Are there any good trucking companies to drive for?

i mostly disagree with that article
almost anyone getting into trucking doesn't even understand the business and until they are in it will have no clue whether they want flatbed or reefer OTR or local
the failure rate comes from unmet expectations in life
i think you get started most anywhere get a lil experience keep your nose clean and move on

just yesterday a new driver thought he would like to start his career with Maverick but was concerned they don't match 401K
when he needs to be concerned with learning to be a truck driver
and not just a license holder

 

I don't think that a driver has to be gone weeks a the time to make decent living.
I don't buy the you have to be out 2-3-4-5-6 weeks to make the dough.

I use to run from one point then long trip and come back the same place and i did make serious money constantly.

The big company likes it when their workforce are willing to go anywhere anytime it doesn't matters to them if you reset in a truck stop actually most just don't care about their workforce.

But with little bit more planning they would increase milleage per unit and drivers home time, and that would be a win/win companies/drivers.

 

Maybe for most but completely untrue if you handle yourself like a professional, have a good record, keep your good record, and make good choices in where you go.

I've always been home every weekend, made 45k first year and 4 years in now will do 70k this year.

If you have a good record and refuse to settle, there are good gigs out here

 

Please don't get me wrong i do enjoy once in a while being gone 2-3 weeks but to me the money doesn't justify being away from my wife and the kids.

If we were talking 2.5-3K CLEAR in my pocket every week it would be different.....i guess everybodys has their own conception of what's good money.

 

Hate to poke holes in your narrative, but plenty of us run OTR and pull of more than 7500 mi/month without working 2 months at a time. At our company, drivers qualify for a $.02/mi bonus only when they hit 10,000 for the month (teams at 16,000mi) and we all pretty much get it. Single drivers are home every 5-7 days for 2-2 days.

I also think you're painfully misinformed about what welfare is, and how much you'll receive. In 2011, 50% of wage earners made less than $26k/year, you'll have us believe that 4 years later welfare payments are now $36k/year? C'mon now.

We're a lot more generous in Canada with our welfare and in my province ya get $670/month. I pay twice that in rent.

 

Ever thought about companies that haul their own freight? I run for serta, home every night off on weekends and made 68,000 my first year.

 

i drive 13000 miles a month had 7 days off made 68000 last year
OTR is terrible terrible

 

It can be found out there. The usual I see in my area is about 1100-1500(non union) for dedicated and local runs. Solo OTR today is not even worth it since you can make better on team dedicated or running solo dedicated. Just got hired on for a local dedicated that runs from the DC to local department stores that makes very well.
The trick is you can haggle these companies if you have a clean record and years of experience and when they tell you NOT to tell other company drivers what you make...don't. Know a pal that got a back room deal with another company like I did and ruined it for himself when he went bragging about what he made...then some whinny idiot went crying to whoever about pay. Never settle for their usual hiring rate.

 

Private fleets are where it's at, in my opinion. I drove 264 miles today, made 2 drops, worked 8 hours, and made $247. And it was a slow day!

 

Pret

If you talk to "most" drivers out here on the road you will see a vast majority can make more than 50k a year but, they have to stay on the road longer than a week at a time. Finding a company where you make more than a thousand a week AND be home every weekend is difficult..

Salary is a beautiful thing. It takes all the stress of chasing the clock away. If the truck breaks down and you can't run, you still get paid.. have bad weather and only make 300 miles in a day, it doesn't matter.

My boss pays a weekly salary plus milage...