New truck transport?

jlee7486 · Feb 23, 2014

SlickLizard,
Are you still with Spirit Miller. If you are, do you mind telling about how much money you make a year.? Also, I believe they have no force dispatch, could you discribe the dispatch process (does dispatch ask you to take a load, tell you what loads are available, or something else)?
thanks

noneya · Nov 13, 2014

SlickLizard said: ↑

I've been working with Spirit Miller since July, and I highly recommend the company. They hire all classes of CDL drivers (A, B and C) and will give you as much work as you want. I make $0.30 per mile and they pay all my expenses (flights, taxicabs, motels, fuel, everything but meals). I believe they also have an $0.80 cents per mile plan, but you have to pay all your own expenses. I worked it out both ways and I honestly believe the $o.30 per mile is the better option, as flights, rental cars and fuel can get expensive. I've probably made around $3000 since July, and I try to stay out between two and three weeks before returning home for a week. Of course, it's up to you how much you want to work, but they'd prefer you stay out at least two weeks at a time. When you get ready to go home, they'll get you home, either on a flight or by finding a transport for you heading toward your home base. Oh yeah, they also pay you $0.15 cents per mile for chase miles (getting from one truck to the next via air, cab, train, rental car or whatever).

You're an independent contractor, not an employee, so you're responsible for your own taxes. At the end of the year, they'll send you a 1099. Now, they don't tell drivers this (for one reason or another), but your 1099 will report actual earned income PLUS all money provided by them to you for expenses (fuel, motels, airfare, cabs, rental cars, etc.). So it's important that you keep copies of everything and use them as deductions on your taxes. For instance, you may make $30000 in income, but your 1099 may show $150,000. That other $120,000 is money provided by them to you for your expenses. So when you claim that you made $150,000 as shown on your 1099 but show no deductions, then you'll be paying taxes on the $150K, not the 30K. Hopefully, you will have saved all your fuel receipts, transportation receipts and lodging receipts totalling $120,000. Why they don't tell drivers this, I don't know. Now, since I've been there just since July, I haven't received my first 1099, but another driver who's been with the company for years told me that this is what they do. So save them receipts!!!

Most of the stuff we drive is utility trucks (bucket trucks, drill trucks, etc.), but we do occasionally get other vehicles to transport. Besides the utility trucks, I've transported two pickup trucks and (because I have a passenger endorsement on my license) a charter bus (kind of like a Greyhound bus). I've heard drivers who have transported straight trucks and new garbage trucks. Probably 70% of the vehicles we transport have automatic transmissions, but some are six speed sticks and others are 12 speed, split axle trucks. And roughly 60% are new. One of the pickups I transported (from Indiapolis, IN to Pasadena, TX) had only 8 miles on the odometer when I picked it up. It was sweet!

Now, everyone is different. Some prefer to do most of their driving at night, some at other odd hours during the day and/or night. Me personally, I usually start around 7 in the morning and work until 6:30 or 7 at night. The company prefers you to drive a minimum of 500 miles per day (on longer runs) to a maximum of 600 miles per day. I usually wind up somewhere in the middle (around 550 or so).

Some of our driver only stay at Motel 6, but I personally hate Motel 6. So, when I go through a state line into a state where I think I'll spend the night, I stop at the Welcome Center or the first rest area and get myself a couple of motel coupon books. There's a green one and a red one. I grab one or two of both. The red one usually has more motels to choose from, but I get the green one too. I'm usually able to find a coupon for an Econolodge, a Super 8 or a Days Inn for under $50. The company don't want you spending more than fifty to sixty dollars for a room (if you choose the $0.80 per mile plan, then you're free to stay where you want, of course).

Then there's the paperwork. You have to keep track of your expenses on (what else?) an expense report. Here you'll write down everytime you stopped for fuel (location, current mileage, number of gallons, price per gallon, total amount), motel stays, taxis, trains, tolls, amount of money you've gotten from an ATM or from a cash advance when you stop for fuel, etc. At the end of the trip, you'll total everything up. You want to try to have as close to the same amount of expenses and cash received as possible. In other words, if you've "spent" $300 on expenses, you want to have received roughly the same amount of cash. If you have more expenses than cash received, you'll receive this amount added to your check. Less expenses than money received, they'll take it away from your check. Then you'll fax your expense sheet and your Bill of Lading (basically containing the starting and ending locations, the starting and ending mileage, truck number, etc.) to Spirit Miller. If you fax it in as quickly as you can after the trip, you'll get an additional $15. And of course, you have to keep an accurate log book.

