Sicka see'n my own name...

I won't be any help here. When I was in a day cab I was paid hourly and by the drop. When I was OTR I was cpm. I was never on %. I only know of one company that offers miles or % driver's choice. I would say that the miles will not be that big of an issue as I have heard O/O's say some short runs pay better. If the freight charge is decent and your % is right you might do better on %. I would be concerned with what the freight bill is though. I would not want to get stiffed on my pay.

 

Just have to divide your pay by number of miles (add 6%). Then ask yourself if you are being paid "what your worth". Sometimes, being paid a percentage is a PLUS, sometimes you get out the KY.

 

This question is indeed a good one. But if you get paid by the percent of the laod, that's all you get paid, by the load, not empty. So, you got to hope that what you get paid will cover all those deadhead miles you will or might drive to get your next load. And if you drive several hundred miles then you got paid probably next to 15 cents per mile. So, is it worth it to be paid by the percentage?

 

If you aren't a little lazy like me,you will take the short mile loads,a little more work but the shorter the miles the higher the freight rate,of course you have to consider,does that company reload right away so you won't sit long,does the company pay to deadhead to get the load,does the shippers and receivers take care of you right away. A good serius buck can be made thais way if some of the above are met. Also you want to consider ltl,less than truckload,you may never be empty and make really good money. I know LTL is the way to go these days with the fuel so high.It is alot easier to succeed this way tnan taking long trips and sometimes ending up in a non freight area and deadhead 200 or 300 miles.

 

I went out for 6 weeks training at TMC and during those 6 weeks all trainees are required to list their loads and backings and to keep track of the miles. All loads were also figured by CPM and by percentage to compare the differences. Only when I got my own truck did I make the decision to go percentage.
Most bounce miles were between 0 and 60 so there was no pay there. Over 150, which I did twice, the pay is $.20/mile for all miles. This usually occurs in the west. For example a trip to Albuquerque left a bounce of 300 miles to Silver City, NM. Another trip to Denver the bounce was only 100 miles to Pueblo, CO. Loading and unloading is almost always within a two hour period.
If you stay in the midwest and east the percentage is generally a better pay at TMC although they have raised their starting CPM to .37/mile recently.