Well, now, being on 'the inside' I am seeing the way things really are, not what they tell you.
Seriously - You can not make $80,000 driving a truck, first year.
Well, here is the REAL story:
You have to Lease the truck, so every expense (EVERY) is on you. So, yes, you make the $80,0000, but you are stuck with about $60,000 in expenses, mostly fuel, insurance, and maintenence.
If you are solo or a company guy - forget it, because the law says you have to shut down for 10 hours after 11 driving. You are lucky to make $500 week. Because you only make 26 cents per mile. So, in a perfect world, you drive 600 miles a day, legally - that's about the max.
You don't get paid for sitting at the shipping yard, while they are 3 hours late getting your load, you don't get paid for sitting at the receiver's yard while the guys are taking their dear sweet time unloading your trailer.
Lots of unpaid down time.
And - the Leasing guys get all the actual Long haul miles, because they want them to make the $ so they don't default on their lease. (I did the math - you gotta run about 3000 miles / week to break even). So the Lease drivers are driving and dropping stuff off at a drop yard, hooking up something else, and off they go. A Company guy is going to go to the yard, and actually take it to the shipper - which means low miles & lots of waiting around.
That is not good.
The only way to make money is to get a partner, and keep the wheels rolling - 24/7 - even while you sleep. It will not be restful, as you will be tossing and bumping around, but you might make $650/$700 week.
Then after 6 months, be a trainer. You get paid all the miles he drives, so you might make $1000/week.
And this is what you make for learning a very stressful skill, and giving up your family & entire life for.
I left my wife & kids on Jan. 8th. Have not seen them since.
I had to sit for an UNPAID 5 day orientation, and then sit (unpaid) for 5 days in the motel while they found a driver to send me out with. Then I drove for the 11 hours, sleep 10, drive 11, sleep 10 etc, nonstop for 5 days streaight as we drove from LA to Wisconsin. I got paid $50/day for 5 days, as he had 2 days off, and I had to live in the cab of the truck in the parking lot for those 2 days.
I did that for 3 weeks - hoo boy, $250/week for 3 weeks.
Now I am with a Leaser, so he does no stops - wheels turn 24/7. But, my first week, we sat in Illinois for 2 days, so my fourth weeks's check was only $300.
The next weekend, we had to sit for another 2 days because the only trailer available had bad brakes, ao it took those 2 days to fix them, and they wouldn't let us off that load, so someone else could come get it when it was fixed.
So, now I am about 2 months behind on the bills, and the wife is all stressed out because she is alone with the kids, and th4e phone keeps ringing with bill collectors calling..
So, actually doing this job put be behind about $3000 for the first 2 months.
And - you betterget used to typing posts and making spelling errors, as the truck is very bouncy back here while I am posting this.
So - If you can earn more than $500/$600 week doing something else, I would HIGHLY reccommend it.
If you are in your early 20's - no house, no wife, no kids, no bills - I would say Go For It - get a partner, & lease it. You will do allright.
And, after 2 years of it you can go somewhere else for more money, as now you have real over the road experience. Maybe go get your HazMat endorsement, then.
There IS money to be made, here - but this is the only way to do it. Get a partner, and Lease, and get a NEW truck - one that won't break down.
But Be prepared to work your butt off 24/7 with no sleep for maybe $1000/week.
That was written while I was on the road, in the middle of training.
Here is my story now that it is all done with, and I am home sending out Resumes looking for a new job one month later:
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If you go to the CR England school they train you on THEIR trucks. So, when you graduate, you are already familiar with all the nooks & crannies, and will feel comfortable right away.
But I went to a "Truck Driving School" where all their vehicles aren's "Street Legal" except for one - the one you take to the DMV to take the test.
But that is ALL they teach you - how to pass the DMV test.
They don't show you how to fill out logs, what a hi/lo selecter does, nothing. Just memorize this script, and here is what you need to know to pass the test.
It took me about 5 weeks of driving a CR England truck to shift comfortably, without grinding. But was still a little shaky downshifting from a high speed to a slow speed. (this pissed off my 1st seat to a great extent, as he was a lease driver, so he has to pay for the new clutch and he was a cranky guy, swearing at me, all the time.).
And driving a Semi's clutch is NOTHING like driving a regular stick-shift. My pickup truck is a stick, and I've been driving a stick since I was 16.
There is no guarantee at a generic truck school, but theysay they guarantee that you will get your Class A from the DMV and nobody will take it away from you.
CR England's school is LICENSED by the DMV to issue you the test, and they submit the paperwork to the DMV. Rumor has it that if you quit within 3 months, they can revoke your license, but I have asked around, and nobody I can find will confirm this (probably because the people who got it taken aren't around!)
