want to know something

I was making more money at my prior profession but the govmt and banks ruined that so now I make some money driving a truck its not as much as I made before and its not as much as drivers made ten years ago but I didn't drive a truck back then so I don't feel the loss it is more than I was getting from unemployment also one driver asked me who are the drivers you see complaining its the ones sitting in the company driver lounge not the ones out working I think the different stories are real and personal experiences and not intentionally directed towards other people with the intent to induce additional or excessive thought regarding entrance into a trucking career.

 

You read what these guys are saying, and follow what they said, youll do fine. I work hard, I don't screw off,i do pretrips,i deliver on time ect. $45.000 my first year.
This is not a butt load of money by any means, not exlactly chump change either.
It's a job, put in the effort, reap the rewards, simple really.
b

 

It's simple . The training companies most CDL mill graduates go to just consider drivers another expense to be kept to a minimum . They compete with each other to get cheap retail accounts . They get away with paying low wages because there are too many people out there willing to work for any wage .
The ones making money make the effort to ignore the megacarriers and find better jobs . Expedite carriers will put a driver in a straight truck without a trainer if they have attended a preapproved school .
Don't reject thoughts of an expedite straight truck . You'll make better money than OTR drivers and be able to take 1 week off after 4 weeks out . You also pick and choose your own loads . No forced dispatch .

 

I would think it would be hard to make a buck if you have to spend all day at a dock burning up your hours then have to sit for 10 more when you run out at 14... that's the way it is when you have e-logs and QC's and such... count me out.

 

Yep I agree with what I read here. As a new company driver it is very tough at first. You want to buy all the doodads for your truck and some of them are necessary expenses if you want to keep your own costs down. I have learned to live in the truck on the cheap, mainly by packing my own food so stuff like cooler, lunchbox cooker and water heater are essential to me, but then I can live on $50/week in food. You just got to resist buying food at the TS which can be hard when you stop for fuel, are hungry, and don't have time to heat up anything you brought. So I premake sandwiches I can pull out of the cooler quick.

Now if I could only quit smoking I could save another $100/wk

 

Not true with many companies . I usually get preloaded trailers or load by appointment in less than 2 hours . Same unloading - drop and hook or unload by appointment in less than 2 hours . Trailers are dedicated and paid to take back to home terminal empty .
As long as some people are foolish enough to put up with BS some carriers dish out it will always continue .

 

Where are you buying your smokes? Try and buy them in SC, or any GA CVS and you'll save a bunch of money. I buy 3 cartons at CVS when I'm home, and that will last 3 weeks until I go back home. 3 cartons cost me 93.00. I also dip copehangen, which you can't buy in surplus because it dries out, so that gets expensive for me when I'm up north,

 

hubby gets em same places.

 

E-logs... nothing to do but run them.

Qualcom is great. turn the volume of the beep down and turn your phone off during your ten hour break. I like the qualcom. It puts everything on record. I send messages like, "spent three hours for tire repair because preloaded trailer had two flat tires!"

As for money..

Drive drive drive. Get all the miles you can. Be pleasant with your dispatch. They have a boring job and a friendly voice when you call them is just as nice to hear to them as when they answer your calls with the same.

It is tempting to eat at the truck stops, not for the food but just because we want to get out of the truck and see or talk with somebody, anybody!

Eat soups and have lunch meat for sandwiches, other foods you can keep in the truck. I have a fridge and bring salad bags.

One trick I learned, if you know a receiver is going to take a few hours to unload you. Ask if you can unhook to go get supplies. It is much easier to get just the cab into a food store parking lot, compared to a cab and trailer!

To send money home, my company offered to put a percentage on my comdata card and the rest would be direct deposited into my checking. So unless you don't trust whoever is paying the bills at home you can usually just have the paychecks direct deposited. I don't put anything on my comdata card.

Mikeeee