Graduating Soon Need Advice

[phatTweaker]

Tomorrow I'll be in week 3 of my 4 week CDL A refresher at Sage Tech. I still don't know which way I should go as far as a job. Either expediting or T/T OTR. All I know for sure is I want a driving job that pays a livable wage.
Expediting seems to fit me. I like the idea of running hard to get the load delivered on time then maybe a day or 2 to rest up waiting on the next load. And from what I've read a day or 2 wait to get another load isn't that uncommon in expediting. I don't have the funds to buy my own truck so if I got a job in expediting it would most likely be for a fleet owner. Most fleet owners pay 40/60 or 60/40 which would be ok if a person could get enough miles. I have heard that a solo would be lucky to get 2000 miles per week. 2000 mile at .44 (40% of a $1.10 pm for most D units) = 880. 880 - 293 (I figured 1/3 for taxes)= 587. 587 - 100 per week for eating, showers, and entertainment = 487. 487 - health care insurance and retirement investments/savings (no clue, but I'd guess 100 per week) = $387 net. Are my figures grossly flawed? If not $387 a week would be kinda tight to live on.

Then there are T/T jobs. There have been 2 companies that have sent recruiters to our school that sound decent. 1 is a logistics co. that hauls JIT auto freight and said the average newbie makes about $34k their first year and are home couple times during the week and every weekend. Decent benefits.
Second company is a auto hauler that starts newbies at $20.10 per hour home usually every other night and weekends plus $25 for each vehicle loaded/unloaded on the lower level and $50 per vehicle on the upper.
Bad parts is they said you'll work your butt off in all kinds of funky weather loading, securing, and unloading the vehicles.
Other companies have been there too like Werner and Swift. etc but all of our instructors said we'd be wise to stay away from them.

Then there's local jobs like trash hauling that pay $16 per hour, but I don't think I'd like it. It'd be to boring running the same route over and over.

This post is getting to long to read, but I just don't know what to do. My idea of a dream job would be to drive a Class 8 24' straight truck, gross $1000 (net at least $600) per week, have decent health benefits, a 401k or some kind of retirement, and be home on the weekends.
If someone knows of such a job please let me know, but I doubt it exists.

take care all..I hope to be on the road soon.

 

[LDB]

D unit rates seem to be $1.15 with a few at $1.20 per loaded mile for companies paying by the mile. For percentage it seems like 62% is pretty common. The per mile companies pay fsc on top of the per mile rate but that's only important if you are on the 60% split side paying the fuel. Averaging 2000 miles loaded per week as a solo is probably fairly reasonable. Some weeks you'll do way more and some weeks will be far behind but overall that's probably about right. Based on limited experience with percentage pay it seems you'll make around 10% more with a percentage company than a straight pay per mile company but that's without a large amount of data. Others can probably give a more accurate estimate. Good luck to you.

Leo Bricker, owner trucks 3034, 4958
OOIDA 677319
73's K5LDB
EO Forum Moderator 1+ Years of Service
Expediters Online.com - The Best is Getting Better!
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Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[greg334]

phatTweaker

Honestly I have to tell you to shop around for an OTR company and work for them at least a year. If you need benefits, this is the way to go right now. You got time.

I know that many here would say otherwise, but I weigh on the caution side of the issue and tell you if I had to do this all over again, I would go back to school and get a class a and go with an OTR company for the year to get the experience and build up a savings. I am doing alright now, I have several set backs (wife’s health) and now seeing the light at the end of the long tunnel.

 

[ATeam]

If the features of expediting are not drawing you in more than the features of the other options you mention, it might be wise to go with a line-haul company first. You can always jump into expediting later.

Had my wife and I started as company drivers (we didn't), Schneider would have been our company of choice. If you have not already done so, check them out. The web site www.pumpkindriver.com may be of interest to you.

