Good Starting Package For New Driver?
 

Merry Christmas, everyone.

One option that I am considering to unretire would have me attend a truck driving school in my vicinity on a WIA grant during the late January - February time frame. One company that I am considering hiring on with following graduation offers the following as a starting package:

* 29 CPM with 2 CPM raises every six months to a maximum of 37 CPM.

* 10,000 - 12,000 miles per month.

* Average $200 monthly bonus for safety, log book accuracy, fuel conservation, etc.

* Medical, dental, vision, prescription, life insurance after 90 days of employment.

* 401(k) plan with company match after six months of employment.

* One week vacation after one year, two weeks after three years, three weeks after five years.

* Assigned a year 2005 - 2007 Volvo VN 670 or Freightliner Cascadia truck. All have stand-up sleepers and are equipped with Qualcom, AM/FM radio, CD player, CB radio, PrePass, standard 10-speed transmission, Cummins and Detroit 370 - 430 horsepower engine governed at 65 MPH.

* 60% - 90% drop-and-hook freight; pay for live unloads.

* Layover pay after 24 hours.

* Out three weeks, home for three or four days.

* This company does not allow drivers to take their trucks home for home time. Their nearest terminal to me is 70 miles away. Is this standard for the industry, or a bum deal?

All in all, should I consider this a good starting package for a new OTR driver?

The driving school that I would attend helps place their graduates with these companies, among others: Werner (I know to avoid Werner); Eagle Tuscon, Covenant, May Trucking, FFE. Anybody have any comments, positive or negative, about these companies?

Basically your average run-of-the-mill OTR carrier. Toss a dart, they're all the same. Expect to perform lots of freebies: drive for free, work for free, wait for free. Mileage pay sucks, so does percentage of the load. They're piece-rate pay structures designed to rob you of your valuable time.

.29 cpm starting wage is a joke. There were company drivers at Kimberly Clark back in 1985 getting .25 cpm.

Welcome to OTR contract carrier trucking. It's a good job if you've got nothing. Otherwise, there's no money or future in it. Just long hours and low rates/wages and lots of headaches and getting jerked around by dispatch/brokers/shippers/recievers/LEO's and never seeing home. An hourly daycab job is the best. Haul US mail, LTL, foodservice, private fleet, union gig, tankers...whatever. Either that or stay away from trucking altogether. Nothing but a big labor racket. Got a good contract/rate/gig/run? Someone sooner or later will be around to undercut you and haul whatever you're moving for nothing. Now THAT'S truckin'!

Stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure enjoying all this paid time at home for the holidays. If I were OTR I'd be in a truckstop right now along with the rest of the mobile homeless.

STAY AWAY!!!!!!!!!

.29 a mile is HORRIBLE!!!!

Out three weeks, home for three or four days is also torture.

Do your self a favor and really research all your info on here and ask a lot of questions. There are A LOT more bad companys than good out there, so choose wisely or you will be miserable.

Man, all this hatred for the outfits I'm trying to get back into.

If anything, stay away from the Mom and Pop carriers, and keep your nose clean as well.
Not to mention get plenty of sleep to avoid getting into the sorry state I'm in.

Don't know about everyone else, but being treated as an indie-contractor by your supposed employer is a joke.

I'm otr and I'm home with my family where I belong, making far more money than I did when I was local and hourly. it all depends on how it works out..

Argueing with a guy like that is senseless Free. He was to lazy to find a decent driving job, to self-important to "put in his time" to gain experience enough to call himself a professional....so now he comes here to berate those whom chose to drive truck for a living and make it.

The cpm seems a little below average and the out three weeks home for three is also a little hard, there are better home packages. There are alot of companies that pay higher cpm but you you might not get the miles(especially right now) works out about the same then (high cpm+low miles=less work more wait or low cpm+high miles=more work less wait) If they can guarantee the miles then the lower cpm is survivable as you start out and since you are coming out of retirement I take it you have other income.

While Mr. Hunts main purpose in life seems to be blasting OTR, alot of people like it and I know I make good money at it. What he seems to forget is that you are a starting driver and right now the job market is tight but remember the more experience you get and if you keep your record clean, more and more doors open in trucking and you can find your niche.

