Questliner: 9 plus years

dennisroc · Jul 3, 2019

im6under said: ↑

1) the pay could always be better !!!

2) but the pay is really good...!!!

3) i am not going anywhere... (the pay is really really good.)

4) the last three years, i am out sometimes not at all, but 1-2 nights a week is normal.

5) last year i made more money than i ever have. about 73k.

6) we got a sizeable raise which, work equated, means i would have made 77k.

7) i seriously do not track my weekly wages or cry on a slow week... i will take the extra day off, any day of the week and enjoy every weekend i can get off. or take my turn in the barrel ???

8) chad, my dispatcher, has seasoned nicely, i can get time off with notice, and he can call me when the stuff hits the fan... he’s good at being a human being and life is about give and take, not me me me...

10) i look around every few months for what other jobs are available, hometime vs pay etc... location. it would be very hard to beat what i have with questliner... but i keep looking

11) dont wreck the truck, dont be late, dont cause a spill. and you get to keep working here... its not bankers hours for sure... its trucking. but its sweetpants trucking.

12) i am dedicated to a single shipper. i like them and i like their customer base. all good people. i have hop-scotched for a few other terminals when pickings get slow where i am... i like those terminals and customers also... lol i might be a people person? i dont know... lol but i have only run into a few idiot customers having a bad day in basically 10 years.

13) the downside, if there is one at all, is that some fortune 500 companies have different rules at different plants. some are tshirts, some ppe before you step out of truck, and still others are dont get out of the truck period. same company, same product, different plant. that is what it is... i guess

14) worst bad mouthing of questliner i have heard from anybody was a new fellow driver, fresh hire, a guy that doesnt work here anymore.... go figure??! lol

“they said i’d make this and they lie and i cant make a living... blah blah blah.”

my company actually asked me to help this guy out and show him the ropes... we talked for about an hour, me trying to focus on how to save time, get done safely, and make some decent bank.

he spent the time telling me he didnt mind working when they needed him and lies lies lies... from company and dispatch... lmao!! chad you devil??! you singled this one guy out to hate on??? hahaaa i wondered if this guy knew we had all been working together for years...?

he wanted off by 3pm friday and not to start until 9-10 monday (it was a long commute for him). most loads and all the good stuff leaves at 5am.

so no... working half day monday, full days for 3 days, and a half day on friday will not bank you 65k which i have no doubt he was told he could make 65k... emphasis, you are going to show up and actually drive the truck right? its kind of a requirement.

i just really, in my heart, doubt that anybody at my company told him “4 days a week” lmao that was a few years ago... he was gone quickly... thank god for all of us. some guys are their own worst enemy...

15) it was my intention, 10 years ago, to lease a truck from questliner... i have checked on the lease purchase and owner op side of the company when i started 10 years ago, 5 years ago, and end of last year.

HERE WE GO !!!!!

they pay good... really good compared to others... but if i had to speculate and i am... this is my personal opinion...

Questliner runs an efficient, tight ship, thats why they are successful !!! and... frankly they cant pay you money they arent collecting from customers. dont do a lease purchase. it is too much risk to accept for the reward.

can you make it? yes you can !!!! i know several guys that are making it work and loving it...

you might even make more than a company driver... but with huge risk !!! and i know exactly why and will articulate it for you.

when quest has a truck break down they have 5,000 others still running... for income.

if you are a small fleet of 10 trucks, and one breaks down for a week... you have 9 others still rolling and covering for that one dead horse.

if you have one truck and it breaks... for a week or two, you are screwed buddy. not literally, i mean they will work with you etc... but that lease payment and insurance, those things, fixed expenses, keep coming whether the truck is rolling or not. (note income drops to zero when down) and they are yours... and when you get up running again, you have to pay your normal stuff plus that arrears stuff.

dont lease period!!!!

16) that said i am thinking about leasing hahahahahaaa. or owner operating.

i have squirreled away money since i was 13. i would do a zero down lease purchase if it was financially sound. its just not sound to lease to own, zero down. you grab a 400k or 500k mile truck and run it 125k a year... and pay it off??? what is an ex company truck, 8-10 years old with 800-900 thousand miles on it worth ??? thats your equity. a worn out junk truck you can trade in again?

no... not me friends... lol too much risk.

save your money... squirrel it away and go buy you a brand new one, out right or half down... you still wont get rich by any means, (its still trucking) but it wont sink you either if things go south. which is always a possibility.

17) my company isnt a training company or trying to earn a living off of fleece purchases. they will throw you out to the system and plug you in just like they do the company drivers... that is the fairest deal you will get anywhere in the country and much more fair than some of our (supposed) competitors that fleece drivers, ad nauseum, feeding them the low pay runs and nothing else or simply leaving them sit to die. and quest pays pretty good money, better than most.

but still...??? all the rah rah aside... smartly, you need a sizeable down payment, reserve cash for breakdowns and the unexpected.

they will give you a truck. they offered me my daily truck, you want that one? or another? you want to go down to the dealership and kick some tires, pick one out?

no.. i do not... lol i just want the info to take home and pencil it out for myself is all.

i even got a copy of a blank contract to read over. (NO, i will not show you, i read it three times and deleted it.) am sure its confidential or proprietary anyways...

but i can tell you it was long and very boiler plate. no red flags, no, here is where we get your first born... hahaa it was just standard issue, we give you a truck and when you give it back it has to be in the same condition less normal wear and tear.

eg: you cant take it with new rubber and turn it in with no rubber... lol

if you keep it til you own it, its yours... but you cant skip oil changes as a part of making that happen...

all reasonable... all very clear... and all above board.

that said... one truck cannot compete on a thin margin in an economy of scale. well... you can if you are lucky... but what if you arent? lose an engine and you could be done. my opinion anyways.

18) PAY ATTENTION !!!!

i dont care if you are making $50k or 100k... keep your personal expenses reasonable. if you are spending every dime you make, thats why you are broke and no amount of money will fix your woes if you keep spending every dime you make. toys will be nicer or newer, more expensive and you will still be broke.!!! live within your means.

my rule... my first two weeks check, pays all of my bills for the following month.

my 3rd week covers long term saving and investments.

my fourth week covers entertainment, xmas savings, vacation, impulse items.

we get a few 5 week months... thats the gravy... i splurge that money on stupid stuff... lol i know i shouldnt... but i do it everytime... big xmas... vacation... whatever, its extra...

we get bonuses and bonus money has always gone to savings. new furniture, harley, or semi truck fund.

19) work hard wherever you are, do your best, stay focused, look for opportunities.

dont do stupid stuff, it can wreck your today and your tomorrow.

dont ever quit, as in, give up. just dont do it.

life is a marathon, pace your self, plan ahead, if its a good deal today it will be tomorrow also...

stay focused and have a good day.

and... we’d love to have you... we are always expanding. if you are responsible, have a good record, and are looking and we are in your area...

give us a look see... quest or foodliner. quest is hazmat and foodliner is food grade.

trucks are nice company trucks. you wont get a brand new one your first year. lol lets make sure you can drive first... hahaa

all cascadias, 70” midroof, 65mph.

drive a few years, save some coinage, then lease or buy or just keep on driving...

its all good.

cheers.
Click to expand...

Do they hire newbies in Indiana and have home daily or often ?
And what is their pay ?
Thanks

ChicagoJohn · May 5, 2020

I know an O/O who was looking for info on quest. Any info on the pay and lanes out of Joliet?

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