Comments By Hitch

I think the point was that when you go home you don't make money. For example.. I went home recently and although I usually clear $700 to $900 per week... I only cleared $85 cause of the way the loads worked out with the week days and payroll cut off. My load coming off hometime went onto the next week pay. So if I stay out 4 weeks I can expect to make close to $3600 clear. If I go home for 4 days in that same month then I might only clear $2800. That's a mortgage payment of a difference.

As far as sitting for days on end... that is determined by you and if you want to work hard. But keep in mind you don't have to kill yourself out here to make money. And you don't have to max your 70. At prime we are not encouraged to do 34 hour resets. If I only have 5 hours left on my clock that day.. my dispatcher will find a load where I drive a couple hours to get there then roll after midnight when I get more hours. If you drive 400 miles per day for 7 days you still are getting 2800 miles... and making good money. You don't need to drive 500 to 600 miles a day to make money. (Of course there are days where I do but there days I only drive 200 miles also).

My friend works for Superior as hazmat tanker and he is home every other weekend for two days at a time. Which means in one month he gets 4 days home the same as me, but 2 days off in a pay week affects him less than 4 days off in a pay week. But that company is not going to hire rookies give them great pay and that kind of schedule. His company works in a way that wherever he ends up.. the new terminal dispatches close to home. So say he is sent to chicago. The Chicago dispatcher automatically sends him back to NJ even if he doesn't go home that weekend. So just imagine only being 70 miles from home and not getting to go cause NJ then sends him back out for another week.

If your wife comes to team with you you can give up your apt and save a ton on bills while.making great money teaming. I don't have my apt anymore... so my overhead with car and insurance.. storage is like one week pay. ;) everything else is spending money and savings

I've talked to my wife about teaming but she's not wanting to give up her nursing career at this time. We only have one car pmt and it will be paid off in four months. We will be debt free by Christmas. She makes between $1800 and $3000/payday depending on her OT. She gets paid bi-weekly. She said she makes as much working three days a week as driving a truck and being gone from home and her grandchildren. She makes a good point there but it would be great if I could get her to come with me.

Are there any companies that let husband and wife train together before they go out in their own truck? She drove a truck in the 90's and had a male trainer who, she said, tried to get her to get a room with him among other things, during her two weeks of training OTR for Schneider out of London, KY. She's concerned about having a similar experience should she decide to go back on the road. And yes, she reported it but nothing came of it.

HC

Thanks for all the information everyone. I gotta say, this is a pretty cool website with lots of great information.

Getting home every two weeks is certainly possible with some companies. That said, you're not going to make the money doing that. I usually stay out 4 to 6 weeks between home times. Sometimes, I'll even stay out longer if I have a certain date I want to be home for do as to make certain I get there when I need to and have the money banked for it.

When you are headed home, you are being rooted too a specific area and sometimes have to wait a little longer for runs that head you in the right direction. When you are coming back from home time, it takes a bit to get back into the groove, especially if you live in an area where your company has little freight.

As your point about requiring 34 hour resets, no you don't need them if you manage your time in a way that allows you to run on recaps.

What's recaps?

My cousin is home every weekend, (for a reset) pulling in between $700 & $900 new, each week. That is on par with people being out several weeks at a time. The whole "you get more money by being out for months," is innacurate at best. She busts her ass, but she gets her miles.

Have you looked into the Roehl Home Time Plus options? Or are you not in one of those areas?

You will not have to worry about a paycheck with either company, from what I see on here, and talking with other drivers.

You will get made fun of more at Swift, but that is another topic all together.

Who does your cousin work for and how long has she been trucking? I'm just starting out.

ride

" You need to learn now that it's not the company it is the driver. A lot of people are quick to complain about anything. How do you know if they reject a lot of loads, won't run certain areas, want to be home every week.

I am with Swift and people make the same complaints, yet I am doing real well. If you are willing to work you will do good no matter what the company is."

Devan,

I had those thoughts too; that people lie. I've been looking at several companies and trying hard to do the proper research. While a few of them look really good to me, the sliding pay scale they use scares me. I've narrowed my choices down to Roehl and Swift. They have both offered me a solo position. And of course, the cpm matters but my wife suggests a 2 cpm difference should not matter as much as the companies ability to keep me rolling and I agree with her.

My other issue is that the recruiter is telling me I will be out four weeks with a trainer with Swift (initially) but when they sent me the e-mail stated six weeks. Roehl recruiter 11-15 days with a trainer before I get my truck assigned and their e-mail confirmed the same as the recruiter.

Swift said they pay X amount cpm but I read on here they pay sliding scale. Roehl wants a signed contract and if I don't drive 75K miles, I pay thousands back to them. If they don't give me the miles to support my family, I would have to move on. I would not be able to live on $300.00/week with bills at home and food on the road. Know what I mean? And I'm sure that $300.00/week would not be every week but that's just not enough to be away from home 24/7 for that little amount.

At this point, I just have to decide between the two companies and I'm absolutely right down the middle as to which way to go.

H.

With Swift it should only take about 4 weeks to complete the training. I went through the training and it went by quick. Another thing is during training you will barely make anything, average of 350 a week after taxes during this time. Once you go solo you will average around 500 or more a week after taxes. You are in for a rough year, but if your wife is ready for the sacrifice you can make it work. Location is also key. If you live by a terminal you could drive locally for swift and be home every night. It starts off not that good but as you get better the money gets better.

I am in a different boat from you, I am single, 21 years old, no kids, and just responsible for college debt/cellphone so it is not as hard for me to get by. In fact I used to only make 350 every two weeks at my old job. So this money I make now is definitely improving my life. Good luck and be ready to make a lot of sacrifices.

Devan, my wife's a nurse. She makes double what I made at the job I left to go to CDL training. She has been covering all the expenses, birthdays, and extra things we wanted at home while I've been off. When I said I needed to be able to support the family, I meant that we want my income to cover the bills and she was going to bank her income for our future home. It is just me and her and our two babies (Yorkies) at home. We would always have her income to supplement but if I'm going to be on the road 24/7, I want the big wheels rolling on down the highway and not sitting still unless I'm holding her. Know what I mean? It has to be worth being away from my wife to make this job feasible for me. It sounds like it certainly can be, as long as I put in the effort to keep dispatch sending me for loads.

H

"BTW. You aren't going to make much money with home time every two weeks. You also will not score many points with your DM or company expecting that. You had better plan to run hard 3-5 weeks at a stretch, for at LEAST your first year. Good Luck!"

Really? The companies have said home every other week. That's why we thought it was that way. It was my understanding you have to have "34-hr reset time" and we thought that's what the bi-weekly home time was about.

I'm also hoping my wife will come on the road with me after 6 months or so but not sure how the pay with teams go either. We'll look closer at that before it's an option.

H

Tractor Man, Good point about not wanting that truck sitting still. Thanks for the input. I did find some of the things being said, very hard to believe. My wife actually found this site so I came here to see what's what.

H

" You need to learn now that it's not the company it is the driver. A lot of people are quick to complain about anything. How do you know if they reject a lot of loads, won't run certain areas, want to be home every week.

I am with Swift and people make the same complaints, yet I am doing real well. If you are willing to work you will do good no matter what the company is."

Devan,

I had those thoughts too; that people lie. I've been looking at several companies and trying hard to do the proper research. While a few of them look really good to me, the sliding pay scale they use scares me. I've narrowed my choices down to Roehl and Swift. They have both offered me a solo position. And of course, the cpm matters but my wife suggests a 2 cpm difference should not matter as much as the companies ability to keep me rolling and I agree with her.

My other issue is that the recruiter is telling me I will be out four weeks with a trainer with Swift (initially) but when they sent me the e-mail stated six weeks. Roehl recruiter 11-15 days with a trainer before I get my truck assigned and their e-mail confirmed the same as the recruiter.

Swift said they pay X amount cpm but I read on here they pay sliding scale. Roehl wants a signed contract and if I don't drive 75K miles, I pay thousands back to them. If they don't give me the miles to support my family, I would have to move on. I would not be able to live on $300.00/week with bills at home and food on the road. Know what I mean? And I'm sure that $300.00/week would not be every week but that's just not enough to be away from home 24/7 for that little amount.

At this point, I just have to decide between the two companies and I'm absolutely right down the middle as to which way to go.

H.

I've had my CDL for a few months and trying to decide on a company. I decided to go with Roehl but then read from three drivers they were not getting miles and paychecks as low as <$200.00 and as much as five days downtime while waiting on a load (and NOT waiting at home). I don't want to be sitting somewhere away from home for even a day when I have a wife at home I'd want to be with. I'm going into trucking to keep the wheels turning and have home time every other week.

Of course, I'd like the best-paying company available to me as a new driver but I also want one that can keep me rolling. Which company would you guys recommend for staying busy, well-maintained equipment, and just over-all experience?

Hikingcole