I really need some advice!!

What company are you looking at starting with? Depending on the company, type of freight and region will depend on how much you make as a team. I ran team for awhile and after I did the math we were just running the same amount of miles as if we were solo driving if you split the miles the truck did each week.

There are ltl companies that will train you from no cdl to solo driver. Do a search on here and you should find them. I currently work as a solo driver at Prime and gross over $60,000/year. Your first year out with them you should gross between $45,000-55,000. Your second year with them should be between $50,000-60,000.

A 10 month contract is on the low side I think, most have a one year contract if you go through there training program.

Another thing you'll need to post on here if you want more help from some of these drivers is your location.

 

A team running 6000 miles per week earns the same per driver as a solo running 3000.
But as a team you have to put up with that other person in the truck, the space and storage that you don't have because of that, the extra smells and garbage, driving while the truck is rolling, personality conflicts... and what else?

You will make more than 16k your first year out, and it will get better.
But your gross pay is not the issue really. It is what you can send home to your family.
It is not cheap living OTR.
16k is around $307 per week. I don't know if you are talking gross or net, but let's say net.
You will need at least 1/3 of that just to survive on the road, and that is after you have obtained everything you need to do it on that little bit.
Consider that just one 'fast food' meal every day will cost you at least $42 per week.
Even shopping at Walmart, if you want to eat healthy meals it will cost you.
And that is after you get the cooler and little oven and inverter and anything else you need for the job.

Plus, the income is not consistent on a weekly basis. You might take home $900 one week, but only $100 the next week. And right now freight is pretty slow nationwide, for everyone. Good paychecks are harder each week, it seems.


As to working 10 months for a company to pay off the training costs, like redoctober said it is a deal.
Most require a year. Some, like Swift, will actually reimburse you the cost during the second year.
But, it is not a requirement to stay that long.
That is the time required to pay back the debt. If you leave sooner then it is up to you to repay it on your own.
You can always find a different job that pays a lot better, but you will still have the obligation to pay the company back for the training.


I'm wondering. Is there an IKEA near you?
The starting pay is about what you are doing now, but you can work up to some MUCH better paying positions.

 

I started with CRST thinking there 8 month contract was a deal. Wow was I wrong. It was a nightmare. Plus they are a team only company. That 8 months I was lucky if I made $500 a week. We spent so much time at the shop getting trailers fixed and only had 3 weeks out of that 8 months were we drove over 6000 miles. We averaged as a team 4500.

Prime requires a year contract but you'll make way more in your first year then most training companies. You are guarenteed $700/week during your TNT training phase and once you upgrade to solo status, it's $0.43/mile. I can average a take home after taxes and benefits of $1,000 a week. Some weeks higher, some weeks lower, but an average of $1,000.

All I can say is take your time, don't rush and research each company very well. I spent 6 months interviewing and researching Prime before I decided to come over here once my 8 month contract was up. Go to a local truck stop, find drivers and ask them questions. Take note of the drivers that seem happy, seem mad they have been sitting to long, look like they havne't showered in days, the condition and cleanliness of the equipment (both truck and trailer), does the driver look like they take pride in their truck. You'll beging to see which companies are worth driving for and which ones treat you like a number and don't care. BUT ABOVE ALL ELSE RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH!!!!

 

Running team you must consider this... you go to sleep praying that your team driver DOES NOT.
You also run a great risk of being paired with a slob that doesn't like to bathe regularly , wear deodorant, keep a clean living space, road rage , pass gas , skimp on shared duties ... amongst a myriad of other horrible situations you'll be subject to unless you are extremely lucky in a blind partner draw.
As someone previously noted, some LTL companies will train you as an apprentice status , just check around.
If you do go on the road for a year , I'd go solo , get the year experience, and get a local job with a beverage distribution company or a food warehouse such as US Food Service. It's hard , tough , work but you get paid fairly well and you go home to the wife and kids and that's WHAT IS IMPORTANT! !

 

Hi Doc, to be honest, I don't think this is a good deal for you. If you go into trucking, it should be for the long haul, and not just a year, and find something else. It takes a few years to break even, and like others have said, living on the road is really expensive and it's not that easy to find local jobs. That's how people get stuck doing OTR for years, because they literally can't afford to get out of it, and I can't even begin to tell you the horrors of team driving, although, it does work for some.
My advice would be, like the others have said, either dock work, or as a helper in a food service deal, and when the daughter is older, then maybe go into trucking, but right now, that's a great age for kids, lots of fun things to do, and they grow up quick, and won't want much to do with you, so enjoy her now and stay close to home. Good luck.

 

I guess I must be doing something completely wrong out here on the road. You and Moosetek13 keep talking about how expensive it is out here on the road for food. I'm not sure what you consider expensive but I can eat 3 healthy meals a day plus healthy snacks for under $80 a week out here. Fresh fruits and vegies, chicken, fish, even steak every so often. All of which I cook myself in my truck. Doesn't take long, just a little planning of your meals ahead of time. Like I'll have a pot roast with baby red potatoes, carrots, celery, and an onion for flavor tomorrow for lunch that I'll start in the crock pot in the morning before I start my day. Then I'll take the leftovers from that and have 2-3 meals ready to go for either lunch or dinner. I'll also do some chicken breast in the toaster oven with rice and steamed vegies. I'll cook enough to make 2 or 3 extra meals I can store in the fridge. The chicken takes me 45 minutes to make and I'll take that long at a shipper waiting to get loaded. My favorite meal right now is the new york steak. I'll broil it in the toaster oven for 10 mintues and get a nice medium steak along with a baked potatoe and steamed vegies.

You did make a good point about the cost of inverters, fridge, toaster oven and crock pot. There is an upfront cost there. But if you work for a company that actually cares about the drivers, like where I am at now, they provide you with an APU and power inverter so all that's left for you to get is a fridge, toater oven, microwave and crock pot. If you look on craigslist you can find a fridge and microwave for under $80 together. You just need a simple dorm room fridge on the truck. it's all about how bad you want to make it work. Besides, fast food is disgusting at most truck stops and the diner isn't much better.

So OP, when you are considering a company, also take into account if they care about the driver but providing you with an invertor, APU, fridge, maide service (just kidding). You are a humane, not a monkey in a cage. You should be treated like a humane!

 

If you do decide to go over the road, OTR, do go SOLO. There will be more than enough stress driving safely, meeting your deadlines on time, along with complying with rules and regulations (federal, state, and company).

Being hooked up with the wrong team driver could increase your stress levels by as much as TENFOLD. Is it really worth it?

 

Hi redoctober, clearly, you are doing it the right way. You fine tuned it so it works. I was just saying, a new person, like the OP has so much to learn, may not even have the same truck 2 weeks in a row, and it would be a while before they got to the point you are at, if they stayed with it at all, so every meal is going to have to be bought at wherever they end up. I was mostly a local driver, lunch pail and all, but if I was to do a career in OTR, I'd do it just like you do it.

 

Two people stuffed in a truck is a nightmare. One is bad enough.