Grain Job?

[Gorrillasnot]

A quick back story on me..I graduated Sage CDL school in Jan. 2006.
Since then I've dabbled in driving an expediter straight truck, and for the past year or so I have been moving trucks around for a couple local dealerships. So basically I haven't had much experience pulling a trailer.

Ok so recently I got an offer to run a daycab pulling a 41' hopper hauling grain for a local elevator. The runs will be from elevator to elevator. The boss said the pay is by the load, but when I asked what the loads usually paid he said it varied by where the load was going and he would have to look it up.
He was super busy the day he gave me my road test so I didn't press him for a better answer.
I make $8.00 an hour now moving trucks for the two dealerships(peanuts I know). I'm pretty sure I'll make more then that hauling grain.
Anyone ever pulled grain and was paid a percentage of the load? If so did you make out ok?

I start Monday or Tuesday(waiting on a truck to get fixed) so I guess I'll find out sooner or later, but figured I'd post here and see if i could get a ballpark idea.

BTW jacking a trailer around tight right hand turns on narrow little country roads is a little challenging to say the least..lol

[Jackrabbit379]

Hauling grain from elevator, to elevator is a cake walk. I used to haul grain. I still do every so often, on the weekends, etc.

Most guys get so much cents per bushel. You might just have to ask. I dont have any figures right off hand. If they are paying you so much percentage of each load, it will probably vary according to the market price. Might have some ups, and downs in your pay.

Grain haulers can make pretty decent money hauling from the field to the elevator, especially corn.

[Gorrillasnot]

thanks for the reply....I'm pretty sure he said a percentage of the load, but whatever the pay works out to it's gotta be better then the $8 per hour I'm making now..hopefully anyways..lol

[Gorrillasnot]

Since I've been hauling grain for a few weeks now I thought I'd give an update.
I get paid a flat rate per load depending on where it's going.
I started out hauling beans from Winchester, IN to Bunge grain in Morristown, IN which is a 160 mile round trip, takes 4 hours to complete on average and pays $45 for the round trip (come back empty). Gross weight of the truck is usually around 88000lbs.
Beans are starting to run out, so lately I've been hauling corn from Winchester, IN to Purina in Richmond, IN. Haven't checked the mileage, but it takes aprox. 2.5 hours to make the round trip and pays $30 per trip. It would be quicker but they run some tests on the corn that takes about 45 minutes before they will let u unload.

The shortest trip I've made so far was from Winchester, IN to Ridgeville, IN 16-18 miles round trip and paid $24..Took about 1 hour. I'd do those all day If I could get them..lol

Unloading at larger places like Bunge is super easy and quick( unless they have a problem like broken scale or something messes up with the dump).
Takes about 20 minutes to get in, unload, and get out.

Purina is a pain. The test they do can take anywhere from 30min to over an hour which sux if your getting paid by the load like I am. Also the dump is much smaller so u cant crank open the hopper all at once. It takes about 45 minutes to unload then u have to spend another 10 to 15 min sweeping up the inevitable mess. But it's no where near as bad as the guys bringing in the ground up stuff in the ingredient trucks. They have to get in the trailer and help motivate the product down and out of the hoppers, plus I saw one guy who had to bag his load. I was on my 3rd trip and he was still there bagging.

Anyways thats where I've been running so far. It's all elevator to plant or another elevator. In December I'll be running corn to Marion, IN which will be nice 'cause I can run past my house for lunch to save a few bucks.

My days are usually 12-14 hours with week ends off.
I drive an older (mid 90's) Freightliner day cab and pull a brand new 41' Wilson Hopper.

All in all it's a decent gig and I feel lucky to have been givin a chance since I basically had no experience pulling a trailer plus it's home every night.
I plan to stick with it at least through the winter then maybe look into something a little better paying and that has benefits.

Sorry for the long post.

One last thing..I learned real quick to know which way the wind is blowing.
Roll tarps can get wicked in the wind and the boss said it'd be $2500 to replace one. Thank goodness the old timers schooled me before I had the pleasure of tearing one up.

