Schneider chat room - Closed see new thread linked in the last post

Nevermind, it wasn't worth mentioning.

 

I usually do 2-4 weeks out at a time depending on plans for events at home. I adjust my work schedule as needed for this.

The only reason I carry so much is because I have the space. I'm a dry van driver so I have a double bunk condo sleeper. As an OTR tanker driver your husband will only have a mid roof with a single bunk and smaller cabinets. I'm solo and never take passengers over night so I put the second mattress under my bed and use the entire upper bunk for storage.

For food I go shopping at Walmart before leaving home since they are generally cheaper than grocery stores. Buy food there that is the Great Value brand to save even more. It is their Generic brand. Canned food is your friend. Canned food doesn't need to be kept cold and will not expire for several years. I have enough canned stuff on hand that I could probably go 2-4 weeks without buying anything. Bread and stuff will only keep for a week or 2 at most and I usually go through at least 1 loaf a week. Many Walmarts are truck friendly if you need to go shopping for food or other stuff. If you need to know ahead of time you can just look up their number and give them a call. Just ask to speak with a manager and they will usually know. I've never been turned away before. As long as you tell them you are there to go shopping and just for a few minutes they will usually be fine. If you don't think you can get into the front lot without causing damage to the landscaping you can usually hide back near the receiving docks for the store and run inside real quick to go shopping.

Now a canned food diet is going to get old fast since your options are somewhat limited.

For lunches I usually make either a PB&J or Ham & Cheese sandwiches. Go to Walmart and buy a Coleman 40qt 12V travel cooler. It will keep everything nice and cold. I keep a 1/2 gallon of milk, ham, cheese, jelly, butter, and French Dip in mine usually. I will also usually keep a few bottles of water or juice in there. I try to drink mostly water during the day to avoid all the sugar and caffeine in sodas that make me sick if I have too much. Just remember that if the truck runs out of battery power over night and the Low Voltage Disconnect flips the cooler will shut off. It will probably keep cold for a few hours until you start the truck up again. Just be aware of this if you have things like milk or cheese in there. If you know it has shut off at some point look over your food. If there's any question the best option is to throw it away and buy new food. $2 to replace a half gallon of milk is much better than several days off the road because you got sick from drinking bad milk.

For Breakfast I have my Milk and the options of either Fruit Loops or Pop Tarts. I also have some granola bars. If you prefer a bit of caffeine to start the day you can either go with Coffee from truck stops or buy a small 12V coffee pot or water heater and make instant coffee. I personally use Folgers French Cappuccino instant mix. Take quite a bit of it to make a decent tasting cup of coffee that doesn't taste watered down. I usually only use it when I want it and won't be near a truck stop any time soon like when I spend the night parked at a customer.

One of the best purchases to save money and make food inside the truck is the RoadPro 12V Lunchbox Oven. It can be had at any truck stop for $29.99. It gets up to about 300 degrees and works very well. I wouldn't trust it with cooking raw meat to a safe temperature unless you feel like waiting 6 hours but it can heat precooked stuff very well. I posted a pictures last week of a BBQ chicken and corn meal I made. I used precooked and canned chicken from Walmart and some corn. Drained the liquid from both cans and then dumped it into two pieces of foil. For the corn pack I used some buttery to put a little more liquid and flavor in there and then wrapped it up. I just poured a bunch of BBQ into the chicken pack and mixed it up. Closed the foil up and put the two packs of food into the oven in one of the foil pans. Opened it up every 5-8 minutes and stir things up so you don't end up with one part being scalding hot and the other being ice cold still. After about 30-40 minutes it was all warmed up and ready to eat.

For the lunchbox oven they sell preformed foil pans. They are $2.99 for 3 at the truck stops or $0.99 for 3 at Walmart. I bought about 10 packs at Walmart and just put them in the cabinet where I keep the oven. You could also store them inside it if you are short on space.

For snacks I would go with whatever he likes that isn't messy. I keep chips and dip for when I'm sitting in docks and just looking for a quick snack between meals. I also have crackers and easy cheese.

For Clothing I use 3 stackable storage bins. 1 for pants, 1 for shirts, and 1 for socks/underwear. I put them on the top bunk and throw a 14ft ratchet strap over them to keep from getting hit in the back of the head by my clothes if I make an emergency stop. If I'm only out for 2 weeks I do my laundry when I get home. 3+ I do it at the OCs as needed. Most of the bigger SNI OCs have free showers and laundry for drivers. There might be a wait for the washers though since they only put 4 per OC but there's usually like 7-8 dryers. I usually have about 50 pairs of socks though. Doesn't matter how cold or wet the rest of my body gets, if my feet are either one I'm going to be pissed off.

I hope I was able to provide a bit of help in all that. Any more questions let me know.

I started out at 29 CPM. I was actually getting 27 CPM since I was on Per Diem for the first 6 months. After 6 months I got a raise from 29 CPM to 33 CPM. After my 1 Year anniversary I got a raise to 36 CPM. I think eventually raises are affected by performance, but I'm not sure. Once of the more senior drivers will have to elaborate on that.

 

is schnider a good company where i can make at least 800.00 a week after tax

 

If you're just starting out in the industry then they are a good choice. Even with the new idle policies they are still better than many others.

As for making $800 a week after taxes on day 1? Doubt it. Unless you get really lucky and can run 3000 miles per week. I would say to expect closer to $500 a week. Especially right now since freight has slowed down.

 

hey razor, best guess on what someone with 7 yrs would make weekly after taxes, running regional, home every 6-7 days then home for about 34-48 hrs? thanks

 

Depends on what your starting rate is. I think Experienced drivers start somewhere around the mid 30s. Depending on how many miles you get for the week you could probably pull in $700-800 a week after taxes. That's if you get 2500+ miles. If you end up with less than 2000 miles the pay is going to start dropping fast. Before the Holidays I was getting $600-800 per week after taxes. I made even more when I ran for 6 weeks. In that 6 weeks I had 4 paychecks with about $1k after taxes. I was running 3000 miles a week though. The first and last weeks were around $750ish.

 

Started me out at .41 cpm.

 

thanks buddy, as for me, I'm western 11. It's regional OTR basically. But yeah, I thought I had a lot of stuff when I had my mini sleeper lol even the tanker division trucks at least you can stand in. But it's okay. Finally organized everything, I have so much friggin room lol

 

my recruiter told me for the regional id be at .37 or .38...with about an average of 2000-2200 miles or so....if i do the math .37 at 2000 miles is 740.00 before taxes. that kinds sucks lol...is there other pay im not including? anyone chime in lol...

 

That mileage is on the high side. People go regional for more hometime, not more money. Just pick your poison.

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