Pay with Less than 1-year Exp

I made 40k in my first year, and I couldn't quit any faster once I had the chance. If you want to keep your drivers you have to focus not only on pay, but also on hometime and downtime. Regular hometime and little downtime while on the road with "above average" pay will get you a below average turnover. Otherwise it will always be a revolving door of people trying to move up the ladder.

 

To me another big was for equipment was not just downtime but what I was driving. You give me something like an old swift truck I probably wont enjoy my job as much as I would if I was driving a nicely spec'd truck. Not saying a hood but something that has more then a few gauges, maybe a 13speed, nice seats and looks good! That makes it easier to stay out for 2-3 weeks at a time! I never had a hard time staying out for 3 weeks at a time when I was OTR. I actually woke up every morning and was excited to get behind the wheel and drive.

 

That doesnt matter as long as you are paid for breakdowns. I drove for a company that terrible equipment but I got 18 per hour after one hour of breaking down so I didnt care what I was driving.

 

Best MPG? Not from my experience. My Volvo 780 got 9+ MPG most of the time, and I hauled a lot of 40k+ loads so it wasn't from running light. It was from running responsibly. I knew a ProStar driver that averaged 9.5-10 every week, as well.

Good ride? Not from my experience. Freightliners have terrible issues with total body vibration. I'm miserable in a Cascadia. The 780 I had was a much better ride not only for mpg and sleeper size, but driver & sleeping comfort.

I can't say much about the maintenance cost, other than to point out how many Volvo dealerships are popping up all over recently with the brand's growing popularity


I enjoy living over the road. I take home time 1-2 times per year. As such, the comfort of the truck is more important to me than how much I'm taking home each week because that's my home. The relationship I have with my DM/dispatcher is important to me because that's my connection to humanity, aside from the passing nods given to other drivers & truck stop folks I see once & never again.

I'd be happy with $750/week(*), as long as the equipment is to my satisfaction and the personal relationships were solid because I live a pretty ascetic life.


* Hypothetically, because I'm pretty happy with JCT despite the Crapcadia I'm stuck in.

 

Bill... Prime is currently starting at 42-cpm plus a variable fuel bonus paid weekly. Fuel bonus starts at 7.5mpg... which is a requirement for company drivers to maintain. It starts at 0.1-cpm and increases in 0.1-cpm increments for ever 0.1mpg maintained for the week over 7.5 mpg. I ran company about 4 to 6 years ago (see milskired's posts) and grossed around 48k in those years on and average of over 2800 miles-per-week. Hope that helps.

 

Try fitzgerald gliders, they're cheaper, classically get more mpg, save more money on maintenance compared to scr equipped trucks.

 

When I get about 9 mpg average in a 780 and 6.5 in a Cascadia, that is all truck.