18 Spd Trans / Refrigerated Van Companies Info

I just found out about the 26 cpm pay. I think I would do some more looking around before taking this. At 3000 miles per week, that's only 780 per week, and there's no way that I would consider running that hard for that kind of money. And the odds are against you actually getting 3k a week.

And I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing the Pre PAss in those cabs. That company has way too much baggage on their records to ever qualify for the program.

 

Because by buying such pretty shiny equipment, they can appeal to the ego's of the driver who just has to see himself behind the wheel of a big shiny Peterbilt. And there are plenty of drivers out there who feed on that image so much that they'll drive for 26 cents a mile. And the amazing thing is that they will drive up behind other trucks all day long advertising 38-44 cpm on the back of their trailers.

I don't understand it, but it happens. I want my employer to buy the most aerodynamic fuel efficent trucks he can get, and he can share the savings with me in pay. I don't get the big sleeper or the long wheelbase tractor, not a lot of chrome on it, but I sure make good money with what I drive, and that's my bottom line.

 

Uh oh....

They will not be able to get pre-pass until their safe-stat ISS-2 improves to at least 75. Even then, scales familiar with the trucks may disallow them to bypass for a period of time, because of their history. It's completely up to the individual scale operators whom they allow to by-pass.

The numbers could be either driver problems, or company problems. I suspect it's a combination of both. Either way, the company is not addressing the issue fast enough to stop it. When you get into the nineties, you can expect to be pulled around back quite often. If you go to work for them, stay on your toes. Keep your paperwork straight.

Personally, I'd avoid a company with this kind of rating, but I understand that some will disagree with that assessment. If I see an improvement over time, then I would consider them in the future. Either way, I'd be inquiring into their policies on dispatch and how they expect a driver to handle delayed loading and unloading situations, and if their policy is to arrange a new delivery appointment, or if the driver will be expected to make all deliveries on time, despite delays. You'll have your answer right then and there, whether the problem is a company or driver issue.

They are very similar. They only difference that comes to mind, is that the MobileMax screen holds less information than the traditional QualComm unit does, so you get your dispatch information in several segements, rather than in one shot. I use a MobileMax unit currently, but would prefer a QualComm. If you've used a QualComm, a MobileMax is an easy adjustment.

 

Okay, a fair question for me to take a shot at. I see a lot of people that are driving the big fancy trucks, and they tend to be making less than I do. Is there a definite direct relationship between a big shiny truck and poor pay? No there isn't. But the more a company spends servicing the debt of buying the equipment, the less money there is left over to pay other costs, including driver compensation. The more a company spends on fuel and other operating costs, the less that is available for other expenses, including driver compensation.

My employer primarily buys small sleeper Macks, and we typically keep our tractors 8-9 years in active road service. So they pay for themselves in the time we own them, albeit with slightly higher maintenance costs in later years than a company that trades every 3-4 years. But overall, we tend to have lower vehicle costs than a company that constantly trades.

Though I am not specifically paid from fuel savings related to our choice and operation of equipment, I am paid fairly well. I get a percentage, but also track my pay against my mileage, since that is the industry standard. If you go on mileage, I ran 100,240 miles last year, and made a little bit more than 53,000 dollars, resulting in a pay of 53 cpm. This year, my pay is going to be right in the 63-64k range, and I will have driven a few more miles, and my pay figured in cpm will be right at 51.5-52.5 cpm.

To make this money, I typically drive 1700-2300 miles per week, which is well under what the majority of mileage companies expect their drivers to run. It can vary, and it does. I have had weeks where I turned well over 3300 miles because I wws doing longer runs with short unloading and loading times, and my primary job that week was to hustle the truck down the road. I have also had weeks where I worked locally out of a rail yard and only put 4-500 miles on the truck by the end of the week, but still made a good wage.

Based on the ads I see, and the numbers I see being quoted, I could easily run for someone else, run 25,000 more miles a year than I do, and make 10k less. That's a lot of extra seat time for no gain. Call me lazy if you want to, but I have always thought that getting the greatest income from the least hours or labor input put me ahead in the game.

I still stand by the theory that an employer who spends less on his mechanical operating costs will have a larger amount of money left to pay the human costs of operating. Nothing says that they have to share that saved money with their employees, but companies that want to reduce training and recruiting expenses, limit driver turnover, and keep the employees happy may well decide to spend some of that money in compensation.

A good example is our per diem plan. As you have probably heard, and read about it in TT's post, there are plenty of companies using this as a financial scam of sorts on their employees. Ours is real simple. It isn't based on my mileage or my income. I simply turn in my receipts for any time I spend away from my home terminal over 24 hours. I get up to $12.00 a day per diem for that time. It doesn't reduce my compensation or percentage on the load, simply pays my expenses up to a certain point each day. Some weeks I have zero expenses, some weeks I have a full week of receipts.

And remember, this thread is about a company that runs big 379's, and pays you the grand sum of 26 cpm to drive them. Not a rate that I would willingly run 3000 miles a week for.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.....