If you decide to contact Swift Transportation about company driver or lease purchase opportunities please call Michelle Cantrell at 864-968-7605 and give her my driver code of WIRDA1 or give them my truck number 222999. Thanks
Sort of that's actually a fairly complicated question. Technically I'm dispatched but I work directly with the planners and tell them where I would like to go and things like that and I can always turn down any load offers I don't like. They are beta testing a load board and hopefully it will be up and running in the coming months. I'm supposed to be a beta tester pretty soon on that as well. They also have a macro you can send that will give you up to three available loads in your area and you can pick which one you want or decline all of them
@@latishamarion7560 you can come on straight into lease if you have at least 9 months experience in many cases. I would encourage you to contact recruiting to talk about your specific situation. If you will email me your name and phone number I can have someone reach out to you on Monday. truckertodd806@gmail.com
Such an honest and positive polite person.. Thank you Sir , for all the information. That can help others too .You were even nice to your detractors. This is the kind of person we all should strive to be.
We appreciate your transparency and your honest videos don't worry about all the negative energy that other people leave in the comments. It's always going to be people like that
Thank you for your honesty and transparency. A lot of videos about trucking/ transportation intel on You Tube - in my opinion - is only hype. 99% of videos I can’t understand or comprehend what they’re saying because of the overall slang and sentence fragments combined with the yelling. Be advised a lot of those folks are only looking for the referral fee. Be careful of the propaganda in the transportation/ logistics occupation. Swift catches a lot of flak in the field. However, there are many different types of trucking. What works for one, may not work for another. There are plenty of veteran drivers at Swift.
So long as YOU are happy where You are it shouldn't matter what Anyone else thinks ( They aren't paying Your bills ) ! You give " REAL WORLD " advise ( and commentary .. and best of all , it's on things You have experience with ) !
This is precisely the information I wanted to hear about! Thank you so much for making this video. I've been with Swift for 6 months now and I plan on becoming an Owner Op in the future for sure.
I had a great time as an O/O with Swift. The money for me was great considering i also have a full military retirement pension and lifetime Healthcare. Loved driving for Swift.
I been out here since 01. It doesn't matter what other people say as long as you're happy it doesn't matter if you are making a penny or a million dollars. In the end you can't take it with you and All we have is our memories.
It is. But my concern would be after taxes and insurance you'd be hardly making more than a company driver, Its what stops me from Lease op. I average about 12 to 1500 a week. I dont wanna lease just to make another 500 a week. That dispatcher, Id have to trust to give me enough good loads and depending on others is what bothers me lol
I Average about $2,500 a week which is a thousand a week more than you. But even if our pay was identical, at the end of the lease I've got a truck that I could sell, and you have nothing. I also have tons of tax deductions available to me that you don't have. I'm not saying it's for everybody, and if you're happy being a company driver then stay a company driver. You say that I'm hardly making more than you but I'm making somewhere around $50,000 a year more than you and to me that's more than hardly nothing. Also you mentioned dispatchers, here I deal directly with the planners and I'm also supposed to be beta testing a load board and at my last job I ran 87 load boards and selected my own loads, so I'm not relying on a dispatcher for anything really
I just wanted to say thank you. For the honest accounting and experienced opinions. Especially for guys like me with much less experience than you hoping to get into lease purchase options. I really appreciated this video. Have a great day brotha. I wish you the very best going forward.
Thanks. That video was shot at approximately 3:00 a.m. in the morning. So at my age anytime I've got energy at 3:00 a.m. in the morning it's a pleasant surprise LOL
Thanks I try real hard to be honest. Sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble but I try to remember people are making decisions based on the information I give them and I don't want to give false information and cause someone to make a bad decision. Most of us have families were trying to support and false information could really hurt somebody's family and I don't want to be responsible for that. Thanks for watching the videos and for the good comments
Amazing information! You sound like you have a great deal of insight! A brand new truck Not killing yourself and making good money…. Not a trucker yet but about to get started on school soon!!! Inspired by you!!! Thank You
I enjoyed your openness, sincerity and humbleness. Perfect example video for everyone to watch, and for those of us that can learn from this and being an awesome human being. I myself have been researching so that I could become an owner operator by way of lease purchase. six years of OTR. and loving every mile of it. much much continued success with you and your venture and blessings to yourself your family, and loved ones.
Great video and very motivating. Thank you. Keep up the great work my friend. Piss on what others say. People talk crap. I hope you have a fantastic one.
This is very inspiring God bless you and keep up the positive attitude this is what we need in this world today to help and love one another because we all are one because at the end of the day no one want their kids fighting amongst one another so we all are God's creation and the same rules applies because at the end of the day we are all one
Thats awesome! Sounds like i should come to swift.i was owner op 20 years ago and ran my butt off still went home broke.lost the truck went back to company then gave up driving all together
Yeah give it some thought. If you come on board I'll try to help you as much as I can but sounds like you have enough experience and knowledge to do it on your own
@@truckertoddllc thanks this video makes me wanna get back to it.how long after u start do u have to wait to do the lease? And what speed are lease trucks?
You can do at least from day one if you meet their qualifications. If you accept their optional front-facing camera the trucks run 70 on the cruise and 72 on the pedal. If you reject the front facing camera like I recommend then it's 68 on the cruise and 70 on the pedal
I have questions. Is cpm or percentage of load better? How long is lease plan on new trucks? So many talk bad about lease purchase. Is this a walk away lease?Isnt lease purchase just like buying from a dealership? With lease purchase you get reduced shop rates ,a loaner truck if yours is out of service? Like your videos. Alot of good information. Thank you.
On your first question it really depends on the market. This week they announced that rates are down again so in my opinion you can make more money on a sense per mile type pay scale right now but that could always change in the future. On a brand new truck, if you can find one, you're going to be looking at a four-year lease with a pretty substantial balloon payment at the end. As you know truck prices are through the roof right now. Yes it's a walk away lease. No lease purchase is very different from buying from a dealership. If you work for this company you get reduced shop rates whether you do the lease Purchase or already have your own truck. As for loaner trucks, I'm not aware of any but they do have rental trucks for very cheap. Thanks for watching the videos, you asked a lot of great questions that I'm sure many other people would like to know the answers to as well. I might make a video answering these exact same questions very soon. Thanks again
Few questions: How much of that 3k weekly would you take out and stash away for: 1. Fuel for the next week 2. Money for major repairs if necessary 3. Truck washes Also, how long is the lease until you outright own the tractor? Does your lease include the future ownership of the trailer? And the last question is, do you have the right to also pick your own loads from brokers that aren't under Swift? Thank you for the info. and good luck out there.
