- Company driver
- Owner/Operator
- Lease-purchase
Company drivers have it easiest, in general: they work for a company, drive a company truck, and enjoy benefits like health care, 401(k) programs and the like.
Owner/Operators own their own equipment, though a bank may hold a note on it. These are typically viewed as the "independents" or "mavericks" out on the road. Most O/O's "lease on" with a company to haul their freight, but some haul for themselves on their own authority.
Lease-purchase operators typically don't have the down payment or sizable credit required to finance a truck themselves. Many companies have programs that will allow drivers to lease a truck for a certain period of time, then they may have an option to purchase that equipment or turn it in and continue leasing a new truck.
My four long-term objectives entering the trucking industry were (and are):
- Get trained properly
- Start as a company driver for at least a year
- Transition to a lease-purchase program
- Eventually own my own truck as an Owner/Operator
Leasing or owning a truck is itself a business, and many drivers are not equipped to handle both the driving and business sides of the equation. I have spent considerable time and effort researching the field and the opportunities and while changing from a relatively cushy company driver position with Con-Way Truckload isn't the best way to make money, it is definitely the path I want to take.
Hill Bros requires new drivers to begin driving with them for a month or two as a company driver before initiating a lease-purchase deal. Therefore it will be April or perhaps May before I get in to my own truck and begin that aspect of my next adventure.
