the jist of it

40k as a trainer...lol. Good luck to you.

 

$30k - $40k is realistically possible for a first year CDL holder with a busy company and a driver who wants to work.

I quit trucking in 1996 and came back out in 2011. Basically started over from scratch. I grossed $32k with a ruthless deceitful O/O my first year. Quit and grossed $78k my second year with new company. So it can be done,.. I am proof of that much.

Both were on 1099.
First company was the nightmare that everyone talks about when describing 1099. The second was much better and educated me on how to work the 1099.

Hurst

 

I've got a roll over and I'm making 36 to 40k a year.

 

Two week notice ?
Sister-in-law , high level accounting employed 8 yrs that co.
Gave notice and was told on the spot "You may as well go home now".
Escorted off the premises with personal items she could carry, and allowed to make an appointment to pick up the rest of her personal items.
I mean they called security for that. Corporate ####s purely vindictive.
So yeah by all means give notice as courtesy to your employer.

 

Mudding (OP), in an earlier post I asked you a question, whether you understood how to use the Interaxle Differential Lock. If you don't then you are not alone, as I've run across many a trainee during my time as a trainer and many an experienced driver that didn't even know what it was.

I'm attaching a picture of the three switches in my truck, next to the parking brake and trailer air supply buttons. The top switch is the IAD Lock, then the Fifth Wheel Lock, and last the Suspension Air Dump. A driver needs to know how to use all three.

I engage the IAD any time I know I'm getting into a slippery situation, like mud, ice, or snow. Without it engaged you only have power to the right rear set of tires on your drives. With it engaged you will also have power to the left side. It's as close to four wheel drive as a big rig will get.

The incidents you described were all needing to be towed after getting stuck in deep sand or in mud. If you didn't have the IAD locked (engaged), then you were only spinning the right rear drive tires.

 

Hurst's post #33 is spot on advise for you. I'm going to follow up with a bit more that might help you in your career.

During my time OTR with Swift it was common for OTR drivers to be asked to cover local loads. Didn't matter if it was Denver, Jurupa Valley, or Edwardsville. If they had more local deliveries to be made than day cabs to cover them, then OTR drivers were asked to help out. You get a higher rate per mile, and fairly often an added bonus on top.

Usually after covering a local load or two, especially if you are very professional and actually take the time to do some meet and greets with the planner at the terminal, you get rewarded with a juicy run or two. I'll give two examples.

I was stuck in Edwardsville (just outside KC) and covered a 40 mile delivery, took a 10, then covered a two stop 200 mile delivery, then picked up a load to Ontario, CA.

I arrived in the Dallas/FW terminal and found out I was waaaayyyy back on the board as far as long haul. I asked, "Well, do you have any local hauls you need covered?" The planner's eyes lit up. "Sure!" I made four deliveries that day and made $300 with bonuses and stop pay. I got back to the terminal and the same OTR drivers were sitting around, pissing and moaning about how they ain't making no money, no loads, getting screwed, etc. etc. That night I got a load offer picking up in the morning, headed to Seattle. Apparently I'd been jumped to the head of the class.

You want to make money in this business? You need to figure out that serving the customer is THE most important thing. Nothing else really matters. If it is all about YOU and how you only will take long hauls, then I guarantee you the planners will take notice. If you approach the planners and let them know you want to WORK and do they need any HELP I guarantee the planners will take notice.

 

Now $14K for a year's work is pitiful, isn't it?

Look at my last post, riffing and following up on what Hurst said. By comparison I made $42K my first year with Swift, running OTR, based on the attitude and approach I have as a driver. That was when I started at $0.25 per mile.

Just finishing my third year I made $72K for '15, now running to the oil rigs. You want to make money in this business? It isn't going to happen by job hopping or "putting your foot down" and refusing to deliver local loads.

 

Reading about what happened to this guy makes me go dang.

And dangit, too.