Has anyone else noticed how it seems that he is almost always the first person to find new people and starts blasting away with negative instead of constructive honest answers.

I can get any number of local hourly paid jobs - for $8-10 per hour. Hate ta tell you, not everyone lives near a large city where the pay rate is higher. I make an average of $800-1000 per week where I'm driving now. That's a WHOLE lot of hour to work per week at the hourly places.

Typical response from CFM/LBJ/whatever he changed his name to this month:thumbsdown:. Once again he(and a few others here) fail to realize that not everyone lives in an area were local jobs pay well and that not everyone enjoys local driving.

Nope. Not always. There are some local jobs that are far worse paying then the mega OTR carriers and treat the drivers worse. Also, a lot of private carriers pay their drivers per mile and some of the rates SUCK.

Now go back to that little fantasy world of yours.

It sounds like a pretty decent pay package to me. Some of the otr carriers seem to start inexperienced drivers out at around $0.26-0.28/mile. They are going to give you regular raises until you get up to a good pay rate and do so within a fairly short time. Once you put in a year or two without any dings on your mvr and keep have a good work history you can go pretty much anywhere you want and you should see your income rise. Companies look for a good mvr and work history. Some people prefer a larger carrier while others would rather work for a smaller company. You can do well with either. I would not pay much attention to some who constantly want to put otr drivers down. Some of these people probably could not make it themselves so they put everyone else down for doing what they enjoy. You will be away from home from 1-3 weeks at a time with most otr carriers. Once you gain some experience you may want to switch to a regional carrier or a company that can get you home more frequently. After a year or two you may want to see if you can find a local position. There are drivers who have been doing this for several decades and would not do anything else. There are others who didn't last 6 months. It will be a major lifestyle change. You will not start at top pay but this company has some good benefits and other ways in which you can earn more money over and above your mileage pay. They will raise your pay as you learn. You normally don't start at top pay in any new career change.

The only down side I see is that you cannot take the truck home and live 70 miles away. I once worked for a carrier that was further than that away but it was a good carrier and if I were again in the market for a company job this company would be the first I would call. There were times when I did stop at home if I had a load that was going through the house. Often I just commuted most weekends. Sometimes carriers like to have the truck at their yard so that they can check it out while you are at home. It is a good opportunity to check the truck over and repair anything that needs attention.

Merry Christmas, RiN

So, based on the pro-forma numbers you were given, you're projecting first-year pre-tax income between $36,000 ((.29 X 60,000)+(.31 X 60,000) and $43,200 ((.29 X 72,000)+(.31 X 72,000) plus $2400 for bonuses? Here's the rub: freight and miles would always have to be there for it to work. 120,000 solo miles per year is a lot and 144,000 is--in my opinion--unrealistic. Too, the economy is slowing . . . less freight means less miles. Less miles means less pay. You said they pay layover after 24 hours, so sometimes freight and miles really aren't there and sometimes you'll go 24 hours without compensation.

Is that $200 monthly bonus attainable? I know that's not an easy question to answer.

As the economy worsens many companies are cutting back on or eliminating their 401(k) contributions. I'm just pointing that out.

"60-90% drop and hook." That's quite a spread. It implies up to 40% and at least 10% live unloads. Live unloads take time and you might decide the pay for you to hand unload a trailer isn't worth it. Or the company might pay lumpers (I don't know what you'd be hauling). But time spent at docks is time you're not driving (assuming there's freight), and that calls into question projected miles and, therefore, projected income. I'm assuming you'd be pulling vans or reefers, but perhaps it would be flatbeds or tanks--there's still loading and unloading. And cleanouts and breakdowns and weather and traffic and dock delays . . .

Getting home exactly every three weeks probably won't happen. OTR is also called "irregular linehaul"--you don't always take the same freight to the same places. If you're in, say, upstate New York when your three weeks are up, what happens? Can they route you back to Las Vegas? Will they? Consider lifestyle issues: can your marriage/home life tolerate three-week absences and absences that are longer than three weeks through no fault of your own?

Getting home from the terminal would be your responsibility. I'm not sure if this is "standard" among OTR carriers these days, but given the cost to run a truck and the complications (would the truck be safe; where would you park it?; what insurance issues arise if something goes wrong? what if they need the truck (assigned or not, if they need, they need it), it may be.

