On The Fence About Staying, Maybe Not For Me?

Thanks! I appreciate the words of encouragement more than I can express over the internet. If nothing else, this has been an odd adventure and learning experience. I did do something that I *wanted* to do. I also realized I am either extremely homesick or I value my small town much more than I realized. I find it hard to talk to people at home as that makes the desire to go home even worse lol. So. My hopes are to stick this out and hopefully find something a bit more local after. I do like the driving. I like the trucks. I even like the truck stop atmosphere lol.

I just think everything is starting to pool into a big ole bowl of homesick soup. The training has gotten better/easier. The sleeping is still difficult but also getting a little better. So. A few weeks to go before I decide if I'm going to do company or lease.

Still have 15k to go.

Nice! That won't take long at all. Let me tell you, everyone here is really proud of you! There is nothing like going through something like you are, to really get to learn a few things about yourself. When you finish this first phase of your trucking experience you are going to find that you are capable of achieving much more than you thought you could. Trucking slaps almost all of us in the face at the beginning. Very few people ever enter this career with realistic expectations. We try like crazy to prepare folks for what they are about to face, but it is a difficult thing to convey from a keyboard.

Trucking is one of those careers that gets easier as you progress. There is just so much to learn at the onset of the career that it is absolutely overwhelming for many. That is why there are so many sad stories online of aborted trucking careers. It really does take some special people to do this job, and yet the career seems to attract a lot of people who were never cut out for the challenge.

Your tenacity is proving your worth, I was so glad to see this update from you. Hang in there - you've a whole group of folks here pulling for you. We've got a bunch of dancing bananas just waiting to be released when you give us the news that you are getting upgraded to your very own solo rig.

Stay the course - the challenge is great, but the final reward is even greater! Independence, adventure, and financial rewards are waiting for you.

Thanks! I appreciate the words of encouragement more than I can express over the internet. If nothing else, this has been an odd adventure and learning experience. I did do something that I *wanted* to do. I also realized I am either extremely homesick or I value my small town much more than I realized. I find it hard to talk to people at home as that makes the desire to go home even worse lol. So. My hopes are to stick this out and hopefully find something a bit more local after. I do like the driving. I like the trucks. I even like the truck stop atmosphere lol.

I just think everything is starting to pool into a big ole bowl of homesick soup. The training has gotten better/easier. The sleeping is still difficult but also getting a little better. So. A few weeks to go before I decide if I'm going to do company or lease.

Still have 15k to go.

Nice! That won't take long at all. Let me tell you, everyone here is really proud of you! There is nothing like going through something like you are, to really get to learn a few things about yourself. When you finish this first phase of your trucking experience you are going to find that you are capable of achieving much more than you thought you could. Trucking slaps almost all of us in the face at the beginning. Very few people ever enter this career with realistic expectations. We try like crazy to prepare folks for what they are about to face, but it is a difficult thing to convey from a keyboard.

Trucking is one of those careers that gets easier as you progress. There is just so much to learn at the onset of the career that it is absolutely overwhelming for many. That is why there are so many sad stories online of aborted trucking careers. It really does take some special people to do this job, and yet the career seems to attract a lot of people who were never cut out for the challenge.

Your tenacity is proving your worth, I was so glad to see this update from you. Hang in there - you've a whole group of folks here pulling for you. We've got a bunch of dancing bananas just waiting to be released when you give us the news that you are getting upgraded to your very own solo rig.

Stay the course - the challenge is great, but the final reward is even greater! Independence, adventure, and financial rewards are waiting for you.

Company, definitely go company. Starting out, company is ALWAYS the way to go. At least until you manage your truck on your own. Adding the lease obligation to your learning curve, is not a good recipe.

*learn to manage your truck.....

And I even proofread 😕

I was told by an instructor that if you decide to go the O/O route to buy from a dealer and not do a lease purchase. As cool as it would be to own my own truck and have that "extra" freedom (to earn a paycheck or not, haha), I think company would be best bet until you have the time and experience in. You don't want to get stuck with a truck payment and all the hassles and cost of owning a truck until you have an idea of what it would be like. That's just my opinion anyway. Best wishes on your journey.

On another note, this has been filled with so many horrible trainer moments that it makes one even more nervous about mentor phase.

I was told by an instructor that if you decide to go the O/O route to buy from a dealer and not do a lease purchase. As cool as it would be to own my own truck and have that "extra" freedom (to earn a paycheck or not, haha), I think company would be best bet until you have the time and experience in. You don't want to get stuck with a truck payment and all the hassles and cost of owning a truck until you have an idea of what it would be like. That's just my opinion anyway. Best wishes on your journey.

On another note, this has been filled with so many horrible trainer moments that it makes one even more nervous about mentor phase.

200 hours with a mentor, is only a drop in the bucket, compared to the rest of our careers. I requested a company driver as a mentor. When my recruiter asked why, I simply stated that some (not all) l/o or o/o mentors/trainers only look at new drivers as a bigger paycheck, and that I would prefer a company driver, because they tend to be more focused on actually training a new driver. Either way, I will learn everything I possibly can, and ask as many questions as I can, because the solo phase of my education will be an unforgiving teacher.

TNT at Prime is terrible and is one of my big complaints about them. With that said, it gets so much easier once you're solo. You'll be able to run your truck as how you see fit provided you meet appointment times.

Go company if you're just coming out of cdl school. You'll have tons on your plate to handle as a rookie, don't need to add a lease into that mix. If you want to go lease, wait a year or 2.