A company driver job with a good carrier would provide steady work, company benefits, and time to further evaluate your career options while making the money you want to make. Since you are not using a company plan to obtain "free" CDL training in return for a one-year committment, your options remain open if you begin as a company driver.

You said you were unsure of what you wanted to do. If you are not 100% sure that you want to be an expediter and why, expediting would be an unwise choice.

 

[Broompilot]

OPTIONS, take that A CDL sign on with a Tractor Trailer Co. get your expierence and now you have many more options down the road plus you can talk to us (CB) while getting that Expierence.

Straight trucks arent gona give you that expierence that many carriers will insist you have. You have gone thruough the class (a good school at that) take advantage of you have learned and pick the best of the two. Good luck.

 

[phatTweaker]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm still not 100% sure what to do, but I'm leaning towards T/T. To be honest though what worries me most about T/T is getting lost in a heavy traffic metro area or a rural area with tiny roads and having to find a place big enough to turn a 53' trailer around. I'm gonna ask the old timer instructors at the school how to get back on track if I get lost and try to learn as much from them as possible.

thanks

 

[greg334]

Edited for spelling errors, lol

You know if this is the biggest fear you have and it is a deciding factor, I would tell you that this is nothing to worry about. Millions of truck drivers are out there and getting lost or being on back roads doesn’t seem to stop them. Also something else that comes to mind, a large amount of truck traffic is not off the beaten track like expediting drivers are, from my limited experience - docks don't seem to be in a middle of a field of corn. The other day I was on dirt roads going to a delivery, no way would a truck do that and no way was this a truck load.

 

[noisemaker01]

Hey there phatTweaker
Just a reference for a decent company TT OTR job. I just lost my DOT medical due to diabetes (imagine that, you can't shoot up insulin and drive)lol. The co. I worked for was real decent to me for the 3+ yrs I was with them. They were Roehl Transport out of Marshfield,WI good decent people to work for, at least they were to me.
Looking 4 Info

 

[noisemaker01]

As for getting into a tight spot and not knowing how to get out of it. My trainer always said "If you're not 'sure' if your truck will fit, don't go in there"
Looking 4 Info

 

[phatTweaker]

noisemaker01, sorry to hear about your loss of DOT card. Maybe you can get a waiver or something?

I applied to Roehl, but they denied my app. Said they couldn't tell me why over the phone and I'd have to send a letter to request the info to their safety department.

the journey for a job continues.

 

[ATeam]

Regarding getting lost, something I learned in Army land navigation classes (using a map and compass to get through unfamiliar woods at night, on foot or in armored vehicles, before the days of GPS) serves me well in trucking. If lost, return to a known point. It also helps to simply stop the first chance you get to think things through. Driving around lost trying to get unlost produces more frustration than results and won't get you there any faster. On the CB, "Break one-nine for local information." will often produce a friendly trucker that can help you out. Every trucker gets lost at one time or another. You need not fear it. It's just part of the game.

 

[phatTweaker]

Thanks for the tips Ateam...I've also been thinking about getting either Delorme or MS Streets & Trips w/ GPS. I already have the laptop to go along with it and it'd be cheaper then a standalone GPS system.

 

[tallcal101]

I,m an owner.Have been for 6 years.
It's pretty simple from my stand point.I usally hire drivers who never driven a truck before.Most "pro"drivers have big echos.I will put new drivers through school if I have a good feeling about them.Have not been burned yet(at least not by new drivers).
I keep the pay simple,and I would suggest you ask for nothing less then what I'm proposing,which is what I offer.
If your running as a solo,you get 40%(less fuel sur charge)on evrey load.Your allowed to down load the 40% in the truck(no waiting for settlements).You have a fuel card supplied by the owner.All tolls and out of pocket expence's are paid once a month by the owner.I pay all oil changes and all repairs.
You will never have an issue with your owner under this scheme ,and you don't need a contract.
Be sure to let the owner know what your going to do(he's paying the fuel)after each load if your not pre dispatched.
DON'T LEASE A TRUCK!!!!!!
If your running as a team,same thing,only you split the 40%.
It's very important to get your money off the Qualcom.
FEDEX has been a real joy to work for,regrdless of what you hear.They are the big bear in the woods,and will be around next year.Not perfect,but your owner,if he's worth his gas,will work with them to sort out problems.
My drivers almost never to talk to anyone except dispatch.They call immedietly if dispatch gives them grief.
I started this business at the same time as another W/G owner,and we do things exactly the same way.We both do well,have loyal drivers and can afford to buy new trucks each year.