I'd add CR England to the avoid list--lots of CAD threads about CRE, more negative than positive. CRE's been in court a lot over failing to pay drivers, HOS issues, and escrow issues for lease operators. Google "CR England" and you'll see what I mean.

OTR is piecework and the pieces have to fall into place. It sounds romantic, but there's a gritty side. When you think of OTR what comes to mind?

One thing you can do: visit a couple of truck stops and ask drivers about their work and their carriers. Ask drivers who work at the carrier you're thinking about what it's like there. Ask about miles, drop and hook, and unloads. Ask about that monthly bonus. Ask about management attitudes towards drivers and HOS. Be skeptical. Weigh their answers carefully.

Finally, be wary of trucking school promises. They don't hire drivers--carriers do.

Oh--before we put the cart in front of the horse, is your driving record spotless?

BOL, as we say out there -- Best of Luck

To all who have replied so far, thank you. It is good information to have as I make my decision during the next three weeks or so--a decision that I must make within that time frame because the WIA grant money to pay for the driving school won't be there much longer after that.

Keep your thoughts coming. I want to read opinions from as many viewpoints as possible.

To answer specific questions that some of you have posted:

* Other income: I recently began collecting a small pension from my last employer in the information technology field. It pays most of the basic bills, nothing more. I need to supplement the pension with additional income from another source. At age 55, I am at least seven years away from collecting Social Security.

* Local hourly paid jobs: I live 70 miles away from a big city (Las Vegas). The local jobs that existed in my home town were almost all related to construction. Construction has completely stopped here, so the jobs are all pretty much gone. The hourly pay rates were lousy, anyway.

* Starting pay for new OTR drivers: GMAN is correct. I have researched many companies that hire school graduates. Starting pay all falls in the 26 - 29 CPM range.

* Regional or dedicated driving vs. long haul: Yes, I eventually would want to switch to regional or dedicated driving. All of the companies that I have researched say that the newbies have to pay their dues running all 48 states first, then try to work into regional or dedicated. Everyone wants regional or dedicated, so there is a long line of drivers ahead of the newbies for these jobs in any trucking company.

* Not allowed to take the truck home: I'm OK with that. I can commute the 70 miles each way surrounding my home time. Question: When I leave the truck at the terminal/drop yard, I should probably take all of my stuff out of the truck for those three or four days, right? To me, that would be more of hassle than driving the 70 miles home.

* 10,000 - 12,000 miles per month promised: That's what the company's recruiters told me. I asked them if that number of miles is realistic in today's economy. They said that they are very busy, regardless. Their primary freight is new carpet and furniture; contract freight with the likes of Wal-Mart, Pier 1 Imports, Conlins Furniture, and others; also lumber, beer, wine, and other commodities.

* 60% - 90% drop-and-hook: One of the company's recruiters told me it's 60%, another one told me it's 90%, so I have to assume reality is somewhere in between.

* Type of trailer: I would be pulling dry vans.

* Lifestyle issues: I am unmarried with no kids and very little family. Most of my relatives are deceased. So while sure, I'd like to get home regularly and often, it's not a huge deal for me not to.

* CR England: Yes, from reading CAD, I know to avoid them like the plague.

* When I think of OTR, what comes to mind? Some positives like having a degree of independence that one does not have in a white-collar corporate job and seeing our great country, which I have seen so little of. Also, the negatives that I have read about on CAD all these years. This is why I am weighing my decision very carefully and getting as much input from you experienced drivers as I can.

* Visiting truck stops and talking with drivers there: I am going to do exactly that within the next few days. There is a big TA truck stop in the southwest portion of Las Vegas. Nearby this truck stop is the Las Vegas terminal of the company that I am considering, so I can kill two birds with one stone during one day.

* Trucking company promises: Yes, from what I have read on CAD, I know to take what recruiters say with a grain of salt.

* Driving record: Two tickets (speeding, left turn violation) when I was a college kid and in my early 20s, one DUI 13 years ago, and no accidents lifetime. Perfectly clean since the DUI.