I understand the reasoning behind 'going company' however after talking to multiples of company and lease drivers, seems the majority of the company drivers have averaged 1600-2000 miles a week. With the nickles and dimes taken out of each paycheck (psd 'loan', sleep apnea test, whatever you need for your truck, twic , passport, health/medical/vision/life/dental, not to mention your regular tax deductions) I am weary of spending 70 hours a week to take home $400 lol.

Thus part of the 'on the fence' deal. Just weighing everything out.

Plus coming into winter won't help with miles.

TNT at Prime is terrible and is one of my big complaints about them. With that said, it gets so much easier once you're solo. You'll be able to run your truck as how you see fit provided you meet appointment times.

Go company if you're just coming out of cdl school. You'll have tons on your plate to handle as a rookie, don't need to add a lease into that mix. If you want to go lease, wait a year or 2.

Buttercup taking on a lease as a rookie driver is a huge mistake. Much has been written on the subject and can be accessed by clicking this link: Leasing a Truck.

I urge you to take the time and read the threads in the link.

Leasing is not much different with having small pay checks once in a while. Want to go home? You're still paying for that truck on your home time. Yes your pay checks will be a bit smaller at first but you'll still be taking home $600-1000 weekly company.

You don't need a twic or passport for prime. Sure it opens you up to more loads but you won't see a noticeable rise in income with them.

This is the deductions part of one of my early settlements. The wage advances are for lumpers and prime reimburses those. As you can see at the bottom, I still took home $945 that week.

I understand the reasoning behind 'going company' however after talking to multiples of company and lease drivers, seems the majority of the company drivers have averaged 1600-2000 miles a week. With the nickles and dimes taken out of each paycheck (psd 'loan', sleep apnea test, whatever you need for your truck, twic , passport, health/medical/vision/life/dental, not to mention your regular tax deductions) I am weary of spending 70 hours a week to take home $400 lol.

Thus part of the 'on the fence' deal. Just weighing everything out.

Buttercup, congratulations, you literally have me wanting to bang my head against the wall with your above rationale for wanting to lease a truck!

First off how in the world have you had the time to speak to "multiples of company and lease drivers?" And since you have all this extra time to speak to all these people, well, how about you spend a little time and speak to us about it?

Let's just look at the things that you stated, and just stick with that for now.

First... You have wrongly come to the conclusion, after speaking to multiples of company drivers that you are only going to be getting 1,600 - 2,000 miles per week. Where are you finding these drivers to speak with them? If it is at a terminal , then you are speaking to the wrong drivers! The terminal is the worst place to ask drivers about their experience at your company - the absolute worst place. Terminals are typically the main place where all the "under achievers" are hanging about.

Second... Who are the lease drivers that have influenced you? If it is your trainer, I'd like to shake him/her real hard and get in their face with some hard questions, and have them produce for you some real genuine solid numbers. I'm not talking about looking at their gross amount on their settlements, which is the only thing they ever want to show anybody, because the rest of what is going on for them is usually so scary they don't even like to think about it, much less have you know what they are going through. Why do you think lease operators are always the ones who end up being trainers? Oh, I already know that your trainer probably told you that they are training because they really want to help other people learn how to do this, and therefore they are making the sacrifices necessary to teach others to be professional truck drivers - they do it because they "really care." I'm shaking my head - they became lease operators because they thought they were going to be making a ton of money. They were wrong, so then they decided that the only way they were going to even break even was if they started taking on students, so now they are training and using their poor trainees just to turn more miles for the truck. I know I sound like a deranged cynic, but 95% of the time, that is exactly how it works.

Third... You are worried about getting nickled and dimed by the company if you are a company driver? Try having them deduct money for your maintenance, your tires, paying for all your own fuel. How about that lease payment, how are you going to like them taking that out every single week, including that week that you didn't feel well and just didn't need to be driving, or how about that week you needed to be home for something important, or that one week of vacation you felt you deserved, or maybe that week that your truck was broke down and you didn't get to turn any miles at all? Forget about being nickled and dimed, and start thinking about having about 900 - 1,000 dollars a week or more taken from your check! Does that sound good to you? Have you ever had someone give you a check with a negative number on it? Well guess what? Just about every lease driver I have ever encountered has had that happen to them, and of course it always happens when you need the money the most!

Fourth... How many miles a driver gets has absolutely nothing to do with whether you are a lease operator or a company driver. Nothing! Your ability to be productive and creative out here and be the type of driver who gets a lot done while being safe, productive, and easy to work with will be the way in which your miles are measured out to you. There is no random or fair spreading of the miles out to drivers in this business. It is a very selective process, and the folks who understand how you get to the top of the list are the ones who are making the money.

Plus coming into winter won't help with miles.

For me, that statement is completely false. I keep up with my numbers very carefully. For the last four years I have made more money during the fourth quarter of the year than any of the other quarters. I honestly think it is because my dispatcher knows that I will get it done if he gives it to me. He would rather trust a load going up into the snow covered Northeast to a driver who has proven time and time again that he will get it done, than he would risking it with someone else.

If the fact that you are concerned with winter giving you less miles makes you lean toward leasing, then why in the world would you want to lease during a time when your miles are going to be down? You will absolutely need to be turning every single mile you can if you are going to make a lease work out in your favor.

Please Buttercup, don't put your rookie self into the position of having to risk life and limb just so you can make Prime's truck payments for them.