Landstar flatbed questions and answers

[blairandgretchen]

In an attempt to assist the forum, and operators looking at Landstar as a business partner, or new BCO's looking for tips or pointers, I'll open this thread to try and help folks out.

I've been at Landstar for 5 years going on 6, I signed on with a 2001 T2000 KW, paid cash for it, and a financed a 53' Utility spread axle trailer. In the 5 years, I've sold the T2000 and bought a 379 1995 with a 120" sleeper, and bought a 48-80 extendable trailer.

I have limited experience in van or reefer, but know people here that have. Through a little networking and sharing, perhaps I can help others evaluate whether or not leasing on to Landstar is a good fit for their skill set and position in life.

I have a long running thread on another forum, that details my journey to this point in time - too much to detail again, but I thought that a fresh thread would be beneficial.

I'm not here to argue, and there is zero monetary incentive for me to share any information or advice, and any advice should be considered as "past performance is not indicative of future results"

Regards - Blair.

 

[Humble pie]

In an attempt to assist the forum, and operators looking at Landstar as a business partner, or new BCO's looking for tips or pointers, I'll open this thread to try and help folks out.

I've been at Landstar for 5 years going on 6, I signed on with a 2001 T2000 KW, paid cash for it, and a financed a 53' Utility spread axle trailer. In the 5 years, I've sold the T2000 and bought a 379 1995 with a 120" sleeper, and bought a 48-80 extendable trailer.

I have limited experience in van or reefer, but know people here that have. Through a little networking and sharing, perhaps I can help others evaluate whether or not leasing on to Landstar is a good fit for their skill set and position in life.

I have a long running thread on another forum, that details my journey to this point in time - too much to detail again, but I thought that a fresh thread would be beneficial.

I'm not here to argue, and there is zero monetary incentive for me to share any information or advice, and any advice should be considered as "past performance is not indicative of future results"

Regards - Blair.

Is it true new BCO’s must have an elog compatible truck? And is hazmat necessary for the heavy specialized group?

 

[blairandgretchen]

Is it true new BCO’s must have an elog compatible truck? And is hazmat necessary for the heavy specialized group?

Firstly - great question. (I'm aspiring to be a presidential debate moderator).

ELOG - Yes - your truck must be able to accept an Elog device. It used to be Qualcomm compatible, but they now accept the 'Keep Truckin' plug in to the data port the J1657 (guessing numbers here) - as well as direct wired Qualcomm units.

My truck is 1995 DDEC III - and compatible. I knew a guy that had a DDECII and for some reason had to switch to a DDEC III to be compatible. Not sure why - as I thought DDEC II was compatible, but that's what he said.

Hazmat - Yes, all operators need to have Hazmat endorsement - whether you ever pull a hazmat load or not. Personally, I believe this is another level of 'weeding out' that they use by default, at no cost to them - as there are certain criteria for the HM endorsement that prescreen applicants, effectively separating the chaff from the wheat.

There's another annoying point to the hazmat - you have to 'recertify' to Landstars' Hazmat certification every 2-3 years or so, usually co-incides with a re-signing of your lease at an orientation center. It's a 'watch a video and eat lunch' kinda deal that they pay you for attending.

 

[blairandgretchen]

I'll insert this 'opinion' here early in the piece.

Landstar will equip you with a cheap tacky decal at orientation, and some 'letterbox numbers' - to affix to your truck and (hopefully) trailer.

They are disgusting eyesores. I had a scale officer tell me that it's a red flag. He brings in trucks with the letterbox numbers crookedly attached to the side of the equipment for an inspection. I think there's a guy that sells decals, custom cut - at orientation, but few take the time to personalize with them.

It's a cheap upgrade. I used a local guy that did stock car racing vinyl - $150 had me out the door with proffessional looking numbers and DOT acceptable lettering, that matched and blended with the truck.

Your truck may not be show quality, but you can spend a few $ on a truck wash and some decals to bring your presentation up a little.

 

[mndriver]

And for gods sake.... (general statement not related to land star or being a BCO)

Make yourself a permit book for all your documentation and permits.

letter of authority, insurance etc.

Walked into the Colorado scale at Ft Morgan. Two guys walked in in front of me. Wads of paper in hand. You could see the look on the inspectors face he was going to enjoy this. Saw my book, asked to look at it, flipped three pages and told me to have a nice day.

looked at the other guys and told them they could learn something.

