Miles or Percentage as a new driver? (Flatbed)

Anyone with a Screaming for Vengeance War Eagle should be on percentage.

Although as a new company driver you've got quite a bit of learning to do so .Iles may be better.

Are the miles actual hub miles, or they figure the trip is worth 567 miles, even if you drive 590?

What's the average length of runs?

Short hauls typically pay more, so that would be better for percentage.

 

I would say percentage. I cant imagine a company thats a legit player in the industry like Halvor is would haul cheap freight. Plus, if your biggest run is going to be 650 miles, it's a pretty good indicator you'll run a lot of short loads. At best you'll probably run 2200-2300 miles weekly.

 

650 isn't really shorthaul. Like 300 or less is shorthaul.

I don't think I could ever go back to mileage pay.

The catch about doing percentage as a company driver is how long is the run. Short hauls pay $4 mile or more.

But if it's only 175 miles that's not so good.

@D.Tibbitt what would you do?

 

Me personally i would never do mileage pay again. Run into a slow week or a dispatcher that u dont get along with, there goes ur paycheck... plus if u make a name for urself in the dispatch office u might find ur self on a nice gravy run that pays well and thats when u want to be on percentage... especially with flatbed it will allow u to take ur time a bit more with securement and tarping because u arent always in a rush chasing miles... .39 cents as a flatbed driver is not that great but we all got to start somewhere. U should be able to make way more than 3900 gross per month if u go at 27% even if they are hauling the cheapest of freight. ..
If u do the math as an example. Lets say their average length of haul is 800 miles. At .39 cents a mile that is 312 dollars paid to u the driver...

Now lets take that same average length of haul of 800 miles and lets say they are hauling for an average of 1.50 a mile... that load would pay 1200 .... Now it depends if u are getting a percentage of the entire gross or just the linehaul, that is going to be the difference here. But if you are getting the entire gross , at 27 percent that 1200 dollar load would pay you 324 dollars... compared to the 312 at mileage... plus u will make more money if the company runs for better than 1.50 a mile.....

 

Percentage all the way esp if doing a lot of North East

 

I would think it would be % of gross but who knows with how unscrupulous some companies can be

 

I worked for a small company (broker with 6 trucks) who paid me percentage (%) back in '99. It was the most I made running short haul from Concord, ON. to Ellwood City, PA for flatbed which was $350 per day which was 28% of the load. If he was to pay me for practical mileage it would of been 600 mi @ $0.34/mi = $204

Bringing home $1020 (mileage pay) vs. $1750 (percentage) speaks for its self. I was to young then to realize how much different that was to todays times with truckers pay because I'd have to work overtime on weekend to reach that amount of $1750 per week which is $91k annually. When the option is available Always take the percentage because like most told you already sometimes the miles aren't there.