Someone Help Me

Will he have to go to school to get his cdl? If so thats atleast three weeks without a paycheck. After that he will have to go with a trainer. That is atleast another four weeks of only making $50-60 a day. Now with your numbers a new driver making $.25 a mile running 2500 miles a week that is $625 a week before taxes. Do you think you could live off of that?

 

Dear Gina -
It sounds as though you are in serious need of some answers. Let me do what I can to help you with this.

1) Your numbers are correct based on an average of what is offered out there right now. I did take the time to look at some of the sites since I have been with the same company for quite a while. He will indeed make about $645.00 a week before taxes and the other things you listed. Based on your numbers and questions, I do not see that trucking would be the answer to your situation.

2) There are on the road costs incurred to someone in this industry. They range from driver to driver, but it is not cheap. Those would have to come off of any type of profit you are figuring as well.

Maybe some other drivers could chime in and let you know the average of what it costs them to be on the road each week. It is never just one sided.

3) Yes, the time from home would "suck" as you said. There are a lot of times that you request time off and cannot get it due to weather, load wait time, etc. If you are out there and something goes wrong for whatever reason, the reason that you need to be home will take a back seat.

4) The time that he would be home would be spent getting ready to go back out again, in a lot of cases. There is laundry, shopping, re-packing, etc. It is not as though every minute of the time that he would be home could be dedicated to doing the things that need to be done or the things that you want to do.

There are good sides to trucking as well. I am simply trying to address the issues that you have presented. It is a personal decision, but based on the information you gave, I am not sure it is anywhere near the right one for you guys.

Good luck and God speed whatever you decide to do. I hope you reach your goals.

Oh, one more thing. Ask the Lord for His input. He will steer you right.

 

the absolute bottom line here is that when things get bad, people think that they can become truck drivers and make oodles and oodles of money, and get out of debt. this is not the right reason to "become" truck driver(s). you either like the occupation or you don't..........period...........to get into truck driving under false pretenses only worsens your situation. there will be long times away from home, road expenses, which will eat away any surmountable monies you "think" will be sent home. something you will also need to realize is that the mileage will not always be the same each week. there are NO GUARANTEE'S in trucking regarding mileage. then comes the long weekend layover's in some tumble-weed truckstop.........where do you think the money will come from when the truck isn't moving, and you expected a $1000.00 paycheck, but will only get a $400.00 check instead........??

again, to "get into" trucking solely for the purpose of "imagined money" is a huge mistake.............you either like driving, or you don't.........

don't kid yourself..............cuz god knows, you ain't kidding me or anyone else..........

 

Yes there are variables in trucking and having to go to school to get the cdl kinda puts you up for a short term "low income" period....with training and getting assigned your own truck when you done...HOWEVER once you are on your own there is money to be made in trucking, you just have to go into it with your eyes wide open. Trucking is a way of life, not a job.

Living expenses on the road can be controlled, thats up to the driver, showers are free if you used the driver reward programs offered by most of the larger truck stop companies, their reward program points can be used to purchase items for the truck that will make life nicer for the driver and save even more money.....coolers, ovens, tv's etc.

NOT buying things you need at truckstops will save money too...stock the truck when its home....dont go into the game rooms and sit there dumping money into machines (lots of guys do this). Lots of drivers spend money on the road cuz they are bored....you have to be the one to decide your spending budget. My hubby and I have a routine cleaning and stocking the truck only takes a couple of hours and then its free time for us, its all about how you two as a COUPLE decide to deal with this lifestyle.

Research the company/school before you decide to go with them, come here ask questions about which ever one you are thinking about.
Yes there is money to be made driving a rig, but if you cant deal with being away from home and if you dont truly ENJOY driving this is not the occupation for you. It takes a lot of dedication, and there are times when ya just wanna throw in the towel and your license......bad roads/weather, break downs etc.

There are A LOT of questions to ask any CDL school your thinking of attending and ANY company that you might consider working for but those come after you make the ultimate decission as to weither or not trucking is for you. As for making/sending home 1500 a month that should be quite easily done.

 

With all due respect to the other posts. It's really going to come down to how many miles a week you drive and how budget minded you are. Driving a truck just is not the way to make mega bucks. Years ago it was great but now days, well I won't get on that soap box.

 

Even as a company night shift driver (60 hrs av 800 a week) minus all those things in the right hand column, a guy has to be careful and not eat road food and suck up $4 coffee (sheesh I thought I was doin good!) it adds up real fast.
pack a good lunch and a thermos...saves a couple hundred a month!

 

Not unless he's on a dedicated run which is always the same amount of miles and thus the same pay.

If he's a company driver, most companies offer breakdown pay. This isn't as much as what the driver would make while driving, but it's better than nothing. Also, the driver of a company truck is in no way responsible for any of the repair or any operating costs of that truck. Bottom line here is, yes there MAY be times when circumstances beyond his control will shorten paychecks, and thusly the money sent home.

Every company I've ever worked for will do their best to get drivers home when they want/need home. For special events as u mentioned, it would be necessary for him to communicate such an event in plenty of advanced time and perhaps request to be there a day or two ahead of time.

This varies depending on company policies and what sort of run your fiance would be doing. Typically speaking, a 48 state OTR driver earns one day off for every 7 days out. Most companies are flexible if some situation should arise and you need more time than what is earned, or more time that what u originally scheduled.

Never been on the other side of the fence, so I'll let someone else answer this part.

It is POSSIBLE for y'all to work things out this way, but there are a lot of risks involved. It's up to the two of you whether or not u want to take those risks. Just be sure that if he does go out on the road that you can handle being left at home while he's gone for weeks and possibly even months at a time. The only way a driver makes money is to keep his wheels turning. Understanding of the importance of this key is CRUCIAL! I would somewhat have to agree with Pro1driver's comments. I personally would not have gotten into this field if I was in the predicament you and your s/o is in. The first year will be the worst. There are a lot of things he will need to pay for to set up his truck, plus he won't be making the wage that a more experienced driver makes. If y'all are already nearing the red in your finances, this may not be the best avenue at all.

 

After reading your posts and hearing your concerns, I personally don't think truck driving is for you. You owe way too much money, have way too much overhead, and too many dependents. By the time he makes it through school, gets trained and gets on the road you guys will be bankrupt.

I got married when I was 45 ..... 16 years ago. And the only "thing" I wanted to do is take care of my wife. So I worked my buns raw in another field until we were ready for me to go truckin'. I was 60 the first time I ever shifted a gear. It's working out well, and I'm glad I waited.