Is My Math Correct or Am I Missing Something???

I wish I could quit smoking

 

time really is money!

 

All the research I've been doing has pretty much only confirmed for me that 1. The best jobs are in the mid-west, southwest, and west. 2. The smaller companies often offer the best pay and benefit packages. At least that's how it seems to me. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

lol that was me, my ex wife would fight about it so I smoked at work for several years without her knowing, my wife now knows I will do whatever I want so she leaves me alone, only mentions she doesnt care for it.

 

Who the hell pays that? I trained with Schneider and was paid $500 a week for 2 weeks during training. I thought they cut me loose to fast, but I have not crashed in 7 years so I guess the training wasn't that bad. I was paid 29cpm after training for 6 months then 31cpm for the next 6 months. I averaged about 2500 miles a week and grossed around $750 a week my first year. You may want to try them to receive training they weren't bad. After you work with them for a year I'd local for local work. I drive local for J.B. Hunt and gross $1250 a week, it's not the best but it ain't the worst. Me personally I'll never do OTR again cause I have learned you can make the same amount of money and be home every day while driving local. I know some people talk about J.B. Hunt, this is just my experience with on a DCS account. I'm hoping it stays this way and it's the least driving job I do.

 

I would love to get a local gig my problem is the closest local job is like a 45 minute drive away. And we only have one car. So I'd have to buy a new car and then I'd have like 16 hour days when you add in the drive time.

 

OK, Don't get me wrong, not saying anyone should settle for less than minimum wage, but there are a lot that think they can jump from CDL school to the highest paying, greatest company right away, with no experience other than the school, Now you might get a pretty good pay check at the oil fields, but that a tuff job, If your a young man, willing to relocate to those locations, Outstanding, But be prepared for really long hours, But for those for are just getting into the industry, and doing the OTR thing, Most of you are going to have to pay your dues, before a better company is going to put you behind the wheel, Just like any other job out there, You can't go to construction company with no experience and be the superintentant, you must learn the buisness first then move up in ranks, Think about this? you work for a company for X amount of years, have tons of experience, and your company highers a new person that has exactly 0 years of experience and pay him/her the same amount as you, Kind of seems wrong to me

 

The last thing any of us (with some exceptions) want to do is divide our paychecks by the total number of hours we spent (I mean TOTAL time, driving, paperwork, waiting, fixing something, etc.) earning it. You can drive 70 but work a lot more doing non-driving things. It's heart breaking, but one of the most critical jobs in the country is not very well paying if you break it down to an hourly wage, in most (not all, but most) cases, even for experienced drivers. It's a struggle at first, then a living wage and toward the latter part a decent living. It's usually not the pay that attracts people to trucking. You can make a decent living, but it takes a couple years not only to get the experience for the higher paying jobs but to figure out how the game is played so you can get good runs and make a decent check. There's an art to that part too. Driver pay has been a big issue in our industry for a long time and I suspect it will continue to be one for a long time to come. Sorry Dude but you'll never get that big house on the hill with a swimming pool and four car garage driving a truck. It would be wonderful if it were that way (and really as vital to our Nation as it is - it SHOULD be), but unfortunately that's just not the case.

 

You're probably talking about Watkins-Shepard; good deal, go for it, good company. 10 days is good, you don't need a baby sitter. I don't downshift on a steep grade. Usually there's a brake check area at the top of steep grades so I pull in, then when I leave I hit the interstate already in the gear I need to be in for the proper RPMs and speed limit for the grade. For example Black Mountain in North Carolina is 35 for trucks. Learn the proper gear for 35 in your truck. Obey those downgrade speed limits, not just for safety, but because sometimes there's a trooper hiding near the bottom with a big ticket book.

 

Not quite. You have to factor both driver's DOT breaks and federally mandated pre and post trip inspections. Also, there is smarter ways to maximize your weekly income by the driving math. If you drive 10x10 you will maximize the 70 hour rule. 11 hours allowed - 30 minute minimum DOT break - 30 minute minimum inspections (15 pre, 15 post) = 10 actual driving hours. If you drive 10x10, you can easily get a range of 2800-3200 weekely ... each driver. Consider the following:

$0.25 x 3500 = $875.00 gross weekly. $875 x 52 weeks per year = $45500.00 annual divide 12 months = an average monthly of $3791.66.

Conservative speed average = 62 mph (balances actual 65 if governed, with unload, waiting, etc.)

Worst case on mileage should be 500 miles. There are exceptions like Northeast driving were traffic is horrible. But then you get a load through the midwest ... so take this portion as you will.

500 x 7 days (10 hours a day for 70 hours a week) = 3500 miles in this example. This is based on OTR driving. Drive at night and more miles ... day only, and it depends on you doing your trip planning to go through populated areas.

All this is general, and I am not implying I am an expert of any sort. Yes, if you divide the hours by your weekly sum, it will probably show a low hourly rate. But also consider what it is you are really doing for the money ... just driving. Think on other jobs at that hourly pay, and what they do for it. Added, it is a starting point ... one of the better companies to start with. There are tons of options to make more whichever way you would like to go.

Hope any of this helps you or at least sheds more light.