Expenses while over the road

Everything you pay for out of pocket Ask for two receipts or make a copy of the receipt. Companies tend to do the ,oh I never saw it in your paper work" Bs

 

Company pays for those. You don't even have to pay for showers on the road because usually a free shower with a fillup. Someone else can explain that better.

 

You're generally reimbursed if you pay out of pocket. Most tolls are on EZ Pass now days

 

That pretty much covers it. You may need to cover things like tolls and cat scales but the company should reimburse you so I don't count those.

Food, toiletries and any other personal items can be very costly though if you plan on living out of truck stops. Lots of good threads on here about how to eat without spending a fortune if you do some searching.

 

A previous company had my fuel card set up like an ATM accessible debit card. The checking side was truck cash, scale, washer fluid, light bulbs, etc. Anything I needed under $100 for the truck I didn't need a P.O. for. Just write my truck and trip number on each receipt and scan it in with my B/L. Then they had the savings side, which was personal cash. I signed a form telling them to put $xxx on my card in my personal cash. The truck cash was only available when I was under a load, as soon as I emptied out on my q/comm, it froze the card until I was dispatched on my next load. The personal cash side was available any time, so if I were on home time or vacation, I could get my money for my living expenses before leaving home on my next load at any ATM.

The place I just left didn't allow any ATM use with their fuel card. They would put $75/day on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday automatically, if you didn't take it, then they didn't deduct anything. If you had truck expenses, then you had to either take cash when fueling(for free) or take an advance w/o fueling and pay the charges, but those charges were less than the average ATM fee. The down side is they didn't use any toll-pass transponders, all cash. If you were on a load that took you into the northeast and were going to be over the weekly $225, you just messaged in to have money loaded on your card, and just got your toll money with fuel before heading into toll purgatory, then just turn in the toll tickets with your paperwork.

 

Most companies have EZ-Pass and Pike Pass (Oklahoma) and together those will cover most toll roads, if you do end up having to pay a toll always get a receipt.

Scale tickets are usually reimbursed by the company auctomatically. Just attach one of the copies of your scale ticket (and any reweighs) to your trip paperwork and it should be reimbursed on the same payroll as the trip.

I made use of TripPack Mobile when I was with Werner and I never had issues getting my reimbursements paid.

 

MAKE SURE YOU GET THIS EXPLAINED AT ORIENTATION! Most companies worth a #### will reimburse these, but some companies will make you take specific routes, and if you decide that it's easier/quicker/less crowded to take an alternate route, they WON'T pay for any OOR tolls, so you'll be out of pocket. LikeI said, most worth a dang will cover, but some of the crummier outfits will screw you any way they can....

 

I bring my own food and cases of water. Showers are free when you get fuel, but you'll need to get a rewards card from Loves, Pilot, etc. I use my rewards points to get free drinks and snacks.

I've never had to pay for a scale or toll, so I can't help you there. I get reimbursed for stuff like engine fluids, lights, or a hotel room. Besides personal items, you'll probably have to buy some basic tools and that's about it. You might even get reimbursed for those.