 

[phatTweaker]

Wouldn't happen to need a driver would ya?

 

[tallcal101]

I just hired 2 new drivers,but would be happy to talk to you offline.
How can I reach you?

 

[ATeam]

tallcal101,

You and I have met personally at a FedEx meeting, and I once even answered one of your ads, but your truck was already filled. We're happy now with our present fleet owner and have no need or plans to change. This is a hypothetical question about an issue we sometimes wonder about.

Some fleet owners have drivers pay for fuel. Others, like you, pay for the fuel. Compensation packages are structured accordingly. My question is prompted by a comment you made.

You said, ">You will never have an issue with your owner under this
>scheme ,and you don't need a contract."

What if, a team wants or needs to get home or someplace else from time to time and ends up deadheading a lot to do it? How much of the fuel that you are paying for can they burn before you start to feel a burn too?

For example, we'll be in CA tomorrow and will likely need to head to the midwest for a business meeting. We hope to get lucky with a load east but that may not happen. In January, we deadheaded from New Orleans to Akron for training. In a few more weeks, we'll need to deadhead three or four times to the midwest on specific dates for more business meetings. We lose a day or two deadheading, depending on the distance but go in service immediately after our business is completed. Sometimes we're predispatched before we even go into the meetings. We've kept our numbers above 80% acceptance and 90% in service over a two or three month's period, but they dip a bit over shorter periods because of the deadhead for business.

With each deadhead trip, we feel guilty using the fleet owners truck for personal transport. But the fleet owner assures us over and over again that it is no problem and he'd rather have us in the truck than have us leave the truck unattended as we fly or drive a rental car to our business meetings and then fly or drive back to the truck.

It helps alieviate our guilt somewhat that we are paying for the fuel on these deadhead runs. But under your compensation package, where you pay for the fuel, how much fuel can drivers burn for personal use before you feel the burn too? We'd feel even more guilty if our fleet owner were paying for the fuel. Since you do not have a contract, no limits would be specified there, but there is a limit, is there not?

 

[cheri1122]

I have another hypothetical question: if one of your drivers were to have a minor mishap, such as sliding off an icy road, that didn't appear to cause any damage at the time, but some damage was seen during the next scheduled maintenance, who would cover the cost?
The owner generally covers repairs, unless it's clearly the driver's fault - but what if it isn't clear?

 

[tallcal101]

I pretty much pay all deadhead fuel unless it is specified in advance that this is a 100% personal need to get home.I will then do 50%.
To be honest,I don't like the trucks sitting for more then 48 hours,so I eat alot of deadhead fuel.I'm pretty careful these days about coming west,but thoses fat linehauls usally get me in the long run.
T- Val loads from the west have increased,and they make for good backhaul.
I'm opposed to contracts as that requires attorneys,and,well,you know the rest.As long as I keep my end up,and my driver partners keep their end up,things run pretty well.So far.

 

[tallcal101]

I pay for all damage.

 

[davekc]

I'm opposed to contracts as that requires attorneys,and,well,you know the rest.As long as I keep my end up,and my driver partners keep their end up,things run pretty well.So far.
=========================================================
This opens the door to many possible misunderstandings. There are hundreds of posts that deal with just that issue.
A properly written contract will address all of those issues.
I don't see a way I could recommend or endorse a owner or driver to run or have a business relationship without a contract.
Just my professional opinion








Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator