I can't afford to work for $800 a week anymore!

OTR is not where the money is in trucking. If you want to make money trucking usually you have to do something no one else wants to do such as food service, LTL freight, fuel hauler, car hauler, etc. These are not always the easiest jobs to get, nor are they easy, but they pay better than the average OTR job. Keep in mind, trucking doesn't really pay all that well for the time and effort you put in, no matter what you do, and owning your own truck is not the answer if the only reason you want to own one is for more money. It is such a common misconception that the owners are getting rich off of their drivers, really we make less profit per truck that we pay you as a driver, usually much less.

The best driving jobs only pay about $70k a year, with a few up to $90-$100k, but they are few and far between. If money is your only motivator you would be better off having a full time local gig with a part time job, you would net more and work less hours, while being home every night. As a small fleet owner I only brought home $80k last year in payroll, yes I will have the value of the equipment and my company covers some things for me like my cell phone and Surburban, but what I mean is my partner and I have 5 trucks, plus I have a consulting business as well and I work about 100 hours a week for 80k, the money isn't real great right now.

 

Tony,
your not whining, just frustrated. It sucks to be gone all week and still struggle to make ends meet. If you really want to go independent, it is a good goal, just don't do it only for the money or you will be very disappointed.

 

Correct.

 

I hear you, but you have to be a certain type of person to do OTR.
You have to enjoy being out and about. And I mean enjoy...
If you break down the numbers like you did to an hourly rate, you will have a hard time justifying being out here.
I found its easier to look at this job as a salary type of employee, but without the gaurunteed pay.
You might put in 17 hours one day and 4 the next.
You need to account for the sites, experience, and adventures you will be going through and that is what makes the difference of you lack of pay.
Once you have enough experience you will trade all of that in for a better paying gig that fits your life better.

The question is can you hold on that long out here?

 

Is it safe to assume your from. Tampa Florida? There should be plenty of local work there. Try ltl. Or foodservice. You can get into some with no experiance, more with 6 months, any with 1 year.

 

Who are you pulling for? And you're avg miles per week?

 

Never mind then. Just curious why do you call yourself Tampa Tony?