Question:
& doing ok as far as the boss is concerned. fixed a bunch of things on the tractor (they pay me to fix it!) After my road test they said here is your tractor, there is your load, go deliver, call when empty & get another load. logging it as I drive it, so far 2 flat tires & a below legal phone line! Houston Tx traffic is a nightmare, Dallas not much better. Home all week ends so far & several nights a week too, not bad! getting $.32 a mile loaded $.16 empty, not bad for a "newbie". BTW I am running a step deck flatbed 53' spread axle which is hard to turn, Question, can I drop the "bags" when empty to make it easier to turn in tight places? I appreciate any input.
Wizard Too
CB= "Bilge Rat" or "CJ"

Answer:
Glad you are doing well but .16cpm MT? I hope u dont deadhead much. What co do you work for?

Answer:
Takes the same amount of time to cover a mile empty as it does loaded.
Why would you do it for half as much?

Answer:
If you are happy, more power to you. But to be realistic about your pay, you better do some figuring.
Say you took a load 200 loaded and d.h. back the 200 miles you would average 24 cpm. I would not like that.
But what works for some, dont work for others.

Answer:

Of course they do, because they know you'll do it for less than the $80/hr standard shop labor rate.

I haven't had 2 flat tires in all of last year. What kind of crap are you driving that needs you to fix it and has such crappy tires on it that they go flat so often?

If you aren't getting at least 48 hours at home on the weekends, you are geting screwed. Most companies think a weekend is "in at 21:00 Saturday night, out 11;00 Sunday morning. "

Malaria isn't bad either...

JB Hunt would pay you 32 cpm for ALL miles...as would most other companies who took rookies. You are getting screwed- driving is driving whether you are loaded or empty-if the company tells you to do it, it ought to pay equally.
Answer:
The desperation never ceases to ammmaaaaaaazzzeeeeee me. Unbelieveable how some value their time. But in a year he can make as much as a 20 year man. Cooooooollllllllllll cretins. ______
|l ,[____],
l---L –OlllllO-
()_) ()_)-(-)_)
I'd rather die on my feet like a man than live on my azz hiding in a truck.........Sir James Brown

Answer:
first I am supposed to be retired, I am doing this because I want to, not because I have to. second, I have been a professional mechanic all my life, both automotive & marine, gas, diesel, electrical, plumbing, custom fabrication, welding & problem solving (stuff nobody else can fix) been driving trucks of one kind or another except class 8 all of my adult life as part of my work & I presently own 3 trucks of my own, 1 ton dually van & 2 pickups, one of which is a 55 Ford F-100, Chev powered. As far as starting out, I dont think the wages are that bad, the area I live in does'nt have that many jobs in my normal work field, so I went to School & got my CDL, & the state paid for it ! If I was'nt doing this, I would be parked on the couch, getting fat & brain dead from too much TV. I am reasonably sure that my compensation will go up in the near future, I consider this time period to be probationary as a new employee.
To those who think I am getting screwed, I am the one putting in the time, not you, some income is better than no income, it's a start to gain some seat time!
Wizard Too

Answer:
Somebody might call it a "truckers logic" , but, i'll say, that's a good start!
Answer:

So why aren't you?

As long as you want to, more power to you. Personally, I can think of many things I'd rather be doing than driving a truck. Like fishing, bicycling, hiking, camping, canoeing, building my model cars, working on my project car, running my waterski boat around the lake, cruising around on my motorcycle, going places I have never been before (as a tourist, not by truck), obtaining my pilots license, etc.

Surely you made more as a mechanic than you are now. Why give away your skills and time to a friggin truck company?

They wouldn't be if you got the 32cpm for allmiles. By cutting your empty rate, they are screwing you out of money you are working hard for.
But suit yourself. I would never work for anybody who paid the way you are getting paid, but that is just me I guess.

I hope you are thanking the generous taxpayers of your state.

Pretty bad when the only life a body has outside of trucking isn't one....You ought to try some of the things Ilisted previous.

