Indian River

i'm not yet 25 years old, I have less than 2 and a half years of experience, I deserve 37CPM, as for many others thats a different story, i'll get into that later

now, if you want to say I deserved more when I hauled hazMat with IRT I won't argue with you, i

 

It is what it is. I would have to change the type of freight I haul in order to make more, but I'm not willing to do that. Later? Maybe. But now? No.

 

I could probably make more running locally and be home a lot more. The increase in pay would be great, but the increase in time spent at home wouldn't be. At all. So I stay OTR and live in a truck most of the time and that's about all there is to say.

 

When did IRT ever haul hazmat?

 

well I did from May-August

that's all I know

I don't think we do anymore

 

Turned in my truck last month guys. I moved out of San Antonio and came back to Oklahoma. All in all, I don't have any complaints about IRT. Before I left they switched me to electronic logs and said it was mandatory for everyone. That just wasn't going to work for me. Spring Chicken I know what you mean about going in the hole paycheck wise after taking time off. It took me awhile, but I started running the numbers on that and realized I wasn't doing as good as I once thought. When you're taking home a grand a week after taxes (on paper logs) a guy would like to think that he's making 4 grand a month. Makes sense right? 4 weeks are in most months. However, if you run like I did and stay out for a month and a half at a time, then take 4 or 5 days off it doesn't come out to 4 grand a month. It comes out to 4 grand this month, 3 grand next month, 4 grand the month after, 3 grand the month after that, and so on. The only way to get the 4 every month is to never take any home time. I used to think I was making really good money at IRT. I totaled up my monthly bills, divided it by 4, and every week when I got paid I sat that amount of money aside to go towards my bills. What was left over is what I saved, spent on food, casinos, etc. It worked out perfect...UNTIL the next month when I took my home time. The month that I took some time off there would be a paycheck that month that was only $100 or so due to not working for 5 or 6 days. Then, it always seemed like the next few weeks were hell trying to get caught back up. I had to make up for the bill money that would've came out of that check, plus whatever money I needed to live on that week, etc. It's like a hamster wheel you can never get off of. Unless, like you said, don't take any time off. When the elogs became mandatory I rolled out. Even if the logs hadn't caused the income to decrease and I could've still made what I made on paper, at best I would've taken home 4 grand 6 months out of the year and 3 grand the other 6 months out of the year (due to taking home time every other month). Run the numbers. It comes out to $42,000 a year. I'm sorry but I can't live in a truck for 45 days at a time just to make 42 thousand bucks a year. I like the job and all, the trucks are great, the scenery I got to see out there was awesome, and the people I worked with and for at IRT were all nice too. But at the end of the day, I can do just as well doing something else that doesn't require me to live in the truck for 45 days at a time. I wish you guys the best out there and hope 2015 treats you well. Drive safe.

 

I don't have any home life or a wife or a set of kids so I'm completely content with living in a truck, even if it is for 40k a year. I could make more with a local job but that would also entail a tremendous increase in physical labor. OTR as we all know isn't particularly strenuous on a physical level and you will never hear any conplaints from me about that. I'm completely content with living like a gypsy. And I like that my job is a one man operation and there is no one else around to annoy me aside from four wheelers and steering wheel holders and the like. Couldn't say that if I went back to the 9 to 5 thing.

 

in any other job if you take off 4 days in a week you'll make a pretty small check that week. that's 100% standard in any other job (and yes I know the Military is different but lets please not open that can of worms)

what makes this job/industry different is that if I take 4 days off the company suffers as well as I do.

and just for the heck of it i'll say this

...ever stop to think that's the point? work you to the point your poor, then take time off and you're suffering. almost to the point where you're begging for work? "I can't afford to take time off work so i'll just work here 365 days a year so i'll always have money"

 

At some jobs you don't have to have to take 4 or 5 days off work because you get home more often and don't necessarily need 4 to 5 days off since you get home once or twice a week regularly. But, when you've been gone 45 days straight working at IRT 4 to 5 consecutive days off is pretty much mandatory for some of us. I'm back to pulling food grade pneumatic. Work 5 or 6 days a week, get plenty of home time throughout the week (so no need to take 5 days off next month without pay since I see my house regularly). When I was at IRT I only worked about 5 or 6 days a week too. But those 1 or 2 days that I didn't work each week were spent at truck stops throughout the country instead of my house. With this job, those 1 or 2 days off work are at my house. The money is the same, so I figured why not make a change. The wife is happier now, we eat healthier at home, and save money on food which is kind of like a pay increase.

 

that last part is smart thinking , have fun with that