New In School
Topic 20683 | Page 1
Welcome to the Trucking Truth forum.
This link has numerous companies listed that accept entry level drivers...Trucking Company Reviews
You might also invest some time reading the content of these two links...
Passed all my tests today. Went ahead while I was there and got my tanker and doubles. I have to say that the week before I went to school I spent every waking moment on this sight going through the training and taking tests. Just wanted to thank you guys. I flew through those tests with ease thanks to this sight.
Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I don't think the tests are very difficult as long as one actually studies a bit and much of it is common sense.
The number of people who fail the written test really shows you what little effort some people put into this. Crazy isn't it?
With this sight and having a fantastic teacher at school it was a breeze. But some people just don't get it. Like anything you get back what you put in.
31 CPM is not a bad starting pay. It is best to figure out what is most important to you. Finding a company that's the right fit for you will lead you to the most money in the long run. Now is the time to research companies. Use the links G-Town gave you. You can also type the name of a company into the search bar on this site and get tons of honest info about the company. You will find starting pay from about 25CPM and up. Good luck. Keep us posted. We are here to help.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
Ok looking for opinions
PGT. 25% line haul. Home weekends
Maverick .38 to start after 6 months goes to .44.
Both companies are great from what I have read which seems better from just a pay point of view. ? Both are saying average of 2200 to 2500 miles per week
Thanks
Line Haul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
My WV brother!
Come join me and another Mountaineer at Schneider driving OTR. Starting pay is .40, you'll probably have Columbus as your home terminal , and everyone is super nice.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Ok looking for opinions
PGT. 25% line haul. Home weekends
Maverick .38 to start after 6 months goes to .44.
Both companies are great from what I have read which seems better from just a pay point of view. ? Both are saying average of 2200 to 2500 miles per week
Richard, I've never been a fan of percentage pay. I'm not exactly sure how it got this way, but for some reason people seem to think they are going to make more money if they are getting a percentage of the load - it's a gimmick at best, and it was designed to keep the labor costs at a level so that the trucking company is not paying out more than they should on any given load.
Here are some of the reasons that I don't think it is a good idea, especially for a new driver...
- How do you verify that the company is being honest with you on the rate that the load pays?
- Do they have a way of compensating you for dead head miles? I have been dead headed (running empty) as much as 1400 miles before. When you run empty there is no load rate to figure a percentage of. In other words, 25% of zero is... well, it's zero!
- Are you aware that freight rates vary greatly depending on the different parts of the country you happen to be in? Occasionally you will come out pretty nicely on a 25% percentage, and just as equally, and possibly more often than not, you are going to come out really poorly. 25% of 2.35/mile is sounding pretty good, but that same percentage of 1.05/mile can hurt your paycheck really badly. You get down in Florida and most companies will dead head their drivers out of there just to find some better rates. So you may go down to Miami and then have to dead head 600 miles just to find a decent paying load. So your company makes the choice of having you do something really cheap, or maybe something for nothing. Neither is a good option.
That offer that you have from Maverick sounds good to me. It is going to take you six months minimum to get to where you are worth that additional money anyway, and they understand that. They have got a great program over there for new drivers with excellent training and their dispatching seems to be really efficient to me. They should be able to get you home on most weekends, and I think they have a program in place that pays you a pretty good sum of extra money if they don't manage to get you home for the weekend - at least they used to do that.
I have no problems with PGT, in fact I went to an orientation there. Personally I think for a new driver, Maverick would be a better choice. They are just set up a little better for introducing newbies into the business and helping them develop as a new drivers.
If you are going to be a flat-bedder, make sure and go through the load securement sections in the High Road Training Program, you will be glad you did.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Line Haul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Thanks old school, that cleared up a lot of the thoughts I was having
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3rd day of school so far everything is going great. Just wondering, I have had a few companies send information and it seems there offering .31 per mile for first six months. Is this what I should expect ? Does anyone know of companies hiring grads with no experience. I live in Bluefield W.V. I am about 45minites from Wytheville VA. Thanks in advance.