Usually, when I have a load to FL, I end up deadheading a couple hundred miles to GA for a load out of that hole!
Sitting for hours at some food warehouse waiting for a 2am appointment, then wait another 5 hours to get unloaded and "received". I hated reefer and haven't touched it in years!
Fresh out of school? Crime, Crete, Heartless Express, TMC, Maverick, Boyd, KLLM, Tyson Foods, BTC. Those are right off the top of my head.
"He is going to be getting his CDL out of Sanford at TDI and does anyone here anything about this school? Good? Bad? pros and cons?"... When I started to look into trucking schools, this was one of them, since it was about 30 minutes away from my house... I went to see them, and from my personal opinion at such time it looked terrible... building, equipment ect. Why don't you try Road Masters in Tampa?
RIght now he is only making $19,000 a year, so if he makes more than that going into trucking...that is a STEP UP for us.
I have been paid mileage, percentage and hourly. I personally prefer the hourly. I'm Otr still but I'm paid for every minute I'm working. Driving, loading, unloading, fueling, waiting for paperwork. You name it I get paid. I'm pulling tankers now so not a whole lot of sitting. Percentage is probably better if you can manage a lot of small runs close together. Keep the runs down to under 300 miles and you can do a couple a day to maximize your money earning potential. But for a regular guy not on a dedicated account with perfect conditions id say hourly is the way to go. I'll never go back to mileage pay again. Not unless they also pay me for time not spent driving.
Don't forget to factor in what he will need to survive on the road, and all the initial expenses like a cooler, GPS, tools and other things he might need.
$100 for Coleman 12v cooler. $300-400 for good rand McNally GPS. $50 for misc tools such as snips, gloves, pliers, screwdrivers, electrical tape, hammer. Get good snips for cutting those steel braided seals. They are a pain. A small set of bolt cutters works good. Get a good set of work boots too. I recommend red wings. Best boots I've ever worn.
