Owner-operator opportunities with LFS
You own the truck, and you carry the risk that comes with it. LFS works with owner-operators in 53-foot dry van, reefer and power only freight: dispatch, compliance and back office for your own authority, or a conversation about the LFS network. Every term is in writing before you start.
Ways an owner-operator can work with LFS
Dispatch for your own authority
Our dispatch service is 8% of each load's gross. It includes freight research, rate and broker review, compliance support and back-office help, done by a PLSP trained through Freight University.
DOT compliance and back office
Driver files, drug and alcohol program, hours of service, billing, invoicing and IFTA help, so the one-truck business stays legal and gets paid.
Join the LFS network
Your company keeps its own authority and runs under LFS management and compliance oversight.
Run with a network trucking company
No authority of your own? Talk with us about running your truck with a trucking company in the LFS network. We'll tell you plainly what is available and make sure any terms are in writing.
Your own authority or leased on?
Running under your own authority means you keep the freight decisions and the revenue, and you carry the insurance, the compliance and the paperwork. Leasing on to a carrier, including a trucking company in the LFS network, means you run under that carrier's authority. It takes some of that load off you, and it means following that carrier's rules and settlement terms.
Neither is right for everyone. It depends on your truck, your money, your experience and how much of the business you want to run yourself. Our article on the income difference between a company driver and a one-truck owner-operator walks through the trade-offs. If you are thinking about getting your own authority, start with how to start a trucking company.
What a fair lease has to spell out
Federal leasing rules under 49 CFR 376.12 require these terms in writing, with any carrier you lease to. Read them before you sign anything.
- Signed by you and the carrier, with a clear start and end
- The carrier has exclusive possession and control of the truck during the lease and takes responsibility for operating it
- Your pay, clearly stated before any trip: a percentage of revenue, a per-mile rate or another method
- Every item the carrier may charge back to you, and how each amount is figured
- Payment within 15 days after you turn in the required delivery paperwork
- If you're paid a percentage, a copy of the rated freight bill at or before settlement
- If escrow is held: the amount, what it can be used for, regular accounting, interest, and return within 45 days after the lease ends
Carrier-first for the one-truck business
An owner-operator is the smallest trucking company there is, and the easiest one to squeeze. Hidden chargebacks, settlements that don't match the freight bill and pay that drifts past due can sink a one-truck business in a season.
LFS works the other way. Our fees are in writing before we start, and dispatch is 8% of each load's gross with nothing hidden in it. If you run with a network trucking company, we hold it to the same standard: terms in writing, chargebacks listed and settlements you can check. If something doesn't add up, ask us. You should never have to guess what you earned on a load.
- Fees in writing before we start
- Chargebacks listed, not hidden
- Settlements you can check against the freight bill
Have this ready when you contact us
- Your truck's year, make, model and equipment (dry van, reefer, or power only)
- Whether you have your own MC and USDOT numbers
- Your CDL class and years of experience
- Where you're based and the lanes you prefer
- Your current insurance, if you run your own authority
An owner-operator with a team behind him
Running one truck usually means doing everything alone. With LFS, you have Freight University's education behind you: a team of students, interns and academics doing freight research, keeping compliance current and helping your business grow. How we work.
- Freight research for your truck
- Compliance kept current
- You're not doing it alone
Questions and answers
Does LFS have its own freight for my truck?
No. LFS is a service company, not a freight brokerage. Our dispatch service researches and books freight for your truck, under your authority, for 8% of each load's gross.
What do owner-operators earn working with LFS?
We don't publish pay figures. What an owner-operator earns depends on the freight, the miles, fuel, repairs and the market. What LFS charges is put in writing before you start, and no income is promised.
Do you work with flatbed or hotshot owner-operators?
No. We work with 53-foot dry van, refrigerated and power only freight that requires a CDL.
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Talk with us about your truck
Tell us about your truck and how you want to run. We'll reply personally.
Prefer the phone? Call 901-205-9679.