Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/709236
August 2016 | Overdrive | 47 From where you sit, TIME IS MONEY. 888-619-7277 PrePassNow.com TRY IT! WE GUARANTEE YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT. With no minimum enrollment requirements and no long term contracts, you can try PrePass any time and if you don't love it, you can leave it. The proven solution for bypassing and tolls saves time, fuel and money. WE SUPPORT: can stay busy without incurring too many out-of-route miles, the investment in a trailer could be worth it. One out of four Landstar System drivers pulls their own trailers, says Joe Beacom, vice president and chief safety and operations offi cer for the Jackson- ville, Fla.-based company, which runs the nation's largest owner-operator fl eet. "The biggest negative is that a lot of the freight in our system and many sys- tems requires drop-and-hook," Beacom says. "It's very important that owner- operators have a network of freight to stay busy if they own their own trailer. If you're running a ton of out-of-route miles because you can't drop-and-hook, that's a huge consideration." DeForest has seen an increase in drop- and-hook freight, which limits the work that can be done by individuals with their own trailers. "Without drop-and-hook, there is some likelihood of costs increasing, such as deadhead to avoid layover," he says. One way to save costs on a trailer is to perform your own maintenance, most of which involves tires and brakes, Beacom says. "When drivers come to us about buying a trailer, we ask them, 'Are you willing to run a certain way? Do you have a geographic limitation? Can you do your own maintenance?' " he says. "If not, then it's probably better for them to pull our trailers. Return on investment isn't based on A or B – there's a lot of variables." Beacom says Landstar's trailer mainte- nance costs average $1,500 per year, but that an owner-operator should expect their costs to be a little higher. "We have two trailers for every driver because of our drop-and-hook business, so one of the trailers is always sitting somewhere getting loaded and not hav- ing additional miles put on it," he says. "A driver with his own trailer is going to be pulling it full time in most cases, which will increase costs from what we see." While no one wants extra costs, knowing that the equipment you use daily is well-maintained is an advantage, DeForest says. A drop-and-hook trailer in bad condition can slow down any driver because of breakdowns and inspection problems. Another option for acquiring a trailer is through a lease-purchase program, which is common at some fl eets that don't have too much drop-and-hook freight. Under Mercer's fi ve-year trailer lease-purchase program, if a driver walks away from the lease before the end of the fi ve years, another driver can assume the lease, complete it and own the trailer. "Then if they want to, they could turn around and sell it for a lot more than they put into it," Providence says.