Trying to take hubby's hometime away because he did a 34 hour reset??

if he is making under $600 a check then he wont be able to become a lease op, there are requirements to become one. Based on $600 a week im assuming he might be getting around 2k miles and maybe less other weeks, you need to hit 2k miles just to break even for the most part and if he is not running hard enough then he just wont be successful. If he can run 3k weeks and be smart then he will make a little more money but not really worth it. I know right now some of my checks are bigger than some of the LO's i have talked to, you have to be ready to run it like a business and you need to be prepared before ever going into it which he is not ready in my personal opinion no offense especially if he has only been driving a few months.

 

He needs to be driving with Swift at least, the very minimum, a year to have a better idea if he really wants to try and lease a truck. Not a Swift requirement, just my opinion. There are a lot of drivers that make it work, but more do not. The failures are mainly a result of not understanding how to run the business, and not have a good knowledge of how Swift, or any company for that matter, operates.

 

Swift also has one of the most expensive lease programs from what I see so far, I talk to people from other companies and find out what different people pay at different companies.

 

There are some excellent threads here regarding the lease programs. There are a few of us on here that are l/o and we can answer your questions. Swifts one requirement is that they see that a driver can handle at least about 2600 miles a week avg, and that has to last for 3-4 weeks. Just ask us that are here and we can help. Wolfy, you have been here how long now????? My truck payment is made, with all expenses at 1100 miles. After that, all that I pay is my fuel. I only run a avg of 2800 miles per week, and before taxes, I bring home about $1300, and that is also after I have taken out .15/mi that is put into my personal escrow acct. So take that and add it to the 1300. One thing that I will say, if your hubby is interested, have him talk to the FM at his terminal and let them know what he is thinking about. Normally it would be his DM, but if his DM is being a arse, then talk to the FM

 

This is a really good thread and I'd like to thank wife84. It well illustrates the problem in a 100% turnover OTR industry where companies don't expect drivers to stay more than 3-6 months anyway, so try take as much from them as possible. The very 'idea' of 'earning' hometime is such a ruse. If he were 'on the clock' they'd send him home in a heart beat.

The 'lateral' move to another mega is a loser move. Try not to do it, yet don't buy into the 'suck it up' and stay with Swift. Swift has treated him badly enough already. Here's a recent thread to make you drool: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...222443-old-dominion-a-newbies-experience.html. Newbie got on with Old Dominion, to his credit.

Overall, the comments here are good, the best from Windsmith, msg #28 about looking to smaller companies. In my opinion, the best way to read these threads is to believe ALL the negative and lightly salt it with the positive.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

 

Let's see ... first, I think her husband has been driving longer than you. Second, I don't think you were doing much better than her husband until you fell into the temporary gig you are currently in - and I am glad for you, I hope you can parlay it into something permanent.

Now as far as O/O income ... we are 45 weeks into the year. Of those I've been home 7 of them. 5 times in 9 to 11 day stretches. And I will take 2 weeks off over Christmas ... So I get my 1.5 days off a week, I just take them in long stretches.

Now of the 38 weeks I worked ... 22 of those checks have been over $1000. 11 of those 22 were over $1500 and 4 of those were over $2k. Of the 16 that weren't over $1000, only 4 were less than $500 and only 1 of those was less than $300. And if you're wondering, my average income for all 45 weeks, including home time is $930. So yeah, you may have "some weeks" that may be higher than "some of my OO weeks".

Oh. And it's not "like" a business. It is a business. Those checks, they're not mine. They belong to my business. In addition to those checks. I also generate on average $230 every week to my maintenance account ... And my business pays me. Every week I get a paycheck of $500. Every week I'm on the road, I get paid $140 a week allowance. Every time I leave home I get a $200 stocking allowance for the truck and every home time I get a $600 bonus. Except Christmas, I get $1,200.

 

Glad it's working out for you and that your happy with those numbers, but it should be noted for the newbies that it is not the norm to find an experienced driver who is happy being a lease operator.

 

those are decent numbers, I was just going by what a couple have told me, I know one LO claimed he had to clear 2k miles to pay the truck and break even.

So your paying yourself the $640 total a week with the rest staying in the "business"? Also are you just banking some of the leftover pay in the business to cover the lease payments for when you take those weeks off?

I didn't realize he drove for longer than me, I misunderstood some post thinking he was still somewhat new. Yeah I had some bad weeks too, some of them were plainly my fault being too choosy in a lot of factors which I also have learnt to get over and my weeks were looking better a little before I got my current gig. I am lazy to a point, i could be doing better than I am even now and I should be. I do love that I can still make $700-800 and be home for the entire weekend but for the next 2 weeks I decided I will only be strictly doing 34's at home so after I drop a trailer Saturday I will go home and be back to work Monday morning. I plan to take 4 days for thanksgiving and im going to take the family for a beach trip for the weekend.


I have gone back and forth a lot about going into my own truck but I am not quite ready to make that jump and I want to honestly know for sure if I will remain trucking or not before I do decide. The main thing I do know is that I would like to be local or dedicated eventually which could mean another company if I cant find that right gig in the next few months with Swift.

 

When Steve wakes up I will make him post some figures to help you and the Lady out. Leasing has been a God send for us as a family, getting home etc. Steve being happier, more money all good things. But Swift still treats him like crap gives him loads takes them away, say they can get him regional or up into Canada, giving him crap about Hometime also, trailer assignments, you name it. As long as he makes his lease payments and doesn't take any non Swift loads to me he's met his agreement he can drive or not drive, they can shove it. That said he does have to drive, or there is no money, but when he does it is good.

It is a business. I can't say how much Steve meticulously plans and weighs all the factors from gas to taxes, for each and every load. How he thinks about planning for showers, rest breaks, where he loads and unloads, mapping, satalite pictures, truck washes, looking professional, weights of loads, terrain of route and where the best gas prices are it goes on and on. And if someone can't work out the delivery hours and their 70 making the job more complicated by adding in maintenence accounts, RO's, maybe even Command and the rest is setting them up for failure. This is where like Mentoring, or the Backing class where a team job or even a L/O Mentoring period might really help a newbie decide whether or not to lease. Sadly since Mentors are a dime a dozen and most of them turn out to be Pesos, the new Swift Driver doesn't get any real learning experience from them, I'd hate to see them go out again with a L/O to return just as clueless and unprepared as when they left.

We agreed that 2 years was his time to learn, time to be a newbie, get experience etc. But he jumped into a lease at what 6 months? ASAP. We are past 2 years at this point other factors are comming up that leaving Swift at the moment is stupid. Eventually the ides is to look around more money, more hometime anything to make it better. That said finding one of those jobs and then getting it seems like wishing for the moon, it hasn't happened yet. I think Steve would make a good DM as most don't have the Driver experience to get or understand how to work with drivers, and since the Best DM just quit Swift needs one. That said Swift is still paying so why quit for nothing. I still am amazed how you all do it and pay for the other half the family at home also.

 

When that other driver said that he needed to clear 2k miles per week to break even, are there other factors in there, like taking advances, did something happen to his truck that he needed to take a loan. By breaking even is he also saying this is what he needs to cover bills back home.