Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I agree with all the things you said until the last few sentences which were honestly uncalled for. I'm not expecting even $50,000 until I work my ass off for 2-3 years. I'm not expecting $100,000 ever. I am, however hoping to make more than $45,000+ consistently after 2-3 year period of making less. I'm not stupid. I have big dreams but even I realize I will be a blue collar worker and that there's not serious money in trucking. I'm not looking for serious money. I want to feed my future family and pay the mortgage, with my fiance working as well.
Hey, it's not my fault you appear to have thin skin. This industry is a meat grinder for a reason. There's no room for the easily offended and the such.
As far as that kind of money is concerned, there is only one way you're going to make it: you're never going to see home. I'm serious. If you plan on coming home every week or every other week, your paychecks are going to be terrible. The only way to make it is by staying out for 2+ months at a time and running wherever those loads are taking you, and running in all types of weather conditions, and having the willingness to chain up when necessary.
Can you or your fiance handle the away time? They might for a little while but it gets old insanely quick. Is there wedding to attend that isn't exactly immediate family? Too bad! Good luck getting the time off for it, let alone the load(s) taking you back home in time. Home time is dictated by where the freight is running. If there's nothing that way, you're stuck running loads until something pops up going that direction.
Running teams isn't going to net you any more money than running solo. Whose company recruiters have you been communicating with and believing? You're free to believe whatever you want, but you really need to take off the rose tinted glasses and illusions of grandeur.
Here is a page on Facebook you can submit your questions to. It'll get posted to the public. Be ready for some soul crushing answers regarding the pay you're expecting.
Here is a Trucking related forum you can submit your questions and answers to. TR is pretty PC and it's easy to offend the mods there. They have real thin skin.
I do know a company where employed trucks make $80,000 a year. Ashley Furniture drivers make that much, and drive nice trucks, too. But I don't know anyone who pays $100,000. They don't have to; they can get drivers for 60 - 70,000 or less.
According to truckinginfo.com the current rate for vans is $1.79 per mile. There is a fuel surcharge placed on top of that to protect the trucker in case fuel prices suddenly go up.
A busy owner operator can drive about 150,000 miles a year, so it is actually possible to make 100,000 but that depends on luck and your ability to run a business. I say "luck" because if you get sick it's all over until you get well. Same with serious engine problems and that sort of thing.
The neatest set-up I ever saw was a husband/wife team where she became a licensed freight broker and he drove the truck. She stayed at home doing her thing for him and he stayed on the road as long as they wanted. He was her only client.
Independent freight brokers sometimes take on owner-operators as clients and the broker acts as a dispatcher. Sometimes they have lots of drivers, but usually just a few - that way the dispatcher knows full well what each driver is looking for and can have it ready when the driver wants it.
I'll say again, "It wasn't all that bad". I never set foot in a truck until I was 60, and although the learning curve was tough I settled right in and worked 5 years. Then I retired.
My son is single, owns his own truck and grosses 20k a month. OUt of that he pays taxes, diesel, etc. Yes, 100k is possible. BUT he has 17 years experience and knows what he is doing. He loves being his own boss. He can take off when he wants, drive when he wants, etc. I've worked 31 years to make 25% of what he is making now.
My son is single, owns his own truck and grosses 20k a month. OUt of that he pays taxes, diesel, etc. Yes, 100k is possible. BUT he has 17 years experience and knows what he is doing. He loves being his own boss. He can take off when he wants, drive when he wants, etc. I've worked 31 years to make 25% of what he is making now.
A quick search shows that owner-operators average about $1.45/mile. Somebody upthread mentioned a rate of $1.79/mile, which seems very high too me. Let's use a $1.50/mile rate.
Grossing $20k means your son drives about 13,000 miles every month. Assuming an average speed of 50 mph, that is 260 hours of driving in a month. I doubt that you could actually average that speed, as tolls, traffic, weigh stations and refueling are all going to reduce the average. Following the DOT work limits it is possible to drive a max of about 260 hours in a month, but that is pretty aggressive. The rules are complicated, so max hours might vary a bit.
