Rookie Experience?

Got the simple math thing down. What you don't seem to get is that, since OTR trucking is overtime exempt these mega-crap trucking companies will work you until you drop or cannot cheat your 70 hour limit on the log any longer. Overtime is not paid, so working a trucker to death is nothing but a benefit to the company. Overall, when you figure your work vs time CPM comes short. Figure you worked 70 hours for Swift at 30K a year, with overtime now figured as it should be paid over 40hours.

$30,000 / [52 x (40 + 30 x 1.5)] = $6.79 an hour working for Swift if you counted overtime and not all the free work. That is less then federal minimum wage.

 

I'm not talking about the hourly wage. Of course you're right in that aspect. I'm talking about yearly income. Would you rather work 40 hours a week at 15 grand a year or 70 at 30 grand? And after a year or two you can move to a local or regional gig making twice that and then some. It's a sacrifice. But no one who is supporting a family can realistically make it on 15 grand a year. Period.

 

It's not mandatory. Never said that. What I said is that a company will pick an OTR driver over a driver who has the equal time in driving locally or regionally. And as far as me wanting to be as well versed in this business as possible, I would prefer to know how to drive in as many different environments and climates as possible. For my own peace of mind and safety.

 

This industry is so screwed up i see others saying you need "experience with a 53 dry van give me a break!!!!!!! more than 50 percent pepper all the truck stops and rest areas cause they can't back up!!!!! If your going to get a job with a end dump do it you will be able to back better than these people with so called experience. You will be able to handle your truck. Not the jokers in a dry van who are doing amazon working for a mega and who are so eager to drop their trailer so they can run to a truck stop and bobtail park. When your learning don't take the easy way back.....back .....and back again........LEARN!!!! do it slowly and safely if it takes so 30 pull ups to make it happen so be it. Get your rear end out the truck and see what kind of situation you have to deal with. Be safe and good luck to you. Take that end dump job if it's offered to you. I have seen so many times the prize 2.5 million miler make a disgusting mess out of a an easy back and then just give up cause it's just not working out for them. Good luck to you.

 

2.5 million miles and screws up a back? Doubtful to say the least. I agree we see a lot of stupid mistakes out here. But I would venture to say that the majority of those are not experienced drivers. Rather rookies with less then 6 months experience. In my first year, I chose to go to a dedicated Walmart route where I was delivering to neighborhood walmarts. Which are as we all know, in neighborhoods and very small. That experience was priceless to me. But even without that, in a year OTR, a person has to back so many times in tight spaces just in order to sleep. Not to mention deliver. Yeah, a lot of the pick ups/deliveries for the megas are at huge warehouses but at the end of the day, after a year OTR, a person is very well versed in working the equipment. Not just from a backing perspective but from a well rounded operational stance. Merging in traffic, climbing, descending, county roads, state roads, interstates, winter, spring, summer, fall, mountains, hills, on and on.

 

I dunno. I've seen OTR drivers try to drive at my company and they can't handle the stress of local city driving. To say "any employer will feel that way" just isn't true. OTR driving is easier. The job itself isn't any easier- that's not what I'm saying. But it's a lot tougher bumping 20 docks per day in businesses that were started before the 53' trailer became common.

We aven't had much luck with OTR guys. Doesn't mean they can't do it, of course they can. Just don't be so one sided. OTR is a tough life, with many unique challenges. The driving really isn't the biggest of the challenges though. Just like the lifestyle adjustment isn't the challenge of the job for the local guys

 

yest doubles would I just remember of others just pulling single short trailers not getting counted for experience.

 

Ya ok!!!!!!!!!... I had to hand hold a 2.5 million miller out of manhattan last night!!!! Could not back into the time warner building to save his life but he had a lot of cool stickers on his truck to show his war paint. What a joker this one was. I had to have him on my radio and babysit him 60 blocks to get him out to the jersey turnpike. All balls when we were lined up but when it was his turn to go really looked like the first time out 3 other driver including myself backed him in scared out of his mind!!!!!!!!!

 

Sure. You're a beast mate.

 

$46,000 is excellent money! What company were you driving for?

More power to you for having earned it! God bless you and your family!

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!