I see these ads in the paper that say solo drivers making 85k a yr, over the road solo making 150k and our over the road team 283k, are salaries BS or some what true? If not whats a good salary one can make without living every sec on the road?

What is the longest you can finance a truck?

 

Can you please post the ad for that job!!!!!!!!!! I want it!

 

It is possible for veteran raging workaholic drivers in some lucrative segments of OTR to to earn 60-80k.

$30-40k would be a realistic range your 1st year of driving. Poke around on here; there are some great long running threads by drivers form different segments that break down their earnings in detail.

More likely they are talking about the Gross of O/O; the net will be 15-30% of that after expenses.

Being a made man in the LTL mafia I have a good mix of pay and home time (99.999999%). Relative to most OTR outfits the equipment is lousy though.

I've had my CDL since April 06 and I'll earn ~ $40k this year working 40-42 hrs/week. But I'm 85% Lumper and 15% Driver.

If I wanted to earn more money I could bid the road for $60-65k/yr.

 

i think it is very realistic to get into the higher 30,000 to lower 40,000 depending on your work ethic and the relationship you have with your dispatcher..
this is for OTR.

My first year i made 40,000

Nick

 

Those jobs are not for drivers, but owner operators. Drivers don't make that much money unless they own the truck. Keep in mind, those are gross figures, not net. The length of time you can finance a truck will depend on the purchase price, age of truck and your credit. You may be able to get one financed up to 10 years with a business loan. Most will finance from 30-60 months. The business loan will not be available to most people without good credit and having been in business for at least 2 years. With the higher cost of new trucks, they may expand the time allowed to pay for them. I haven't checked on financing in a while. You are much better off buying a less expensive truck and paying it off quickly and trading up, if that is what you want. You don't want to have to work to make a truck payment.

 

thanks alot for the info.
What cpm do o/o get, and what % of that would be expense of operating a truck minus truck payment?

 

Owner operators make from about $0.82/mile to more than $2/mile. Some can make more than double that amount if they are in a specialty area. Most will be less than $2/mile on average. As far as average percentage of operating expenses, that will vary according to each owner operator, where they run, and how well they manage their business.

 

I live in Memphis Tn and the ad is in the Sunday paper for CFI
now paying practical miles plus $0.05 N.E bonus pay
top solo $82,295
top co. team $154,222
top o/o solo $179,809
top o/o team $283,235
student grads earn up to 42k 1st yr

 

You have to read between the lines on these ads from truck companies.

top solo $82,295 This is the highest ANY solo driver has made. He probably has worked there forever and never goes home.

student grads earn up to 42k 1st yr This is the most you will make in your first year. You can do better if you do your homework.

 

Yes, you can do better but it will be hard and take some luck. I got lucky. Right out of school I got hooked-up with an O/O and a dedicated team run that paid $1020.00/week. Out 4 days and home 3. That's 53k/yr. Not too bad for a rookie.