On average how much should I make my first year?

Overtime is specifically exempted or excluded from OTR trucking as of 1934 unless you are with a union teamster fleet or something similar.

Everyone talks about making money, NO one ever says how much will I spend in Coffee and food each year? (Around 8000 annually) 8% to your Medical/SS deduction, then about 35% for your taxes give or take both Fed, State and sometimes even city or local taxes. Call it one half of whatever you get paid will be withheld and deducted etc.

Every load you know exactly how many miles you will be paid, and know how many cents per mile you are making. Then half that amount goes to withholding etc. Half what you have left You take 20 dollars per day on whole trip, picking up, driving and delivery day. The rest goes into a form of savings ready to action when you need money now.

Example

1200 pay miles. Pick up today (Monday) deliver Wed this week. Thats $600 gross for three days work; at .50 cents per mile. Half that goes to withholding, you are looking at 300 dollars. today, tomorrow and wed you spend 20 dollars or less for eating etc. call it $240 dollars left.

THAT $240 goes into SAVINGS. Ready to go at a moment's notice. For example I keep a checking account with 0.10 in it when it's not busy this week. It has a VISA bank card tied to it. Completely seperate from the main checking account in which you pay your bills.

At the end of the month let's say you saved 500 a week. That's 2000 dollars cash in the VISA checking card account. IF your house, electric, sewer, food for wife and children etc etc etc call it $1250 going to that next months bills in total to be auto deducted. You now have 750 ready to go in your checking account and VISA card tied to it.

4 more weeks you should have 1500 dollars savings third month 2250 Fourth month 3000 in savings.

Keep stacking all year.

IF you for whatever reason only had ... 300 pay miles for a ####ty work week in trucking.. your savings will still be possible. Yet the bills and food has to be paid. But difference is this. You build and continue to build savings so that no matter what happens you all will be ok. If dispatch understands you did not complain with that 300 mile run, make sure they understand that you need to be back onto the regular OTR mileage per week.

Here is the last thought. Protect the savings you have built. Let's say the company sounds really busy, company yard is empty and dispatchers standing over 20 desks yelling into the phones talking mileage way above what you are making... it is TIME for you to look for another company. Do not spend all your savings trying to hang on. Call it 2000 minimum. And now you will need to either get miles, find out why you are not getting miles and or move to another trucking company.

You talk about what we will make annually as a OTR trucker. I say that's to be determined at tax time when you add up the W2 wages paid and so on for Federal and state taxes. You will know then what you are getting anually and more importantly you have several thousands in savings at least.

For example wife and I was a team in 2000-2001 years. When 9-11 dawned that year, our savings stood at 15000 in the bank. 9000 of that goes to a contractor to replace the destroyed bathroom in our home from a recent storm. That leaves 6000.

Considering the home bills plus wife and i and our needs that was about 6 to 7 weeks rolling on that savings until the new payroll company was put together and everyone got even and lost no pay since 9-11. That mound of money goes right back into savings.

This post, I repeated one word. Savings. Savings. Savings. Savings. Trucking is feast and famine. You better have enough for the famine weeks without complaining to your dispatcher, they don't wanna hear it. In fact they may hang out enough rope for you to quit. Just to get rid of that whining noise you were making to them.

 

People like to talk about average and possibly pay like just driving 500 miles a day for 6 day is 3,000 miles a week and if your a hard worker and don't go home and work 52 weeks you get 156,000 miles a year. At 45 cents per miles you will make $70,000 a year. It doesn't work out like that.

You be lucky to drive 120,000 miles a year. That why they like to talk about average or if your a hard worker or our top drivers so much money. This way they can make seem like you just not a hard worker or even average. Ha ha.

They know if they said you will only make 115,000 miles at $0.32 a for $36,000 a year it don't sound so good for working 70 hours a week. Nobody is quitting because they are making $70,000 a year. Being a trainer is good if you like driving and riding 1,200 miles a day. You do make good money but you can only stop truck 2 hours in a 24 hour day. Don't that sound like fun.

 

Interesting glass half-empty / half-full debate.

 

1,000 a week net is very possible.

 

Thr 70 hour week may not be hit in reality. You can only drive 11 hour days up to 70 hours before you have to reset the clock with the mandatory 34 hour reset. Figure it this way, its a regular job that doesnt pay per mile (unless you own the truck). It pays (depending on the carrier) cpm or cents per mile. Starting drivers wont earn much. Generally around 30-40 cpm. Tho the goobernment take 25% for the net.

Dont let a mega tell you that you must get a fleet lease truck. Here on TTR they are really called a Flease. So many deductions for a truck that you will wonder whom is making the money. My opinion is if you want a truck? Go to your bank and get a commercial loan with the truck you intend to own as collateral. Plan on budgeting your costs. A percentage needs to be tucked away. I can go into more detail if you ask. So I wont bore you with the details this post.

 

I started driving OTR in February (after 20 years as a commercial bus driver), and I’m in the truck 5-6 days a week, on pace to make roughly $45-50k net.

 

I haven't had time to read all the posts yet but I'll get around to it.

I am reading about different companies and I start CDL course in August so I have a little bit of time. I'm hoping the course doesn't fill up because I am signing up a little bit late. I made 3 trucker friends on Discord and they all said Prime was a good company to work for. So, right now I'm researching Prime. As for your advice to not think about the money, well, I am not worried about it but I would like to hear as many opinions as possible. I definitely don't want to end up at a company that pays little and bust my ### for no reason. I want to get the most out of my time. I heard Prime are good for that, but I still have much research to do.

 

Look into ltl they pay very well better than what prime will pay

 

Have you considered tankers? Seems to be a more stable shipping environment b/c it deals w/ mostly industrial freight and it seems to pay a bit better w/ out all of the hassles loading and unloading. I'll be starting CDL school in September and based on the research I've done I'm 90% certain I'll be trying to get into tankers off the bat. Schneider and Superior Carriers are two companies that hire on new CDL grads ( essentially you need your CDL and then you spend 5-6 training on tanker specifics w/ the company ).

 

If your younger and within the hiring area, why not try food service. Sysco, US Foods, PFG, McLane all hiring recent graduates with zero driving experience. Making 75k to 80k gross is definitely attainable your first year. Your home every night also. Downside is that it is hard work. Unloading trailers by hand, delivering using a two wheeler or pallet jack. More plusses than minuses in my opinion. Not for everyone. Hope this helps.