The real deal on first year earnings for solo driver

I beg to differ. Yes there are a lot of dumb ##### new to driving truck. BUT the best way to learn is to DO.

Cant figure out were to go at shippers? = use your head and find out...lots better way to learn than being told everything by a trainer who holds your hand all day.

Cant hit the dock first try? = SO WHAT! if he's a rookie he's not gunna do any better with a trainer trying to drive the truck from the passenger seat! The only way to get better at backing is to do it on your own and figure it out...before you say " yeah till he hits my truck"...the people who hit trucks do so because they are careless NOT only because they are a rookie. Plenty of careless experienced drivers out there hitting things as well ( just watch IRT sometime lol).

Every driver should know the requirements of pre and post trip inspections, just being a rookie doesnt mean hes going to have a heap of OOS violations. People have violations because they dont take the time to do a proper inspection.

I am just over 1 year into my driving career. I have hauled all over the USA , driven the mountains in winter, have not had ANY accidents, OOS violations, NEVER backed into anything, allways get my truck in a dock or parking spot straight and neat. No HOS violations or any moving violations. I took an 8 week cdl driver training course that i paid 6500 dollars for out of my own pocket. My first job was hauling b train tanks , than i went to long haul now i am back to tanks. I have never had a day of "training" from another company driver. If the OP wants to pay for his traing course andf get on with the job on his own then let him prove he can before you mouth off bout how he will no doubt be far inferior to you and your whole 4 years exp.
How many years did someone hold your hand for you?

 

Back to the original question, Someone willing to stay out for long periods can hope to break 40 G's first 12 months.
And get some of that spray on hair stuff, your gonna need it

 

Depends where you start and what you haul.
30 on the low side, 40 on the high side...unless you get really lucky.

 

wouldn't riding with a trainer be helpful, to learn the ropes and some insights you wouldn't gain from a classroom? sure, there are some things you won't learn from a trainer either. sure, your trainer could be a jerk, but if you go in with the right attitude to learn and be respectful of the trainer and not take anything personally, you'd be fine.

i use to be the type who wouldn't ask for help because i didn't want to bother anyone or waste their time. i would take the time to figure things out on my own. however, i realized that i enjoyed helping others when they asked me for help. also, i realized it saved a lot of time when you do ask for help. it develops team work, increases job satisfaction, and helps the company meet deadlines and improve customer satisfaction. two heads are better than one. industrial engineering classes will teach you that with real classroom experiments.

if $30k/year isn't enough for you, you should consider another career. if you really want to do trucking, you'd figure out how to resolve your personal finances to do it for $25k/year. if all you care about is pay, you should go sell trucks. those people can make 6 figures.

 

You were never a rookie?....Everybody has to start somewhere...I went with a trainer with other students during training but after that 3 days was over I was on my own with a load to Baltimore....Your just a big mouth that thinks you know everything & better than everybody else..

 

Can you feel the love?

 

I spent a month with a trainer Learned a lot in 30 days especially backing and blind side backing. If we had to sit for a day or two. he had me out practicing backing every chance we got, He covered most of my meals, taught me how to work my log books when needed bought me a truck stop guide added all his notes to best one to eat at cheap near by laundry best strip clubs near by the important stuff. All in all A really good guy we still talk about once a month and if he is laying over here in town he calls I go pick him up ( I have since took a local driving job) bring him by the house for a home cooked meal my wife takes care of the laundry for him.

 

No - actually I don't think I'm better than everyone else. I am concerned when I see a rookie struggling - and all you supertruckers on the CB giving him sh&t. I'm usually one of the few who can get out of my truck and help him out.

That's one of the reasons that this nonsense about not need a trainer is pure crap. Even a little coaching - having someone watch the back of the trailer while the rookie struggles with keeping the truck on the road helps. Its called constructive criticism by many, although I doubt from your response that you have a clue about what that is.

 

ironpony is right. A brand new driver should spend time with an experienced trainer to learn the ropes. Helps them get a feel for shippers/receivers, HOS logbooks, truckstop parking, time management, being on time, company policies, etc, etc. A brand new driver should train a minimum of 2 weeks with his/her new company.

LOL @ supertruckers. I tell them to #### when I hear them giving guys grief when parking. I cant stand them.

 

I agree that the jerks on the cb giving a driver a hard time while hes trying to back up need to ####. I have allways made a point of trying to help a driver if I can AND if he wants it ! I have had a couple of instances were a driver has got attitude at me when I asked if he needed help backing up. Some guys take it as an insult when you ask them if they need help. It has made me a bit less inclined to offer help but I still will if a guy is having real trouble. Usually if I am sitting in my truck and someone is backing up near me i will wait and give them a few shots at hitting the hole. If they didnt get it after a couple of pull ups then i will go ask if they want some help.
As for someone to watch the trailer while a rookie is driving - I think that if a driver has passed his cdl test and still needs a trainer in the passenger seat watching his trailer while he is driving then he probably isnt yet competent to be driving and should not have been allowed to pass the cdl driving test.
What kind of testing system is in place in the USA if a person can get a cdl BUT struggles to keep the truck on the road?
If you guys down there really have such a lack of basic driving skills in the newly trained drivers then I agree that they MUST be supervised! I guess there is a vast difference in the quality of cdl training offered by canadian schools as opposed to USA schools. Every person on my course was able to properly operate the truck on there own without trainers input by the end of the course. I am not saying they were seasoned drivers, I am just saying that we all could drive around downtown in the city without needing to be babied around every turn and have a trainer talk them through every intersection. We were told if you didnt reach that stage then you would be held for further training until you could BEFORE you were booked a provincial cdl driving test. Anyway thats my rant over, sorry to get the thread off topic, just needed to get it off my chest.
Back to the original OP question, you get out what you put into trucking. Do your company research and keep your nose clean and you will find yourself making good coin sooner rather than later. If you are able to try to get into the oil patches driving truck it is some of the best money to be had and good experience. Also dont be afraid to apply to the tanker companies or more specialized haulage companies. Its all in your hands. I am making a good 25 bucks an hour at the moment but its seasonal work so thats to be expected, when the work runs out in a month or so i will be back to 16 an hour but i am home every night and get wekends off . You will find the lowest pay in basic van hauling then it just goes up proportiantely to the type of trailer and loads you haul. I made approx 3000 $ per month as a new driver when i was running long haul. Local work will often pay better and you will be home more so i would say start with local companies, gravel , construction, etc will usually pay a competitve hourly rate in the busy seasons then go look into something to keep you going in the slow times. Also get out onto the street and go see the companies in person, usually gets a better response than emails etc. I got my job hauling tanks by going into the companies office and asking for a job, the guy said they didnt have anything. I asked to do a road test anyway and we went did that then he said he would look into it. I had a job with them 2 days later. The guy said it was the fact i came in person and showed i was willing to go that got me a job.