How are people making good money?

How drivers "should be " running and what they manage to do is often 2 different things . Getting the "right company " starting out is unlikely as is getting anywhere near $.50 a mile or even 4,000 miles a week as a new team .
We'd be glad to hear from any teams with less than 6 months experience doing that on a regular basis .

 

That's what I'm talking about. You're counting just road time. Lets just count time at work or away from home. Living in a box is no life for me.

 

my husband started training with c1 then went to arkansas to train and driver with a mentor for about 2-3 weeks... He came home for a couple of days did some tests and is leaving soon... he will be partner driving. How much can we expect him to make? and how often will he come home?

 

He's also not counting the time spent waiting. Waiting to be loaded, unloaded, or even to just get a load. There's a lot of "Hurry up to wait" in this industry, so the $$$ in OTR isn't really as appealing as it seems. As a solo driver, you're realistically going to drive only 2,000-2,500 miles a week and bust your 70s every week.

 

Who does ure husband work for? It all depends what company

 

Ha! Finally agree with RickG!

Truckerwife, unfortunately you are going to very rarely see your hubby. Typically an over the road driver will spend 6-8 weeks out. Teams will often stay out a little longer, though there are some companies that run differently. If your hubby is with a typical mega-carrier than yes he is going to be gone for long periods of time with usually 2-3 days off in between. This is certainly not a good career for someone who has a spouse or family.

The exception would be for you to get your license and drive with him. You would see him all the time and you would make lots of money!

On the upside of things your husband should make more money than a solo driver however if he is paired with another inexperienced driver it could a good 4-6 months before they figure things out and are making good money.

Also have to agree with Ghostryder, most solo's typically run about 1800 - 2500 a week driving for a mega-carrier. That is why it is so crucial to find a good smaller company to drive for. By smaller I mean non-mega-carrier. It doesn't necessarily have to be a company with two trucks. The mega-carriers have it down to a science and are there to make money, they are going to run trainee's as much as possible because they are paying them the least. A trainer with a trainee is sweet profit for them! Its equal to the sweat factories in China or Mexico! They pay one driver a very cheap mileage rate and then the trainee a cheap salary of about $300 a week. Then they run the truck as a crippled team. They may not get 7000 miles a week out of them but even 4500 - 5000 is very good money for them. Once you are upgraded you do the short runs and grunt work while they have their teams run the long miles coast to coast and also the "hot" loads.

The other huge way they make money is leasing. This is the other way they move freight extremely cheap. You pay all the over head and fuel etc... and they pay you a rape I mean they pay you an extremely low rate of about $.82 a mile! Meanwhile they are making about $2.65 a mile with no over head! They back charge for the fuel surcharge, skim off of it and give the remainder to you. As long as it comes close to the national average you never know the difference.

You have to really commend them though. They have come a long way from the "Rubber Duck" days and they know how to make that money! New drivers are the life blood of these companies and is why you see them spending millions of dollars in advertising to recruit. Its funny to see all the ads blatantly put right on the trucks! Instead of advertising about the company and what they can do for their customers they are advertising how they get their drivers home all the time and pay them $.42 a mile! When was the last time you saw a truck with an advertisement about how they run their freight or how safe they are, or how they have a low freight claim rate etc...?

 

Truckload outfits ain't worf a #!?#

 

That's right. A rookie driver can hit a pot of gold with the right company. These otr outfits might bump your pay up 5 cents over 30 years accident free miles. A nickle bump above nothing is still nothing over the years as inflation moves faster than the pay. Spinning your wheels or peeing in the wind with these outfits is all it is. Many aren't worth the time even to gain experience.

 

Dude said he works 8 hours a day, M-F, no weekends. That's not over the road. That's not regional. That's local. Now you guys can act like your feelings are hurt or whatever cause I said that situation is not over the road driving. I never said anything about regional drivers. Anyone that says they work just 40 hours a week, no weekends, is no way a regional driver or an over the road driver. Your driving locally for someone. Maybe making great money....I could care less. I would not want to be a on a local route or a regional one for that matter. I love doing what I do and make pretty darn good money doing it.

 

What works for me may not work for you.
Teaming is out,its dangerous and I dont like splitting my pay with someone else..If you are not a team with a spouse or significant other, its just not worth it.
A small company that pays a percentage of the gross has done me the best,in most cases these companys will let you decide on what load you want to haul,the more you make,the more they make,and vice versa.
25 percent or greater seems to be standard.
Also.whatever you do,make sure the company takes taxes.(hard knocks taught me this!)