brakeing in

[guest]

My wife and I are interested in entering the expeding work force. However we are confused it appears we can not get direct answers. Everyone paints a pretty picture, but we all know its not glamourous. Why won't someone be honest about how much you can make and how much is out of the pocket expenses.(can't eat and do laundry for free). What about medical insurance, we all know that isn't cheap. Desperate for honest information.

 

[Doggie Daddy]

Insert standard reply here:

A good starting point would be to research the different forums here,go back at least one year.Among all off those topics you will find answers to probably all of the questions that you have,and some that you never thought of.DD.

 

[TeamCaffee]

Talk to recruiters from the various companies and they will give you the average income for the different sized trucks. You will then need to list what you have to have to make your personal payments. Then you can research the forums and get basically what it costs to run a truck. Each of us has our own types of expenses. Some drivers eat out for every meal and other drivers eat the food they carry in the truck you have to decide how you will do this. Some drivers don’t stay out long enough to do laundry others like us do laundry every weekend. If you run team you will get to do more laundry then a solo. You can plan on laundry costing 1.75 per wash and the same per dryer. When you research the forums you will find lots of information on medical insurance and also retirement. About any question you can think of and many you have not thought of will be on the forum. Also a lot of your expenses will depend on if you are going to work for an owner or if you are buying your own truck. Before anyone can give you an honest answer you will have to narrow your choices down for your future career. Good Luck

 

[guest]

Thanks for getting back with us. How long have you folks been driving? Do you own your truck or run for some one else? Is it realistic to be able to make 30k each driver after all expenses? ( In the pocket)? LILBEAR

 

[layoutshooter]

Send us a pvt msg via this site and we will try to help you. We are doing a ok. Take everything you read with a grain of salt. Everyone has pet peeves, hates, likes etc. It can be a hard life and a very fun one. It is all up to you. Let me know if we can help. Layoutshooter

 

[guest]

Thanks again this is very helpful. We will be running for someone else, what our the normal, everyone pays expenses. We know that we pay fuel,workman comp,health insurance, personel expenses, but what else might there be that we are not aware of. Everyone says to pick your loads we are unclear as to how do you know what to take and what to turn down. We also know there isn't alot of freight coming out of some states such as Florida. So we would try to avoid hauling anything in there because we would probably wind up sitting or deadheading out to some other state at our expense. More advise would be helpful. LILBEAR

 

[nightcreacher]

I dont have multiple trucks anymore,but what I always told my drivers was for 1st 90 days dont turn anything down,then you have an idea what is good for you and what isn't.
Also,if your not turning freight down,and your not making the money you think you should be making,you can get someone in the company to listen to your problems,if your turning freight down,you will be talking to a deaf ear

 

[mrgoodtude]

Lilbear (and Wife),

First off, welcome to the forum. It was just over 2 years ago when I started researching this website to find out about expediting. Mike was an OTR driver and I had been working as an office manager for an environmental consulting firm (25 years total time in an office), but we wanted to spend more time together and he thought that expediting might be the route for us to go. He found out about this website and I spent 3 months reading, researching, asking questions and talking to people in this industry. Needless to say, we have learned a lot in the 2 years we have been expediters and are still learning.

To start with, driving for an owner is the most sensible way to start in this industry (as most everyone will agree). You may find that you don't like it after a few months and should you "jump in" with your own truck and find this isn't what you thought, you are now stuck with a truck that may take months to sell. Since you have already decided that you will drive for an owner, make sure that he/she is reputable. There are so many owners that will tell you one thing, knowing that he/she is full of crap and before you know it, you are being nickeled and dimed to death. Ask for references and talk to others that drive or have driven for that owner. I have read and talk to others that have been burned by owners.

You will find that many owners will either have you pay for the fuel, tolls and workers comp (60/40 or 70/30 split) and others will cover those costs and pay you 40%. In any case, make sure that the owner pays for any repairs/maintenance to the truck and if these repairs/maintenance are needed, they will pay for it (by credit card or Comdata) rather than you paying and having to get reimbursed (as some owners have not reimbursed these charges back to the driver(s)). Should you opt to pay the fuel and tolls, these are expenses that you will be able to deduct from you taxes.

Another key to this industry is the carrier the owner is contracted with. Are they with FDCC, Panther, LandStar, etc.? As you will read or already h

As others have said, you can go back and research the forum for many of the answers (particularly healthcare costs) you are looking for.



Mike and Cyn