Comments By Drew D.

Just venting,

But I am getting worn out with Wyoming. Sat for 3 days without pay last week due to pile ups and winter conditions.

Now I am basically stuck for what looks like at least two days thanks to wind, and, by the time the 60 mph gusts are expected to lift, more snow!

I have been proactive with my DM about taking alternate routes down South and around as much as possible to complete negate Wyoming, but it is complete unavoidable as we operate out of eastern Idaho.

Whats funny is that my company can't understand why people don't want to run winter when they don't pay layover for longterm inclement weather issues.

Sorry, I just need to get this out somewhere. I am stuck @ Rawlins Flying J just playing the waiting game now seeing how many days of pay this is going to cost my household because I can't do my job. Screw Wyoming.

I appreciate the candid response.

I'll light up a cigar and try to relax.

Drew, you're making the classic decision making mistake. You're making a decision during a time of stress. You want to get home, but the weather isn't cooperating. You want to be compensated for not working, but the company isn't cooperating. Now you made a decision to not go home, and that's irritating you.

Any fool could make the decision to move to greener pastures under those circumstances. A wise trucker keeps the bigger picture in focus. He makes that decision a few weeks or months later when things are going well for him. Don't let the temporary problems we all face in this business dictate your decision making process.

Well, I am stuck in Bethoud, CO and have been for almost 3 days waiting for Wyoming to stop being Wyoming. This load was supposed to get me home for a couple days of hometime in Boise. Due to weather, I haven't been able to move. Just found out this morning they have no intention of paying layover for being stuck here. This will result in me forgoing hometime and staying out for at least 4 more weeks to compensate for the loss. Also, I have realized that .41 cents a mile, even with per diem, is slave wage. Couldn't possibly be more disappointed with my company. If I learned one truth about trucking, it is that "we treat you like family not a number" is the biggest lie in trucking. If someone tells you that in their pitch, run.

Not that it should come as a surprise,

But there was two separate pile ups on I-80 yesterday. If you are planning on going through Wyoming, you will likely be sitting. I am currently at the Love's in Berthoud,CO south of Cheyenne waiting for this to clear. Just a heads up. They are expecting 20 hours minimum and it is still snowing there.

Yeah its a head scratcher but I think I'm going to settle and see how things pan out over time. I'm still relatively new all things considered. And the worst that can happen is I end up with a 2-3 year work history when and if I branch off.

This is all good input and I appreciate the time.

Also, I am out of Caldwell, ID but my company is out of Idaho Falls, ID.

I also average around 11k per month.

I'm not unsatisfied with my pay, but I didn't want to undercut myself either.

But having said that, after much thought, I will stick with these guys out of respect. They did go out of their way to get me in the door and get me moving on my first solo job. The least I can do is show the same respect for time invested and see where it goes.

Thank you for all the great advice as always. :)

Just finished my 1 year solo mark and have been thinking about the same thing nonstop the past couple weeks, stay here longer (currently at .46 cpm otr) or find something local/regional for more home time and potential pay increase.

Gotten a few approvals from different companies but it’s been such a headache trying to decide what to do, so I think like you I will just stay put for now. I like this company for the most part, I know how they operate, and I know what I can do better to make more $ weekly, but I do not know these things about the other companies except from reading mixed reviews.

I know that facility well. My company is always making drops there. I always see the Crete trucks. Not sure if they would let me operate out of Boise, but it is something to think about down the line if things don't pan out where I am at.

I'll tell you one you could check that is fairly close for you. Check out Crete, specifically the Walmart dedicated account out of the Cheyenne DC. I made a lot of money there in 2021, only leaving because I wanted a return to OTR driving again.

This is all good input and I appreciate the time.

Also, I am out of Caldwell, ID but my company is out of Idaho Falls, ID.

I also average around 11k per month.

I'm not unsatisfied with my pay, but I didn't want to undercut myself either.

But having said that, after much thought, I will stick with these guys out of respect. They did go out of their way to get me in the door and get me moving on my first solo job. The least I can do is show the same respect for time invested and see where it goes.

Thank you for all the great advice as always. :)

Hey all,

I am coming up on my one year mark with my company and I had a few questions regarding potential decisions.

So I'll start with: I really really like my company. They are a mid sized carrier, my DM is great, the team is great, the equipment is great, and I genuinely do not want to leave. They also have a heavy haul fleet that does dedicated runs along the corridor my house is on. So I could, one day, get OTR miles / Per diem / no touch freight but with a semi local home most days setup.

That said, I am currently sitting at .42 per mile. One of those pennies is a safety mile. We do get slight mileage bonuses if we hit 12k in a month and the miles are good. But..... I do this because I want to ensure my wife and kids are cared for and taken care of. After one year, is .42 cents a mile decent? What is a general median rate after year one? What is a good earning potential bracket if you had a safe and productive first year?

I only ask because, while I have nothing but love for my company, I am out here to make money. So you can see the moral dilemma.

On a side note, I only ever had two jobs before this. Spent 11 at one and 6 at the other. And the only reason I left that second job was because I moved from WA to ID. So I do enjoy earning stripes and gaining seniority. But I also know trucking is very different when it comes to personal politics and job hopping. Thoughts?

Funny you mention that. I had to take a trailer with a pesky ABS sensor that took 3 shops to iron out in Amarillo last month. Both TA and Speedco failed to fix it. Finally, it had to goto Utility.

I had a nightmare trailer. It took three shops (one at the terminal, and two on the road) to convince them it was an auto inflator issue, and the sensor was going off, because the damn thing was dropping the tire pressure to 85psi. First thing I had done, when the warning popped? Got out the manual guage. Used my gladhand air chuck to fix the psi, then bam. Inflators would bring it back down.

You have to stay on top of your company shop, too.

For the sake of professionalism, I'm not going to sandbag anyone on a public forum, but from some recent experiences I've had, if your internal shop won't fix issues you know need fixing, escalate to a fleet manager or higher. Don't let someone else's laziness or lackadaisical attitude sway you from addressing problems that you know need to be solved.

I didn't have a very positive outlook on the future of our society. But listening to Dan Bongino's more recent podcasts, I realized that betting long on America is always a safe bet despite the fact that mental health is at an all time low and no one wants to work these days.

I look at it as an opportunity. Who is going to get the job? A dedicated prospect willing to learn? Or some entitled basement dweller that needs their a-hole powdered every hour on the hour by their boss?

As far as where they get the balls, I think a combination of poor parenting, social media, and false sense of entitlement has ruined this generation. We are definitely at the "easy times make weak people" part of the cycle.