Sorry I just saw your question. I Have done several videos on on fuel, but the short answer is to either use the company fuel card or to have your own fuel card. For maintenance it really depends on what type of truck you have and how old it is and things like that. For truck washes I guess it depends on how often you want to wash your truck or if you do it yourself with a pressure washer. Lease terms very from truck to truck at Swift and I have not worked there in several months so you would want to get the latest information from them if that's where you're considering going
It really depends on how well I manage it. I've had a lot of light loads and if I do 60 mph I can get between 9.4 and 9.7 if I run 68 or 70 I get between 8.3 and 8.5. next week while I'm at home I will do an overall average for the time I've had the truck so far because a lot of people are curious about it. It's also important to mention that I've been in California and Arizona a lot where it was over 100° and I had to idle a lot especially during my 34 hour reset so I'm not expecting super great numbers so far and I'm not sure if they'll be representative of what the truck can really do
@b-smoove normally I would agree with you, but as the markets change you have to change. You obviously haven't heard what's going on in the dry van spot market right now. By the way that's what I was doing prior to this and earning great money for a long period of time. However then the bottom fell out and rates dropped. Right now you can currently make more money running at a good rate per mile with a great fuel surcharge then you can running percentage. Now we all know it won't be this way forever but that's the way it is now. The reason a lot of people fail in business in general not just checking it's because they're unwilling to adapt their business to the current market environment. Trust me you don't want to compare income with me if you're doing dry van on the spot market. Another thing I wanted to say to you, I saw that one of your comments was removed. If you can't be respectful in here you can hit the road. Have a great day
Hi Todd I appreciate you putting out great content, Thanks. Wanted to ask you do company and owner operators really get good miles, and do you have any information about their Guarantee pay? Dart truck.
Hey Mr Todd. Great info. Can you govern the truck speed to your choice ? Are drop n hooks available? Do they have a load board you can access ? Please let me know. I might be I terested
No the trucks are required to be governed at the speeds they are governed at depending on if you accept the optional forward-facing camera or not. For me it's not been an issue because most of the time I drive 60 mph to save fuel. They say around 90% of their loads are dropping hook and I have found that to be accurate in my case. Me and Nine other people are preparing to beta test a load board in the coming weeks and I'll be doing videos about it when we start but it will probably be a few months after that before it's available to the general public
Michelle is the recruiter that I recommend using her information is pinned at the top of the comments and also in my description of my video. I'm willing to go to All 48 states but I'm staying east of I-35 most of the time right now because freight is really slow out west. As an independent contractor you can pick where you run and don't want to go but you have to remember that there's weird things going on in the freight market right now and if you're super picky you might not have a lot of options at times. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to where I will run as long as it makes sense for my business
Good deal pkease make sure you call Michelle at this number and tell her you been watching trucker Todd. If she don't answer leave her a voicemail and she'll call you back. If you get somebody else please list me as your referral, my truck number is 22299. Here is Michelle's information Michelle Cantrell at 864-968-7605
How the hell do you have a 7k gross at Swift on 3k miles? Did swift go to a percentage model on the contract rates or what? Confusing as hell. I know FSC is banded based on the originating outbound location, but it seemed like the rates were different for every load. What is the lease paying, gross, per mile?
Another great video. I am getting Into trucking as a second career. I watch your videos all the time. They help me to learn about the industry and all the pros and cons that come with it. Todd, What company’s would you recommend a new driver starts out with?
Great question. It really depends where you live and what you want to do in trucking. If you can give me a little more information about what you're looking to do in trucking and what your long-term goals are I can try to help you decide
First I am brand new at trucking. I am looking to get experience. I have been self-employed/ construction most of my career so eventually O/O or lease purchase would be the end goal. Looking to go OTR. I dont need to be home a lot. I do want to travel with my dog. He’s about 30 lb or so. I live in Dayton, Oh. Currently enrolled at 160 Driving academy. I start class Monday. I just got my temps. Considering flatbed because it pays more, but dry run works too. I have done labor work all my life. Installing ratchets straps on cargo in my work trailers have not been a problem. So, What company’s would be a good place to start. TIA
As you know flatbed is not really an area that I know a lot about. But I have heard a lot of people say good things about the flatbed department at Swift Transportation and at TMC. It sounds like with your background that flatbed would be a good fit for you and both of these companies would be able to get you home where you live and I believe both companies have a training program for flatbed as well. In the coming weeks I'm going to try to get some more flatbed information out in my Tuesday live at 5:00 p.m. central Time. Please stay in touch and let me know what you decide to do
@@truckertoddllc Thanks for the information. I didn’t know about TMC. I looked them up, they seem like a legit professional company. They have nice rigs and trailers too.
Todd…did you have any benefits taken out on those settlements like (health insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions, etc.), or do you pay those after-the-fact out of your checking account? Thanks.
What about your taxes Federal State and local. How much do you have left after those? And let's not forget about SET . Self Employment Tax.. Use Mudflap instead of your company fuel card. Fuel saving is greater. Pay your own IFTA taxes.
I don't discuss taxes in my video for the reasons you mentioned above. I'm in Texas which is a low tax state but many of my viewers are in higher tax regions of the country. I give people my numbers and then they can determine what their own taxes would be from those numbers. But my numbers are just that, my numbers. Your success might be greater or less than mine based on your own performance. My performance will have no effect on your performance
I don't have the numbers in front of me I would have to go back and watch the video again but if I remember correctly it was a little over $7,200 gross for the 8 days and then the number you said for the 7 days. But I would definitely consider that an average week. I had two and a half days where I sat and I didn't run as hard as I could have. I was just trying to find something average so people would know what they could expect if they worked moderately hard. As you know in tracking there will be good weeks and bad weeks
What really matters is that it works for you. I myself started at Swift I got my experience and moved on this June it will be 7 years with my license with one hard year of Swift but it was all worth it.