That's all I can think of at the moment. It's a good company to work for, they're fair and honest, but they'll work you like a dog if you let them. So you have to make sure to have some home time every now and then or you'll get burnt out. If anyone has any other questions about SM, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer 'em. I'm home for at least a week, probably two, as I want to be home to go vote on the 6th.

Oh, one more thing. Just as I'm writing this, I received a call from dispatch, wanting to know if I could work tomorrow. I told them absolutely not! Remember, you're an independent contractor so you're in charge. You only have to do what you want to do.
Click to expand...

Are you still with them? If you are, how is the $$$? Would you still recommend them as a company to run for?

Bonesgf75 · Aug 6, 2018

@SlickLizard are you still with Spirit Miller? I'd like to talk to you about it...

Bonesgf75 · Aug 6, 2018

SlickLizard said: ↑

kdubb, there are a few companies that work like this, they're called driveaways and I just listed about 20 of 'em somewhere in this forum. I'll see if I can find my list and repost it here. This is exactly what I'm about to do, not necessarily piggybacking trucks, but transporting straight trucks, utility trucks, UPS trucks, ambulances, fire trucks and buses, that sorta stuff. Company I'm going to work for is Spirit Miller out of NY state. Pays $0.30 per mile, $0.15 per chase car (getting you to the next truck), and pay all your expenses, except bus and train fares. They try to get you around from truck to truck in a rental car, or so I've heard. Anyway, lemme see if I can find that list for ya.
Click to expand...

are you still with SM? How's it going? Anything good, bad or otherwise?

Cavendish97 · Aug 7, 2018

Resurrected from the dead - LMFAO! when a truckhaul thread pops up. I'm only staying around ATT for the union retirement plan as I had nothing before coming here. Also, the union medical plan is way better than what my wife carries through her employer. I'll be vested in the IAMNPF after the first of the year and hope to retire the following year, if I'm not knocked out of commission first by an OTJ injury.

No money to speak of and I'm NOT real big on 'The Village People' mindset-lifestyle that dominates the workforce. Substantial investment in tools required although if you hang around the terminals early on you can buy your gear for cheap from those who are quitting long before their probationary period is up. If your home finances are critical, you will hardly ever go home because you can't afford to. There are other truck haul threads scattered all throughout TR that are largely truthful, once you sweep the shills out of the way. Don't do it, unless you're....

Cavendish97 · Aug 7, 2018

SlickLizard said: ↑

I've been working with Spirit Miller since July, and I highly recommend the company. They hire all classes of CDL drivers (A, B and C) and will give you as much work as you want. I make $0.30 per mile and they pay all my expenses (flights, taxicabs, motels, fuel, everything but meals). I believe they also have an $0.80 cents per mile plan, but you have to pay all your own expenses. I worked it out both ways and I honestly believe the $o.30 per mile is the better option, as flights, rental cars and fuel can get expensive. I've probably made around $3000 since July, and I try to stay out between two and three weeks before returning home for a week. Of course, it's up to you how much you want to work, but they'd prefer you stay out at least two weeks at a time. When you get ready to go home, they'll get you home, either on a flight or by finding a transport for you heading toward your home base. Oh yeah, they also pay you $0.15 cents per mile for chase miles (getting from one truck to the next via air, cab, train, rental car or whatever).

You're an independent contractor, not an employee, so you're responsible for your own taxes. At the end of the year, they'll send you a 1099. Now, they don't tell drivers this (for one reason or another), but your 1099 will report actual earned income PLUS all money provided by them to you for expenses (fuel, motels, airfare, cabs, rental cars, etc.). So it's important that you keep copies of everything and use them as deductions on your taxes. For instance, you may make $30000 in income, but your 1099 may show $150,000. That other $120,000 is money provided by them to you for your expenses. So when you claim that you made $150,000 as shown on your 1099 but show no deductions, then you'll be paying taxes on the $150K, not the 30K. Hopefully, you will have saved all your fuel receipts, transportation receipts and lodging receipts totalling $120,000. Why they don't tell drivers this, I don't know. Now, since I've been there just since July, I haven't received my first 1099, but another driver who's been with the company for years told me that this is what they do. So save them receipts!!!

Most of the stuff we drive is utility trucks (bucket trucks, drill trucks, etc.), but we do occasionally get other vehicles to transport. Besides the utility trucks, I've transported two pickup trucks and (because I have a passenger endorsement on my license) a charter bus (kind of like a Greyhound bus). I've heard drivers who have transported straight trucks and new garbage trucks. Probably 70% of the vehicles we transport have automatic transmissions, but some are six speed sticks and others are 12 speed, split axle trucks. And roughly 60% are new. One of the pickups I transported (from Indiapolis, IN to Pasadena, TX) had only 8 miles on the odometer when I picked it up. It was sweet!

