Really need advice. Becoming a trucker?

Depends on the account when I ran local for swift in Los Angeles we were paid hrly plus an additional amount for each load we could do in the day. Some weeks I made 800 but my average was around $700 my best wk was a little over 900 and that was hauling ### doing 4 loads a day my worst week was a little under 600 only averaging 2 loads a day

 

Was that dry van or reefer?
I've done local work and hated it.
Long haul reefer loads is where the money is with Swift.

 

That was Dry van on their local Walmart account between the L.A traffic, competing with other drivers, plus the inconsistent freight made it #### near impossible to survive. We had so many days where there was only enough loads for all the drivers to deliver 1 load each and Swift didn’t compensate for the days with little to no freight it was on you to try to make up for that bad day the next day or the following day and if you couldn’t oh well your next check was going to be short and you just had to deal with it.

 

Don’t believe everything you hear. Things change so fast in Transportation. By the time you pay your dues, and become Independent, the rates could be in the toilet. Fuel, Insurance along with everything else can be higher. Meanwhile the Railroad might get some Subsidy money to really upgrade. Hurting Trucking even more. The Big Companies will benefit even more through using the rail. The Logistics and technology for a whole new model of Transportation is in place. No telling what it will look like, but the Little Guy isn’t going to cash in on it. Limitless? Far from it. Each Truck is regulated, and in constant need of maintenance. Not to mention the unknown unpredictable factors, on a daily basis, attracting Drivers. All add up to Limits. You, or anyone can jump in. It’s doable. Can’t start a Railroad, or Build a new Car. Truckings a revolving door of Success and failure.

 

... but being a vampire isn't??

 

I would never want to discourage anyone. You can make a decent living, as a Company Driver, or an O/O. Never be out of a job. That’s worth a lot, by itself. Getting rich? Lots of big talk, and big numbers in Trucking. A lot of it is skewed. Overall, there’s always work. Supply and Demand change rapidly, and seasonally. Rates reflect that. Owning a Truck, it’s easy to Leave out, all bills paid, and $10k in the bank. Before the weeks up, be broke down, under a Load, and $2000 short for a repair. More bills in the mail on the way. Meanwhile the clocks ticking. Have to look at the overall big picture. Not just hear the good stories. Everyone Loves to share those.

 

When I worked for Landstar. If your truck broke down sometimes you could reschedule the delivery time. If not then I had to pay another Landstar driver to come and take the load to delivery. I never got taken advantage of because the loads I hauled paid pretty good at the time. But when you own your own truck you could be responsible to cover the difference if nobody is willing to deliver your load for the rate you took it. That just an example of stuff people don't talk about. Plus just the daily trouble of finding a parking spot when your running out of driving time. You have to park but no place to park because truck stop and rest area are full. Waiting for a shower when you need get the miles in for the day.

 

Heavens no! You been watching too much Interview with the Vampire.

Don’t listen to that Louis “Goody Two Shoes” de Pointe du Lac vermin. I’d like to slap the “Woe is Me, I’m a vampire” whining right out of him. He got what was coming to him, but then that butt munch Armand had to go and rescue him.

I get steamed anytime I think about that! If I come across him, he’ll undead to wish I hadn’t!

 

I think some drivers are running just as much, if not more miles on ELDs. I don't really see what difference it makes whether its paper is electronic. However many miles a driver runs is dependent on the driver, the way the company operates. OP can make a good living as a company driver. As an owner operator, I can't say.