Thank you all again for your invaluable input. Keep it coming. Be safe and drive safely throughout this holiday season and all year long.

RiN --

Sounds great. It's a real pleasure to read the words of a grown-up. Keep the questions coming.
Do you want some references to books about truck drivers/the life/trucking? They'd just be background for you--asking real people real questions is the best way to learn, but I'll post them if you like.

Yes, AC120, please post or PM to me the references that you mentioned.

Thank you.

OK --

"Truck Stop" by Bryan Di Salvatore and Marc F. Wise.
An essay by each writer and portraits of truckers by Mr. Wise. Bryan's (first name because I trade emails with him from time to time) essay is the best thing I've EVER read about the trucking life.

"Pedal to the Metal" by Lawrence J. Ouellet. On the way to a PhD in sociology, Ouellet logged 800,000 miles in big rigs. He poses two questions: Why do truck drivers work so hard even when the effort doesn't result in money or other material gains? and How do truckers make sense of their behavior to themselves and to the outside world? In one form or another, those questions get asked here at CAD. In part, I'm here because the answers interest me. I drove for ten years, but I've never quite let go of OTR; I think--I hope--my memoir about it will be published (not self-published) next year. I've got a nibble from HarperCollins.

"A Thousand Miles From Nowhere" by Graham Coster. Coster rode with truckers in Europe and the U.S.

"Sweatshops on Wheels" by Michael H. Belzer. Economics and sociology. Belzer drove tank trucks in regional OTR operations, logging more than 750,00 miles, before settling in to an academic life.

"Driver--Six Weeks in an Eighteen-Wheeler" by Phillip Wilson. Wilson's memoir of his training days.

"Everything You Will Ever Need to Know to Start Driving a Big Truck or How I Became a Professional Tourist" by Steve Richards.

In "Uncommon Carriers" John McPhee has two chapters on an American tanker yanker. Great stuff.

I posted these instead of a PM because--maybe--someone else will be interested too. You can go to Amazonbooks.com to learn about them and buy them or not; I think they're all available used.

I hope this helps a bit. Want-to-be drivers should do what you're doing: thoroughly research carriers and the industry and ask questions at CAD.

Some of these guys are telling you what you want to hear. First of all, the starting wages are too low even for new-hires. Figure .26 cpm out of the gate is a slap in the face. And .37 top-rate after 3-4 years?!?!? You can get more than .38 cpm after 2 years at a company like Schneider and top rate is over .42 cpm.

Another thing is that hauling carpets sucks because most of that stuff isn't palletized. The rolls are floor-loaded and stacked high to the trailer ceiling. This makes getting them out time-consuming and a PITA.

Delivering to Wal-Mart stores and retail outlets such as Pier 1 sucks. Lots of delays and lots of BS...some of those Pier 1's are located in strip malls and are difficult to get into with a 53' trailer. You will probably be required to lump the freight at some of these places, which will not be fun in the Nevada heat.

I would stay away from this company. The mileage is unrealistic, the pay is low, and the freight they haul is some of the most heavily-discounted tariffs in the biz. But if you have nothing going for yourself it might be OK. I would seriously look elsewhere, tho.

Unless the company does slip seating it should not be a problem to leave most of your personal things in your truck. Slip seating is where someone else drives your truck when you are out of it for more than a couple of days. From your post I doubt that is the case. I would address that question to the carrier you are speaking about. And you are right, it would be a bit of a hassle to be taking your personal things out for only 3 or so days. I would take my personal computer or other easily transported high dollars items. There may be mechanics who will move your truck or do maintenance work while you are home. Most are trustworthy but there might be some who are not. When I drove someone else's truck I would leave everything in it but my laundry. That was before I had a laptop.


I would say those figures are somewhat accurate. I would expect you to average about 2,500-2,800 miles per week on average. Some weeks you may not do as well and others could result in more miles. If you run coast to coast your weekly miles could be higher. During the slower winter months your miles could drop between 1,700-2,200 per week. It is difficult to average over 3,000 miles per week on a continuous basis. You will lose some time loading and unloading. It will help keep your miles up to do more drop and hook. You will want to take a day or two off now and then so that could change your miles around.


