How common is hourly pay?

i never measured the trailer lengths, i know they have around a 70K lb capacity. i thought they were at least 45' long. i know they are more manageable then a 53 ft trailer with respect to length and wind, but i know they other challenges regarding product surge which can be quite nasty. the biggest thing you have to remember is slow down in the corners, dont play around with it either because it can kill you..... and that's how i drive in corners. i treat the trailer like it wants to flip over, roll over and burn, if the recommended speed for the corner is 45, screw it i do 30-35, 35 tops.

the loads and trailers are not light. i could easily believe that the straight trucks that are in our fleet are 40 ft, but i dont drive one of those. i drive a tractor trailer. as i said before every single form of trucking has its own challenges, ok maybe little ryder rental 26' box trucks are a bit of a joke, but everything else has its own set of unique challenges. with dump trucks it was driving off road and having to stop and start moving on a steep grade. i had to do that a few times driving dump trucks. that teaches you how to shift and use deep reduction in a hurry.

im not hear to throw anything in anyone's face.... we ALL have important jobs to do, mine just happens to involve hauling milk, but we all like cheese, butter, and some of us have kids that drink milk lol. in case anyone is wondering the milk that i haul is upstate products, also used in bison chip dips and sour cream

 

if my kids were grown up and i ever did decide to drive OTR, it would be something WORTH leaving home for and not swift, werner, schnieder, jb hunt, heartland express, western express, CR england, CRST, or any other lousy low paying MEGA carrier. if others choose to drive for those outfits im not talking them down, but if they refused to work for peanuts the pay would have to go up. i do believe i make the same if not more then i would have if i had stayed with werner. part of my route is on US20 and i share the route with allot of the megas, i often wonder how long its been since they have seen home. it must not be an easy life.

if i were to go away from home from work i would want to do something like the oil fields where they pay big.

 

even though my trailers are shorter, dont forget one thing. i have to take those trailers into areas that you could NEVER take a 53' ft trailer, so its equally as challenging at times. often times farm driveways are meant for cars with a ditch on each side..... better make a wide enough swing cause you will put your tandems in the ditch pretty quick. no, i have not done that but i could see it happening.

 

Newly engaged huh. Been married 14 years lol. Enough of this lol, sitting in the truck as I type this waiting for it to warm up.have some driving to do today.