WannaBe asking questions???

i really want to have my own truck.. i dont want to drive a company truck.. and i know if i lease on that i'll get 70% of gross.. atleast thats what i've been told by guys that use to drive with my dad. and it does kinda balance cause i dont have to pay that much for cargo insurance, just bobtail and that otha stuff that covers my truck and their trailer..

 

Dak, there is no telling what the freight picture will look like when you get back and start trucking, but even if it's perfect, I think you will want to be home more often than you think you will now. The way the 70hr rule works, you have more efficient weeks if you take a day off and get a 34 hour restart, and I think you'll find those much more pleasant at home than at a truck stop. That's 70 hrs in 8 days, or 8 hours, 45 minutes a day. You can burn that up in a hurry if you're not careful. Being able to get somewhere exciting that you can actually get a truck to for the weekend doesn't happen that often.

On the $18.50/hr-I made $39,000 my first year trucking, and that was 65-80 hrs a week, working 51 weeks. If there is any room for a promotion or overtime, you would be better off with that job. I bet you could find something better when you get home. I guess I don't know how you would combine that with trucking either.

I think, with your background especially, you would be bored to tears pulling a dry box, as I think I would be. You can always go do that later. I made pretty good money pulling a dump bucket too, but that depends on where you live. Back to #2, coast to coast trucking isn't as profitable or as plentiful as it apparently used to be. That's what I hear, I've only been driving since '03. I guess reefer freight still goes cross country regularly, but I know nothing about that at all. Supposed to be some of the best paying freight if you know what you're doing and have good contacts.

About Texas-it's one of my favorite places to drive a truck. Their secondary highway system is the best in the country, IMO. I love being able to "cut through the woods" and still make decent time on the 50 foot wide two lanes with 70mph speed limits. I know they have those further west too, but the freight is slower in those places.