I've put my time in, who pays the most and who runs with faster trucks

Are you looking for the most money or the easiest job for the money? They are not the same thing. And do you want otr, local, or dedicated.

You will make the most money by being an owner operator with a paid for truck. Insurance costs an arm and a leg so if you go this route you want to run like the dickens. Buy used and keep a book with many different shop numbers always handy. Then find two ends of a run that ship freight like clockwork. Then you decide your own governor, though I should stress that the insurance cost of tickets may stress you

For the easiest job for the money delivering fuel pays very well, usually comes with good benefits and even sometimes pays that rarest of things in trucking, by the hour and with overtime. Best recent quote I saw was for sheetz offering 22.50 hour plus overtime and benefits.

Oh and the fastest truck I ever drove was my ford. It topped out at 85 and had no governor. You can probably sneak any into a dealership and pay someone to hook up their laptop and take the governor off. If you just want to go fast just pay the $40 bribe after every trip to the shop. Really not worth the hassle though.

 

What I do is pretty much a gravy run. I do not touch any freight, I do a drop and hook at the turnaround and go back to Toledo every night. If I have to wait at the turn, I'm on the clock after 30 minutes, we are paid real miles, detour mileage is all paid, sitting in traffic backups or breakdowns are all paid as soon as the brakes are set. With the mileage pay, fueling pay (we get paid to fuel the truck) , drop and hook pay and silly excersise pay (stretching that human resources came up with) we get @$32/hr.
About the only drawback is that it is boring as all get out due to going to the same place, using the same route every night.

 

Having a faster truck is all relative if you ask me. Yeah it is frustrating having your nuts cut off at 65 and trying to pass that a-hole from another company whos nuts are cut off at 64. But even with elogs, the time you are saving passing the other truck would be negligible. I agree with some on here that if 2 minutes out of your day will make or break your delivery and your future at a company you should throw the keys back at them.

I worked for a guy who's company trucks were set 90, lease trucks at 75. Most companies with faster trucks just expect you to run harder, longer, and "get it there no matter what the #### law says, and i don't care if it's overweight or your trailer is over bridge, because we can't afford to lose this account!" They do not seem to understand that running from Minneapolis/St. Paul, doing 4 stops in LA, running up to Salinas to reload with 3 pickups, then coming back through California (55MPH state), Montana (65 MPH State) and del in Bisamark, Fargo, Minneapolis CAN NOT be done legal without a restart or some down time. Anyone who says otherwise is either speeding or falsifying.

A lot of the trucks doing 5-10 MPH over the speed limit are pulling reefers. I know because I used to be one. I made good money, but I got less sleep, was stressed out all the time and running ragged due to the typical "sit all day fly by night" that the produce industry is famous for. I'm not saying all fast trucks are logging illegal just saying fast company trucks are not always what they are cracked up to be, be careful what you wish for...

...and consider this...1 owner operator drives for 150,000 a year just as an example. He drives like a raped ape and gets 6.0 MPG average for the whole year. At $4.00 per gallon, his annual fuel cost is $100,000. Let's say he changes his ways a bit and manages to get 6.5 MPG. At 4.00 per gallon his annual fuel cost drops to $92,308, saving him over $7,500. Now picture even a small fleet with 20 trucks under the same sitaution...150000 miles per year is extreme for a company truck but you get the picture?

Fuel Costs and over-regulation are killing this industry, for small and big companies alike. Not only do they have to pay for fuel, but shippers and receivers want everything cheap and right now. All these trucking companies have to worry about pinching pennies to save fuel, keeping customers happy, finding good drivers to begin with, keeping them as happy as possible so they don't beat on and trash equipment. Whether its the board room full of suits at a mega carrier or the mom and pop operation with 20 trucks, they are not as filthy rich as some like to think, nor are their jobs as easy as some like to think.

Even a lot of owner operators are slowing the #### down now. It doesn't pay to drive like a maniac in this day and age. And you really aren't doing yourself or your company any favors. I know for a fact a lot of drivers would still do 75 MPH in 30 MPH crosswinds and headwinds across the plains of these companies turned them back up. When you aren't the one who is directly paying for fuel and maintenance on the truck you just don't understand or grasp it totally.

Not trying to troll here or ruffle feathers, just trying to provide some insight, I am just one who is fed up with the industry for the time being....

 

I was wondering if anyone else took winds and other conditions into account. I do tend to drive a bit slower into a stiff headwind. Going across NE to the far side of WY with an 8000ft climb and a 40mph headwind I burned over 600 miles of extra fuel. I had to put $100 of my own money in it just to stay warm overnight and get the load delivered the next day.

Granted I had a cracked fuel line that was making it burn way more fuel than normal but we hadn't figured that out yet. I got reloaded and got my $100 back out when I refueled. Coming back across and down through Denver I had a 50mph tailwind and barely burned 1/4 tank running 75+.

 

Try Monfort or JH Rose

 

Rules and Regs are so strict now, that it's going to be really tough to find a carrier or even a broker that doesn't govern their truck(s). Everyone wants to get there fast, but if you risk your driver's record and get caught or worse, involved in an accident, you'll be toast!
If you want to stay in trucking, look for a job that pays for deliquency and most everything you do, like liquid hauling. They still pay pretty well.

 

I gotta be honest with ya ... i dont run 55 in cali unless i have to... across I-10 or across I-15 headed south towards ontario ill jack it up there about 72 and if nothing is in sight or polar bears im on the wow pedal... Yes i run reefer and yes most of the times we are running 10 or 15 over the speed limit but its not like we have dry freight in the box.. the shelf life from farm to store is limited so the faster it gets there the better chance i have of it not getting rejected... I understand a companys wanting fuel milage with the price of fuel and if it does get any higher ill knock it down a couples of mphs so i dont pour it out the stacks but sometimes its better to waste a little more fuel then to eat a load of produce that has gone bad... JMO

 

I run meat and produce too and agree, depending on the state I'll run 5-10 over, sometimes more but usually not unless its a have to or eat the load and my truck shows 85 but I'd bet it'll tap or cover triples

 

In the day, in the day. I think our age is showing.

 

What I think he was trying to say is the way those companies ran is how the o/p wants to run but those companies are not in business anymore because of running that way.