I agree with you I worked for Swift once before back in 96 until 2001. My first year was very very rough also. It's tough until you find your groove and learn what you're doing. I never thought I would return to Swift but the current market conditions brought me back
@@stevenicholson2026 because you're starting a business in a field that you know nothing about and you'll learn a lot your first two years. If you were going to open a taxidermy business wouldn't you want to know something about animals before you did it? You're inexperience in trucking is giving you overconfidence. Feel free to do it now if you want to but I guarantee at some point you will realize I was right
I saw your other comment got deleted by UA-cam. If your mileage is incorrect contact your ooc and they can fix it. They've been having some technical problems lately but they're not purposefully trying to rip you off
@@truckertoddllc im not talking about starting a business.about the comment about it being hard thec1st year driving at swift.i was saying its hard starting out anywhere u go.i have plenty of expeirience myself i was owner op as well as a trainer but its been awhile.i been thinking about getting baclk in to driving and wondering how other guys are doing bc swift is the only one that wont make me take a refresher class which i cant afford.
1.00 pm profit is excellent in my opinion...I these times I book that as a win how many gallons of fuel did you use and do you get big discounts at terminal for fuel ⛽....and you look good 👍 😀 happy again
Sometimes the discounts at the terminals are pretty decent and sometimes I can beat their prices by going to a small mom-and-pop type truck stop. They send out a list every day of what the prices will be the next day at all of the terminals and I compare that with my other stuff to decide the best places to buy fuel.
Hey man thanks for the info thinking of going back to Swift are used to do the dedicated account auto Winterhaven Florida so I’m trying to become owner operator again
Holy crap man that ain’t bad… if you run super hard you can easily make $8000 per week… can you decide which freight you haul?? Does reefer pay O/O better than dry Van??
Yes they have a macro you can send that will give you options for loads, also as an independent contractor you can turn down any load you don't want. I turned down four loads the other day on the same day and I didn't get blacklisted or move to the bottom of any list. Yes reefer pays better and I'm not sure about flatbed rates but I'm sure they pay better as well
Hello trucker Todd I appreciated your video I have Kind of a unique situati've been driving tractor trailers off and on since 1984 but because I'm blind in one eye I was not. Allowed to go interstate until March of 2022 I change my CDL over to unaccepted interstate. And drove For seven months In the lower 48 my problem is that only Only gives me 7 months of experience in the last 3 years that anybody counts but over the course of my lifetime. I've hauled cattle beer wine produce. Et cetera. I have a double triples and tanker endorsement and I have pulled all of those. So now I am considering the possibility of doing a lease. But I know very little about it. And would welcome any information or advice from Anybody with experience on this topic thank you in advance for any help you could give me
I'm working on a solution that might work for you. I'm about a week or so away from having anything in concrete that I can announce, but I'm doing a live show tonight at 5:00 p.m. Central Time. If you leave a message in the comments there, we can talk about it some more at that time
Fuel reduction? Are you saying you want to know what the fuel discount is at the terminals? If so that might be difficult to do because they've got a couple of dozen terminals that sell fuel and the rate changes daily based on fuel prices
Thank you for this video. What is the name of the country song and please can you make a video for or anyone would be a truck driver from the CDL training program. Untill be able to lease the truck to purchase please thank you
All of the information about the song is in the description of the videos. I can try to make a video about the CDL training program if I can get to one of the schools. It might take me a few weeks before I can do that
Inspect your truck really really close, read your contract very carefully, and talk to as many current lease purchase drivers as possible. Many are reporting having a hard time getting loads and sitting for multiple days
Any 2023 trucks low mileage like 100k or less? Soar pays $1.35 mile plus 100% fuel surcharge and new truck lease is $300 a week, no trailer charge no deadhead pay and they lost most contract companies now. I broke my foot 5/9/23 so I turned lease in but not retiring lease operators leaving in droves, sit for loads and the broker everything now
No down payment. It's a walk away lease. If you quit you are charged the normal fees to recondition the truck such as if it needs cleaning or any type of maintenance. For details beyond that I would encourage you to contact Michelle.
Oil changes depend on what kind of lease you're in. Some leases include the oil changes in them. I have not got my oil changed at a terminal though so I can't give you that number. Since it's my truck now breakdowns are my responsibility. I have warranty and savings so I'm prepared. Again if you don't want the responsibilities you can always be a company driver
How do you make sure you get the miles my husband and I our company and I’m thinking it would be better for us to do lease purchase but we set a lot no miles do you get better loads or first selection of loads if your leasing
At Swift the loads are going to be the same whether you're a company driver or a lease purchase drivers. The key to getting a lot of miles is developing a good relationship with a good dispatcher at Swift and also knowing when to accept loads and when to turn them down. Also, since you're a team, you might talk to them about dedicated opportunities
I Jesus asking you if you’re working for another company today and what was the reason you walk away from SWIFT can you give me an update on that I was planning to go to work for SWIFT
I did a few videos on it. I bought a truck for cash from one of my viewers and went back on the spot market. Then I wrecked in totaled that truck and bought one from a dealership and I'm still continuing on the spot market
Swift will tell you about 90% of their loads are drop and hook. I feel more comfortable telling you 80 or 85% are. Here lately I've had a lot of live loads and live unloads but I think it's just because of the part of the country I've been running but the places I've gone to have got me loaded and unloaded really quick
I've already covered this in other videos. One of the fuel stops was at a terminal and the other one was at the hitchin Post truck stop in Huntsville Texas and I used the mud flap app for that one. Surprisingly you can save a lot of money using the mud flap app and I've got a link in the description below of how you can save $10 the next time you fill up if it's within the first 5 days of signing up with my link. The truth is though, for the most part fuel discounts are not as great as they once were right now. One of the fuel stops was 128.02 gallons and the other one was 128.00 gallons.
That video was over 3 months ago so I don't have those numbers in front of me anymore but I can tell you that everything in the video is accurate and true
Yes it's a sliding mileage pay scale based on length of loaded miles. Last week's fuel surcharge was 61.1 cents per mile, this week's will come out on Wednesday. I really hate to put these kind of numbers out there because I never know when people will watch this video and someone might watch it 2 years from now and think it's either a really good rate or a really bad rate depending on what happens between now and the time they see these comments
It’s not a traditional load board. It’s an in-house load board with solo over the road dry van freight. They also determine which loads go on there, it’s a very small percentage of swifts overall freight. Several guys have told me that they have booked loads on there and had the loads taken away from them and given to other drivers. Sometimes there’s a few loads to choose from on there, and sometimes the pickings are few. Almost everyone knew that was driving for Swift has since left them because the load board was not what they thought it was going to be. Even the beta testing that I did for them is much different than what their current iteration is.