I didn’t hang around to see how bad it got.

 

[blairandgretchen]

The argument for leasing/renting a trailer from Landstar vs. buying your own.

Your tractor is paid 65% of 'Linehaul" All fuel surcharge comes to you 100%.

Lets take an example.

Load pays $3,000 on 1000 miles.

1,000 miles at FSC of .20 cpm is $200 (you get 100% of this)

$3,000 minus FSC at $200 is $2,800 LH at 65% = $1,820 + 200(100%fsc) = $2,020 To The Truck (TTT), for 1,000 miles - or $2.02/mile TTT for the load (excluding deadhead to get it. Great.

(FSC currently is about .20cpm, that's where I'm getting that figure from)

If you owned your own trailer -

$3,000 minus FSC at $200 is $2,800 LH at 73% = $2,044 + $200 = $2,244 TTT - or $2.24/mile TTT for the load excluding D/H.

Just on loaded miles - let's propose you run 100,000 miles a year - an average of 1,923 miles per week.

At 65% - on loaded miles, you'll have $202,000

At 73% - on loaded miles, you'll have $224,000


A $22,000 difference.

The 53' flat I bought was $30,200 brand new at the time. $30,200 divided by $22,000/year - means you can pay off the trailer in 1.37 years - about 16 months.

Use it as a trade in once you've found a path or niche - or continue to benefit from the extra 7%.

 

[blairandgretchen]

And for gods sake.... (general statement not related to land star or being a BCO)

Make yourself a permit book for all your documentation and permits.

letter of authority, insurance etc.

Walked into the Colorado scale at Ft Morgan. Two guys walked in in front of me. Wads of paper in hand. You could see the look on the inspectors face he was going to enjoy this. Saw my book, asked to look at it, flipped three pages and told me to have a nice day.

looked at the other guys and told them they could learn something.

I didn’t hang around to see how bad it got.

Absolutely. Keep your poop in a group. Just running legal dims, you want to have all your documentation in order - in a folder - and updated. When you start running OS/OW then you'll be better prepared to have extra documentation in order and prepared for the inevitable.

Remember - you have limited time from the blue lights flashing - till the moment you present yourself/equipment and documentation. Be prepared.

 

[mndriver]

When you start running OS/OW then you'll be better prepared to have extra documentation in order and prepared for the inevitable.

That has its own folder.

not just for the permits, but for the supporting documents some states require you to have as well.

 

[Mike]

In an attempt to assist the forum, and operators looking at Landstar as a business partner, or new BCO's looking for tips or pointers, I'll open this thread to try and help folks out.

I've been at Landstar for 5 years going on 6, I signed on with a 2001 T2000 KW, paid cash for it, and a financed a 53' Utility spread axle trailer. In the 5 years, I've sold the T2000 and bought a 379 1995 with a 120" sleeper, and bought a 48-80 extendable trailer.

I have limited experience in van or reefer, but know people here that have. Through a little networking and sharing, perhaps I can help others evaluate whether or not leasing on to Landstar is a good fit for their skill set and position in life.

I have a long running thread on another forum, that details my journey to this point in time - too much to detail again, but I thought that a fresh thread would be beneficial.

I'm not here to argue, and there is zero monetary incentive for me to share any information or advice, and any advice should be considered as "past performance is not indicative of future results"

Regards - Blair.

Outstanding start to a thread here! While there is no monetary incentive for sharing information, I think it at least deserves a year extension on the premium membership.

I'll get that handled tonight.

 

[blairandgretchen]

Outstanding start to a thread here! While there is no monetary incentive for sharing information, I think it at least deserves a year extension on the premium membership.

I'll get that handled tonight.

Well, thanks @Mike - you didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.

 

[Rigjockey]

I'll insert this 'opinion' here early in the piece.

Landstar will equip you with a cheap tacky decal at orientation, and some 'letterbox numbers' - to affix to your truck and (hopefully) trailer.

They are disgusting eyesores. I had a scale officer tell me that it's a red flag. He brings in trucks with the letterbox numbers crookedly attached to the side of the equipment for an inspection. I think there's a guy that sells decals, custom cut - at orientation, but few take the time to personalize with them.

It's a cheap upgrade. I used a local guy that did stock car racing vinyl - $150 had me out the door with proffessional looking numbers and DOT acceptable lettering, that matched and blended with the truck.

