Driving the Cement Mixer

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by brinkj23, Aug 10, 2009.

  1. brinkj23

    brinkj23 "Asphalt Cowboy"

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    Dec 26, 2005
    Minnesota
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    lol yeah I just put that up there, meant to put concrete mixer. The truck in the pic is an Oshkosh, we have about 4 oshkosh, 4 phoenix, and 4 advances. Hauling mud up here is crazy busy right now, but we have to jobs going at a state college in town, one big 3 floor building, and also about a 10 floor dorm going up wont be done till next fall. We also got lots of driveways going right now because a huge subdivision got city water an sewer put in so needless to say we've all been pulling 10 to 12 hour days. An the boss never bought any of the plants out he started all of them, but he has each one under one of his relatives names so his name isnt on all of them. But I doubt ill ever work up and be able to buy him out, hes a hard *** but hes hardly ever around. Not a teamster though, kind of wish we were union. So yeah one of these slow days im sure ill be climbing in that drum and hammering away at er. An yeah im so glad I finally got the local gig, I actualy enjoy being able to punch out and go home and relax instead of in a truckstop somewhere. I would like to get a job hauling the material around, but we only got one guy running a belly dump for our sand and rock and hes pretty young and likes his job so he wont be going anywhere for awhile. He only gets paid $4 a load for material and gets paid by the ton for unloading fly ash(which the boss gets brought in on barges and put in his terminal on the other end of town) But does 4 bucks a load seem low, or is this average?
     
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  3. Rug_Trucker

    Rug_Trucker Road Train Member

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    Aug 7, 2009
    Near Nashville TN
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    I got hourly back in the 80's. We got $5.50hr. Laborers on concrete crews were getting $7 or more!:biggrin_25510:SWFL

    Working in Florida is a "Tropical Depression!"

    Our East coast counter parts were getting $8.50 to start and $10.50 after 90 days. They had full teamster bennies, we got the shaft!
     
  4. brinkj23

    brinkj23 "Asphalt Cowboy"

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    Dec 26, 2005
    Minnesota
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    Starting pay for a mixer driver in MN is 12.50 an hour, then 13.50 after 30 days, then after a 100 days its 18.00 or 18.50 an hour. With the state jobs we got now its gonna be a crazy summer an fall. We also got about a 2800 yard job for some bridges coming up sometime here.
     
  5. Allow Me.

    Allow Me. Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    May 28, 2009
    Rancho Mirage, Ca.
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    $4 a load? Can he do 3 loads an hour? ($12).... A good rule of thumb is to pay approximately hourly wage so being paid by the load could be equal to whatever it takes to equal out to hourly.
     
    Jim Bob Thanks this.
  6. brinkj23

    brinkj23 "Asphalt Cowboy"

    1,165
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    Dec 26, 2005
    Minnesota
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    Yeah the aggregate yard is only a 1/4 mile away, just depends on how busy we are at the plant as to how many loads he does an hour. But he's pretty much running back an forth all day long on a steady day.
     
  7. poppy

    poppy "I Love that Cushaw Pie"

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    Jul 31, 2007
    ky
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    hey, glad to see that you are still enjoying the job. some days it is the best job in the world, some the worst.

    we have 16 plants, roughly all of eastern ky. we don't have quarries, but haul a good bit of our materials. takes a lot of resources to run concrete and quarries both.

    we have been running pretty good concidering the economy. not much trouble to get in a full week. we run 7-8 powder tankers.
     
  8. brinkj23

    brinkj23 "Asphalt Cowboy"

    1,165
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    Dec 26, 2005
    Minnesota
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    Yeah I hear ya, some days just go smooth an easy, and some days are crap an everything goes wrong or just the people im pouring for have been having a crappy day. Yeah it definetly takes a lot of resources to run both concrete and the quarries, but we have a real good bunch of guys at all the places so it runs smooth, as they've been doing it for a really long time. Ive been suprised though at how much mud has been going out considering the economy. But people are starting to build houses again this summer so thats been a help. Each house will keep us busy for a while considering we got footings, walls, floors, and driveways at each one of them houses. But I know the smaller contractors are hurting and really slow right now but we got enough contractors to keep us busy. I will be hitting overtime 5 hours into tomorrow, and I know tomorrow will atleast be a 10 hour day. We got a busy morning with small stuff then a 270 yard pour late morning which will keep us busy for quite a while. Nice thing is the pour for the 270 is easy only taking each truck 5-7 minutes to unload 10 yards. Never seen footings like this place we are pouring at. The footing is about 20 feet wide and 2 feet deep, all to support an 18' wall.
     
  9. outkast_

    outkast_ Bobtail Member

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    Aug 26, 2009
    Caseyville, Il
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    we are pretty slow here too, we have 14 plants across southern illinois.

    Thank god for commercial work, its the only thing keeping us alive.
     
  10. KO1927

    KO1927 Medium Load Member

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    May 19, 2009
    NH
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    As far as the monopoly thing goes, it's like that in my neck of the woods, all the concrete (plants/trucks/etc) in the area are owned by the same company.

    Once the buyout happened, appointment times meant squat. They were gonna get there when they felt like it, and not a second sooner. They knew we had no choice but to order from them anyway. There's one company up north, and one company for the southern tier.
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2009
  11. spydur

    spydur Bobtail Member

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    Mar 12, 2011
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    Hey there....can anyone out there tell me what the meter / gauge readings are for each individual slump?
     
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