A lot of things have changed here recently but I will give you the information as best as I know it. Currently if you accept their forward-facing cameras it's 70 on the cruise and 72 on the pedal. If you don't want their forward-facing camera, you have to get your own insurance and your truck is governed at 68 on the cruise and 70 on the pedal. There have been a lot of policy changes here lately so I would encourage you to double check with a recruiter when you call in. I can help you get in contact with Michelle if you email me your name and phone number. truckertodd806@gmail.com
Yes, you are technically correct. There's not a trim package. You can order for a truck that is called owner operator spec. This is just a nickname that companies have come up with for a truck. Typically companies will say that they have company spectrucks and then the fancier trucks. They will call owner operator spec. But as I stated that's just a nickname
Yes you can either join me on my live show on Thursdays at 5 pm central time and I can answer your questions there or email me at truckertodd806@gmail.com
What was your worst take home? Are you still leasing? Was looking to lease with swift I will be satisfied if I brought home 1600 a week after everything deducted
It's possible to have weeks where you are in the hole, maybe several weeks due to break down or home time. This is why you need to have a good nest egg before you get started
I don't know my exact percentage of drop and hook but it's almost always. They would say that it's above 90% and I wouldn't disagree with that. It can also very if you're on a certain regional or dedicated account also. I would recommend discussing this with Michelle when you call her
Yeah sorry it took me so long to answer, it was a late night. Michelle is out of the office today so it might be tomorrow or possibly even Wednesday before she contacts you. They are super busy right now. If you don't hear from somebody in the next day or two, please call her back or let me know and I'll help out
Hi Todd. What's the down payment with Swift? I'm seriously thinking of doing a lease purchase in a couple of months and I'm researching all the possibilities. Sorry for asking.
Right now it's no down payment but they are talking about having a down payment in the future. They are saying that they will allow you to pay the down payment in payments when that time comes. You could save yourself a little money if you leased on now instead of waiting
@@truckertoddllc probably in a month. Honestly I'm researching all the alternatives. Even if it sounds crazy starting now that the markets are down and getting worse, i have reasons to believe it's the right time. Thank for all the info you're providing.
Would you be willing to give us a quick update on the freight situation with Swift? I've been hearing from other owner/ops that the freight situation has had them sitting for days on end. As someone who is serious about going lease/op in a year or so, it's a bit concerning. I realize a lot can change over a year but I'm curious what it's like here through what a lot are saying is the worst freight situation they've experienced.
I've actually got a video coming out at 9:00 a.m. Central Time Friday morning that will answer this question more in detail. But the short answer to your question is that while freight has slowed down everywhere a little bit, I have been getting around 2500 miles a week the last 2 weeks and I got 3,200 miles a week before that. You can still make it in tough times like this but you need to be partnered with a good company
If you decide to contact Swift Transportation about company driver or lease purchase opportunities please call Michelle Cantrell at 864-968-7605 and give her my driver code of WIRDA1 or give them my truck number 222999. Thanks
Do you choose your own loads?
Sort of that's actually a fairly complicated question. Technically I'm dispatched but I work directly with the planners and tell them where I would like to go and things like that and I can always turn down any load offers I don't like. They are beta testing a load board and hopefully it will be up and running in the coming months. I'm supposed to be a beta tester pretty soon on that as well. They also have a macro you can send that will give you up to three available loads in your area and you can pick which one you want or decline all of them
How long before you can switch to lease?
@@latishamarion7560 you can come on straight into lease if you have at least 9 months experience in many cases. I would encourage you to contact recruiting to talk about your specific situation. If you will email me your name and phone number I can have someone reach out to you on Monday. truckertodd806@gmail.com
When you say a$ dollar 3 a$dollar 7 you mean a $1.70 & $1.30 a mile?
I like your attitude ! It's kinda rare this day and time !!! Wish you the best !!
You can’t get more honest and kind than that
Such an honest and positive polite person.. Thank you Sir , for all the information. That can help others too .You were even nice to your detractors. This is the kind of person we all should strive to be.
Thanks I try my best
We appreciate your transparency and your honest videos don't worry about all the negative energy that other people leave in the comments. It's always going to be people like that
Thank you for your honesty and transparency. A lot of videos about trucking/ transportation intel on You Tube - in my opinion - is only hype.
99% of videos I can’t understand or comprehend what they’re saying because of the overall slang and sentence fragments combined with the yelling.
Be advised a lot of those folks are only looking for the referral fee. Be careful of the propaganda in the transportation/ logistics occupation.
Swift catches a lot of flak in the field. However, there are many different types of trucking. What works for one, may not work for another. There are plenty of veteran drivers at Swift.
So long as YOU are happy where You
are it shouldn't matter what Anyone else thinks ( They aren't paying Your
bills ) ! You give " REAL WORLD " advise ( and commentary .. and
best of all , it's on things You have experience with ) !
This is precisely the information I wanted to hear about! Thank you so much for making this video. I've been with Swift for 6 months now and I plan on becoming an Owner Op in the future for sure.
I had a great time as an O/O with Swift.
The money for me was great considering i also have a full military retirement pension and lifetime Healthcare. Loved driving for Swift.
I been out here since 01. It doesn't matter what other people say as long as you're happy it doesn't matter if you are making a penny or a million dollars. In the end you can't take it with you and All we have is our memories.
Thanks man I appreciate your comments and you're watching my videos
3k take home on a lease is not bad at all. I'm impressed
It is. But my concern would be after taxes and insurance you'd be hardly making more than a company driver, Its what stops me from Lease op. I average about 12 to 1500 a week. I dont wanna lease just to make another 500 a week. That dispatcher, Id have to trust to give me enough good loads and depending on others is what bothers me lol
I Average about $2,500 a week which is a thousand a week more than you. But even if our pay was identical, at the end of the lease I've got a truck that I could sell, and you have nothing. I also have tons of tax deductions available to me that you don't have. I'm not saying it's for everybody, and if you're happy being a company driver then stay a company driver. You say that I'm hardly making more than you but I'm making somewhere around $50,000 a year more than you and to me that's more than hardly nothing. Also you mentioned dispatchers, here I deal directly with the planners and I'm also supposed to be beta testing a load board and at my last job I ran 87 load boards and selected my own loads, so I'm not relying on a dispatcher for anything really
Yeah if your home by the weekend
For new cdl drivers is a good deal
New drivers should not be doing a lease purchase until they have at least 5 years experience in my opinion
Hey man, I appreciate anyone who shares their perspective. Thanks for taking the time to make this video. 👍🏻
No problem glad you enjoyed it
Good for you. Don't worry about what anyone has to say. You keep doing what forks for you.
