Tell me more about “% of load” pay

Done per mile, hourly, salary and day rate but have some offers for % of load pay.
This isn’t O/O so I’m looking at mid-high 20’s and it’s hauling chemicals OTR (out and back). Not sure about W2 or 1099 either but I’ve done both.
I’ll get more of the specifics from the company as we talk more but before I get into any real details with them, I just want to make sure that I’m not missing anything or should be asking some other questions about how I’m getting paid.
One of the biggest things that sticks out is, how does detention time or layover pay or any of that if factored in outside of the actual operation of loading and unloading.
I mean companies I’ve worked for before in the past had pretty much a straight rate, but if I had to be there longer or wait a day or something happened, they would bill the shipper for that time, so am I gonna see any of that money or how am I even gonna know, that was lumped in to the overall sum that I’m gonna base my percentage off of?

 

Percentage pay makes things simple. You do not get any of that extra pay for detention or empty miles so the bright side of that is you do not have to chase after it with the company. If it happens it happens, but at the end of the pay week I made more every week than I ever did with mileage pay.

 

I prefer mileage pay or hourly. It’s rare or you’re going to see the agreement with the trucking company and the customer to show the actual amount before percentage. Then there’s deductions of Fuel and other things always seem like a way to pay less.

 

The % pay is an invitation to be screwed over by means of your employer falsifying the rate confirmation - a document on which your % is calculated. It is important to know that your employer is honest.

 

In the end it doesn't matter because the carrier has already crunched the numbers to make sure you get paid what the market pays for your job. Whether it's mileage, percentage, load or hourly you'll make what what they want you to make. Your only option is to run with whoever you like the best (after doing some research and interviewing them I hope) and see how it goes.

 

Good point.

 

I used to get 26% hauling tankers with chemicals, $18 hour was my part after 2 hours at plants, after 1 hour at rail/ports. for a company driver job, this was 7 years ago

 

Never had to worry about honesty when driving for Fraley and Schilling. Never considered the what ifs of an unscrupulous company because my average weekly pay went from 1100-1400 on milage pay to 1500-2000 the moment our pay switched to percentage. One week I even made $4,000 on a run from Tennessee to Washington.

 

This.
It really depends on the honesty of the company you are working for at the time. Sometimes it is a good deal, good company, other times it is a very bad deal.