Where's the money at?

Just see if you last a full year first. Then talk about money

 

Line haul companies or hazmat tankers.
Estes Express
Old Dominion Freight Line
R&L Carriers
Where is your location?

 

Where ever you choose to relocate, look at those 3 line haul companies.
If you team with one of those, you can make $125K - $165K per year as your cut of the team pay.

 

You could get a movie job hauling top secret government stuff inside a moving truck... That should about cover it

Depends on how hard you want to work. Moving truck is hard work, some gigs pay well some don't. Ask lots of questions. Some of the Specialized Oversized or Specialized in general normally pays well, but sometimes consistency is not always there, just depends on the gig

 

I believe the best way to make money is keeping your expences low by getting into BYOB&CBD's Tri-fecta lease program, where you and two friends split the cost of the lease and expenses and also split the mega-profits
Then find an under served industry and make it you niche, I'm thinking hauling for the communion wafer industry is an untapped potential market for an up and coming lease operator with lots of moxy. What do you say? Ready to take the plunge and Be Your Own Boss?

 

I have a secret.

I don't give a #### how much or how little I make a load provided I add to savings. 9-11 reinforced that lesson in a major way for us.

If I was to take my life over again at 21, I would have paid off the 2500 student loan to trucking school first 6 weeks of payroll cash poof and a couple of other things in 3 months flat. No debt. New car paid etc. Just build savings stack money.

But no. I earned money and used it as best as I thought able. Savings? HA. What a waste. But it's water under the bridge in the mid 50s where I am. Pa talked about me being his Prodigal Son who squandered great wealth in the Book and returned home willing to work as a house servant or in the stables to earn his food.

This industry runs on money. If you pay your tolls as I did in the NE and companies did not refund you for a 1000 different profanity laced BS reasons you get to own the toll tickets. Hundreds if not thousand or more a month. Forget it. I try another company. And try again when that outfit burns out and no longer exists. Sometimes without notice. I had a nice nifty little gravy to Philly West from Joppa every day a box up and a box back. Sometimes twice. Food to die for from those roach coachers up there. One day? Note on door, out of business visit unemployment. Bye.

So much for gravy trains.

I evolved. no more tolls to mess with (Transponder tech) a certain equiptment and use for fuel for idling etc. Go where you want on time off anywhere in USA and satellite comms. And companies evolved too. They had to. CDL A laws in the early 90s changed everything. Then computer engines were governing us to 60 or even 55. UGH. You are left sawing the top two gears across 300 miles of I-70 until you quit in rage. More job hopping.

This is not a good industry. So many wanna become truckers. But so many are lost in the first year. First 5 and #### few are still truckers 10- to life. And fewer than that. Not just lost as in gone home quit to work in factory (Which went away also...) but as in jailed, dead, maimed etc. Gone.

The very best for us in trucking was McKesson with Medicine. Disposes of all the lost live unload, costs, time waste lasting more than a day etc BS. You drop hook, and leave memphis arrive in detriot sunrise and dock stay in cab 40 minutes you are reloaded with cardboard straight back to memphis drop hook next. No BS. Money takes care of itself.

The one time we were late with a medicine load was during 9-11 attacks. We hid out in Detriot 3 miles from Reciever who really did not say a #### thing 5 hours towards noon when we showed up. Probably the one day they said absolutely NOTHING. Bosses said nothing. My bosses could care less. Fuel close to or at 6.00 gallons for 300 later that day? HA paid go. Yer late to Connecticut with a over stuffed millions plural in drugs for NYC victims. Probably the one time where we thought maybe to weight the thing. Usually it's 2000 or 8000 pounds in the box.

Those meds were in NYC via ct the following evening. There were minor delays as various midwest cities reacted to war and controlled traffic in a certain way for us anyhow. So a certain amount of sitting during the trip.

9-11 is a stark line between what was before in all things America and what is now after that date in all things America.

Back to money.

You think .35 is good money. They paid that back in the 90's Inflation should mean that you need to make a equivilant of 30.00 a hour or.... explained another way...

1974 average hourly is $4.07 2019 inflated hourly needed to MAINTAIN your standard of living which is quite good back in the early 1970's needed to be 23.78 a hour minimum wage.

Wife and I both averaged $4.52 per hour over roughly 7800 hours in all of 2001 or 306 total days teaming under logs away from home.

Thats half of arkansas minimum wage.

In spite of that we paid a 9000 dollar room replacement from a storm and had another 6000 cash on hand the morning of 9-11. We were told our payroll was destroyed literally and it might be weeks or months on unemployemtn before we get called back to run medicine. We told boss nah we have savings. whats the next load please?"

6 to 7 weeks after 9-11 ZERO income. No checks zip nothing. Just savings. You follow me yet? savings savings savings. Eventually the checks caught up and flowed. Because we documented every load in a one inch legal sized journal note book and handed the huge book to the boss with exact dispatch copy instructions, trip number A to B delivered miles expected pay etc. Boss cut us a check and makes sure all the unpaid trips are paid. And caught up.

Ultimately wife was earning about 240 net running 70 hours with me coast to coast and god knows where all and said eff this. No money in it. As her first year driver. And a team to boot. I earned more than that but most of it went into savings when was used when it needed to be after 9-11./ POOF. MWAH thank you trucking.

If we hated it so much why do I love it? because its who I am and don't know any better.

If a load paid you 60 dollars for two days, put away 40 into savings. Live on the 20 during your next 60 dollar load. Eventually if you are stable, dont raise hell and don't whine and complain within 10 years you can buy a house and land anywhere in the USA. In 20 you can buy trucking companys lock stock and barrel. In 30? You will be typing here telling youngsters all about savings.

Grasshopper plays and parties. Ant stores up against the coming winter. What are you? Enjoy trucking because when your body breaks thats it no more of that. Back to a real job cutting minimum wage in a cubicle somewhere.

 

Well its gonna be tough to make that kind of money especially with only after 1 year experience. U definatly wont make that money pulling box or reefer. Flatbed u are going to have to work into oversize and u may get closer to those number but it comes with a lot more responsibility and expertise on what ur doing . It is gonna be very hard to find a gig like that just driving down the road hauling general freight. And most likely impossible. The guys that say theres no money in trucking , well they say it for a reason because they are right. Even owner ops thats been doing it awhile are not pulling in those numbers in these markets unlesss they are specialized in something, so how would a company driver be able to get there. If u want a good flatbed outfit go to COTC or other daeske companies they are generally the best paying flatbed jobs in the industry