My Experience With U.S. Xpress

correct me if i am wrong, a non-training OTR company might be better but i dont think that any company paying based mileage is paying properly. too much expect to be done for free. if the truck stops moving then the pay stops.

how about this: $16 per hour when the truck moves $1,120 per week. all other of the 196 hours per week spent in the truck, 126 hours per week minimum wage. in NYS that's $9.70 per hour $1,200. thats around $2,200 per week. i dont think there are OTR drivers that make close to that, that's $100K per year. instead what they make is well below both state and federal minimum wage. i once had a trainer tell me its a lifestyle not a job (i want a job and im am willing to work overtime.)

i make $24 per hour at my job on overtime. OTR drivers never make $24 per hour not when you factor all of the time in.

the only way i could see wanting to do it is if i didnt have a wife, kids, and a home. its really kind of like being a hobo. when i got my CDL, i called dozens of local employers and tired to get a local job right out of school. there was no open door at first and my current boss told it would be extremely tough to hire me without the few months of training i did have. even when i was going to school. driving OTR was far from the top of my list in career objectives.

 

so what makes a non-training company better then a training company, arent they all about the same?

 

I think what you don't understand is not everyone has the same opportunities you do you for hourly paid local jobs that pay like yours. I average $1200 to 1400 gross a week, after my insurance and taxes taken out, I'm bringing home between 1000 to 1200. My insurance is the reason why I stay otr. I'm married with 2 teenage daughters. Would I like to be home more, hell yes, could I afford losing my insurance, hell no. Not since I have 2 teens active in sports. Here is the break down for my insurance, plus my cost. If you can find something that covers as good, and is cheap, I'll drop it in a heart beat.

Medical, $20 copay, pays 90% after the deductible that's $500 per individual with a $1500 Max family
Vision, $25 copay, pays 100% for exams, allowed $135 for frames, up to $200 for lenses and will pay for transition and polycarbonate lenses.
Dental, $25 copay, covers 100% of all preventative, 80% of everything else including major dental reconstruction of needed.
Accidental death dismemberment plan that pays 75% of my gross income. Paid for by them.
Short term and long term disability that costs me $6 a week and pays out 75% of my gross.
Critical care plan costs me $9 a week covers my entire family at 100% of any major medical event including heart attack, cancer, stroke. My life insurance is $50k paid for my company, but I increased it to $250k at a cost of $.35 per week to me.

It's all administered via BCBS, and I didn't even have to change doctors as my Dr already takes it, and the hospital network that he's in also takes it.

Not one of the local dump, aggregate, local, Jobs have insurance or Can pay me what I make now, and not one is willing to draw up a contract to pay me a guarantee amount plus give me insurance like I have now.

And no my company is not a training company.

 

you are probably right about the health insurance part. my wife's job has incredible insurance for the family. i am very lucky in that regards. she works in a hospital. we pay $60 bi-weekly NO deductible (county job, county pays deductible). we have ZERO co-pays and she has a RX card that has $5,000 on it for meds. THANK GOD my wife has that job, i dont know what i would do without her insurance.

 

That's about what my sister had with her job. She works for the clerk of courts and only has a $20 Copay with a weekly cost of $50 for her and her family

 

No, they aren't all the same. My company doesn't train, and is on the smaller side of the industry.

I am technically considered an OTR driver, but I get home for a few hrs every other day, and home on the weekends. I get Holiday pay, also.
They also don't hold our hands like the training companies do.

But, I also work for a private carrier, and we aren't really a trucking company...so to speak. We just carry our own freight, real similar to Wal-Mart.

We also get paid for Hub miles. But, we are also one those "evil" team companies that nobody wants to work for...bc of the evil team driving mindset.

But, I'll take my pay check every 2 weeks, and have that big laugh like I just stole money bc it's such an easy job.

 

Let this be a lesson to you....all these megas are good for is for newbie drivers or the local gigs for newbies and retired folks. Want money? If it is any of the megas...give it up.

 

The megas don't want to raise pay that's why they have their turnover rate that turnover rate is delivered by these companies because they know as long as drivers keep quitting and drivers keep coming in the door they don't need to raise pay

 

This is a good example of what some OTR drivers deal with. Sometimes it's more about the insurance than the pay. And a few local employers can't or won't give comparable insurance. Never mind depending on where you live some of the local jobs want more experienced drivers (typically 2 years or more) and won't take a chance on someone fresh out of driving school.
I myself have AD&D and both short term and long term disability insurance thru my employer. But I have primary medical insurance thru my wife because she works as a state employee.

 

As stated in a couple of previous posts to this one, no they aren't the same. However, you also have to think outside the box to some degree as well and not look at the usual suspects, even among non-training outfits.

Private fleet hauling company product ( not the evil empire lol ) , paid practical miles with only .8% difference between actual/paid last year on all miles, nice equipment with APU/inverters, home every weekend and sometimes through the house during the week, plenty of supplemental pay items besides just miles, good benefits/profit sharing. You can be lazy here and make 60k and depending on division it avgs 70-90k+

They don't hire noobs and it's hard to get on. That said we are hiring in most areas. You gotta be super clean with 2yrs min and stable work history with no job hopping. You gotta be able to think for yourself because we don't get mandated routing or fuel stops. They hire you expecting you to know what you're doing and do it without a babysitter.

Yeah there are downsides. No place is perfect. Hometime can be only 34 some weekends. They run us hard and max the clock out every week. We don't get paid detention but they stay on backhaul customers to get us loaded and out or they'll just cancel the load and tell us to leave in most cases if we sit more than 2hrs waiting. Sometimes not but those are the exceptions. But it's stable and solid and turnover is only around 15%. Find that number at a mega anywhere lol