Stay safe
You are the Man who I really need to learn from . Thanks
Great information Todd thanks for your honesty brother. Be safe out there
I just wanted to say thank you. For the honest accounting and experienced opinions. Especially for guys like me with much less experience than you hoping to get into lease purchase options. I really appreciated this video. Have a great day brotha. I wish you the very best going forward.
You’re welcome thanks for taking the time to watch
I really enjoyed the video. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. Stay safe out there! 👍
Thank you for taking the time to watch it. I really appreciate you as well, I'm glad you enjoyed it
I kept watching and subscribed after he gave good energy
Thanks. That video was shot at approximately 3:00 a.m. in the morning. So at my age anytime I've got energy at 3:00 a.m. in the morning it's a pleasant surprise LOL
So long as You're happy ... THAT'S all that really matters !
Todd, I’ve watched and listened to you since Day 1. You are l credible which is key. Thank you Todd
Thanks my friend
Thank you for your candor and honesty. This video helps others. And you are brave, bold, and a true gentleman. Appreciate you, Trucker Todd on UA-cam.
Thanks Todd, your videos are probably the most honest on the tube, straight forward
Thanks I try real hard to be honest. Sometimes my mouth gets me in trouble but I try to remember people are making decisions based on the information I give them and I don't want to give false information and cause someone to make a bad decision. Most of us have families were trying to support and false information could really hurt somebody's family and I don't want to be responsible for that. Thanks for watching the videos and for the good comments
Amazing information!
You sound like you have a great deal of insight!
A brand new truck
Not killing yourself and making good money….
Not a trucker yet but about to get started on school soon!!!
Inspired by you!!! Thank You
Good luck in whatever you decide to do please stay in touch if you get into trucking and let me know how it goes
@@truckertoddllc will do
I enjoyed your openness, sincerity and humbleness. Perfect example video for everyone to watch, and for those of us that can learn from this and being an awesome human being. I myself have been researching so that I could become an owner operator by way of lease purchase. six years of OTR. and loving every mile of it. much much continued success with you and your venture and blessings to yourself your family, and loved ones.
Dang 6 weeks? That’s one heck of a head start
Great message leading off. Good solid and positive energy. Much obliged sir!
I’m thinking of joining Swift and this video been very informative and helpful. Thank you 🙏
Gonna sub and watch more vids. Good, simple, and concise. 😎
Great information and keep trucking
you sir are an inspiration for many of us.. the phrase get in where you fit in comes to mind know your needs and live
Great video and very motivating. Thank you. Keep up the great work my friend. Piss on what others say. People talk crap. I hope you have a fantastic one.
Thanks I appreciate that
Appreciate all of your information I stayed to the end and it was worth it
This is very inspiring God bless you and keep up the positive attitude this is what we need in this world today to help and love one another because we all are one because at the end of the day no one want their kids fighting amongst one another so we all are God's creation and the same rules applies because at the end of the day we are all one
Keep the dream alive brother dam good haul for a week
Thank you I’m with swift and you answered my question
Excellent video.
Thank you for these videos Sir! 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
You're welcome! Thanks for watching
I think you are doing very well. What I can tell....good job!!!!
Hey Todd, I start this week as owner operator. I hope that I made a good decision
Congratulations. I think you will do well. Please stay in touch and let me know how it goes
@@truckertoddllc I surely will, thank you
How is it going for you so far ?
I'm not driving right now. I had an accident and I'm currently dealing with that and looking for another company
@@truckertoddllc Sorry to hear that
Thank you for the information God bless you
Idk where you are located im in Savannah Ga. Containers you'll do the same numbers and be home.
I live in Lubbock Texas which limits my options a little bit but I honestly love what I'm doing. Thanks anyway
@@truckertoddllc Location Location Location.... but that's a big 10 4 keep the shiny side up
Nice breakdown of the numbers.
That's fantastic considering what's going on
You just help me make my decision thank you 💎💎💎💎🦅
Thanks for the numbers for waiting for the next one
Thats awesome! Sounds like i should come to swift.i was owner op 20 years ago and ran my butt off still went home broke.lost the truck went back to company then gave up driving all together
Yeah give it some thought. If you come on board I'll try to help you as much as I can but sounds like you have enough experience and knowledge to do it on your own
@@truckertoddllc thanks this video makes me wanna get back to it.how long after u start do u have to wait to do the lease? And what speed are lease trucks?
You can do at least from day one if you meet their qualifications. If you accept their optional front-facing camera the trucks run 70 on the cruise and 72 on the pedal. If you reject the front facing camera like I recommend then it's 68 on the cruise and 70 on the pedal
Thank you the information sir.
I have questions. Is cpm or percentage of load better? How long is lease plan on new trucks? So many talk bad about lease purchase. Is this a walk away lease?Isnt lease purchase just like buying from a dealership? With lease purchase you get reduced shop rates ,a loaner truck if yours is out of service? Like your videos. Alot of good information. Thank you.
On your first question it really depends on the market. This week they announced that rates are down again so in my opinion you can make more money on a sense per mile type pay scale right now but that could always change in the future. On a brand new truck, if you can find one, you're going to be looking at a four-year lease with a pretty substantial balloon payment at the end. As you know truck prices are through the roof right now. Yes it's a walk away lease. No lease purchase is very different from buying from a dealership. If you work for this company you get reduced shop rates whether you do the lease Purchase or already have your own truck. As for loaner trucks, I'm not aware of any but they do have rental trucks for very cheap. Thanks for watching the videos, you asked a lot of great questions that I'm sure many other people would like to know the answers to as well. I might make a video answering these exact same questions very soon. Thanks again
Thank you for your help
I you have a great day God bless you
I’m Felipe from El Paso tx
No problem. Good luck to you
@@truckertoddllc you still with swift
Any updates?
