Plan 1 or plan 2??

It's pretty difficult to average 55 while never doing better than 62 isn't it?

 

You are a formidable position.

After careful thought, .48 isnt enough. Risking a 5000 mile month because anything is possible in trucking at .48 is not attractive. Call it 2300 back of napkin gross pay for 4 weeks.

So much for the salary option. That is why I advocate a salary option.

Surely Swift and the like trucking companies share the position you share, more miles is good revenue always good money. I agree with that. HOWEVER... I would expect the company to dispatch as much as possible. 0.48 vs 10500 miles for a solo in one month comes out to slightly more than 5 grand gross. At 280 HOS hours total that 10500 comes pretty close to 38 miles per hour actual average mileage.

Fleets like to average 45 mph every day and night. Trucks slower than that risk being late. Sometimes they are late.

I actually trip plan 35 mph average against whatever trip miles quoted by a dispatcher to me. That is a defense skill I have learned. If you want me from say Denver to Houston overnight. I will automatically know that 1200 miles divided by 35 is not a 24 hour trip. I need one more day to get this done on time, legally. about 36 hours worth of driving more or less. Even if you had a team, you would not be there overnight, it will be 36 hours getting there.

The dispatcher screwed up by making this a overnight appt time. We are already late because there is like you say a lost amount of hours getting loaded today. God only knows when we get out of there.

Im already stressed as a driver. Never mind the dispatcher. It's all late. New appt please.

UNTIL they FIX that particular set of friction so to speak I'll keep that salary please thank you. That truck is still going to need 36 hours to be in Houston from Denver. If I am solo I need even more time to include ELD/HOS mandated breaks.

Surely the company dispatcher and so on already know of this.

And I hear "Ok sir, let's get this Denver to houston overnight today."

Sorry boss it's not going to happen, who and what army or have you been smoking (To dispatcher not to you personally) to tell me that I will be in Houston overnight.

I can almost feel the time slip by trying to sort this out on the phone or qualcomm along with the money or potentially my job. And I have to check my recaps to be sure I got the legal amount of time needed to do this work.

Otherwise talk to a team driver. A company like swift would have hundreds of teams potentially. Give that to them. Don't bother me today unless you have something for a Solo within reasonable schedule of appt delivery.

That is another part of the problem. newbie drivers go Yarp and take your dispatch. You wash your hands knowing newbie will be late probably and that's a problem for next week. You are on your way home soon after clocking out to do this again tomorrow.

Poor newbie he does not know what he is walking into.

Until then I'll stick to salary. And use the time available to be diplomatic and get a third day valid appointment time off the customer because that is about when it will be there as a solo.

0.48? HA make it .70 or more Lets stop with this sub .50 a mile culture. Drivers are sometimes worth a dollar these days. But we don't pay them hardly anything. Which is why I'll take that salary.

 

Yeah it is, all it takes is some joker plugging up the fuel island at your designated fuel stop.

 

Yea well I'm just glad I'm out on my own and can keep whatever I don't spend if I want.

 

Dozens of companies are going to a guaranteed minimum weekly paycheck. Some are, you can make more, but not less each week.
A few of their drivers have posted on here that it's the real deal.
Hornady
West Side Transport
K&B Transportation
and many others

 

After careful thought I would be looking into 1099 myself.

God only knows my parents were 1099 themselves I think among other things when running that tavern so many years. They alone made business decisions, ordered restocks of food and beer etc, paid the gas bill each month (Around 3000) and the light bill plus make payroll for a small number of employees including myself at one time or another.

I bought a tractor on paper one time back in the 90's freight rates in those days was about 1.50 to 1.65 at most with 1.15 set aside to pay the truck, insurance, fuel, tags, tires, engine escrow fund (10%) and so on etc etc etc. Im not sure what I would have persoanally taken home after the truck and associated costs are paid each week, however it would have been a form of freedom instead of asking a dispatcher papa may I have a load?

or worse, being told here is a 200 mile load delivers in 5 days to VA beach from Raleigh NC enjoy. ATS did that to me for my very first load from Orientation. I sit for 4 days in that stupid sleeper.

Im pretty sure a proper company with big time formal salary or high mileage wages etc would not be surviving on 200 mile runs due in 5 days time.

There are times I have considered getting back to being a Owner Operator. It's something I never put aside despite my previous thoughts for and against 1099.

What with the changes evolving against company drivers still being paid 0.34 a mile and told they will make good money etc... Im even more inclined to go the 1099 route with a good decent truck I can call my own.

Maybe I'll get a million dollars inheritance from a dead uncle. I'll start things off with a few trucks and a small office with some hiring to do among other things even though I cannot hold a CDL anymore. (Not necessarily for actual driving of interstate or intrastate under Tier one.) The biggest problem would be coming up with a suitable company name to call it. Half tempted to call it the staypuft express. In a nod to the character in Ghostbusters.

 

I don't know about picking loads, I would be joining McKesson for medicine loads. Im pretty sure with our aging population it will be good for another 35 years or so worth of business. Or I may lease onto a fleet already leased to McKesson. Who knows.

What I am getting at is if the Industry refuses to pay between say .65 to 1.00 for company drivers or maintain a decent salary with decent and realistic appt times that don't conflict with ELD then I'll do it myself with a 1099 hiring people to run the rigs. More than likely these would be strictly teams.

What I don't know is the hard revenue possible from McKesson for delivery completed per truck. Out of that has to come out everything including pay for the teams.

 

You forgot my personal favorite Millertime but it already in use so you may not want to use that one.