Single Guy

Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Kingty9183, Jul 20, 2019.

  1. Kingty9183

    Kingty9183 Light Load Member

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    Jul 19, 2019
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    As a single man going OTR with no rent or car note basically no expenses except child support 80$ a week and proper budgeting what's the range u can expect to save if your running hard. Living in the truck cutting ur costs and not running home every few weeks.
     
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  3. Moosetek13

    Moosetek13 Road Train Member

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    The range would be everything you don't spend.
    And that depends on how much you are making per mile, and how many miles you get.

    At first it will be low because you need to get things in the truck to make it easier to save.
    Things like a way to cook your meals so you don't spend too much at truck stops on expensive and unhealthy junk food.
     
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  4. akfisher

    akfisher Road Train Member

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    I personally lived on less than 100$ a week when OTR from there just figure your expenses. Should be able to pocket 30k a year no problem
     
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  5. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    You can save a ton of money every month after you have your own assigned truck.
    Some companies have refrigerators already installed and if they don't you can buy one and install it yourself of the mechanics at the company can do it.
    Many of us turned the OTR truck into our little apartment on wheels. Can have a computer, X-box, television, etc. or whatever you use for entertainment on the road.
    Eventually, add these along with a refrigerator:
    Crock pot
    George Foreman Grill
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Some drivers let the crock pot cook a meal while they're driving, such as beef stew or a chicken.
    When you stop for a meal, it's ready and in the truck; fresh and hot.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Lots of other tricks to save money and other drivers on this forum will give you ideas also.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2019
  6. LDLWells

    LDLWells Heavy Load Member

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    Drivers love to talk. While you can dismiss 70% of what they say asking them how they save money on the road will get you an earful of tips. Just gotta keep your mouth closed and ears open. Not everything will work for you but you might figure something out
     
  7. Brandt

    Brandt Road Train Member

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    You can drive abour 120,00 miles a year so your rate per mile x 120,000 is close to what you will make a year.

    It's about $10 to wash and dry clothes at
    truck stops. Most companies don't let you add stuff like fridge or inverter. My truck had fridge and inverter from factory. They sell 12v cooler they are ok but nothing great.
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2019
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  8. DTP

    DTP Road Train Member

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    When I was OTR, one of the very few perks was enjoying great food on the road. I had my favorites on every highway and looked forward to sitting down and enjoying some good grub and chatting with the same staff you get used to seeing. I worked hard so if I saw fit to have a good steak dinner, I was having said steak dinner.

    Of course that was with paper logs so later on I could fix it to where that stop never happened and still get to park at my preferred locations. Now that perk is pretty much screwed with elogs.
     
  9. rachi

    rachi Road Train Member

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    If your a new driver you might be able to bank $10,000 at the end of a year if you run hard and limit your hometime.
     
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  10. RustyBolt

    RustyBolt Road Train Member

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    Bement, IL
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    Meals is where you save money in a truck. Being a company driver, it's really your only expense as long as you don't put Dish TV in or sign up for a pricey data plan for playing online video games all the time. Find ways to eat cheap and you can bank a lot.

    That said, plan for your child support to double when the ex finds out your making $1000 a week or more.
     
  11. GhentSaintPeters

    GhentSaintPeters Light Load Member

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    This will depend on your mileage pay, how you log your ELog and most importantly (once you get the swing of things) your dispatcher/load planner who you will ultimately be at the mercy of when it comes to getting miles.

    As for saving money, here's my experience as a new CDL driver. I Started training January 12, 2019. Made $500 gross per week during the whole training period.

    February 22, 2019 - got my own truck and went solo at $0.40 per mile. Got a raise to $0.42 per mile starting in July.

    I had less than $500 to my name when I started training on January 12. As of now, on July 20, I have about $9500 in the bank. Keep in mind that's not including about $1000 I spent earlier this year for a family emergency. I also spent $150 or so on a dumbbell weight set that I have in the truck. Also bought a few other things for the truck including a cooler that plugs into an inverter.

    I purchase groceries at Walmart but sometimes I'll use my Loves rewards points and get me some Subway or McDonalds from time to time. My phone bill is $125 per month, got Verizon with the most data I could get and a new phone payment. The phone, while expensive, has been an invaluable and reliable tool for me that is really a computer more so than a phone. It has absolutely paid for itself 10X over.

    Point being, as a new CDL holder I've saved about $9000 in 6 months after a $1000 family emergency, buying things for the truck and 1 month of $500 training pay, which is low compared to what you SHOULD be making weekly as a solo OTR driver.

    In short: Saving $20,000 in your first year while being comfortable in the truck is easily doable. More is possible with a good dispatcher/load planner who give you great miles.
     
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