Can someone tell me the TRUTH about the $$$$...?

Regionals are a lot of times less miles. Same as dedicated runs.

 

####!!!

 

A car hauler? What's next chickens? This post in no way puts down parking lots, just messing with brick!

 

A flat bedder that went to the dark side! Just cause you throw chains you ain't one of us anymore!

 

My last 3 companies were regional or local jobs. Did I make good money?

Yes. The thing is that, as a driver, you have to get over the mentality of "Miles = Money" as well as "If I'm not moving, I'm losing money" It took me quite a while to realize this. Old ideas are hard to replace sometimes.

Job #1...Window company...Regional, Texas and surrounding states. I started out at a salaried rate. The company paid us a set amount of money each week...work it or not. The bookeeping part carried us drivers as hourly employees. We were paid 40 hours regular and 24 hours overtime. It was very good until management decided we were making too much money and changed things to mileage and drop pay. Bottom line here was we made even more money. Drivers had a set route each week and saw the same customers. You could develop a relationship with your receivers and you knew how they operated. It made things a lot easier in many cases. Very few miles a week but a LOT of drops. Management got so bad...I just couldn't deal with them any longer.

Job #2...Carhauling...Regional, Texas and surrounding states again. If nobody has figured it out, there's a lot of miles in the Texas and surrounding states region. Once again, it wasn't necessarily the miles run, but the pay for the miles driven. Sorry equipment forced me out the door on this deal. I really did like carhauling.

Job #3...Truck driver for a construction company. Local in and around Dallas/Ft Worth. Hourly pay with overtime. Money was acceptable but the weather was too much of a factor. Bad weather=No work and no pay.

New job to start next week. Running end dumps and bulk tankers for an aggregate company. Pay will be a percentage of the load. Drivers I've talked to are making $800.00 on a slow week and as much as $1400.00 on a busy week. I've talked to a lot of their drivers and all say the same thing. They also offer a $650.00 weekly guarantee on bad weather weeks. Load average is between 3-4 loads a day. Home every day, and only 5 miles from my house to work.

I haven't even covered LTL freight outfits. The work with these outfits is paying well too. Local is home every night and the road positions are usually an out and back type of deal around here with a driver being home through thew week a couple of times and off weekends as well.

So, if the work is available in your area...a local or regional driving job really isn't that bad a deal.

 

The end dump that I'm gonna be driving starting next week has a tarp...

But that just don't make ME a flatbedder either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I liked hauling cars and heavy equipment too. Threw a lot of chains, but NEVER THE FIRST TARP.

Besides.....explain to me why the "Dark Side" is a bad thing?????