[farder]

Sounds like you're making less than your $8 job when you factor in you get paid no overtime for working nearly 30 hours of overtime a week. That and you say you get no benefits?

Wow. Not trying to be a dick , but I certainly wouldn't do that job. Good luck to ya.

[Jimbpard]

Sounds like you're making less than your $8 job when you factor in you get paid no overtime for working nearly 30 hours of overtime a week. That and you say you get no benefits?

Wow. Not trying to be a dick , but I certainly wouldn't do that job. Good luck to ya.

was thinking the same thing...But if ya like it, and think it is worth your time, then more power to ya. Are you even bringing in $400.00/week?

[rubberducky]

he's getting much needed tractor trailer experience without going across the country for some orientation on a job that may not work out for him so I say good luck with your adventure.

BTW I haul grain on the side now and then for a farmer I get $10 an hour.

[jorlee]

Doesn't sound all that bad to my math. I think it's right.

Load number 1 $45/4=11.25/hr 12/4=3 load/day 45x3=$135 135x5=$675/wk

#2=30/2.5=12/hr 12/2.5=4.8 4.8x30=$144 144x5=$720

#3 24/1=24/hr 12x24=$288/day 288x5=$1440 wk

[Copperhead]

Been quite awhile since I hauled grain, but sounds about average on pay. Main point is if you enjoy doing it. No amount of pay can make up for a bad job. On the other hand, if you have a good job with an employer that is a pleasure to work for, then sometimes not having the top pay is not a problem. I am in the second category.

Enjoy!

[NailGunner]

Hey Gorilla, what is your currnt route to morristown from winchester?

[pothole]

Sounds like you have been pretty lucky.
Most Grain Haulers around me spend hours and hours waiting to unload each and every day.
Cannot imagine why your gig would not be paid hourly.
You can bet your tail its because of this waiting and overtime your boss is not willing to pay.
Sit at an elevator for a day sometime when it breaks down or gets extra busy and its on you not the boss.
He is making a bundle on you thats why he hired you.
Good luck in your future and hope all goes well.

[Gorrillasnot]

Yea I agree that it's not the best pay in the world, but I do bring home more then I did with the $8 an hour job.
For me though it's more about being given a shot at gaining experience pulling a trailer plus it's local which is a big plus to me.

[Gorrillasnot]

Hey Gorilla, what is your currnt route to morristown from winchester?

I run 32 over to 1, then 36 to 9 to 52. Some of the other guys run a different route that runs through some county roads and is a bit quicker, but I don't really know it that well so I've been sticking to the highways.

Do you go to Morristown allot? I'll be going down there tomorrow morning then probably running Richmond in the afternoon.

[pothole]

Yea I agree that it's not the best pay in the world, but I do bring home more then I did with the $8 an hour job.
For me though it's more about being given a shot at gaining experience pulling a trailer plus it's local which is a big plus to me.

I can respect that.

[Fredog]

Since I've been hauling grain for a few weeks now I thought I'd give an update.
I get paid a flat rate per load depending on where it's going.
I started out hauling beans from Winchester, IN to Bunge grain in Morristown, IN which is a 160 mile round trip, takes 4 hours to complete on average and pays $45 for the round trip (come back empty). Gross weight of the truck is usually around 88000lbs.
Beans are starting to run out, so lately I've been hauling corn from Winchester, IN to Purina in Richmond, IN. Haven't checked the mileage, but it takes aprox. 2.5 hours to make the round trip and pays $30 per trip. It would be quicker but they run some tests on the corn that takes about 45 minutes before they will let u unload.

The shortest trip I've made so far was from Winchester, IN to Ridgeville, IN 16-18 miles round trip and paid $24..Took about 1 hour. I'd do those all day If I could get them..lol

Unloading at larger places like Bunge is super easy and quick( unless they have a problem like broken scale or something messes up with the dump).
Takes about 20 minutes to get in, unload, and get out.

Purina is a pain. funny you should day that. Purina in Gainesville Ga, used to take 8 hours to pump off a load of fat, they finally bought a new pump. now it only takes 4 hours, most places take 45 minutes..

