Quote:
Originally Posted by TCWBanks2384
Lightsout - how does one make $400/night? As an O/O? And to Justruckin - what kind of shifts are you working to hit up to 100hr week? Days on-days off? Start time,stop time?
TC,
I think most guys and gals that come up here for the first time can figure on $20 an hour + OT after 40 hours as a company driver. If you make more than $20 an hour, that is when ones pay normally roles into straight time, no over time. The owner ops normally make anywhere from $100 to $175 an hour, depending on the contract and commodity hauled. There are some outfits up here that do have trailers, you supply the truck, but those are hard to find and openings very rarely open up. So, if you bring a truck, you better have a trailer or know where to lease or buy one up here or back home. You will also need a wet kit or at the very least a PTO driven pump or compressor on your tractor depending on your application.
As far as shifts, most outfits run 12 on 12 off, 6am to 6pm or 7am to 7pm. But, there are other outfits that let you run around the clock if you want and the work is available. It all depends on who you hook up with. The bigger outfits like Missouri Basin or Power Fuels will keep you nailed down to that 70 hours a week. But, what I am seeing and hearing up here, and experiencing myself, is that we have a driver shortage so companies are now adjusting pay to keep the drivers they have. When I started here at my propane job, it worked out to $400 a day if you were able to make it all work. We have electronic logs in our trucks, and that right there cut our available time to complete our work. If you need 5 hours to do a turn, and only have three hours available you are not going to hit your $400. We started losing drivers because of this, as I know of no one up here running electronic logs in their trucks. We were running under the oil field DOT regs, but seeing as we do not go to drill sites, we were forced to go on regular OTR regs, losing our 24 hour reset and costing us 10 hours that would be available to work. So, our super/boss went to bat for us and nailed a new pay set up for us from the company. Now we get a set salary that works out to more money whether or not we hit our 70 hours. It works out to more than $400 a day, and we essentially get two days off a week, the 34 hour reset. It works out to just a tad over $10,000 a month gross salary as a company driver. And roughly 30% of that is non taxed per diem, along with some very nice furnished free housing.
Now, some of you are bugging out on that number. What I would tell you is that is about average pay up here for most of us that have been up here for a bit. It just depends on how many hours you have to work to get to that number. If you want to work more and make more, that can be done too. I am working less, making more, and coming home clean every night to a nice trailer with a real washer and dryer, full kitchen and private room that is provided for me by my company. Two of us share the trailer and have it worked out so that we work different hours and have some privacy. And it helps that the company I work for lets me do my own thing in regards to when I work and take my time off, which is another very nice perk. My responsibility is to work my 70 hours a week, hit that magic 14 hours a shift, and move the product. I chose to work nights, no traffic, no waiting to load, I like it, very stress free... And if the weather gets ugly, I can shut the truck down and head to the house, no chaining up here as we are hazmat and on pavement. We have chains, but have no real need to use them, knock on wood.
As far as time off, my company wants us to work at least 4 weeks on and take a week off, and you don't have to take that week off if you want to stay and work. And if there is a family emergency, which I just went through, they will let you head home no questions asked. Now, we do not get paid for that week off, but some companies are now paying that, along with your airfare if you live out of state. It all depends on who you work for and how serious they are in regards to keeping their employees happy and well paid.
Like I have said, you need to get up here with any job you can find. Once you are here, the door to opportunity swings open rather quickly. It might take a few tries, and trust me, employers understand that up here, to find that right fit.
Mike