So it is theoretically possible to earn that much. That assumes almost 100% efficiency, so I think it unlikely. But if your son is never sick, never has a mechanical breakdown, never runs into traffic, is never stopped at a weigh station, always drops loads on time and has them ready for pickup when he arrives, never drives a mile with an empty load, and absolutely maximizes his drive timeover the period of a month, it could happen. This also assumes your son drives 365 days a year. No holidays EVER.
Fuel costs on a monthly basis are going to be about $6,500 based on average fuel economy and average diesel fuel cost. Capital costs on the truck are going to be about $2,000 month. Repairs, which your son won't have time to do, maybe another $2,000 monthly (wild guess on my part). Tolls, insurance, health insurance, licensing all add up. All of his meals need to be purchased on the road, as he doesn't have any time to stop.
Looks like 50% or more of what he makes goes directly into expenses.
In reality, I doubt your son grosses $20k every month.
A quick search shows that owner-operators average about $1.45/mile. Somebody upthread mentioned a rate of $1.79/mile, which seems very high too me. Let's use a $1.50/mile rate.
Grossing $20k means your son drives about 13,000 miles every month. Assuming an average speed of 50 mph, that is 260 hours of driving in a month. I doubt that you could actually average that speed, as tolls, traffic, weigh stations and refueling are all going to reduce the average. Following the DOT work limits it is possible to drive a max of about 260 hours in a month, but that is pretty aggressive. The rules are complicated, so max hours might vary a bit.
So it is theoretically possible to earn that much. That assumes almost 100% efficiency, so I think it unlikely. But if your son is never sick, never has a mechanical breakdown, never runs into traffic, is never stopped at a weigh station, always drops loads on time and has them ready for pickup when he arrives, never drives a mile with an empty load, and absolutely maximizes his drive timeover the period of a month, it could happen. This also assumes your son drives 365 days a year. No holidays EVER.
Fuel costs on a monthly basis are going to be about $6,500 based on average fuel economy and average diesel fuel cost. Capital costs on the truck are going to be about $2,000 month. Repairs, which your son won't have time to do, maybe another $2,000 monthly (wild guess on my part). Tolls, insurance, health insurance, licensing all add up. All of his meals need to be purchased on the road, as he doesn't have any time to stop.
Looks like 50% or more of what he makes goes directly into expenses.
In reality, I doubt your son grosses $20k every month.
Your numbers are spot on. I have many clients that are owner/operator OTR truck drivers and none of them hit the revenue numbers that these online posters are claiming. As you point out, 20k a month gross revenue from a single driver with a single truck is virtually impossible and requires a driver to be on the road at 100% of legal capacity without any glitches with a constant supply of drop and hook freight that is always ready to go without any delays or time spent waiting at the dock.
Your numbers are spot on. I have many clients that are owner/operator OTR truck drivers and none of them hit the revenue numbers that these online posters are claiming. As you point out, 20k a month gross revenue from a single driver with a single truck is virtually impossible and requires a driver to be on the road at 100% of legal capacity without any glitches with a constant supply of drop and hook freight that is always ready to go without any delays or time spent waiting at the dock.
From what I've read, $10k/month gross is more realistic, with half of that going to expenses, so at the end of the day you have a $60k/year job with a heck of a lot more risk than the guy making $40k--$50k for one of the mega carriers.
Face it, if you are in the trucking industry, you will work stupidly long hours for not a lot of money, and it is a very dangerous job. That's just how it is.
Hi all, I am looking to start truck driving and making it a career. So, I know the pros and cons with lots of research, for the most part. But tell me what you think!
I am 25 and I have had success in the retail world, being a flooring department manager at Lowe's for over a year (quitting) and being a Grocery Manager for 3 months (quitting)... I left the retail world because I felt I was about to go insane trying to have to put on a face for customers day after day while busting my butt and cleaning the whole department, stretching myself thin... LOL.
I have mental illness and due to it, I am very introverted and don't want to talk to people too much, so this might be the perfect job for me. I also LOVE driving and sight seeing. I want to travel the USA and I think this is the perfect way to do so.