The big Salt Lake complex is very nice. Pool tables, sleeping rooms (2 beds per room -like a college dorm) but I tell you - once you get your license, you don't want to hang around - you want to be out there on the road making money!
We had to make a drop there, in Salt Lake and when we took a shower, there were lots of guys hanging out, playing pool, laughing, eating in the resteraunt, smoking, playing cards, etc. And I asked my trainer, why they are here, and he told me they all probably pissed off their Dispatcher (DM-Driver manager).
Also, in Salt Lake, you have to pay for a "drinking license" when you go into a bar (I just thought of it as a cover charge) - and the beer is 2%. And there is a big tough guy hanging around behind the bar with a yellow windbreaker that says "Alcohol Enforcement" on the back in big letters. Them Mormons are strict. And the bar closed at midnight.
Since I was in Calif, the training was in Mira Loma, which is next to San Bernardino, East of LA. They pay for you to take a Greyhound bus (next Greyhound trip, I will bring a gun or a knife, as the Greyhound goes through Watts & Compton, and there are some pretty rough people who ride the bus in THAT part of town, if you know what I mean.)
They put me up in a Roadway Inn motel for training, down in San Bernardino, and you have to leave for the yard in a little minivan at 5:30am every morning except Sunday. Come back at 4pm. They are supposed to take you to Wal-mart twice a week, but I only saw it once. (I was there for only 3 days training, since I already had my Class A)
When I went into the England room on the first day, there were about 60 people in it. That day they pull up your criminal record and if you have warrants. That eliminates about half of them right away. Then a little Driving test out on the road.
Then you have to piss in a jar. That eliminates another half of them. So now we are down to about 20. Then they have a retired LAPD detective talk to you, and he determines how much you are lying - because he assumes EVERYBODY is a liar. He asks questions like how much you drink beer, do you smoke pot, etc, etc.
That gets most people out.
Now we are down to about 10 people, and you sit through 3 days of learning how to fill out logs, and rules, and what to expect, etc.
All the big Truck companies (England, Swift, Schneider, United, US Xpress, JB Hunt, Werners, etc) are all the same thing, just a different color truck.
Personally, I picked England, becuause their trucks were shinier & cleaner, I figured less breakdowns, and they had a cool little video about life on the road on their website, with driver info links, so my wife could hit a button, and see where I was at all times. Plus, since England is a Mormon-owned company, based in Salt Lake, I figured more people up there would speak English.
Compare the price of a Generic truck school, and the England school - if they are close, go for the England school. But if you just want your License, and want to sleep in your own bed, and take your time, do it that way.
But if you go to England - be prepared - you will not see home for at LEAST 4-5 months! One is for schooling, and then 2 for training, and then 2 for you out-on-the-road.
And, you won't see ANY INCOME for 2 of those months. Zero - nada, Zip.
You don't get paid to go to school. And training pay is laughable.
Since I already had my license, this is what I was told.
They told me:
3 days of unpaid Training, then
3 weeks of $350/week, then
3 weeks of 11 cents/mile (TOTAL miles - so you get what he drives, too)
which comes out to $750/week.
Then you get your own truck, at 26 cents a mile, which is more than double the 11 cents, so you should be making easily $1000 - $1300 / week.
Sounds nice, doesn't it?
So I figured, I can live with 4 days no income. BUT, they didn't find me a driver to go out with for FIVE DAYS!
So, here I am, sitting in a motel room, with no money, and no income for 2 weeks, and the wife calling me saying the heater broke, and bill collectors are calling.
And one of the training days is like sitting in a Vegas "Time-Share" meeting - They hard-sell you that LEASING the truck is the way to go. They blow smoke up your ass, and use phrases as: "You OWN Your truck" and "Your Business" - bullshit.
Bullshit. You are renting the truck, and they are passing all the expenses on to you. Every expense.
You know on the back of Trailers, you see signs: "Make $80,000/year starting!"
yeah, right - you make $80,000, but you have $65,000 worth of expenses.
Every truck stop now has a Subway sandwich shop. So, one meal (sandwich & drink) is about $9. What else are you going to do about Breakfast & dinner? This $9 sandwich = $63/week! And that is just LUNCH!
If you want a cheeseburger (some of them have Wendy's) same thing - about $9.
If you are lucky, one might have a Resteraunt, so you can have a Salad Bar (gotta try to eat healthy, you know). There is another $10.
Hint: Learn to enjoy Top Ramen. It is 10 cents at wal-mart. Get a 10 pack. Get TWO 10-packs. Hot water is free at the truck stops. There is your breakfast for the rest of your life.
