What Would You Do?

@x1Heavy where does '17 years a trucker' say anything about age?

 

My last company truck broke down at 119000 miles. I was in Dallas Texas. It was blowing coolant out the stacks. The company wanted me to wait on the truck and I wanted to go home because I knew that truck is under warranty and the absolute worst thing about freightliner is how many there are on the road and how crappy their service shops are...especially when the truck is under warranty.

The ompany wanted me to wait. Well, I wanted some WAIT money. We agreed to $120/day +motel. Every morning the motel would take drivers to the repair shops, and I would ride with them. I'd see my truck parked in the corner and I wouldn't even bother to get out of the shuttle van. I'd have the driver swing through and get me some groceries and some beer. For 3 1/2 weeks, I sat by the pool drinking beer getting paid. There was a lounge in the motel and I even wound up with a girlfriend working at the bar. I would turn in my pay sheet and every week, I would get paid.

3 1/2 weeks at a swimming pool. Getting paid $120/day to drink beer and wait. The company would ask me if I checked on the truck, and I told them I did. The company was told by freightliner that they were waiting on a part to be shipped from Ft Worth. I didn't have the heart to tell them that you could walk to Ft Worth from Dallas.

Got stuck on a job in Canada when they closed down a site suddenly. Detention was $2000/day. We were down for 2 weeks. Would you believe that there were drivers that got pissed and left? $14000 to sit and wait? Eventually you all realize that those "gotta go gotta go gotta go" drivers are stupid and stick with what they know.

If they want you to WAIT, negotiate your RATE.

"How do you negotiate a rate, Six?"

When they start talking about breakdown pay, ask how much. When they start that $50/day crap, counter high, like $150-175, depending on your weekly average. If they do not negotiate, go home. Most will negotiate. And I want my money every week. If you pay me what I want, I can wait forever.

 

@TripleSix : Holy crap on a cracker! I'll take $2000/day in retention pay any time of year in any place in the world.

I don't even make that in two freaking weeks working my butt off.

 

How about north Korea? Your cheque will be ready when you return.........

 

Welcome to Walmart greeter... Leaving a truck is a killer too your career.

 

By that time, I was an owner op (had to go owner op on that gig...I was leaving too much money at the table). We were working in Ft SaskatchewnAB. The money in those days was obscene. They were starting construction workers at $85-$130/hr, depending on the skill. It was winter, and they shut the job down before unloading us. So they paid detention.

We didn't go home, because if you got off that gig, you couldn't get back on. Big projects can be a pain, because you will be away from home a looooooooong time, but they can pay STUPID money. Lots of the guys would fly their families up and rent houses.

There is a high price for doing those projects like that. I left home January 17 and got back home the 3rd week of December. Some of the wind projects used to have drivers out for that entire phase of the project, which sometimes could be 9 months.

That's a whole lotta time sitting inside a truck. I used to have a fridge in the truck and cook in the truck too. After working in Canada and wind farms, not anymore. I get out of the truck.