UllysesS.Archer
Gold Member
- Jul 3, 2014
- 1,803
- 303
- 130
I am not an economist, i dont think anyone on here really is, yet I have first hand knowledge of how a truck driver is paid. From owner operators to company drivers, and from local to long haul.
All these companies I speak of, I have first hand knowledge of, because I have worked for them in the past.
When you start in the industry, it's simple, no experience equals very little pay. Western Express(BEWARE), first of all, when you see a Western Express truck, give it plenty of room, cause these drivers are greener than the Smoky Mountains in mid-June. It's also a second chance company, a company that hires anyone, and I mean anyone, with a CDL. Their pay is lousy, just 28 cents per mile, with benefits that suck, and they hire in bulk, some 30 to 40 drivers a week go to work there, and some 30 to 35 drivers a week quit work there, their turnover is off the charts.
Western out of Nashville, is one of the few companies where you can cut your teeth with no experience, especially if you didn't attend a school to learn how to drive a big rig. I never went to school to learn how to drive, I was 18 when I was told to drive this truck to the market, long before many of the regulations we have now went into effect. I drove for Western for a month, when I first decided to head out as an over the road truck driver, and in my opinion, they are about the most dangerous trucks on the road, because many of their drivers, don't have a damn clue. So when you see one, give it plenty of room, and assume they are going to screw up, and DO NOT daudle beside a truck ever, if a tire blows out, It could cut your car in half, or make a motorcycle look like it hit a bridge embankment doing 80.
That is about the lowest paying OTR company that I know of, 28 cpm, and getting 2500 miles a week, equals a bring home of about 600 bucks a week, when you consider that you will spend at least a hundred just eating, that just aint that much money.
Let's jump up to a company that is a nice place to work. Superservice, out of Somerset, KY. With just 6 months experience, they pay over 40 cpm. With a nice benefit package, you can average almost 3000 miles a week, and be home every other weekend. Good equipment and they try to take care of their drivers, I recommend Superservice to everyone I know who has at least that much time behind the wheel. NO, I don't work there, I quit and went to work somewhere where I could get more miles in just 5 days a week. I got tired of sitting all day on Sunday with nothing to do. But, it is pretty easy to bring home over a grand a week with this company.
All these companies I speak of, I have first hand knowledge of, because I have worked for them in the past.
When you start in the industry, it's simple, no experience equals very little pay. Western Express(BEWARE), first of all, when you see a Western Express truck, give it plenty of room, cause these drivers are greener than the Smoky Mountains in mid-June. It's also a second chance company, a company that hires anyone, and I mean anyone, with a CDL. Their pay is lousy, just 28 cents per mile, with benefits that suck, and they hire in bulk, some 30 to 40 drivers a week go to work there, and some 30 to 35 drivers a week quit work there, their turnover is off the charts.
Western out of Nashville, is one of the few companies where you can cut your teeth with no experience, especially if you didn't attend a school to learn how to drive a big rig. I never went to school to learn how to drive, I was 18 when I was told to drive this truck to the market, long before many of the regulations we have now went into effect. I drove for Western for a month, when I first decided to head out as an over the road truck driver, and in my opinion, they are about the most dangerous trucks on the road, because many of their drivers, don't have a damn clue. So when you see one, give it plenty of room, and assume they are going to screw up, and DO NOT daudle beside a truck ever, if a tire blows out, It could cut your car in half, or make a motorcycle look like it hit a bridge embankment doing 80.
That is about the lowest paying OTR company that I know of, 28 cpm, and getting 2500 miles a week, equals a bring home of about 600 bucks a week, when you consider that you will spend at least a hundred just eating, that just aint that much money.
Let's jump up to a company that is a nice place to work. Superservice, out of Somerset, KY. With just 6 months experience, they pay over 40 cpm. With a nice benefit package, you can average almost 3000 miles a week, and be home every other weekend. Good equipment and they try to take care of their drivers, I recommend Superservice to everyone I know who has at least that much time behind the wheel. NO, I don't work there, I quit and went to work somewhere where I could get more miles in just 5 days a week. I got tired of sitting all day on Sunday with nothing to do. But, it is pretty easy to bring home over a grand a week with this company.