Even with the Top Ramen, you are looking at making $250 week, yet spending at least $100/week on FOOD.
Let's just say I lost about 15-20 lbs in 12 weeks on the road. And it took me one week at home from stress-eating to gain it all back
Let's just say that it was the most unplesent 10 weeks of my life.
My first trainer was cool, but the second one was a Major A-ole. Bitched & moaned about everything. Hre was one of those bad attitude guys that would answer every question with a question. I would say "Should I park it there?" and he would snap back, "What the F% do YOU think?!"
After he got through cussing me out again, I finally gave up and told him "Look, we have 10 days left - and I don't think we are going to make it. What is the procedure for me to get out of here, and make your life more pleasent?" (tried to still kiss his ass). He responded: "The "proper procedure" is that I get to kick your ass outta MY truck wherever the f_k I feel like!"
So, in the back, when I was supposed to be sleeping, I called England, and said I thought this guy was going to kick me out by the side of the freeway in Montana.
Basically, we had lots of mechanical problems, so we spent 2 weekends sitting in a truck stop waiting for repairs.
He was majorly pissed at bad fortune, and he was shaking me up, so I would grind, and that would piss him off even more, etc, etc, etc.
It is rough being in a high-stress job with someone for 3 weeks in a box the size of an outhouse.
AND - this is the truck that I hit the deer with - it ripped off the left fender, and the whole front bumper - he had to pay the $1000 deductible and sit for 5 days for them to repair it. With just TWO HOURS left until I was all done with him!
And, I had to do a drug test. (the g_damn deer RUNS in front of me - I'm doing 65 in a 75 and in the Slow lane at 4am in Colorado.)
So, I didn't get $750/week for 3 weeks - I got $250. The ONE week nothing went wrong, and we killed ourselves crossing the continent TWICE - I got $610.
Then we get back to salt lake after my 3 weeks of hell.
They want me to sit (unpaid again) for another 2 days of training before they give me my own truck. They wanted me to then go out for 8 more weeks!
So, I told them I needed to go home - family emergency - they stuck me on a Greyhound (which almost got hijacked by a gun-wielding maniac in Elko, Nevada at 2am).
Screw this - I came home. I took a week off, and then sent out resumes, and am making phone calls.
To me - the fact that I own a house, have PG&E bills, water bills, not to mention credit card bills, it was not worth it. The money wasn't worth being gone from my wife & kids. I can stock shelves at Barnes & Nobles for $400/week. And sleep in my bed at night.
So - what I learned from driving a truck is: If you can make $500/week living at home, do it.
I did the math - you are really giving them 24hrs of your life, so you really should be compensated for this. I know McDonalds doesn't pay you to sleep at home, but you ARE at home. This job isn't.
Average 55mph for 11 hours = 600 miles. But after 10 hours, you can still drive 2 more.
So in a 24 hour period, you can legally drive 710 miles (and you better be fueling up like you are in a NASCAR race).
710 miles x. 26 cents = $184/day = $1292/week
England calculate that 80% of your income is for fuel and repairs. So that comes out to $258/week.
(let's forget Taxes... But more comes out)
Minimum wage is, what $8/hour? = $64/day x 5 days = $320/week before taxes.
And, trust me - if you fall asleep at McDonalds, you aren't going to cause a multi-million dollar lawsuit, and possibly your own Death.
And, my Truck Driving instructors make $10/hr. Some times I would teach the students, and they would slip me a $10 or a $20 under the table. So, I figured while I am looking for something better, I could do that, right?
Nope - they don't return any of my phone calls.
Now, I was barely eeking by with my credit score being in the upper 700's, and since I had excellent payment history, all my credit cards were around 9.9%, (I had one that was 3.9%!)
Well, now that I was a month late with the payment, now ALL FOUR of them are at 29.9%!
I was really tight, then = but now I am F%ED!!!
Thanks, CR England! I should have stayed where I was!
I thought it was going to be bad being gone for 10 days, with 4 home - That is what they promised me. Count the days I told you -You start out being gone for about 4 months. And not much $ to show for it.
The ONLY way to make money driving a truck is to be part of a TEAM - keep the wheels rolling. Husband/wife teams do the best. This one h/w team were retired, sold the house, sold everything. Just drove.
THAT is the way to go.
Oh - if you still want to drive - get used to crapping in a field on the shoulder of the freeway.in the wintertime, it gets to Zero degrees in Kansas. Wind chill, = 20 below.
It's pretty hard to crap out of a frozen hole with the sub-zero wind blowing on it.
Employee
San Carlos, California
U.S.A.
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