What is average for a new driver

Ya know, I was just thinking that wouldnt it make more sense if the industry paid OTR guys MORE and local guys LESS?? You would think that companies would have to pay more in order for guys to sacrifice their time at home and whatnot. Yet its local work that pays more. I wonder why.

 

^^^This^^^

 

True dat lol. I was also thinking that local work can actually require work and not many people want to sweat or get dirty at work anymore. And like you said, local requires more interaction with customers and maybe a little better driving skill.

 

LTL 80k+ most truck driver don’t want to do the physical work. They only get paid per mile. I like to break down pallets

 

Lol, I’ve been local since May after 4 OTR. There’s no difference, except the guys that have never been OTR can’t even change a fuse or light bulb. Heaven forbid you send one of them to a location they’ve never been & these are 28-32 an hr steering wheel holders.

 

OTR is much more challenging & should pay more. You take your best local guys & put them in a sleeper truck, they can’t back without windows

 

I can see that. Imagine driving or backing a sleeper cab pulling a 53' into a crazy cramped city. Fyi, I only back using my mirrors, like a gentleman.

 

lol, I wouldn’t say all that. It’s just different strokes for different folks.

would you shovel 400 degree asphalt on a 100 degree day? I do

Do you run hundreds of miles a day? Probably. I used to and wanted to blow my brains out.

To each his own, I don’t really like “trucking” so I do what I do.

 

I dunno, I found the regional work to be rather simple compared to what I'm doing now. Running regional, I never found myself 13 miles back in the Elk State Forest on an old logging road covered with 4" of snow, with mud underneath, stairing at a very steep hill to go up, dragging 26 tons of cement powder behind.

Still, there are some things that OTR guys do that I would have trouble with now. Backing in at a truck stop comes to mind. Last time I did that I realized how rusty I was at that. Even though I back blindside (using mirrors like I'm supposed to) into tight places at every power plant I go to, I admit backing in between two trucks at a truck stop posed a challenge I hadn't seen in a while. And I probably looked rookie-ish doing it.

I do agree that OTR should pay more though, simply because of the time away from home. I hear these people bragging (or complaining) about bringing home $900 a week after being gone for 3-4 weeks at a time and almost feel sorry for them. But, you gotta start somewhere I guess.