Is $104,000 a year a decent w2 salary for an experienced otr reefer driver

Times are always changing. Last I checked, plenty of manuals rolling off the production lines in 2021 and will be continuing. I never said that not, being able to operate machinery in your chosen profession makes you, "not a real driver". It just shows poor decision making skills and lack of foresight.

If one starts in the industry with a mega and only knows auto for a while, that's fine. Being a year or two in and not knowing is ok to a degree. Anything more and you haven't given yourself the best opportunity to make a move with your abilities.

Let's say you make $70k a year driving for a mega. Been at it 3 years, driving automatics only. Gone 60% of the time time from home.

Picture that guy, telling his wife, he can't get the job posting, with a local company. A local company that has manuals, pays $90k AND has drivers home everyday. That guy isn't going to be called "smart", "wise", or anything good by his better half for quite a while.

If you think limiting your options of employment because using your left leg is a thing of the past, well, plenty of companies just pass on by your resume.

 

Im with you my friend. I don’t even get applicants but the very small amount I do generally are of a low quality. The trick is recognizing the diamonds in the rough though.

But, being that I’m 200 miles to the south of you, it’s a city where drivers are fought over. If I opened up my hiring radius it would help but I really like giving my trucks a look over every week or two.

The haz and tanker endorsement weeds a lot of people out too. Many are scared of haz like it’s a boogey man.

 

Midwest trucker. The more I read your post the more I think your my ex boss.

No amount of money is gonna let me just hand out a oppertunity for some one to check my credit. I've lived hand to mouth my whole life up Untill 3 years ago. And I'm not scared to do it again. With that being said.

Like another driver wrote be more worried about why the credit is bad. My ex wife used my ssn so many times I can't file taxes with out a pin number mailed to me every year. Then I have to call a 1800 number to get the actuall pin to file taxes. I had to pay almost 11k in lawyers and court cost to get out of it working 90 to 110 hours a week, I had my first heart at 33. So just go easy on that part is my advise.
On a another note. On a 42k w-2 I made 29k after taxes. So on 103k I would bring home about 80k. I've never seen that even in two years. So I'm sure, if you find some one who is as desperate as I was. They will treat your equipment like you where inspecting it every day.
Even in this boom. 80k post tax is life changing money. I know because I still haven't seen it.

 

I don’t check credit. Are you confusing me with another poster?

 

$207,000 as 1099 dry van, that's after all expenses and all overhead. You decide.

 

It's entirely hypothetical. I wouldn't be driving for 3 years at a mega. There are a ton of companies hiring that pay decent who don't require manual transmissions. The quality of a driver is not determined by their ability to drive a manual transmission. To think that it increases your chances of finding a better driver is an assumption. For anyone that limits themselves, you could say the same thing about not getting their hazmat, tanker, twic, passport, and doubles/triples endorsement. You could say someone is not wise for not team driving or hauling oversize.

The same thing applies to employers. Right now the market favors the employee. If their position does not require driving a manual transmission, then the employers are limiting themselves by not hiring people with an auto restriction. Now this guy gets to tell his wife that she can't have another two month vacation in the Bahamas because he can't find someone to drive his truck.

I've been driving an automatic truck for almost 5 years now. It backs up, shifts, and works just as good as the 13 speed I used to drive. If I were to hire someone to drive it, I would focus on what actually matters to perform the job. Drive legally, don't hit stuff, understand a proper inspection, good communication, and proper time management. I don't care if they used to drive a truck with two shifter knobs, three foot pedals, and eleventy-one rocker switches on the dash.

 

I actually agree with your assessment here. What’s happening to a lot of newer drivers is there trained on a manual in school. And just as you said they go work for a carrier that has automatics. They drive for three or four years and then they want to upgrade. During those three or four years the only thing they drove was an automatic so basically the manual is completely forgotten.

the company I work for has 80% automatics, but I actually asked them to put me in a manual just for the reason you posted above!

 

You would have been my dream employer several years ago.