Talking with those currently working for any company that you are considering is your best source of accurate up to date information. In addition to the TA there is a Flying J and Petro in Las Vegas. TA tends to cater more toward the larger fleets while Flying J seems to have more owner operators. If there is a terminal near the TA you may be able to talk with some of their drivers. Some recruiters are honest and others are not. I usually take what they say with a grain of salt until proven otherwise. Current drivers will be your best source of information. I think your DUI and tickets are too old to cause you any problem with most carriers. There are a few that will not hire anyone with a DUI in their past regardless of how long ago.

One thing I wanted to state was that unless you are a dedicated run and even then there might be exceptions, Everyone can promise you miles but almost no one can guarantee them! I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, just that I have heard the same sales pitch from every recruiter I've talked too.

You also might want to check out the Petro on the North side of Vegas as it is(IMO) alot cleaner and safer than the T/A. Reading your OP, I'd say alot of companies would fit that bill, Just hang with it for 6 months or a year, get your truckings under you and keep your record clean and that will open up alot of doors for you later on. I had to spend over 2 years on the road and then 6 months running Dbles and triples at night in the damn snow to get with the Company I'm with now. It still isn't as good as a major LTL barn, but my attitude is too piss-poor to deal with them, so I leave them to other hard-working drivers who have better attitudes.

I actually have considered going back to OTR. I'm still single and alone and if I got rid of my APT and all my bills, I could bank some good money for a few years and go back to school or put a huge down payment on a house or just invest it. But I just have a problem with the being taken atvantage of, which seems to be prevalent with the Industry. I know there are good companies and I work for one of them now, but My full-time went to part-time. Guess I shouldn't complain as I still have a job, but it's starting to scare me.


Anyway Best of luck to you and when you start with your new company, post a thread on it. I'm sure We'd all like to share in your adventures.

Chris

I would also be suspicious of anyone who stated that they would guarantee a certain number of miles each and every week. They can give you a fleet average but it would be foolish for any recruiter to guarantee you a certain number of miles. The exception may be if you were on a dedicated account going to the same places each week. That is not likely to happen with a new recruit. Business runs in cycles. Some times of the year you can do better or worse than other times. It is rarely the same each week. Most carriers are not doing as well as we would like.

Mike.....I hope you don't mind that I went ahead`and corrected that typo for ya! Belpre;):lol:

Thanks for fixing that post, Belpre! :thumbsup:

As another newbie, I'd like to know why this is such a bad starting package? I've investigated dozens of companies and, as a new student driver, the best pay that I've found offered anywhere is .34cpm from one carrier (but the miles per week are suspect), and .41 cpm from one Hazmat Tanker lines that don't have any driver positions open at the moment. A lot of companies start us newbies at .26-.28cpm, so why is his .29 offer so bad?

Why is .29 cpm bad?

Well, look at it like this: at say 2,600 average paid miles per week (remember, you'll get ripped off about 10% or so from your hub miles), that's $754 on the gross. Now that's before taxes, FICA, social security, 401k deductions, health insurance deductions, yadda, yadda, yadda. So it's like $475.00 take home per week...and then you've got to figure road expenses. Would not be a bad wage for 40 hours per week, but in OTR trucking you'll work double that with no overtime after 8/40 hours because unlike just about every other blue collar job, trucking is exempt from the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act). On top of that, you get to sleep in a truck. So the hourly breakdown is like $9.00/hr to work round the clock, live in truckstops, not get laid, and not see home for 2 weeks.

So you say, "gotta start somewhere, right?" Fair enough. But consider this: company drivers for Kimberly Clark in 1985 were getting .25 cpm. How do I know this? Because my uncle drove for em'. And these guys were out 3 days hauling 48' trailers around. Now you guys are out for 2+ weeks dragging 53' monstrosities around bumping curbs and pissing everyone off and less hometime...for .04 more than guys 23 years ago were getting.

If you don't hit anything and keep your nose clean, you might move up to a better-paying gig. But there's not many of those jobs left, and the pickens get slimmer with each passing year as more and more good-paying outfits get undercut by fools running for eight-ball shifters and rebel flags. Besides, it's not a drivers market anymore and probably won't be for the forseable future so the competition is fierce for those remaining gravy trains.