If I enjoy it enough, I will make it a career and either continue with going all across the east coast (where I live) and the USA in general... If I want more time home, I will try to ASAP go into a more dedicated/local route.
Good pay after the first year, good benefits.
By the way, I was making $4,000 less a year at Lowe's and the grocery store than I will be making at the beginning of truck driving (and it goes up fast the longer you're with trucking, and if you get with the right company after 5-10 years you could be making 6 figures).
Which company are you going to drive for?
Whatever you do, do not lease a truck.
If you can, get your license from a community college on your own. It will open you up to better carriers that don't offer license training, costs less and puts you in control.
It absolutely sucks for a couple to three years. Hang tough. Once you get three years OTR experience it opens you up to all the better jobs.
IMO, go tanker if you can, wouldn't touch reefer. Your young, flat bed might work for you also.
"Independents" came out on top for 2014 at $60,157. I assume by Independent, they mean a trucker who is operating under his own authority and is not leased to a particular company. I found another source that indicated no change since then.
Flatbedders did OK, too.
As several have said, it is tough work, but it's not impossible. Working as an employee is tough because they know when you are resting and they know when you are eligible to drive. And if you are eligible to drive, then that's what they want you to do.
I suspect (but don't know) an independent owner-operator with his head screwed on tight and with his finances under control works less than the employees. But the company I worked for had an awful lot of ex-owners who gave up owning because it didn't make sense for one reason or another.
From what I've read, $10k/month gross is more realistic, with half of that going to expenses, so at the end of the day you have a $60k/year job with a heck of a lot more risk than the guy making $40k--$50k for one of the mega carriers.
Face it, if you are in the trucking industry, you will work stupidly long hours for not a lot of money, and it is a very dangerous job. That's just how it is.
Yep, the math is pretty straight forward for driver compensation. I don't know why these myths about truck driving endure year after year. It is a dangerous job with long hours that keeps you away from your home and family most of the time. The one driver that I know which is doing well no longer even drives. He leases trucks to newbies like the OP and works as a freight broker. The OP reminds me of the Uber drivers that were 100% convinced that they were going to make 100k a year only to find out that the pay is really more in the minimum wage range.
It is really just basic common sense. Would the turnover rate for a job you can get with just a GED and a few weeks of training that pays 100k+ annually exceed 90%?
Hope you don't mind me chucking this in here but with so much truck talk going on , good spot for it..
Do they still line and scroll trucks in the US ?
Is it done by hand or do they use the stickers now days ?
Any idea what it costs to get a basic scroll and lining job done on a truck ?
And Op , if you wanna drive trucks , why not give it a go.You got plenty of time so if you don't like it you'll soon figure that out and go into something else ,
Hi all, I am looking to start truck driving and making it a career. So, I know the pros and cons with lots of research, for the most part. But tell me what you think!
I am 25 and I have had success in the retail world, being a flooring department manager at Lowe's for over a year (quitting) and being a Grocery Manager for 3 months (quitting)... I left the retail world because I felt I was about to go insane trying to have to put on a face for customers day after day while busting my butt and cleaning the whole department, stretching myself thin... LOL.
I have mental illness and due to it, I am very introverted and don't want to talk to people too much, so this might be the perfect job for me. I also LOVE driving and sight seeing. I want to travel the USA and I think this is the perfect way to do so.
If I enjoy it enough, I will make it a career and either continue with going all across the east coast (where I live) and the USA in general... If I want more time home, I will try to ASAP go into a more dedicated/local route.
Good pay after the first year, good benefits.
By the way, I was making $4,000 less a year at Lowe's and the grocery store than I will be making at the beginning of truck driving (and it goes up fast the longer you're with trucking, and if you get with the right company after 5-10 years you could be making 6 figures).
Do you understand that you cannot get a CDL with some medications that you take?
Do you understand that you still have to deal with customers day after day?
Do you understand that you will not be able to *sight see* while driving?
From what you have written you have no idea what the real world of trucking is like and I urge you to
find a different path to walk down.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
