Am I getting screwed??

To quote the Canadian Poet, Songwriter Leonard Cohen,

"Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in."

 

Are you ‘on the clock’, or get mileage pay as soon as you get in the truck?

 

Make sure that to ask about bringing your dog with you to any potential employer, OP. I have been hauling chemicals since 2012 and never been allowed a pet in the truck. Most chemical plants won't allow pets in the premises... Before that I was in the oilfield and had the same scenario. I wish you the best of luck. You will be amazed how much better tanker life is money wise.

 

@Chinatown you do a great service on here, thank you. But I would stop recommending Central. They have garbage equipment and garbage management. Operated by scum. I wouldn't wish them on my ex wife. Not when you have R&L, Yellow, UPS, locally and big terminals in Toledo/Maumee. Heck even Wallgreens in Walbridge. They all have there own issues. The only difference between Central and other Mega fleets. Most mega fleets don't have hoods running the operation.

Might as well send him over to Red Cap, or ALCO. Detroit, is Detroit folks.

All depends were he lives and wants to do.

Again thanks for helping members and continue on.

 

Just catching up to this thread, but that's some good advice: "Easy on the hammer, easy on the brakes, smooth and steady wins the day."

Same goes for when you're hauling hazardous waste, even if the flammable liquids are drummed up & palletized... it's the thought of how much trouble that load could cause which should keep drivers from acting like fools, or thinking that they're in NASCAR rigs, lol.

 

What is Red Cap? Guess I can look it up, but you may have a better description.

 

Steel hauler in Detroit. Was Detroit Pittsburgh in the past.

 

Hey, OP, no need to apologize, just know that you're doing the right thing by throwing your initial question out there... and don't EVER think that you're 30 and have NOTHING going for ya, not when ya have that CDL-A in your wallet. All that BS you've dealt with recently isn't necessarily YOUR fault either, plenty of folks are struggling in this Brave New Fraudulent Third World. Keep your chin up, driver, and find a better job... you're just stuck in a rut right now, like so many other folks who are dealing with modern reality. Remember, it's always darkest before the dawn... you'll get through this BS, just have a little faith in yourself.

Lemme tell ya something else: OTR with one of those mega carriers with SLOW trucks is NOT the same as OTR with an outfit that's payin' ya well and has nice fast trucks... and I know about Swift, I tried that outfit once when my DAC had BS on it and nobody else would hire me (or so I thought at the time), and I only lasted three months there. With those slow trucks, a driver had to drive all day and half the night to make any progress, and that was BEFORE the ELD BS, lol. Even now, if Swift paid ya by the hour, that goldurned slow truck would be a moneymaker, lol... right now, it's NOT a moneymaker, 10-4? But you can change things...

Don't lose hope, driver, just know that you're doing the right thing by trying to find your place in the transportation industry... hell, even back when I drove, it was hard for a driver to find his or her niche in trucking, but there are many opportunities out there for those willing to look, and folks like Chinatown are willing to help by throwing out suggestions. I wish you the very best of luck too, sometimes that helps... I was down & out when I stumbled upon the best trucking job I ever had, and I eventually pulled through, no reason why you can't as long as you're willing to make the transition. Ain't always easy either...

 

You should be making around $1200 a week