I got a job offer w/ a steel hauler and they say they pay 21% of the load, and that I'd be home like once a week and every weekend... I don't know if this is true of course. I got another offer with a local building supply company for $14.00 an hour 50 hours a week.
My first question would be Does anyone know how much a "load" averages?? I'm trying to figure this out and nobody seems to know.
Second... which job is better.. the hourly job or the per load job?

Any info would be AWESOME! Thanks.

 

The thing here is whether you want to be home or not, I can see from here that you get paid pretty good for doing local work and you will make it pretty good doing OTR, but it all boils down to family (if you have one) or being one with the truck.

 

I would honestly take the hourly job. What area are you in? Here in Western Pennsylvania the steel loads don't pay well and the wait to get loaded is sometimes too long. When I was with TMC, I preferred to haul building supplies like drywall and shingles instead off steel. Steel usually pays by the hundred weight and when its all said and done usually only grosses between $1.00 to $1.25 per mile. Figure a 400 mile run is going to net the truck $500 or $2500 per week. At 21% thats only $525 per week and the waiting and tarping kills your free time. Even if you gross $3000 per week, thats only $630 per week. The rate of 21% is very low. I know guys from TMC that are getting 30% and not hauling all steel. At $14 per hour and 50 hours per week, that gives you a gross pay of $700. You would have to do $3350 a week to the truck hauling steel to make that. In reality that would probably mean 70 hours per week between waiting, loading, chaining and tarping, driving and unloading. At least if you're waiting on the hourly job you're getting paid.

 

I would have to agree. The hourly that has been offered to you seems much better. I have hauled loads that paid by the % and I have done hourly. It always seemed to me that I made more on the hourly. That is just mt 2 cents worth.

 

Actually, at $14.00 hr for 50 hrs its $770.00 per week when you factor in the overtime: 14x40=560 and 10x21= 210 for OT totals $770.00, so your best bet this point would be to drive local and go home every night.

 

True but alot of local companies don't pay overtime. Its a sad fact but they don't have to pay overtime. Just figure all hours at the normal hourly rate and consider any extra pay as a bonus.

I've been off the road for 2 months now and have been making my living investing. I set a goal of $1000 per week and anything else is a bonus. I'm starting to get bored and have been looking for something in the evening. The best offer I had was through New Penn and they paid $22 per hour but no overtime doing local P&D during the day. This doesn't work because I need my days free to trade stocks. Most local evening jobs are offering from $13 to $16 per hour here in Pittsburgh.

 

Have you ever wrestled with a tarp in subzero weather, guess not, or you wouldn't be asking the question. Stay at home, sleep in your own bed, eat your own food!

 

You can NEVER beat an hourly drving job. You get payed from start to finish no ifs ands or buts.
In my opinion every Trucker should be hourly.
Percentage you will be doing alot of free work. You will not get paid ANY empty miles or for any waiting no matter how long. You can deliver a load and have to drive 200 miles deadhead and wait ten hours to get the next load for example. All for free.

 

Its also the Federal law that you be paid overtime. Anyone who doesnt pay overtime is in for a wolrd of legal hurt.

 

Thats why you should have a load in your area before you drop off the load and then there wont be that problem, its a matter of planning your loads ahead and not waiting tell you drop off a laod to call dispatch and ask or else you will have that problem so you should for a load. And look ahead 4 or 5 days before that load then you wil ahve your ducks in a row.