The test they do can take anywhere from 30min to over an hour which sux if your getting paid by the load like I am. Also the dump is much smaller so u cant crank open the hopper all at once. It takes about 45 minutes to unload then u have to spend another 10 to 15 min sweeping up the inevitable mess. But it's no where near as bad as the guys bringing in the ground up stuff in the ingredient trucks. They have to get in the trailer and help motivate the product down and out of the hoppers, plus I saw one guy who had to bag his load. I was on my 3rd trip and he was still there bagging.

Anyways thats where I've been running so far. It's all elevator to plant or another elevator. In December I'll be running corn to Marion, IN which will be nice 'cause I can run past my house for lunch to save a few bucks.

My days are usually 12-14 hours with week ends off.
I drive an older (mid 90's) Freightliner day cab and pull a brand new 41' Wilson Hopper.

All in all it's a decent gig and I feel lucky to have been givin a chance since I basically had no experience pulling a trailer plus it's home every night.
I plan to stick with it at least through the winter then maybe look into something a little better paying and that has benefits.

Sorry for the long post.

One last thing..I learned real quick to know which way the wind is blowing.
Roll tarps can get wicked in the wind and the boss said it'd be $2500 to replace one. Thank goodness the old timers schooled me before I had the pleasure of tearing one up.

[Jackrabbit379]

One last thing..I learned real quick to know which way the wind is blowing.
Roll tarps can get wicked in the wind and the boss said it'd be $2500 to replace one. Thank goodness the old timers schooled me before I had the pleasure of tearing one up.

Yeah, always make sure that the tarp is with the wind. There have been many times that I had to turn my truck around in the field, so I could tarp it. Wind can tear up some tarps, and equipment, and hurt, or even kill ya.

[bibnflannel]

One last thing..I learned real quick to know which way the wind is blowing.
Roll tarps can get wicked in the wind and the boss said it'd be $2500 to replace one. Thank goodness the old timers schooled me before I had the pleasure of tearing one up.


Your boss has tried to scare you into making sure you take care of the tarp..I own a 41' hopper and have priced new roll tarps as mine has begun to wear thru on the back bow....$400 for the tarp custom made, and around $200 for installation if I want them to install it. I also haul grain in central Indiana, I own the rig, rarely deadhead, and the truck averages $2.10/ mile right now, but for the year im at a $1.85 mi. Yes the hours are long somedays, but its any easy freight to move.

[Gorrillasnot]

Figured I stop in and update my post....It's been almost 4 months now since I began my grain hauling job. I've been running to Cincinnati quite a bit lately and have done allot of picking up on farms which can get real interesting if your not careful.
Anyways the low pay and lack of benefits are starting to concern me, but I plan to stick with it for a bit longer and see if I cant find something better.

Would 4 months experience hauling grain count toward any other local or regional trucking job?
How's the pay in the dump truck buisness? Spring is just around the corner and I thought about checking into some local tri axle companies.

[Rev.Vassago]

Anyways the low pay and lack of benefits are starting to concern me

That's pretty much par for the course in grain hauling these days.

Would 4 months experience hauling grain count toward any other local or regional trucking job?

It really depends who you are hauling for. If it is a mom and pop operation, then probably not. If it is a legitimate trucking company, then I would think so.

[marylandkw]

Would 4 months experience hauling grain count toward any other local or regional trucking job?
How's the pay in the dump truck business? Spring is just around the corner and I thought about checking into some local tri axle companies.

As a local O/O if a driver comes to me with 4 months at a job it throws up a red flag. I wonder if you are a job hopper and wonder how long will you stay with me. I am interested in a driver who will stay with me for years. I would prefer you came to me with a year under your belt and explained, not whined, about your lack of OT, long hours and no benefits.

Dump truck jobs vary wildly depending on your location and what kind of work the company does. In my area a qualified driver can command $18-$22hr and expect to work year round 5-6 days a week. Other parts of the country can face layoffs every winter for several months. And with the economy taking a dump right now, all dump truck work will likely suffer before long.