Hello, I recently got my permit for my Class A and have been in touch with a few companies that offer schooling/training. I was in construction my whole life and know nothing about trucking. So the question is what should I be asking these recruiters that call me back.
And what kind of numbers are a bad deal for a newbie?
For example CFI, the detention and layover pay sounds really bad, but Im not sure what the industry is paying.
Any advice, or maybe a link to a thread about it? Thanks
- $0.06 extra per mile for placarded hazmat loads (We’ll give you time to obtain the endorsement and reimburse you)
- $3,000 driver referral bonus
- $16.00 per hour for detention pay (starting after 2 hours)
- $90.00 per day for layover pay (starting after 48 hours
Questions I should be asking the recruiters?
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Rutt, Jan 13, 2022.
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...if you are in construction your all life ...why switching , i believe there are tons of opportunities there ...$90 day layover seems like joke ...any skilled trade in construction makes from 30 per hour and sleeps home daily ...just my opinion
I have many friends with six figures salary doing tile , trim , cabinets , plumbing , electricTheLoadOut and Geekonthestreet Thank this. -
austinmike, dennisrosemond and Zoltan1a Thank this.
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Layover should be $160 minimum. $16 after 2 hours. Likely rarely get any pay if customers are on the ball so you could easily give up 4 hours or more daily.
driver referall usually only paid out if employee stays 2 years which is unlikely considering low wage low layover payRutt Thanks this. -
Recruiters are like car salesman or military recruiters. "Sure, the Army will let you sleep until 11 am daily and never march if it rains. Sign right here."
In my opinion you are wasting your time asking recruiters questions. Ask drivers working for the trucking company who are doing the job you are interested in doing. For example, if you are getting hired for Over-The-Road (OTR) or irregular, long-distance trucking answers from drivers in the same company that are working for a Dedicated account to one shipper or one receiver may have different rules and pay structures. The drivers in other divisions (Dedicated, Regional, OTR, Reefer, Flatbed, etc) may know the answers to questions that pertain to all drivers, but not the pay and schedule questions that apply to the division you are getting hired for.
Concerning Detention Pay, it's a very small piece of your pay as a driver, most of the time. There is also a common game in the industry that "promises", when it's really a suggestion, that if you have to wait at customers then you will get paid for that waiting. Many companies have specific rules and policies that will cause you to only get paid a portion of the amount they claim and only on some of the time you wait. Many companies require you to be on-time, or you get no detention pay, no matter what. 5 minutes late, no detention pay for the 8 hours you waited to get unloaded. If you are early, your detention pay cannot start until the original appointment time. If the customer allows you to deliver 3 hours before the original appointment, but they don't unload you until an hour after the original appointment, your detention pay cannot be more than 1 hour. Many companies have a policy about how long you must wait before detention pay can begin. My last company required 2 hours of free waiting after the original appointment before any detention pay was possible. Some very big customers have contracts with trucking companies that prohibit ANY detention pay, no matter how long you wait. Each company has their own policy, pay rate, and definitions, and limits on detention pay.
I would want to know
1. when does detention pay start? (how long after I arrive, or how long after the appointment time)
2. If previous customer makes me late for current customer, does that prevent getting paid detention time?
3. What is hourly pay rate for detention time?
4 What limits on detention pay are there? (some companies may only pay a maximum of X hours per day)
5. Are any of your customers exempt from paying for driver detention they create?
What trucking companies really mean when they say they pay detention pay is "If our customer pays us for your waiting, then we'll pay you."silverspur, Val_Caldera and Rutt Thank this. -
The after 2 hours for the detention pay sounded suspect to, if you get loaded at 1 hour 45 mins you get boned, and if it does go over
2 hours thats only 8 bucks a hour.
Training pay is .32 cpm, not sure how that is.
Any other things I should be asking so I don't get screwed over. -
tscottme Thanks this.
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My company pays detention pay after 1 hour at $20 per hour. We don't really have layover pay. We can get $100 for 34 hour reset at truck stop vs free at home. We have a guaranteed minimum pay every week. It all comes at price, they run us 70 hours in 6 days. Dispatch never runs out of loads. They actually book more loads then we can do. So they have reschedule loads lots. It get kind of old over time. They keep pushing the drives to go because they are on the hook for the minimum pay. They pay detention pay even if they don't get paid for shipping or receiver. They will pay for parking at truck stop if you needed it.
BennysPennys and tscottme Thank this. -
The rate of pay for detention varies by company but I've seen $10-30 for company drivers. SOMETIMES detention pay rates are low and it's ok because there is very little detention. This is possible on dedicated or regional accounts where the customer and the trucking company are doing their part. The same with layover pay, etc.
Typically the recruiters will know nothing of the trucking company except a couple of facts provided by the company like average miles per week per driver/truck. Average yearly pay, or a new one, Average pay among our top X % of drivers. The recruiters and the company will never underestimate pay or bonus amounts to drivers and they will always underestimate the delays and time spent away from home.
My strongest recommendation is that you never make plans on picking or completing CDL school until after you have found the company, or may 1-3 companies, you are going to work for. CDL school is usually rushed and because it's rushed you will not have time to research companies. The CDL school will arrange several trucking companies to present themselves at CDL school. MOST students in school will limit their choice to one of those companies. Those companies are often the worst companies in the business, or local to the school. Most students do not know enough about the industry to ask enough questions of that presenting company. And the representative may not answer or may not know the answers. However, they will show you a shiny truck and talk about freedom and the open-road, not the traffic jams, constant disrespect, and being tired with no place to park.
Remember 1) Who to work for, 2) which CDL school, 3)when to start. If you are out of work, or low to moderate income you may qualify for a WOIA grant to pay for CDL school. EVERY CDL school will find a company to lend you money for school. There are trucking companies that will provide "free school" in exchange for a 1 year contract to work only for that company. "Free school" is not necessarily good or bad. Some of the worst companies, C.R. England, have them and some of the best schools have "free school". -
tscottme Thanks this.
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