Your truck may not be show quality, but you can spend a few $ on a truck wash and some decals to bring your presentation up a little.

That is what we did.
Back then it was Landstar Ranger and they had a fugly blue and red decal to put on the doors. Blue and Red does not go well on a green truck
We got custom made lettering that matched the truck better.

That was 20 years ago so, I am not going to pretend to know anything about Landstar now. So I digress.
Carry on.

 

[blairandgretchen]

I sold my 53’ Utility spread axle trailer this week, to a gentleman from TX that will run under his own authority.

I owned it for 5 years, ran it for 2.5 years myself, 1.5 years with a friend, then it sat for a year.

Paid $30,500 for it, added 2 5’ boxes, winches, right weigh and a dump valve. No dings or dents. Sold it to him for $25,000.

I put new tires on using the LS discount. Goodyear G619 22.5 11R - dealer ‘special monthly’ price was $419/tire.

G619 is GY’s high scrub application tire.

LCAPP was $349. Heard the tire salesman say “Shit” under his breath when he heard my price.

Put the tires ONLY on LCAPP - valve stems and labor you pay for - otherwise LCAPP will up charge these prices.

Some guys get it taken out weekly, from their settlement. This requires authorization. I use a 3% escrow into an account they can take it out of - so getting the discount is a 2 minute call.

$2,800 in tires, $300 in lab

 

[blairandgretchen]

What we have here is a reason why I don’t like Landstar. Let’s say you’ve just signed on and you see this.

 

[blairandgretchen]

That’s 10 loads that are all the same. So, when they tout “40,000 loads on the board today “ on their demonstration call in -

It may as well be 4,000 or less.

This is a notorious cut and paste agent.

I wasted some time calling about this one. Foreign accents. Absolutely no idea what the load is. Only details are “Less than 12 wide”

Weight may be “up to 45k”

I called heavy haul and got a rookie, that directed me to customer service - after 5 minutes on hold I hung up.

Id like to see this trash eliminated from the system but I doubt they’ll ever do that.

Might be ok on the van side, 3PL’s are the norm - not really many details you need.

Platform? Forget it. You ain’t turning the key until you’ve got some solid information.

Pitiful.

 

[MJ1657]

That’s 10 loads that are all the same. So, when they tout “40,000 loads on the board today “ on their demonstration call in -

It may as well be 4,000 or less.

This is a notorious cut and paste agent.

I wasted some time calling about this one. Foreign accents. Absolutely no idea what the load is. Only details are “Less than 12 wide”

Weight may be “up to 45k”

I called heavy haul and got a rookie, that directed me to customer service - after 5 minutes on hold I hung up.

Id like to see this trash eliminated from the system but I doubt they’ll ever do that.

Might be ok on the van side, 3PL’s are the norm - not really many details you need.

Platform? Forget it. You ain’t turning the key until you’ve got some solid information.

Pitiful.

Why do you think they will not eliminate that trash?

 

[blairandgretchen]

Why do you think they will not eliminate that trash?

Revenue, I guess. I’ve heard from a few (hood) agents they are fighting the black eye that LS has on a daily basis - some customers refuse to deal with them because of this.

 

[gearjammer]

I was with Landstar for close to 20 years, in the beginning when Jeff Crowe owned it,it was the best company to sign on with the agents worked hard to create a customer base the BCO's took pride in doing a a great job and the pay was very good.
then it went public and year after year it went down hill, in the end most of the agents did buisness in their basement [sort like Joe biden ] in their pajamas drinking coffee just cutting and pasting crap off the internet and not actually getting out and looking for customers, I was enthuastic about them for a long time but today I would not recommend them to my worst enemy

 

[blairandgretchen]

How does Landstar act if you have 1 truck leased on, but have multiple different trailers leased on too?

What i mean to say is, if a guy wants to bring on say a flatbed, a step and a RGN so he's versatile, do they allow that kinda thing @blairandgretchen ?

Sorry I skipped over this one.

You can have multiple trailers if you wish. The only problem I’ve found is that you have to call them when you switch trailers, so agents can ‘see’ you in the system, if they were looking for your trailer in the area you’re delivering.

If you have your own reload plan sorted out, then it’s not a problem.

I’ve only ever had 2 on at once.