My Sammons experience

It is sad to see it this way, last night i walked about a mile to find a good meal, i don't know how people can eat fast food all day everyday and eating in the truck for one meal is ok but i have to get out and socialize a bit or i will be crazy very soon

 

well i made it to California and do my final drop in the AM, had a load booked but it got canceled, so i made some phone calls and hopefully i can get something in the morning that pays decent.

i will post up how the pay and everything gets figered tomorrow i am beat this has been a long run

here a 2 pics from unloading at FT Carson

 

here is an example of how the pay is figered and how their is no negative weeks you will always take money home if you are working, these are simply numbers for easy math

Line haul: $1000
Fuel surcharge $300
Tarp pay $50

To figure your draw you take ( Line haul x .75 x .26 x .40 = draw) on this example the draw would be $78..... the draw is paid the day you load

To figure the escrow you take ( Line haul x .75 x .02 = escrow payment) The escrow is their to cover the company incase you leave the truck some where and tell them where to go, it helps with the cost of truck recovery. The escrow acct caps at $2000 and when you pay the truck off it rolls over to the performance bond that O/O must carry which is $2500. if you return the truck to Missoula with all equipment you will get the money back and a bus ticket home.

To figer the settle on the load you take ( Line haul x .75 + tarp/stop pay x .26 - draw - escrow = settle) so in this example the settle on the load would be $118 and total for the load that you take home would be $196

All of the rest of the money gets settled up and the end of the month and covers fuel, licens fees and IFTA and any maintence then everything left over goes to the truck payment which there is no set truck payment as long as your making progress everything is good, and major breakdowns and such can make you go backwards but you will still take the settle money home and Sammons will work with you as i have heard many of the lease ops and O/O say also.

 

Today was a long day, got to the jobsite at 8 am to unload they took 4 of their 6 units off on one side of the building and then put them up on the building there was myself and 2 other trucks their same deal for all 3

it took the crew just over 2 hours to do the first half then move the crane to the other side and get us finished out, the customer did tell me 2 hours when i called and verified the appt, so no huge deal their and i got detention for the other 2 hours so all is good with me,

I bounced to Bakersfield for a morning pickup to UT .

 

as long as progress is being made on the truck note all is good you run it the way you want to..

i havn't been a company driver for over 4 years but i am taking more money home for the miles/ hours i work then i did as a company driver

 

Today is one of those days mom warned me about...

i got to the shipper at 7 am and got loaded with pumping equipment for the oil field, headed down the TA to get scaled 42,000 on the trailer ( now with having the 53' trailer i have to slide the rear axle up and make it a tandem for good ol california) head back for rework and go to scale again 39,000 on the trailer head back to have it reworked again ( shipper is 8 miles from the truck stop so not real far but still) head back for rework a 3rd time and back to the scale 37000 on the trailer im getting flustered, so i head back to the shipper and they say slide the axel back and i refused after all its my ticket not theirs, and dot is sitting at the stop sign inspecting trucks after all this they take the load off and not real sure what to do.

i call the agent who booked the load, and he said i thought you had a 48' flat which the computer says i have the 53' step so anyways i talked to Mark in Missoula he is the L/P operations manager and he appoligized and said keep the draw for the load, by this time it was too late to get anything else so i am here for the weekend.

things happen and lesson learned, i looked at the load board and monday looks promising.

the guys loading the truck even gave me $10 for the trouble which i thought was pertty cool of them.

 

Monday i bounced up to Lodi CA and picked up to trucks ( F450 and a GMC 7500) get them loaded and secure and head for Glendive MT, i was glad to get out of Cali and slide that axle back it rides a lot better that way..

I delivered at Glendive about noon today, and at the same place picked up a front loader to take to Casper WY will be there tomorrow and hopefully get something for the weekend, hoping to be home the middle of next week.

1st picture is on US 191 in yellow stone and 2nd is at a truck stop