Pay

Where are you located and do you have endorsements?

 

I would not pull for .37 cents a mile. I got cdl 4 yrs ago and we straight out of school was .43 to .47 cents per mile. They are trying to pull that straight out of school #### with you. Do not fall for it. I know we are talking penny’s on cents here but I’m telling you those penny’s matter.

 

Keep that pipe dream going 3k miles a week.. and everything always goes as planned right in trucking nothing is guaranteed except the lies you will be told

 

@Sparrow92 ...Can you tell us more about the job? Are there any benefits or hourly pay for loading and unloading? Is there a definite pay increase schedule?
More information will help us give you better advice.

 

I started out at 37 cpm in 2017 and made $61k. But I drove for a smaller family operated company with excellent dispatchers. Averaged 3700 miles every 7 to 10 days (that includes 2 to 4 days of hometime between every run, always did my 34 at home.)

So you can make good money at that rate... But ALOT depends on how the company operates.

 

Very true. Plus, you had the advantage of knowing every goat trail and wide spot in your area of operation.

A lot of new drivers are lost from day one. Couple that with the average inefficient dispatchers that most companies have and the real-world wage drops like a rock.

 

Right and also have to factor in health insurance costs. Some companies health insurance for a family is expensive and some other companies it's cheap or even free.
Yellow | LTL Freight Shipping & Logistics Solutions
Benefits:

• 100% paid health benefits for you and your family (plus vacation time)
• Union contract pay rates up to $0.62 a mile
• All equipment is provided and maintained by the Company
• 100% no-touch freight
• Job security and stability with a union contract
• Daily dispatches for non-team drivers
• More home time
• Company-paid hotel for non-sleeper teams overnight

 

It took me about 5 months to where I wasn't feeling nervous about being able to find the shipper or receiver at either end. Now I have been to the common places we go enough times to get there with the most efficient route. Even when a new destination is sprinkled in, I have learned what to look for in finding the truck entrance. Early on, my pay suffered from going the wrong direction on a street, thus wasting time; mismanaging my clock, thus wasting time; ineffective communication with DM, thus wasting time. The first 4-6 months there is no hitting 3k miles/week, especially if it's not 95% drop and hook because how to maximize time is still being learned. Shoot, the first 2 months I was nervous about trying to find a place to park that wasn't a known truck stop because I was worried about getting lost. Do you realize how much time is wasted looking for parking at certain truck stops? Finding the smaller places that always have one or two spots that are easy to fit into saves a lot of time.

 

This is the biggest factor in determining how much you CAN make at any given rate... A crappy dispatcher will cost the driver time and money, while a really good dispatcher will have the driver stepping 'n' fetching like the devil himself was on his tail.

Both extremes can be bad... But I'd rather have a dispatcher that run me like a rented mule than one that couldnt keep me moving.

 

Me too. Much rather have a conversation about "hey, ease up on me for a couple days" than a conversation about "do I really have to sit for 12 hours between loads?"