Zero Experience

Good Luck

 

I pulled tanker/hazmat for a few years and went everywhere except New York City.
CTL Transportation might be a good fit for you & they have pet policy. You will need TWIC for tanker work. Google for nearest TWIC office. TWIC is for entering chemical plants, seaports, and some military bases. There are several good options for you that you may not hear about from a recruiter, such as the companies listed below.

The 3 most important questions for me would be:

Average annual pay?
Accessorial pays?
Benefits package?

Three more good companies, but unsure of pet policy:

SVTN
Superior Carriers
Schneider Bulk

 

Don't ask about radar detectors their not allowed in trucks to begin with.

 

How about you focus on getting through the cdl class before you let all the money that is going to be showered down on you from recruiters. Mess your focus up.

Rule number 1. A recruiters job is to get you into the door usually with telling you half truths. So there's always what the recruiter says and what the company actually does. Layover pay. Good luck seeing that. They have all kinds of rules for that. Sitting for 24 hours without a dispatch. But if you are dispatched at 23 hr and 58 minutes even though the load is not going to pick up for another day. You get no layover pay.

Breakdown pay. You better be lucky if they pay for your hotel. All kinds of rules with that.

Detention pay. Hahhahahaha Well the company didn't pay us so we can't pay you.

Stop asking what your company can do for you. Ask What you can do for your company.

How can you get the biggest fuel bonus?

Safety Bonus.

NYC PAY yeee hawww.

 

BigRich all good questions, many or all of which have been asked and answered many times over here in the forums. My advice, read read and read some more. So many things vary from company to company there isn't one answer fits all.

I'm from just down the road a few hours from you there in NC, graduated from truck driver school and got my CDL for Christmas. I just completed orientation with my company and am now out with my trainer. Several of my classmates were from the Queen City, Charlotte.

No, truck driving isn't rocket science, but you will be shocked by the amount that you have to learn. You will gain a newfound respect for professionals in this industry.
I spent weeks lurking and reading this forum and learned a lot. I then studied for two weeks the CDL drivers guide you can pick up for free at your local DMV office. This before ever attending school. Then I read it again..Then again.

I took the advice of the pros in the forum here and got all endorsements after I graduated, Hazmat, tankers, doubles and triples. Not required by my company but the Hazmat alone will guarantee me 2 cents per mile more than others make where I work.

I won't bore you any more. You've got reading to do Pal. Good luck!

 

Accessorial pays:

Layover pay
Breakdown pay
Detention pay
Unloading pay
Loading pay
Tarp pay - depends on company;could run from $10.00 to $50.00 per load.
Etc.

Companies I've worked for paid $12.oo hr. detention pay beginning 1 hour or 2 hours after appointment time. and continues until loading/unloading is completed.
$50.00 for a 34 hr. restart and one company paid for motel for 34 hr. restart.
1/4 hr. pay for fueling
1/4 hr. pay for pre-trip
1/4 hr. pay for post-trip
Breakdown hourly pay starts at time breakdown is logged and continues until truck is fixed. Some companies may pay hourly pay beginning at time breakdown is logged and pay until 14 hr. clock is completed, then layover pay for the 10 hour sleeper break, then breakdown pay starts again until truck is fixed.

Some junk companies don't pay for any of this. I only worked for one junk company, so didn't stay there long. This is why a new driver should look carefully for the good companies. Usually tanker companies have the best accessorial pays. You rarely see tankers sitting in truckstops waiting on loads.

Some flatbed and reefer companies also have excellent accessorial pays; you just have to check the websites:
JBS Carriers
Holland Enterprises
Melton Truck Lines
Keim TS
Decker Truck Line
etc. too many to list

 

You sound like me, only I was 21 when I started. The per diem rate for truck drivers is a deduction you can claim when you file your taxes based on how many days you have spent away from home. Obviously not applicable when you are a local driver. It's as far as I remember $59/day. IT WILL make a huge difference on your taxes. I got almost $4k back even though I'm single with no dependents and I had grossed $40k my first year. Now that I'm local I can't claim that per diem rate so I don't think I will get any taxes back I might even owe Uncle Sam some money for being a productive member of society, but I digress...

Another question you might want to ask is speed of tractor, this will have a profound impact on your check since you are more than likely going to be paid by the mile not by the hour. You might want to bring up the question of hazmat pay, drop n hook pay, safety bonus, or any other bonuses. Ask if they also offer percentage pay where they would pay you a percentage of the gross revenue of each load as opposed to a flat mileage rate.
I don't know what kind of company you have in mind but I hope it's not one of those Werner/Schneider type, if so electronic nannies are a concern, ask them about following distance sensors, lane change sensors and all that ridiculous big brother crap some of this circus clowns have been coming up with.

Also, you were wondering about detention pay: your company will charge shipper/receiver for time wasted. Usually after two hours after appointment. They tend to charge pretty high ($60-70/hour sometimes more), that doesn't mean they are going to pass that on to you, most companies will pay you $10-15 if anything. They will not pay you if they didn't charge this. If you arrive at a customer and it turns out somebody along the line forgot to make your appointment or gave you the wrong one you are sitting for free.

By the way, radar detectors are illegal in commercial vehicles, even if your state doesn't have a law against them, I believe it's federal law when it comes to trucks.

Layover pay is what you get after sitting for X amount of time. Wether it's because you broke down or because there's no freight. Some companies have insane policies when it comes to this, you have to sit for 48 hours and all you get is 50 bucks, something like that.

You should tell us what kind of companies are you going to be contacting. Chances at least one of us have worked there and we can give you the numbers without bs recruiter talk.