Please advice
@@felipemacias8334 what are you asking advice on? I didn't see a question
This guy is dope. Kind and well spoken, thanks for the info!
Great Video, and your Making Great Money.
Fair enough brother
Few questions:
How much of that 3k weekly would you take out and stash away for:
1. Fuel for the next week
2. Money for major repairs if necessary
3. Truck washes
Also, how long is the lease until you outright own the tractor? Does your lease include the future ownership of the trailer? And the last question is, do you have the right to also pick your own loads from brokers that aren't under Swift?
Thank you for the info. and good luck out there.
all of it
Sorry I just saw your question. I Have done several videos on on fuel, but the short answer is to either use the company fuel card or to have your own fuel card. For maintenance it really depends on what type of truck you have and how old it is and things like that. For truck washes I guess it depends on how often you want to wash your truck or if you do it yourself with a pressure washer. Lease terms very from truck to truck at Swift and I have not worked there in several months so you would want to get the latest information from them if that's where you're considering going
Thanks for the info appreciate it
If you don't mind me asking what kind of fuel economy are you getting with that New Cascadia
It really depends on how well I manage it. I've had a lot of light loads and if I do 60 mph I can get between 9.4 and 9.7 if I run 68 or 70 I get between 8.3 and 8.5. next week while I'm at home I will do an overall average for the time I've had the truck so far because a lot of people are curious about it. It's also important to mention that I've been in California and Arizona a lot where it was over 100° and I had to idle a lot especially during my 34 hour reset so I'm not expecting super great numbers so far and I'm not sure if they'll be representative of what the truck can really do
@b-smoove normally I would agree with you, but as the markets change you have to change. You obviously haven't heard what's going on in the dry van spot market right now. By the way that's what I was doing prior to this and earning great money for a long period of time. However then the bottom fell out and rates dropped. Right now you can currently make more money running at a good rate per mile with a great fuel surcharge then you can running percentage. Now we all know it won't be this way forever but that's the way it is now. The reason a lot of people fail in business in general not just checking it's because they're unwilling to adapt their business to the current market environment. Trust me you don't want to compare income with me if you're doing dry van on the spot market. Another thing I wanted to say to you, I saw that one of your comments was removed. If you can't be respectful in here you can hit the road. Have a great day
Hi Todd I appreciate you putting out great content, Thanks. Wanted to ask you do company and owner operators really get good miles, and do you have any information about their Guarantee pay? Dart truck.
I love these type of videos
Hey Mr Todd. Great info. Can you govern the truck speed to your choice ? Are drop n hooks available? Do they have a load board you can access ?
Please let me know. I might be I terested
No the trucks are required to be governed at the speeds they are governed at depending on if you accept the optional forward-facing camera or not. For me it's not been an issue because most of the time I drive 60 mph to save fuel. They say around 90% of their loads are dropping hook and I have found that to be accurate in my case. Me and Nine other people are preparing to beta test a load board in the coming weeks and I'll be doing videos about it when we start but it will probably be a few months after that before it's available to the general public
Thank u for sharing. Good info. Who's Michelle? What region do u usually run? Can u pick ur own lanes? Thanx again. Be safe
Michelle is the recruiter that I recommend using her information is pinned at the top of the comments and also in my description of my video. I'm willing to go to All 48 states but I'm staying east of I-35 most of the time right now because freight is really slow out west. As an independent contractor you can pick where you run and don't want to go but you have to remember that there's weird things going on in the freight market right now and if you're super picky you might not have a lot of options at times. I'm pretty open-minded when it comes to where I will run as long as it makes sense for my business
Great video. I’m gonna call Swift
Good deal pkease make sure you call Michelle at this number and tell her you been watching trucker Todd. If she don't answer leave her a voicemail and she'll call you back. If you get somebody else please list me as your referral, my truck number is 22299. Here is Michelle's information Michelle Cantrell at 864-968-7605
Thank you
Great information thanks
great video, but wondering, ive seen a lot of leases with truck payments, i seen the deductions, but didnt see anything about a truck payment??
I remember covering it in the video but I don't have that information in front of me. It was filmed over a year ago
How the hell do you have a 7k gross at Swift on 3k miles? Did swift go to a percentage model on the contract rates or what?
Confusing as hell. I know FSC is banded based on the originating outbound location, but it seemed like the rates were different for every load.
What is the lease paying, gross, per mile?
That video was made almost a year and a half ago so I don't remember what I said in that video but all of those details were given
Another great video. I am getting Into trucking as a second career. I watch your videos all the time. They help me to learn about the industry and all the pros and cons that come with it. Todd, What company’s would you recommend a new driver starts out with?
Great question. It really depends where you live and what you want to do in trucking. If you can give me a little more information about what you're looking to do in trucking and what your long-term goals are I can try to help you decide
First I am brand new at trucking. I am looking to get experience. I have been self-employed/ construction most of my career so eventually O/O or lease purchase would be the end goal. Looking to go OTR. I dont need to be home a lot. I do want to travel with my dog. He’s about 30 lb or so. I live in Dayton, Oh. Currently enrolled at 160 Driving academy. I start class Monday. I just got my temps. Considering flatbed because it pays more, but dry run works too. I have done labor work all my life. Installing ratchets straps on cargo in my work trailers have not been a problem. So, What company’s would be a good place to start. TIA
As you know flatbed is not really an area that I know a lot about. But I have heard a lot of people say good things about the flatbed department at Swift Transportation and at TMC. It sounds like with your background that flatbed would be a good fit for you and both of these companies would be able to get you home where you live and I believe both companies have a training program for flatbed as well. In the coming weeks I'm going to try to get some more flatbed information out in my Tuesday live at 5:00 p.m. central Time. Please stay in touch and let me know what you decide to do
@@truckertoddllc Thanks for the information. I didn’t know about TMC. I looked them up, they seem like a legit professional company. They have nice rigs and trailers too.
@@chrisreese6456 yeah don't have any first-hand knowledge about them but several guys have told me that's a great place to work also
Todd…did you have any benefits taken out on those settlements like (health insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions, etc.), or do you pay those after-the-fact out of your checking account? Thanks.
Independent contractors need to get those things on there own
Thanks for the information
What about your taxes Federal State and local. How much do you have left after those? And let's not forget about SET . Self Employment Tax.. Use Mudflap instead of your company fuel card. Fuel saving is greater. Pay your own IFTA taxes.