So alot of people like you who thought .29 cpm wasn't so bad found out the hard way that .29 cpm WAS bad after all the hours they put into the job and they say "F this!" and leave the industry...at least the smart ones do...hence the astronomical turnover rates at these OTR companies. Now the companies go the government and cry bloody murder that they can't find any drivers so the government figures no Americans want these jobs, so why not let all these illegal aliens on the dole get CDL's and collect taxes and prop up the bankrupt social security system? And so .29 cpm today will be like top-rate in trucking in 10-15 years...although it may very well be .ppm = Pesos Per Mile.

So to quote the great Paul Harvey "now you know the rest of the story!". And no I'm not drinking or on pain meds...crazy perhaps....but there is a point to be made here. Actually I'm just trying to make folks think about where this industry is headed and so maybe they'll think twice and go get a real job.

When i was looking into OTR about a year ago. A food grade company was going to start me at 40cpm loaded and 38 cpm empty. I have no OTR exp.

Thats because they knew you drove a Mack and they wanted to make your life BETTER.

They had MACKS :rofl::rofl:

Well, Then they knew you wouldnt come because they had NICE equipment. They had to offer you something.

No industry starts workers out at top wages, that includes trucking. When I started driving in the early 1970's most people that I knew who drover otr were paid $0.10/mile for solo and $0.14/mile for teams. Most people who came into this industry had some experience driving farm equipment or other types of trucks. We learned on the job. There was no such thing as a driving school. Somehow we managed to earn a decent living.

Regardless of what you do for a living you will have deductions for taxes, 401k, etc., if available. Trucking doesn't take any more of your income than any other profession. Your post makes it appear that you pay more for insurance, taxes, etc., than other professions. There is not a different scale for truckers. We all pay the same taxes.

You are presenting a skewed view of trucking. None of us work 24/7 while on the road. We can work long hours, but so do a lot of other industries. Most will still not bring home as much money as an otr driver. Some people like being on the open road and getting paid for it. From your posts it is obvious that you could not deal with the otr lifestyle. That doesn't mean that many others can't. There are many who enjoy this profession and the lifestyle it affords. We can be away from home for a week or two, some longer especially starting out. It works for some and not for others. There are things people dislike about every profession. Trucking isn't any different. Frankly I am surprised that you even to bother to come to this forum since you have such a disdain for the profession and those of us who choose to do this for our livelihood.

We do have a high turnover in this industry. The last figure I recall is 136% per year. Fast food restaurants have an average turnover of more than 300% according to the last figures I recall seeing. Most industries have a higher turnover than they would like. Part of the high turnover in trucking is not from people leaving the industry but moving from one company to another. It is called "churn" in the industry. A good MVR should be expected since we drive for a living. We should be able to do it more safely than the private sector.

There are things that should be addressed, but for the most part this is still a good profession for anyone who is self motivated and willing to put forth the effort. If you don't like to work then this is not a profession you are likely to enjoy.

You just lectured to the Cold & Frosty Mugger there "G".

I didn't mean to lecture, Orangetxguy, but it does get tiresome to have some who continue to put down otr drivers when this is a forum primarily for otr drivers and those who have an interest in otr as a profession.

Could be the fact that they are not a MEGA-training/carrier. Small and medium size OTR companies for the most part seem to pay well.:thumbsup:

Do you agree that TIME=MONEY?

Let's say (after a couple of years) that you can make $50-$60k or whatever the magic number is you top-out these days at OTR. Or you can make $40k at a 9-5 job.

Well, the 9-5 job you will only work 40 hours per week and go home everynight for 8 hours of free-time and 8 hours to sleep in your own bed. In OTR trucking you can legally work 70 hours per week...but with all the working/waiting/driving done off the books, it's more like 80-100.

So you're working more than double the hours of the 9-5 job for $10k-$20k more, plus you're confined to a sleeper in truckstops, pickle-parks, get-off ramps, etc. Plus road expenses.

The lifestyle of a trucker is not a healthy one, either. Too much sitting around on your a$$ all day. Too much bad food high in salt, sugar, monosodium glutamate. Working all those hours plus irregular shifts is very unhealthy for you.

