New Driver Help?

Low pay for a year seems to be a given as far as major companies goes. I am betting a guy can find smaller outfits in your area to drive some kind of truck for a year or so that would work for you. your age will be a factor for most real small outfits, other than construction companies, some larger farm types and maybe even logging operations.

 

That page is confusing. Thull can fill you in, but I'm pretty sure you can make at least $60K the first year at Schneider Bulk.

 

I can definitely answer any questions about Schneider Bulk based on my time there. The pay was 40cpm. I would have to look at old check stubs to remember what load/unload pay was. But I believe it was something like $25 to load & maybe $40-$50 for unload. I’ll double check to be sure.

 

I went to school and got a formal diploma, seal and all with a frame. Its still sitting on the shelf where it's been for 20 years here and 31 years or so before that. No one cared about it. The important thing is that you had the Class A in the pocket and we were hired on after a 10 minute interview, a 20 minute road trip out and back and assigned to start work 3 am the next morning. And this was 3 PM in the afternoon the yard was cooking from truckers coming back from Bulk Tanking and Gasoline tanker work. I think approx a few weeks after I graduated school.

The school went out of business about a year later. There was no overt indication that there was a problem but shrugs a larger corporation owned the place so, if they didnt like it then they locked up and hung a for sale sign on the place.

Fast forward to today its unacceptable how difficult it is to get anything post 9-11 and unacceptable at how hard for newbies to find work that will take them (Totally discredits both the driver shortage and also the OTR pay inadequacies.) I think this industry is a glutton for self flagellation. (Punishment by ritual... same old pain every time all the time... futile.)

They can absolutely and almost instantly solve all the problems across the board re newbies and retaining them with a variety of reforms. For example. $1.00 a mile. And whatever the newbie breaks in the first 12 months they buy. (I tore tires when I was new, I had bought three of them before I stopped tearing them, that was what they did when I was new and did not fire me, dismiss me, preventable or any of that crap today.) And so on.

If i was to pass the heart exam and get back into it a year from now I would be treated as a newbie myself. 15 minutes with anyone in a semi truck will disprove that in a hurry, particularly with a manual and docking will probably happen in one move. Especially if its a automatic. They are very bad at backing up.

 

Its not too difficult to fit a tanker into a gas station to deliver. Its the cars you have to watch out for and generally you are welcomed with open arms. They want you to delvier gasoline.

I think we have a couple of TTR drivers who do just that Gasoline or whatever. In the recent storm FLA tossed logs so they drive until they pass out, nap a little and drive some more. Making very good money.

I personally wont do gasoline due to family history hauling it in both war and peace. Its not for me. But kudos to those of you who do.

 

Easiest, in my opinion, is refrigerated "driver no-touch freight."
You drive and others do the loading/unloading. You get hourly pay while you're waiting. You also get extra pay for making the stops where you pick up a load or deliver a load.
I don't know if IWX Motor Freight hires in LA, but this is one example of what I'm referring to. Plenty more refrigerated companies with the same policies.
www.iwxmf.com

Drivers - YES, WE ARE HIRING!
Which Job Fits You?
Solo – Team – Expedited Team – Relay – Part Time
At IWX we have positions to fit everyone’s lifestyle