Now, everyone is different. Some prefer to do most of their driving at night, some at other odd hours during the day and/or night. Me personally, I usually start around 7 in the morning and work until 6:30 or 7 at night. The company prefers you to drive a minimum of 500 miles per day (on longer runs) to a maximum of 600 miles per day. I usually wind up somewhere in the middle (around 550 or so).

Some of our driver only stay at Motel 6, but I personally hate Motel 6. So, when I go through a state line into a state where I think I'll spend the night, I stop at the Welcome Center or the first rest area and get myself a couple of motel coupon books. There's a green one and a red one. I grab one or two of both. The red one usually has more motels to choose from, but I get the green one too. I'm usually able to find a coupon for an Econolodge, a Super 8 or a Days Inn for under $50. The company don't want you spending more than fifty to sixty dollars for a room (if you choose the $0.80 per mile plan, then you're free to stay where you want, of course).

Then there's the paperwork. You have to keep track of your expenses on (what else?) an expense report. Here you'll write down everytime you stopped for fuel (location, current mileage, number of gallons, price per gallon, total amount), motel stays, taxis, trains, tolls, amount of money you've gotten from an ATM or from a cash advance when you stop for fuel, etc. At the end of the trip, you'll total everything up. You want to try to have as close to the same amount of expenses and cash received as possible. In other words, if you've "spent" $300 on expenses, you want to have received roughly the same amount of cash. If you have more expenses than cash received, you'll receive this amount added to your check. Less expenses than money received, they'll take it away from your check. Then you'll fax your expense sheet and your Bill of Lading (basically containing the starting and ending locations, the starting and ending mileage, truck number, etc.) to Spirit Miller. If you fax it in as quickly as you can after the trip, you'll get an additional $15. And of course, you have to keep an accurate log book.

That's all I can think of at the moment. It's a good company to work for, they're fair and honest, but they'll work you like a dog if you let them. So you have to make sure to have some home time every now and then or you'll get burnt out. If anyone has any other questions about SM, post 'em and I'll do my best to answer 'em. I'm home for at least a week, probably two, as I want to be home to go vote on the 6th.

Oh, one more thing. Just as I'm writing this, I received a call from dispatch, wanting to know if I could work tomorrow. I told them absolutely not! Remember, you're an independent contractor so you're in charge. You only have to do what you want to do.
Click to expand...

This is so bad it's laughable.

Bonesgf75 · Aug 7, 2018

Cavendish97 said: ↑

This is so bad it's laughable.
Click to expand...

Why is that? Are they that bad?

already gone · Aug 8, 2018

Very low on pay

already gone · Aug 8, 2018

Cavendish97 said: ↑

Resurrected from the dead - LMFAO! when a truckhaul thread pops up. I'm only staying around ATT for the union retirement plan as I had nothing before coming here. Also, the union medical plan is way better than what my wife carries through her employer. I'll be vested in the IAMNPF after the first of the year and hope to retire the following year, if I'm not knocked out of commission first by an OTJ injury.

No money to speak of and I'm NOT real big on 'The Village People' mindset-lifestyle that dominates the workforce. Substantial investment in tools required although if you hang around the terminals early on you can buy your gear for cheap from those who are quitting long before their probationary period is up. If your home finances are critical, you will hardly ever go home because you can't afford to. There are other truck haul threads scattered all throughout TR that are largely truthful, once you sweep the shills out of the way. Don't do it, unless you're....
Click to expand...

Your just frustrated, every time you call dibs on being the indian, you get stuck being the biker, lol....

Calamity Jane · Aug 10, 2018

Can't pass this up. Never even heard of Spirit Miller before today and I did truck haul for over a decade. Horrible pay - clearly meant for the homeless person, which truck haul is full of anyway - glad i retired when I did.

Characterization of ATT's workforce as 'The Village People' (majority anyway) is right on the money LOL!!! Not just ATT either as it seems to be the entire truck haul industry along with many of the receivers at many consignees. Something about truck haul that attracts gay men - trucking overall for that matter.

Log in or Sign up

Forums

Find Trucking Jobs

New truck transport?

jlee7486 Bobtail Member

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

noneya Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

Cavendish97 Bobtail Member

Cavendish97 Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

already gone Road Train Member

already gone Road Train Member

Calamity Jane Bobtail Member

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

Find Trucking Jobs

New truck transport?

jlee7486 Bobtail Member

Wait, employers can't reach you!

noneya Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

Cavendish97 Bobtail Member

Cavendish97 Bobtail Member

Bonesgf75 Bobtail Member

already gone Road Train Member

already gone Road Train Member

Calamity Jane Bobtail Member

Wait, employers can't reach you!