But most of those other industries get overtime after 8/40 hours. Trucking is exempt. And before you go comparing trucking to doctors, lawyers, computer programmers, salesman, etc...how many other BLUE-COLLAR jobs are exempt from overtime?

I drive a truck too. I like trucking. But I don't like the industry and how it treats drivers tho.

Drivers should be paid for all their time on the job.
Drivers should be paid for all the miles they drive.
Drivers should earn overtime after 8/40 hours.

IF they pay at all. With a small company there is a higher risk of the company going broke and failing to pay their drivers while closing up shop. It doesn't always happen,but it does happen.

Point taken. I'd much rather take the chance with the smaller company and consistently receive the higher pay. If the smaller company does go out of business, at least you will probably only get burned for your final check. Whereas the larger company will be burning you from start to finish.

Reminds me of a recent post by a driver 'churning' from one bad irregular-route OTR company to another. Lo and behold, not only did this company expect him to finance their company operations by paying tolls, scales and all other inherent incidentals out of his own pocket. These folks have the audacity to require drivers to sign a release that allows the company to arbitrarily withdraw money from the driver's own personal bank account at will, if there is an overpayment/discrepancy to the driver's pay as far as the company is concerned. Hello? Is it just me?

What other type of job conducts a new employee orientation and requires signing over to the company, access to withdraw money from the employees personal bank account? Isn't that bass ackwards? Unbelievable!!! What about taking it out of your next check if an overpayment happens? Not in the world of irregular-route coolie carrier OTR trucking. I guess that they have to operate on the belief that you won't be there for the next pay period....................and statistically, you probably won't be.

Wonder why?

Sounds like a run-of-the-mill freight company to me.

Try to find a manufacturer of some sort with their own transportation arm. Might be a little tough nowadays. But I started trucking 3 years ago after retiring from my sales job, and I made 57K the first year for driving about 150,000 miles.

Not enough home time in your current job offer for me. I'm home every weekend and at least once during the week because all our loads are out-and-return.

Our terminal is 5 minutes from the house.........I REALLY like that.

Companies like to sell you on this drop & hook stuff, but we have to actually handle freight - it's OK, we make more than most drivers, too.

Schools place drivers with company A, B or C because those companies PAY the school a referral fee. Do your own calling and reading! I did, and I could not be happier. I remember calling several places who could not hire me, and the guy answering the call ALWAYS left me with words of encouragement.

You're on the right track, though. Get your own CDL with no strings attached. Don't know what a WIA grant is, but it sounds like Uncle Sam is footing the bill for your training and that's a good deal for both you and Sam (He'll get his money back through your taxes)

The WORST thing you're looking at is being out 3 -4 weeks. That's terrible. TERRIBLE! Sounds OK until you try it.
BOL

Happy New Year!

I guess Mike Hunt misunderstood my question...

I wasn't suggesting that .29cpm was a great wage. I was asking why that was a bad 'starting' offer for a new driver, like myself, with no experience. The key word there was 'starting.'
I'm happy that your uncle was able to find that gig in 1985. Unfortunately for me, I'm looking for a job in 2009.

IronRydr

Hey Iron..

29 CPM is pretty short, but you have to look at the whole package in order to really understand.

3000 miles is a pretty busy week, most places. That's because the delays in getting loaded and unloaded can add up to many hours.
But if you're doing a simple drop and hook, maybe 29 ain't really all that bad especially if you're doing long freeway runs between drops.

29 is REALLY gonna suck if your company doesn't have all that much freight and you get stuck in some truck stop with nothing to do for two days.

Another thing: We get paid about 33 1/2 CPM. But that's before drop pay, pickup pay, downtime, layover pay, safety bonus, and fuel bonus. Bottom line is, we make about 40CPM and we get paid for actual miles, so most of our drivers make about 55-65K/year.
On top of all that you have to consider WHERE you are going to be during slack periods. Right now, there is nothing to do so I'm at home. And that counts!

my first real trucking job was driving a dump wagon, I hauled phosphate from Mulberry fla to Lake city Fla, I made 8 dollars a load

According to mapquest thats 197 miles one way!:eek1:

What am I missing here?:confused:

Hey, RiN --

PM for ya