New truck transport?

I was at a hotel using the shuttle service ...we made a pit stop at Indianapolis airport 2 guys got in and were from auto truck transport. One guy just started and the other was there 6 yrs. They had been out over a month avg 1500 miles a week. The guy that had been there said its slow

 

I live in Mississippi. Would I be able to work for any of these companies, or do they have to have a hub or office in this state?

 

I do piggy back for Auto Truck now. I tell people if your content in your current job don't do it. It is a lot of work undecking the trucks. I wouldn't do anything else, however it isn't for everyone. You do need tools. You have to get the cab, but all costs are reembursed by the company.

 

Dave, with most of these driveaway companies, drivers live all over the United States. It's rare that a driver ever need to go to the home terminal or office (unless for orientation). Usually, you leave your home base on a bus or a rental car and head to pick up a truck, drive that truck whereever it's going and are either dispatched to another truck or, go home.

 

The company I work for, Performance Trans, has an office in Chicago and I have never been inside the building in the two years I have worked for them.

 

Auto Truck Transport, I almost hired on with em a few years ago but they put a freeze on before I got hired. I've been noticing them a lot too here lately. Back then you picked up at a plant, delivered the trucks, had to reassemble the trucks, worked good hours, hotels every night with truck parking, airports and taxis, all expensed by the company and you kept the ff miles. They would fly you to the next gig or to the house if you were due home. Don't know about now, while I was out over the road I met more than one ex driver that got laid off. It was union and they were all waiting to get back on. Don't think all of the air travel would be worth it for me these days. But it's one of the best driving gigs I found then.

 

SWIFT had a contract few years back to deliver new VOLVOs from the factory to dealers all over North America. Some drivers did well at it until SWIFT lost the contract

 

I like the flexability. I can run one a week or do two or three in a row and take a week or more off. I like the hotel at night and not having a load being shoved down my throat to be delivered at 3am during my 10 hour break. The airports can be a hassle, but you get used to it.

 

I've been working with Spirit Miller since July, and I highly recommend the company. They hire all classes of CDL drivers (A, B and C) and will give you as much work as you want. I make $0.30 per mile and they pay all my expenses (flights, taxicabs, motels, fuel, everything but meals). I believe they also have an $0.80 cents per mile plan, but you have to pay all your own expenses. I worked it out both ways and I honestly believe the $o.30 per mile is the better option, as flights, rental cars and fuel can get expensive. I've probably made around $3000 since July, and I try to stay out between two and three weeks before returning home for a week. Of course, it's up to you how much you want to work, but they'd prefer you stay out at least two weeks at a time. When you get ready to go home, they'll get you home, either on a flight or by finding a transport for you heading toward your home base. Oh yeah, they also pay you $0.15 cents per mile for chase miles (getting from one truck to the next via air, cab, train, rental car or whatever).

You're an independent contractor, not an employee, so you're responsible for your own taxes. At the end of the year, they'll send you a 1099. Now, they don't tell drivers this (for one reason or another), but your 1099 will report actual earned income PLUS all money provided by them to you for expenses (fuel, motels, airfare, cabs, rental cars, etc.). So it's important that you keep copies of everything and use them as deductions on your taxes. For instance, you may make $30000 in income, but your 1099 may show $150,000. That other $120,000 is money provided by them to you for your expenses. So when you claim that you made $150,000 as shown on your 1099 but show no deductions, then you'll be paying taxes on the $150K, not the 30K. Hopefully, you will have saved all your fuel receipts, transportation receipts and lodging receipts totalling $120,000. Why they don't tell drivers this, I don't know. Now, since I've been there just since July, I haven't received my first 1099, but another driver who's been with the company for years told me that this is what they do. So save them receipts!!!

Most of the stuff we drive is utility trucks (bucket trucks, drill trucks, etc.), but we do occasionally get other vehicles to transport. Besides the utility trucks, I've transported two pickup trucks and (because I have a passenger endorsement on my license) a charter bus (kind of like a Greyhound bus). I've heard drivers who have transported straight trucks and new garbage trucks. Probably 70% of the vehicles we transport have automatic transmissions, but some are six speed sticks and others are 12 speed, split axle trucks. And roughly 60% are new. One of the pickups I transported (from Indiapolis, IN to Pasadena, TX) had only 8 miles on the odometer when I picked it up. It was sweet!

Now, everyone is different. Some prefer to do most of their driving at night, some at other odd hours during the day and/or night. Me personally, I usually start around 7 in the morning and work until 6:30 or 7 at night. The company prefers you to drive a minimum of 500 miles per day (on longer runs) to a maximum of 600 miles per day. I usually wind up somewhere in the middle (around 550 or so).

Some of our driver only stay at Motel 6, but I personally hate Motel 6. So, when I go through a state line into a state where I think I'll spend the night, I stop at the Welcome Center or the first rest area and get myself a couple of motel coupon books. There's a green one and a red one. I grab one or two of both. The red one usually has more motels to choose from, but I get the green one too. I'm usually able to find a coupon for an Econolodge, a Super 8 or a Days Inn for under $50. The company don't want you spending more than fifty to sixty dollars for a room (if you choose the $0.80 per mile plan, then you're free to stay where you want, of course).

Then there's the paperwork. You have to keep track of your expenses on (what else?) an expense report. Here you'll write down everytime you stopped for fuel (location, current mileage, number of gallons, price per gallon, total amount), motel stays, taxis, trains, tolls, amount of money you've gotten from an ATM or from a cash advance when you stop for fuel, etc. At the end of the trip, you'll total everything up. You want to try to have as close to the same amount of expenses and cash received as possible. In other words, if you've "spent" $300 on expenses, you want to have received roughly the same amount of cash. If you have more expenses than cash received, you'll receive this amount added to your check. Less expenses than money received, they'll take it away from your check. Then you'll fax your expense sheet and your Bill of Lading (basically containing the starting and ending locations, the starting and ending mileage, truck number, etc.) to Spirit Miller. If you fax it in as quickly as you can after the trip, you'll get an additional $15. And of course, you have to keep an accurate log book.

That's all I can think of at the moment. It's a good company to work for, they're fair and honest, but they'll work you like a dog if you let them. So you have to make sure to have some home time every now and then or you'll get burnt out. If anyone has any other questions about SM, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer 'em. I'm home for at least a week, probably two, as I want to be home to go vote on the 6th.

Oh, one more thing. Just as I'm writing this, I received a call from dispatch, wanting to know if I could work tomorrow. I told them absolutely not! Remember, you're an independent contractor so you're in charge. You only have to do what you want to do.