want to be a truck driver need advice

are you still employed by USA?,USIT420

 

I don't know where you got your numbers from but I will say you are way off towards the low side. In my first 3 years here I was above 40s and 50s. I sat some but not very often. And yes, my first 3 years here were solo.

 

Back then we all ran 2 and 3 log books because none of the loads fit within the hours of service and safety didn't give a hoot because CSA hadn't been dreamed up yet. If I remember correctly they didn't even have a real person doing the dispatching. The loads got auto dispatched by the system based on whomever was the closest to it. Realistically, OP would probably be lucky to make $30, 000 the 1st year. You could probably qualify for food stamps with that kind of income though.

 

Your assessment is what I was thinking. When someone starts telling me about averages or what they think is guaranteed I break it down like this: You get 1 day off for every 7 days, assuming most drivers will take those days off that leaves you with 313 days a year to work. Let's just use his 35k as an example, he would have to get 360 miles a day, without fail, to hit that number (assuming starting at .31 cpm). He mentioned that he'd have to make 35k a year to pay his bills, that's a little too close for comfort to depend on. My first year at USA I made 20K, that is no joke! I didn't give anyone a lick of trouble, did everything that was asked of me, had no late loads due to my error and no accidents or tickets. You can't ask any more of a driver, but if there's no one interested in working you then what can you do? Of course, I was a glutton for punishment so I said to myself "eh, first year was a fluke, 2nd year is the charm." Wrong. 2nd year was 28k. 3rd year was 30k. At that time, though, starting pay was a little less, not much less, but less.

 

Barely. Involved in litigation with USA right now, though. Hopefully it will be over soon and I can move on.

 

Speak for yourself, I've never found it necessary to run 2 and 3 log books.

 

I don't think anyone here was so special that they were able to make anywhere near $40, 000 the 1st year on a .26 per mile starting rate. Loose leaf logs and manipulating the auto dispatch system was common practice then.

 

I for one have never ran two log books and wouldn't even begin to know how to do that,after I finished my first year I was at .32 a mile and came pretty close to making 40000

 

I've never ran 2 log books either. Lol, I just remember always wanting to run one full one but never being given the opportunity. Needless to say, $40000 was not seen the 1st year but it was exceeded for all the years that followed.