Who are our resident truck drivers

[diablo rojo]

I left the seat in September, and I'm not looking back. The pay isn't great, and you're health will deteriorate. The left side of your body will age considerably more than the right, just from exposure to the sun. I'd never recommend it.

[Captain Crawfish]

Sounds like you run flatbed. Fuck that lol.

I do bulk tankers now I screwed up my back unloading crap out of 53 vans. Driving is hard on your Body not at first but 10 yrs later you will feel it.

[krazy kris]

[Snatch Napkin]

Shit, I like flatbed. I get a workout and I'm always moving.
Get into military or permit loads and get paid really well.

You gotta pay your dues to get to the good shit, though. Unless you know somebody.
Right now the flatbed market is flooded with oilfield hands, so it's pretty cut throat.

[Captain Crawfish]

One thing to consider when getting into this. Will you get paid for ALL of your time. The answer is no. And you will run into ten thousand people who cannot wait to waste your time! And none of them give a fuck

[slow99]

No, you have to pay for fuel, but it is discounted $.30-.40/gal. Plus the additional fuel surcharge pay.

Thanks .... forgive me, I'm not familiar with any of this. So the surcharge is a credit back to the driver correct? So, let's say fuel averages $3 /gallon ... you get a small discount $0.35 cents/gal and then an additional say $0.40 (just for sake of the example) so you're paying $3 but getting $0.75 cents back in the form of discounts and that surcharge?

How many miles a week can you average?

[Snatch Napkin]

The fuel surcharge is per loaded mile, not gallon.

[asphaltjunkie]

Yeah. Right now it's an additional $.13/loaded mile with my company. When I started it was $.37/loaded mile. It's basically there to help with the cost of fuel. So right now, 1000 miles pays mr $900 + $130. Price of fuel is roughly $2 at the truck stops. Actual cost at the Loves, lets say is $1.68, so 160 gallons is $268/tank....take off the $130 for the surcharge, and it cuts my fuel bill for that 1000 miles just about in half.

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[Mike]

Depends on what you want to do. Im currently an owner/op /lease purchase driver for KLLM. $.90mile plus fuel surcharge. 2014+ Freightliner and Volvos. No down payment, no credit check, 100% walk away lease. My truck payment is $473/week (2014 Freightliner Cascadia, had 152k miles on the clock when I got her), newer trucks are obviously more. Will have it paid off in less than 4 years. When the lease is up, I give the owner $1.00 and he hands me the title. Im free to go home whenever I want for however long I want, I can turn down/refuse any load with no penalty. Company drivers start at $.34/mile, can't refuse loads, can only take home time after being out for so long, etc etc. The terminal and training academy is in Lancaster right off 35E on Danieldale rd.

What percentage of drivers successfully complete the LP program?

[SMKR]

I'm thinking about putting this class A with tanker/hazmat license to work. Looking for our resident Comercial Drivers to pm.

Check out Landstar. Never done OTR or any driving like that but from guys with Haz/Tanker endorsements that use to come to the leases/pads we worked they seemed to be one of the few that had positive comments made about them.

[asphaltjunkie]

What percentage of drivers successfully complete the LP program?

I honestly have no idea. Some drivers just stay a year to get the experience for something local and to not owe anything for the driving school. But like I said, it is a 100% walk away lease. Wanna quit? Park the truck at the yard, offload your shit, turn in the keys, and that's it. They don't come after you for shit else. If you finish the lease, there's no balloon payment like everyone else, just give the owner/ceo $1, and he gives you the title, then you can either keep driving the truck with no lease payment, sell it and start a new lease in a new truck, keep it and go completely owner/op on your own or for someone else....sky's the limit. They also take $.01/mile from your check and put it in a "maintenance fund" that you use for anything maintenance related so you don't have to pay out of pocket for repairs and such. It caps off at $10,000, and as long as it is at $10,000 that $.01/mile goes into your pocket. It can go into the negative with zero penalty, and if you quit, whatever is in the fund they cut a check for and send it to you.

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[SMKR]

https://letstruck.com/

I highly suggest spending some time reading and listening to Kevin. Very knowledgeable on the intricacies of the industry.

His radio program is on xm road dog on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

[Snatch Napkin]

Be prepared to hear a load of sales pitches promising you all sorts of shit.
If you find a company that sounds good to you, find some of their drivers at a truckstop and see what they say.
Also, look up their MC number on safer.fmcsa.dot.gov
If their safety numbers are too high, they can't get good freight, have shitty equipment, shitty drivers, terrible work environment, or all of the above.

Once you're driving, find ways to get exercise. I just walked 2 miles around the parking lot and will do dips using my bed with my feet between the seats. Cut your portions down as much as possible and eat clean.
I prefer pistachios as a snack to keep me going through the night if I'm tired and eating out of boredom.
You'll go broke and get fat living off of truckstop food. Bring your own groceries. Fruit is good, but that's a lot of sugar for little calorie burn and it goes bad fast.
An occasional cheat meal is still on the menu, though.

[SMKR]

Be prepared to hear a load of sales pitches promising you all sorts of shit.
If you find a company that sounds good to you, find some of their drivers at a truckstop and see what they say.
Also, look up their MC number on safer.fmcsa.dot.gov
If their safety numbers are too high, they can't get good freight, have shitty equipment, shitty drivers, terrible work environment, or all of the above.

Once you're driving, find ways to get exercise. I just walked 2 miles around the parking lot and will do dips using my bed with my feet between the seats. Cut your portions down as much as possible and eat clean.
I prefer pistachios as a snack to keep me going through the night if I'm tired and eating out of boredom.
You'll go broke and get fat living off of truckstop food. Bring your own groceries. Fruit is good, but that's a lot of sugar for little calorie burn and it goes bad fast.
An occasional cheat meal is still on the menu, though.

lots of good info, this is why i like Kevin Rutherford so much. He spends time talking about life on the road, how to stay in shape, eat healthy, save money. Then spends a lot of time discussing how to increase your MPG. Guys going from 6mpg to 8.5 with mods and changes, how to purchase the right tractor/trailer, talking about good carriers and ones to stay away from. Im not in the industry and i love listening to his shows on the weekends if I am traveling.

[Snatch Napkin]

lots of good info, this is why i like Kevin Rutherford so much. He spends time talking about life on the road, how to stay in shape, eat healthy, save money. Then spends a lot of time discussing how to increase your MPG. Guys going from 6mpg to 8.5 with mods and changes, how to purchase the right tractor/trailer, talking about good carriers and ones to stay away from. Im not in the industry and i love listening to his shows on the weekends if I am traveling.

I'll have to check him out.