How to make money in trucking....????

the best way to make money trucking is to have a lot before you start

 

Your still making 5-6 bucks an hour...Not good money IMO.

 

Yes, if you look at it from a "how much do I make an hour" perspective then I agree, you are better off flipping whataburgers.

However, I think that is to simplistic a view. There are other factors, and I 1000% agree that for many folks truck driving is a bad idea from a financial perspective.

As for me, I put all my stuff in storage and stay with family during home time. So, I have very little in the way of "bills". I have phone, internet, storage unit and I am paying down student loans (not truck driving school loans). So, it really is a pretty good deal for me provided I can get 2500/wk.

 

I'm not quite following your logic here. If I had a job flipping burgers, is the company supposed to pay for the time I sleep and commute? I don't think so. I'm paid while On Duty. What are you talking about in terms of adding up ALL the hours from the time you leave home? That makes absolutely no sense to me.

If you calculate income on an hourly basis correctly, using only the time when you are Driving or On Duty, then I doubt you will find many burger flipping jobs that compete with trucking. True, you don't have to be away from home for weeks at a time if you flip burgers (unless you are on a ship), but I think every OTR trucker is pretty awarethat is part of the job requirements.

Regarding having a refrigerator on board, now that the weather is heating up I'll have to consider that. During winter months stowing food in compartments that aren't heated by the cabin work well. I also stock up on foods that don't require refrigeration (canned goods, bread, peanut butter, powdered milk, cereal, etc.). As I noted in an earlier post, I was getting killed by buying meals at the truck stops until I figured out how to provision myself properly. I've saved about $600-700 per month (at least) by eating in the truck 95% of the time. I reward myself with a sit down meal when I've delivered a load sometimes. Kind of like giving biscuits to a dog for training.... ... "Good boy!"

I've seen truckers hog fuel bays with their sleeper berth tractors, then come running out with a sippee cup and burger and drive away without fueling. What!!!???? They have all that storage in the truck and they have the bad manners to take up a fuel bay to get a meal while they are driving? Really!?? There's a trucker destined to make more money flipping burgers.

 

.You are still attached to the ''truck'' and you are an unpaid security gaurd.Wal-Mart drivers get paid 61.00 to sleep in the truck for there 10 hours off..

When the ''sleeper'' was 1st put on a truck,it was the first step towards ''slave labor''..

I will give you Kuddo's for saving much money.But there is so much more to life then ''living'' in a truck.Family,love,kids,romance,personal life to mention a few.

My Nephew made 41,000 last year and home every night working as the assistant manager for Wendy's.His benifits are 15.00 a week and he has a ''life'' with his girlfriend and friends.He plays sports and works out everyday.He has a nice personal life too.He makes more and is in much better health than most of the ''so-called'' Professional Truckers.

 

trucking is like any other job ..you are only going to get out of it what you put in it..very few jobs you start out making big bucks..go to burger king part time for min wage show no ambition or take no pride in your work you could work there for years at min wage, give it all you got give 110% all the time keep moving up throughout the years you could be the store or even regional mgr..same with trucking, I started out making very little ,worked hard took the job serious kept my ears and eyes open never quit a job for a comparible job always a better job yes it took me 11 years to land a good union job but it was well worth it ,been at that same job 14 years and hope to retire from it...I still know a couple of guys that worked at my first job before I started they are still there making almost nothing but they have no desire to better theirselves or give 110%..just putting their time in...its all up to you ,when you have lemons you make lemonaide if your thirsty...nothing is free or easy

 

Landstar8891, I understand your points. While Wal-Mart drivers may be paid for sleeping in their truck, I'm not sure I consider this payable time in comparison to the proverbial "burger flipper" job. Your comparison of the assistant manager of a Wendy's making $41K a year is at a lower end of the scale for an entry level trucker. Does your nephew have the opportunity to increase his income to over $60,000 in his industry? Perhaps if he made "manager". Even so, in the trucking industry it is pretty well understood that the first two to three years are underpaid, until you can establish your driving record and sign on with a lease or owner/operator situation that results in bigger paydays. Same thing in any industry, including burger flipping. I'm sure your nephew paid his dues on the line, making minimum wage or barely above that, and worked for a period of time to get to that $41,000 salary.

 

you'd be lucky to find a burger flippin' manager make over $15 / hour.

 

Small trucking companies running paper logs and 70mph trucks.......

 

Why is "flipping burgers" the only alternative to trucking, in all these threads?