Most likely...

So you settle for seconds when you don't have to? New employee or not, a screwing is a screwing. Just because you are new doesn't mean you should be taken advantage of!

Yes you are. I am wondering why you'd put yourself through that though, because I wouldn't.

I thought you didn't need the money?
Sure is, if that is all you are after.
If you are happy, then that is great. I personally think you could do better, and should strive to do so, but that isn't relevant I suppose.
Best to you driver. May you remain happy.
Answer:
My retirement check makes the house payment & does'nt leave much, Yes I have a project truck,a motorcycle, a boat, & a bunch of other interests, a BIG lawn to mow (5hours) I got tired of crawling around engine compartments on boats & listening to people cry about the bill,fix it, but don't spend any time on it, then try to get them to pay! I also turn wrenches for a hobby too, built & drove my own asphalt stock car for a number of years in Wa.Idaho & B.C. Canada, plus built my wife a stock car & helped a friend w/his stock car. I have done a lot of things most people just dream about, but don't have the guts to try, raced M/cycles X-country, crew chiefed a limited class Hydroplane (266 alky burner & built the engine)& drove it once in a while, worked for 20 years on the unlimited Hydro races in Seattle, Had a 26' Tollycraft & cruised the San Juan islands every summer, then lived abord for a year (had the boat for 15 years, bought new) worked on & drove Yachts to 65' for a living. built trailers, roll cages, brush guards, race cars, went Drag racing in the late 50's & mid 60's, What have you done ?
Wizard Too

Answer:
Well, every man to himself...
I can't understand the difference in pay between loaded and deadhead miles. If the company is the one planning the loads, not the driver, then why should the driver be penalized? And most companies operate under 'forced' dispatch, giving the driver absolutely no authority over the loads he transports. However, this practice is not uncommon and if you were to strike it out and be an independent, you would not make anything deadhead while incurring all the same costs for each mile as if loaded. I guess that's your management's standpoint, and so they are passing some of their loss onto you.
I don't think a driver should be paid for miles at all. Instead, they should be paid a fixed amount for every hour that they are legally responsible for a load and/or equipment, which excludes sleeper berth time and time off-duty. In my experience, which includes driving tractor-trailers, motorcoach buses, and corporate management, this is the only compensation plan that benefits drivers.
As for the spread-axle trailer, there is not much you can do to make that thing turn any easier. A normal trailer pivots on a point between the two rear axles. The spread-axle trailer doesn't pivot, but tries to on the first axle, which causes rapid tire wear on the far rear axle.

Answer:
Wizard Too,
For God's sake, don't tell them what you ate for breakfast!!!! Putting all your focus on earning top dollar leads to insanity.
And no, you really shouldn't drop your trlr air. It's hard on the bags, even if you're empty and light, and it wouldn't help turn better anyway, would it? Split axel? Just get used to how it slides when jacked. Eventually you'll know where it's going to go, mostly by the crown of the pavement it's tracking and which axel is getting the best grip. Besides.....flatbed drivers never get enough backing-up experience to become very good at it anyway. But blaming it on the split axel has, and always be, a good cover.

Answer:
Wizard Too, keep on keepin' on. You're doing what you want as you want. These idiots that rip on everyone need to rip on themselves more and get in check....

Answer:

Just because you squandered all you money on toys for years and in general had no financial planning for retirement don't change the fact that trucking is a crappy job.
Answer:
I wish I had a dollar for every, "PROFESSIONAL MECHANIC" I've heard driving trucks over the years.
We had a number of "Professional truck driver mechanics" working for our company over the years. They all got themselves "FIRED" ....
Me and another driver ran into one of our famous Professional truck driver mechanics. He was working on his A/C in the T/S. He told us he had "years of experience" OK!!!
We went in to eat. About 20 minutes later, MR Professional Mechanic comes in,. sits down at the table. His right arm is all chopped/nicked up from wrist to elbow.
Of course. we had to ask Mr Pro, What happened???
Mr Pro.
The fan came on.