I don't discuss taxes in my video for the reasons you mentioned above. I'm in Texas which is a low tax state but many of my viewers are in higher tax regions of the country. I give people my numbers and then they can determine what their own taxes would be from those numbers. But my numbers are just that, my numbers. Your success might be greater or less than mine based on your own performance. My performance will have no effect on your performance
So one week you did gross $6717.70... and take home for you $4867.80?? Is that right?
I don't have the numbers in front of me I would have to go back and watch the video again but if I remember correctly it was a little over $7,200 gross for the 8 days and then the number you said for the 7 days. But I would definitely consider that an average week. I had two and a half days where I sat and I didn't run as hard as I could have. I was just trying to find something average so people would know what they could expect if they worked moderately hard. As you know in tracking there will be good weeks and bad weeks
What really matters is that it works for you. I myself started at Swift I got my experience and moved on this June it will be 7 years with my license with one hard year of Swift but it was all worth it.
I agree with you I worked for Swift once before back in 96 until 2001. My first year was very very rough also. It's tough until you find your groove and learn what you're doing. I never thought I would return to Swift but the current market conditions brought me back
Why was is so hard? Its not swift its hard anywhere ur 1st year or 2
@@stevenicholson2026 because you're starting a business in a field that you know nothing about and you'll learn a lot your first two years. If you were going to open a taxidermy business wouldn't you want to know something about animals before you did it? You're inexperience in trucking is giving you overconfidence. Feel free to do it now if you want to but I guarantee at some point you will realize I was right
I saw your other comment got deleted by UA-cam. If your mileage is incorrect contact your ooc and they can fix it. They've been having some technical problems lately but they're not purposefully trying to rip you off
@@truckertoddllc im not talking about starting a business.about the comment about it being hard thec1st year driving at swift.i was saying its hard starting out anywhere u go.i have plenty of expeirience myself i was owner op as well as a trainer but its been awhile.i been thinking about getting baclk in to driving and wondering how other guys are doing bc swift is the only one that wont make me take a refresher class which i cant afford.
1.00 pm profit is excellent in my opinion...I these times I book that as a win how many gallons of fuel did you use and do you get big discounts at terminal for fuel ⛽....and you look good 👍 😀 happy again
Sometimes the discounts at the terminals are pretty decent and sometimes I can beat their prices by going to a small mom-and-pop type truck stop. They send out a list every day of what the prices will be the next day at all of the terminals and I compare that with my other stuff to decide the best places to buy fuel.
Great guy
It’s very possible now imagine if you decide to mentor and just let the student drive or team it with them 😎
Hey man thanks for the info thinking of going back to Swift are used to do the dedicated account auto Winterhaven Florida so I’m trying to become owner operator again
You should. Please stay in touch and let me know what you decide
I will my good man
Hey my good man I spoke to the lady today I gave her your information so I’m technically in the process so we’ll see how things go
Thanks please stay in touch and let me know how it goes
I will
Holy crap man that ain’t bad… if you run super hard you can easily make $8000 per week… can you decide which freight you haul?? Does reefer pay O/O better than dry Van??
Yes they have a macro you can send that will give you options for loads, also as an independent contractor you can turn down any load you don't want. I turned down four loads the other day on the same day and I didn't get blacklisted or move to the bottom of any list. Yes reefer pays better and I'm not sure about flatbed rates but I'm sure they pay better as well
I love reefer man! The background noise at night helps me sleep lol.
Hello trucker Todd I appreciated your video I have Kind of a unique situati've been driving tractor trailers off and on since 1984 but because I'm blind in one eye I was not. Allowed to go interstate until March of 2022 I change my CDL over to unaccepted interstate. And drove For seven months In the lower 48 my problem is that only Only gives me 7 months of experience in the last 3 years that anybody counts but over the course of my lifetime. I've hauled cattle beer wine produce. Et cetera. I have a double triples and tanker endorsement and I have pulled all of those. So now I am considering the possibility of doing a lease. But I know very little about it. And would welcome any information or advice from Anybody with experience on this topic thank you in advance for any help you could give me
I'm working on a solution that might work for you. I'm about a week or so away from having anything in concrete that I can announce, but I'm doing a live show tonight at 5:00 p.m. Central Time. If you leave a message in the comments there, we can talk about it some more at that time
Beautiful presentation. Also, I want include fuel reduction at swift terminal.
Fuel reduction? Are you saying you want to know what the fuel discount is at the terminals? If so that might be difficult to do because they've got a couple of dozen terminals that sell fuel and the rate changes daily based on fuel prices
No o work for swift o/o. Add additional perk cost savings.
Welcome enjoy positive energy.
Thanks. Your name sounds very familiar have I worked with you somewhere before?
Thanks!
Thanks I appreciate it
Thank you for this video. What is the name of the country song and please can you make a video for or anyone would be a truck driver from the CDL training program. Untill be able to lease the truck to purchase please thank you
All of the information about the song is in the description of the videos. I can try to make a video about the CDL training program if I can get to one of the schools. It might take me a few weeks before I can do that
@@truckertoddllc Sure No problem and Thanx
Great 👍 work keep it up
Good for you sir. Don’t mind the haters , that’s their job!! #Godisgreat!!!
I am going through the hiring process for Swift Lease right now. What advice would you have?
Inspect your truck really really close, read your contract very carefully, and talk to as many current lease purchase drivers as possible. Many are reporting having a hard time getting loads and sitting for multiple days
Any 2023 trucks low mileage like 100k or less?
Soar pays $1.35 mile plus 100% fuel surcharge and new truck lease is $300 a week, no trailer charge no deadhead pay and they lost most contract companies now. I broke my foot 5/9/23 so I turned lease in but not retiring lease operators leaving in droves, sit for loads and the broker everything now
Hi Trucker Todd, Is the lease walk away lease? Is there any penalities if you quit before the end? Is there any down payments for the truck?
No down payment. It's a walk away lease. If you quit you are charged the normal fees to recondition the truck such as if it needs cleaning or any type of maintenance. For details beyond that I would encourage you to contact Michelle.
@@truckertoddllc okay thanks
How much are the oil changes at swift? Are you responsible for all breakdowns?
