it was a long time ago. that was good money then

How long we talkin Fred? That sounds like horse an buggy wages!:lol:

1971 I turned 18, got my chauffeurs, license and bluffed my way into truck driving job
truck was a 1966 gmc cabover with a 671 detroit and a 5 and 2, ran 60 mph tops

Wow! So was the $8 one way? Were you paid for the return trip?

EvenJoe,

I understand that 29cpm is short, if you're an experienced driver. How many years have you been driving? My question is, without experience, 29cpm seems to be the average that I'm hearing for a starting position for a student driver.

The company that I've accepted a position with is starting me at 30cpm, and that's before all of the same extra pay, bonuses, etc. that you've mentioned. At 10,000 miles per month, I would also get a 3 1/2 cpm bonus, plus layover, detention, etc. With the freight that they're running, I don't think 2,500 per week will be an issue to reach. According to other current drivers with this same company that I've talked with, they have as many miles available as I want to run. With the bonus, layover, detention, etc., I would think I'll end up somewhere in the 35cpm range. I don't consider that bad for a starting position, considering that I'm fresh out of school and have zero experience in a big rig.

If you know of a place or carrier with which I could secure a better deal and that has 2,500 miles per week available, I'd love to know about them.

Thanks!
IronRydr

EvenJoe, what company do you drive for? Do they hire new driving school graduates?

Well don't count on bonus, layover and detention pay to bolster your base rate. Most OTR companies look for any way possible to screw drivers out of their bonuses. Layover and detention pay? You'll be lucky to ever see much of either. OTR companies will duck and dodge paying those like the plague.

Lemme tell you about just one common coolie carrier trick to avoid layover pay..........Say you are about to get to that magical 24 hour mark. You get a QCom with a load. You accept. 15 minutes later the load gets cancelled.
Congratulations........you just lost your layover pay because you were indeed dispatched before the 24 hours had expired. So what that the load was cancelled. It doesn't matter to them.

Just be ready for tricks like that when it comes to bonus, layover and detention. BOL

that was for the round trip.

belpre,

Thanks for the heads up. I'm new to the trucking world but, at nearly 50 years of age, I've been taken advantage of by plenty of employers before. One of the reasons that I selected the carrier that I did, is that everyone I've spoken with about them, including current drivers, tell me that they're as 'straight as an arrow.' I'm sure there will be issues there, as there are everywhere, but I'm told that lying and playing games with bonuses, pay, etc., have never been an issue there. Time will tell....

IronRydr

good luck just go in with a good attitude and try it out, if you ask a hundred people what to do, you will get a hundred different opinions, only you can decide, a few people on here are of the opinion, that only what THEY do is the right thing, what you want now, is just a foot in the door, I say, go for it, do the best job yo ucan and even if you hate it, try your best to stay for at least a year, then you will be in a better position to bargain