of the road. So why do you want to be owner operators? This is a very competitive business with low margins that eats up people left and right every day.
     
  4. Ridgeline

    Ridgeline Road Train Member

    22,098
    113,136
    Dec 18, 2011
    Michigan
    0
    You must have an established business, qualify for a lease with good credit both business and personal, and then pay through the nose plus mileage.

    YOU TWO need to be in the truck for a while more, like 4 to 5 years.
     
    Vampire, wis bang, bryan21384 and 9 others Thank this.
  5. ducnut

    ducnut Road Train Member

    2,425
    7,199
    Dec 31, 2010
    SPI
    0
    Drive your miles. Go home. Zero headaches. Keep doing what you’re doing.
     
  6. loudtom

    loudtom Road Train Member

    1,717
    2,800
    Aug 26, 2016
    0
    Even if it were possible for you to rent/lease a truck, you might lose more by renting a truck than if you purchased one and just sold it 6 months later.

    The good news is, you might not need to work for somebody for 5 years before you're ready to be an owner op. If it takes you that long to be confident that you can safely get from point A to point B without cargo claims, there's no shame in that. But you're probably not going to learn anything significant about truck ownership as a company driver.
     
  7. rollin coal

    rollin coal Road Train Member

    13,078
    25,826
    Mar 29, 2008
    TN
    0
    I disagree. You'll become more efficient and learn better routines with more time behind the wheel as a company driver. Jumping right in o/o right away or after a year or so, yeah it can be done, lots of guys do it, guaranteed they've got lots of bad routines and inefficient habits they're going to muddle thru while learning the business side too. And probably wouldn't even realize half the dumb #### they're doing that's wasted effort and lost time. Experience matters.
     
  8. Big Road Skateboard

    Big Road Skateboard Road Train Member

    5,684
    29,575
    May 2, 2021
    0
    Are you making enough money now? A decision like that, with less than a year experience, and tight market.

    When you fail and are trying to get reemployed, do you have anything to offer that 95% of other drivers don't?

    Bad, bad, decision IMO
     
  9. North Pole Nightmare

    North Pole Nightmare Heavy Load Member

    811
    1,584
    Dec 15, 2021
    0
    Our top team made 140k each last year,they generally work 3 weeks on ,1 off.Stay with a good company for awhile.
     
  10. Kenworth6969

    Kenworth6969 Road Train Member

    2,724
    7,827
    Jul 3, 2020
    0
    Just go ahead and rent a truck.
    That way when you see how cheap rates are now you can turn that truck back in real quick and easy.
     
  11. Nahbrown

    Nahbrown Medium Load Member

    370
    1,671
    Sep 6, 2021
    Illinois (the sane part)
    0
    We wouldn’t be switching employers per say, we would just be going from company drivers to owner operators under the same authority. If we failed financially, we would go back to being W2 employees.

    Maybe I’m using the wrong term When I say, owner operator, but we don’t plan on leaving Amhof. Amhof does not have a lease-purchase program and I’ve never heard of a good company lease program anyway. They have some owner operators operating at 75% and I know what they’re making even this year.

    right now I’m gathering information. I know the cost to buy new and that we could have a truck in April. I know the cost to buy used with around 250,000 miles on it and some warranty left. Luckily, we’re not spring chickens and have the resources to do either of these.

    Someone mentioned Short term lease/rental as an option and so I started looking into it.

    I don’t make decisions like this lightly or On the spur the moment.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.