Oil changes depend on what kind of lease you're in. Some leases include the oil changes in them. I have not got my oil changed at a terminal though so I can't give you that number. Since it's my truck now breakdowns are my responsibility. I have warranty and savings so I'm prepared. Again if you don't want the responsibilities you can always be a company driver
How do you make sure you get the miles my husband and I our company and I’m thinking it would be better for us to do lease purchase but we set a lot no miles do you get better loads or first selection of loads if your leasing
At Swift the loads are going to be the same whether you're a company driver or a lease purchase drivers. The key to getting a lot of miles is developing a good relationship with a good dispatcher at Swift and also knowing when to accept loads and when to turn them down. Also, since you're a team, you might talk to them about dedicated opportunities
I Jesus asking you if you’re working for another company today and what was the reason you walk away from SWIFT can you give me an update on that I was planning to go to work for SWIFT
I did a few videos on it. I bought a truck for cash from one of my viewers and went back on the spot market. Then I wrecked in totaled that truck and bought one from a dealership and I'm still continuing on the spot market
What percentage of trips would you say are drop & hook? Waiting days at these shippers and receivers kill me.
Swift will tell you about 90% of their loads are drop and hook. I feel more comfortable telling you 80 or 85% are. Here lately I've had a lot of live loads and live unloads but I think it's just because of the part of the country I've been running but the places I've gone to have got me loaded and unloaded really quick
Good information
Thanks my friend
What's up Todd? I was wondering about the 2 fuel ups ? For 600 and something. How many gals was those ? And what's the fuel discount
I've already covered this in other videos. One of the fuel stops was at a terminal and the other one was at the hitchin Post truck stop in Huntsville Texas and I used the mud flap app for that one. Surprisingly you can save a lot of money using the mud flap app and I've got a link in the description below of how you can save $10 the next time you fill up if it's within the first 5 days of signing up with my link. The truth is though, for the most part fuel discounts are not as great as they once were right now. One of the fuel stops was 128.02 gallons and the other one was 128.00 gallons.
That video was over 3 months ago so I don't have those numbers in front of me anymore but I can tell you that everything in the video is accurate and true
Yes it's a sliding mileage pay scale based on length of loaded miles. Last week's fuel surcharge was 61.1 cents per mile, this week's will come out on Wednesday. I really hate to put these kind of numbers out there because I never know when people will watch this video and someone might watch it 2 years from now and think it's either a really good rate or a really bad rate depending on what happens between now and the time they see these comments
Sure. truckertodd806@gmail.com
Would like to know how it is since they went to a load board
It’s not a traditional load board. It’s an in-house load board with solo over the road dry van freight. They also determine which loads go on there, it’s a very small percentage of swifts overall freight. Several guys have told me that they have booked loads on there and had the loads taken away from them and given to other drivers. Sometimes there’s a few loads to choose from on there, and sometimes the pickings are few. Almost everyone knew that was driving for Swift has since left them because the load board was not what they thought it was going to be. Even the beta testing that I did for them is much different than what their current iteration is.
I was looking into them job hunt or Schneider for getting my feet wet as owner operator.
Trucker Todd what are the swift lease trucks governed at? Thanks
A lot of things have changed here recently but I will give you the information as best as I know it. Currently if you accept their forward-facing cameras it's 70 on the cruise and 72 on the pedal. If you don't want their forward-facing camera, you have to get your own insurance and your truck is governed at 68 on the cruise and 70 on the pedal. There have been a lot of policy changes here lately so I would encourage you to double check with a recruiter when you call in. I can help you get in contact with Michelle if you email me your name and phone number. truckertodd806@gmail.com
Hey man they give kenworth T680 for efect lease ? And I have to put down payment for that ? And how much?
Great video
Thank you very much for taking the time to watch it
Frieghtliner doesn’t make an owner operator spec….
Yes, you are technically correct. There's not a trim package. You can order for a truck that is called owner operator spec. This is just a nickname that companies have come up with for a truck. Typically companies will say that they have company spectrucks and then the fancier trucks. They will call owner operator spec. But as I stated that's just a nickname
I just signed with swift. Is there a way I can get some kind of contact information from you if I need advice?
Yes you can either join me on my live show on Thursdays at 5 pm central time and I can answer your questions there or email me at truckertodd806@gmail.com
What was your worst take home?
Are you still leasing?
Was looking to lease with swift
I will be satisfied if I brought home 1600 a week after everything deducted
It's possible to have weeks where you are in the hole, maybe several weeks due to break down or home time. This is why you need to have a good nest egg before you get started
Sounds great to me . Thank you for all you do. Just curious about what is the percentage of drop and hook that you’re doing?
I don't know my exact percentage of drop and hook but it's almost always. They would say that it's above 90% and I wouldn't disagree with that. It can also very if you're on a certain regional or dedicated account also. I would recommend discussing this with Michelle when you call her
Wow you actually answered. I called Michelle I left her a message. Thank you so much
Yeah sorry it took me so long to answer, it was a late night. Michelle is out of the office today so it might be tomorrow or possibly even Wednesday before she contacts you. They are super busy right now. If you don't hear from somebody in the next day or two, please call her back or let me know and I'll help out
Hi Todd.
What's the down payment with Swift?
I'm seriously thinking of doing a lease purchase in a couple of months and I'm researching all the possibilities.
Sorry for asking.
Right now it's no down payment but they are talking about having a down payment in the future. They are saying that they will allow you to pay the down payment in payments when that time comes. You could save yourself a little money if you leased on now instead of waiting
@@truckertoddllc probably in a month.
Honestly I'm researching all the alternatives.
Even if it sounds crazy starting now that the markets are down and getting worse, i have reasons to believe it's the right time.
Thank for all the info you're providing.
Would you be willing to give us a quick update on the freight situation with Swift? I've been hearing from other owner/ops that the freight situation has had them sitting for days on end.
As someone who is serious about going lease/op in a year or so, it's a bit concerning.
I realize a lot can change over a year but I'm curious what it's like here through what a lot are saying is the worst freight situation they've experienced.
I've actually got a video coming out at 9:00 a.m. Central Time Friday morning that will answer this question more in detail. But the short answer to your question is that while freight has slowed down everywhere a little bit, I have been getting around 2500 miles a week the last 2 weeks and I got 3,200 miles a week before that. You can still make it in tough times like this but you need to be partnered with a good company
What's the cpm range for a lease or o/o driver?
I don't know what they're currently paying. I made this video about 18 months ago or so