Coupla flatbed questions

40cpm a mile for flatbed. #### that's pretty bad

 

average length of haul.
How are the trucks specced?
What’s the tarp pay? Is it per tarp or per tarped load?
Is there any layover pay? Detention?

 

When you are starting out, Honestly the experience and safety are all that matters. If you get through the first year and start to realize that trucking is something you can see yourself doing for a long time , your in luck because it's easy to get good jobs as time goes. I get paid percentage with flatbed which averages 60-75 cpm loaded and empty, flatbed is in some cases is less miles so the pay needs to be adjusted. You might decide you like reefer, or car hauling don't put a ton of pressure on the first gig.

 

One question, do you have to be in Maine? Are you tied to your location? Sometimes relocating for a short time to a place with better lanes for whatever company you should choose, could work to your advantage. Since you would be out on the road most of the time, you could look into a house share type of deal for an address and weekend stays.

 

Lol! I'm laughing because I know it's true. Mr. Annett (TMC's owner) and the owner of Maverick were college buddies, or so the story went as we heard it.

Starting out the gate, I wouldn't settle for anything less than .46cpm (and some say even that's too low, which I agree with--but trucking is trucking, and we all had to start somewhere). That said, don't look just at starting pay; look at the entire spectrum, which I'll get to in a bit...

Maaannn...bump that. I swung doors for a short while during my time and that just wasn't for me...way too much sitting around, waiting in shippers and consignee, plus some of the places vans have to go (grocery warehouses in particular) are just conducive to long delays. Just pass go on that one!

There are two or three other fleets I know of that still floss manuals, but even they are moving into the automanuals, so I don't know for how much longer they'll have them. And, they all require at least a year of open deck under your belt before they'll sign you.

To the first paragraph: I did open deck for 10 years. I didn't mind the weather at all. (Okay I'm lying...freezing your bones off in the wintertime in the middle of the northern Great Plains tarping hay in 40mph winds with nothing around to stop the wind from cutting right through you can be a mug!) But yeah, I'm also a Florida native...but I've been around, and if you enjoy the outdoors, with it comes outdoors weather, so you'll get acclimated to it!

As for your second paragraph, there are several companies with whom you can start out fresh out the gate and, with time in the fleet, work your way up into the big-boy stuff. Right off hand I know Lone Star Transport (Ft Worth area) and Combined Transport (southwestern Oregon) do that (if I had to recommend one over the other, I'd say Combined, but opinions do vary), and I believe System (Spokane WA) does it too, though I don't know how big System goes. Then are companies who do solely or specialize in, well, specialized/heavy haul, like a Miller Transport or a Transport National, along with several smaller outfits dotted throughout the landscape.

Great question! This picks up from earlier: I used to tell guys all the time not to get hammed up on just pay alone. There are so many other factors to consider. Here's a quick roll-up of some points to consider:

- Pay is definitely one--but how is that pay calculated? Is it mileage or percentage? If mileage, what's the average length of haul. Whether mileage or percentage, I can't stress this point enough: ask whoever you go with what their average length of haul is. You can then use that figure and do some quick math to see if the salary they advertise is close to accurate or not. The other thing about length of haul is if it's a mileage company, you want longer lengths of haul, preferably 1000+ if not more. Reason being, the shorter the runs, the more time the truck spends sitting still, the more tarping and untarping if necessary, the more time loading and unloading, and all that sitting inhibits your earning-and you get paid when the wheels turn. Length of haul isn't too big a factor on the percentage side (like TMC), BUT...you will be humping, for sure. With percentage, shorter lengths of haul are probably better because, at least with TMC (if nothing has changed from what I remember), you want to move as many loads as you can. When I was there, the sweet spot was about 350-mile average length of haul, 4-5 drops per week (including that first Monday am drop). Of course after four years I figured out a better formula, but we can deal with that later if that's where you choose to go.

- Benefits. Most companies have a pretty decent benefits package; just check the premiums against the levels of coverage as well as the providers of the coverages.

- Equipment. Listen, all else being equal, ain't no self-reapecting skateboarder trying to be dragging no trash down the road--and most decent companies know this. That said, get to know the different truck types and most of all, what kind of creature comforts they have in them. Different companies spec their trucks different ways, from barbies basic to luxury yacht. How big is the sleeper? (You wouldn't believe how much a difference there is from a 60" sleeper to a 72" to an "80; the bunk size alone is a big difference). Do the trucks come with an inverter, fridge, TV (not a deal-breaker if they don't, but some do offer them), satellite/XM, APU, bunk heaters or Opti-Idle (or whatever it's called--and let me tell you that APU will save your life come summertime when it's mkdersbly hot out). You're going to be in there 4-6 days out the week; why not be comfortable?

- Company culture. This is the one most never consider. A great company might not have the highest pay or the greatest equipment, but if they take care of you and you KNOW they care about you, that can more than make up the difference. This is what I call "peace of mind", and all of us experienced guys can tell you how invaluable that is going down the road. There's enough to deal with just playing in traffic on a daily basis; you don't want a bunch of other stuff running thru your mind while piloting that big behemoth on down the road.

This too is true. After that first year, a whole world of opportunities opens up.

That's something you'll learn over time. Depending on what a company's bread and butter is, they can change. The last fleet I ran with basically used I-29 as its main spine line, along with just about anything in the Roanoke VA area or between there and Kansas City. I mean I went all over, and loved it, but that was the bread and butter of it (and it did get old quick, lol).

 

Chinatown, I showed up here a few years ago looking for solid advice as a newbie. You and a number of others did not disappoint. I hired on with Senn right out of school and they have been a fantastic company to work for. But…..they don’t hire out of all 48.

We run all 48 but we only have one terminal in Newberry, SC

I would recommend Senn to anyone. It’s about as small, personal and family oriented as any business I’ve ever seen. Angus Senn and his brother started the company in 1955. Angus’ three sons own the company today and you’ll see them every time you return to the terminal and hand your bills through the dispatch window. You’ll be out a week or three and when you come back they’re social with you like your part of their family.

Henry Senn talks quiet and slow, Grady Senn talks fast and seems frazzled and Danny Senn thinks cellular phones are the downfall of western civilization.

You can take short hauls and be home every weekend or you can be long haul running to CA, OR and WA. But they aren’t going to manage you over the road. They’re going to leave you alone to be a truck driver. On average, over a three week trip to the left coast and back I’ll probably talk to somebody from the office maybe once……..and that’s because I called them to discuss something.

The base freight out is composite (fiberglass) light poles, cross arms and reels of electrical and fiber optic cable. The backhaul is always crapshoot.

I thought I was going to have to start with a mega and I nearly went to Melton or TMC. At the last second I considered that one little recruiting poster for Senn at the school house. I live an hour from Newberry and I’d never seen a Senn truck. But I went in there and sat down with the HR guy, Travis ( They don’t even have a recruiter ). In 5 minutes I knew this was the company I wanted to work for.

For anybody reading this and considering Senn, click the link and dial the number. I can promise you in a matter of 10 seconds you’ll be speaking with Travis. They’re that small and personal that I can make that guarantee.

My wife says it all the time that I just lucked into contacting them right out of the gate. They’re that destination company that you look for. I’ll be with them till the day I retire.