Experienced truckers: what drives the low first year income potential for newbies?

its true but I also have seen people with experience who do not have the dedication to do some extra work either. I had a guy tell me he got a service failure being late on a 400 mile load with 1.5 days on it, I was like how the heck do you fail to get that there on time? "on my way the last 200 miles there was bad traffic yada yada" well you tard drive the 400 miles on day 1 then get close to your destination and then see if you can drop early and if they say no then just relax knowing your already there. Tonight one of the drivers who also does weekend dispatch was telling me this dedicated fleet loses drivers because they say that OTR is much easier and this is too much work or they just get let loose from lack of performance. I would rather do the extra work knowing I have a consistent check and im making far more money. Having experience and knowing how to back makes a big difference in working a multi stop. I do more backings in a single day than most OTR do in an entire week.

I havent done a 10 stop type of route so I cant say too much but I have done a 5 stop and that was a pain mostly since the timing issues, did a 5 stop for Fred Meyer in Wa/OR and first stop was 5am for live unload, 2nd stop 6am 50 miles away.....yeah made the first stop on time but the following 4 were all late according to the schedule.

 

Thanks for the advice.
:smt006

 

You know it gets tiring to hear how people expect to be making a lot of money just starting out.

As one who has a few trucks, I have to ask you newbies would you actually trust someone with a $150,000 truck and a $45,000 trailer hauling $30,000 worth of freight just out of school with no real world experience?

I wouldn't and think that those who are 6 months in the drivers seat are at least 2.5 years away from being considered good enough to be able to make good money.

 

Ours was . . .

Driving for a company who LEASED their trucks on to LTL outfits.
Then we asked the LTL drivers what they got paid.
Then we said "aha!" - why make .40 cpm when we can make .52cpm!! (7 years ago - take note)

Short time thereafter , we researched and jumped ship.

What did we lose? Shiny chrome truck with big sleeper.
What did we gain? Over $350,000 in gross pay over 7 years compared to where we were.

This was all after doing 1.5 years OTR reefer and keeping a cleanish record.

If I hadn't asked questions and researched, I wouldn't have learned.

If only I'd started at 21.

 

If you aim for the barn, you might hit the outhouse.
If you keep aiming for the outhouse . . .

I sense you're in a despondent mood today Pattyj, and I feel for ya.

The only thing stopping me from doing anything is ME.

 

I agree with everything you are saying.People not wanting to work hard on a local or cross the state daily route doesnt work. Im like you ive did OTR and it wasnt my cup of tea. Id rather bust.... and go home(maybe late in the evening but go home) every night.The local and regional company was physically and mentally demanding. 60-65 hrs week almost every week. Large paycheck though for someone able to do it. I finally burned out after almost 7 years.We were heavy on hand unloading,scanning,dollying etc. That 10 stop route was Kc to Manhattan,Ks(110 miles) Bed Bath& Beyond(pull out 4-6 pallets,hit the Journeys at the mall(dolly in 20-35 boxes scan next two stops at college campus(1-2 pallets) then 36 miles back to Topeks KS(Bed Bath) 4 to 6 pallets,Topeka mall and strip mall (4 clothing store stops(all lift gate and scanned) then 25 miles back to Lawrence,Ks for Bed Bath 4-8 pallets and maybe a Jiffy Lube in Lawrence (1 pallet). Point is company didnt like to hire new guys because the stops had to be done quickly and they couldnt take 15 or 20 minutes to get in the dock. I started there as a new guy and it took a lot of practice,concentration and totally dedication to hang in there and not just quit.Was just meaning to say to OP that normally companies want drivers that can deliver results and frankly new guys may have to work for peanuts till they can do a crazy route.Not putting down anyone new just saying companies dont like to pay for inexperience (cant figure out how to get into the place,20 minutes to get in the dock,tearing up equipment,lost,no backing skill,bringing back freight because they ran out of time etc.Good post Wolfyinc.I wondered why I was making low wages when I first started just like the OP.

 

By the way,I moved out of KC area got tired of slick driving conditions every winter. Im in Chehalis Wa now.Im thinking about getting back in the truck in a month or 2.Was wondering the name of the co that did those Fred Meyer deliveries and if thats all they delivered to? I know theres a Fred Meyer in Lacey,Chehalis,Longview and obviously Oregon.Dont want to hijack the OP's post just wondering if you had to drive in Seattle and Canada? Sounds like maybe a good job.

 

well I work for Swift actually but I am not sure if there is a dedicated for the Fred Meyer, they just sent me a message asking if I would do it for them and I grabbed it since I was sitting for a load. Right now im dedicated for a Target DC and the farthest I go one way is about 250 miles and I average 450-550 miles a day depending on the loads they give me and I make 37cpm-52cpm depending on dispatch miles averaging 46cpm plus some stop pay, I got 2554 miles for the check coming Tuesday. I work typically 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week then take a 34 at home, if I moved closer to the DC I could be home nightly but im one of a couple of the drivers with sleepers so sometimes it also benefits me since they will double me up on loads they need to get done further out since I can crash and do a 10 before returning while the day cabs cant.

Also on the post about newbies not making money starting out, well sometimes you can get lucky. I know one driver on my fleet I met last week told me he was solo for only 6 weeks before the fleet asked him to join. Most of us are averaging $1k+ a week, the lazy ones maybe not as much but they also wont be here when it slows down....

 

I feel the only thing limiting your paycheck is YOU!!! Too many people sign on to a company and ASK how much they will be paid. I've taken a different approach. I went to interviews and told them what I expect to make. Everyone was upfront in telling me I can't make that with their company. I thanked them for their time and left. Two weeks later they were calling me and offering what I demanded earlier. Again I thanked them for remembering me as I landed a job paying a rate acceptable to me.
Maybe it was luck, I dunno. But until one takes charge of their own life and dosent allow others to push them around they ultimately never reach their full potential.

 

Is that your combined checks? Or $1000 each?