Profile For Solo

So I accepted a severance package at the end of 2018 after 11+ years of Ops Mgmt work for VZW/VZ. Jan of '19 I started driving for TMC. Completed my contract and went local hauling milk for the past 2 years+. XPO reached out to me via LinkedIn about hauling doubles to Minneapolis each night (Linehaul) back in March of this year ($31.44/hr for all non-driving related work and .741cpm for all driving related...insane money, but long hours). The FoS at my XPO barn was promoted to manager after the manager that hired me at XPO accepted a promotion and had to move. My then Supervisor, now new Mgr offered me his old supervisor position...HR at XPO said I had to be there a year before I could leave the position and look for other opportunities. Well, enter a company out of MN, and they to reached out to me via Linkedin...and effective this coming Monday, I'll be an Ops Mgr for them managing about 30 drivers for one of their dedicated accounts. A fantastic piece to this is, my office will be roughly 1/2 mi from my home.

I'll continue to maintain my CDL and med card, but looking forward to a bit of the office life again w/ the option to work remotely if I want to.

So if you are looking at driving to help you bridge a gap and even open up other opportunities, then I'm here to tell you it's very possible.

It's been a wild ride!

Hey Solo,

Besides these different ways you listed to increase snapshot points: Revenue to Truck, MPG, out of route%, park up, and TWIC passport hazmat are there any other ways to increase percentage pay?

Thanks

Drew

So my official hire date is 1/25, so I'm already a couple of months into my 12-month contractual agreement with TMC. That being said, this time next month it goes from a 4k balances to a 3k balance, and then another 3 months down to 2k, then 1k at 9 months of service.

That being said, I just wrapped up my first-month solo driving and wanted to share some numbers. If there are any others you'd be interested to know, let me know, and I'll try to get them.

Gross Pay: $5666.85 (this does not include any bounce/DH miles or Tarp pay) (If I were to have selected to be paid by CPM instead of %: $4446.80) (My current trend is that I'll will go from 26% of Rev To the Truck to 33% by my first snapshot if that were the case, that would increase my gross too: $7193 for the same month)

So the incentive is strong here to keep doing what I'm doing for that extra ~$1500/month for the same effort

Miles: 11,048

Avg Pay Per Load: $354.18 (@26% pay)

Weekly Truck Revenue Avg: $5082 (this gives me max points towards my snapshot

Current mpgs: 7.07 (this gives me max points towards my snapshot

Current Out of Route: %4.4 (this gives me max points towards my % snapshot)

Having Passport, TWIC, and HM endorsements gives me max endorsement points towards my snapshot

Getting parked at my consignee each Sunday evening by 9pm local has also given me max points towards my snapshot

That is all, for now, I'll be back with another update in a few more months, or as anything helpful to new CDL students arises.

A lot could have changed since I left TMC, but if nothing has changed...then no, there wouldn't be anyway to increase your % until you hit year 5 where you were able to go from 34% to 35% (which again, at the time I was w/ TMC....34% was the highest you could attain until you had been with them for 5 years, then you could get a bump to 35% if everything was maxed).

The only benefit is the money. This is the most money I've ever made, but I'm starting to think it isn't worth it.

What I've quickly learned in my VERY 2 short months of doing LTL Linehaul is that not all money is good money. I'm making between $2500-$2800 gross weekly and have 0 time off for anything else. So I won't starve, but I won't have time off to eat either.

I just started doing Linehaul w/ XPO and while they started me out at top pay (100k+), the new drivers they are putting through school will still come very close to and even exceed 90k gross in their first year...should they make it.

Linehaul (IMHO) = great work

Linehaul + dockwork (open dock) = tough night

But if you're young and/or money is your motivator, then LTL is hiring and putting new drivers through CDL school.

I have an LTL question guys. Do pretty much all the companies make you start driving on nites and extra board till you get senority? I assume that is how it works? I am a morning person so I dont think I would fare well driving at nite but I think I would like the work

Rick

I start with XPO doing overnight linehaul to Minneapolis in 3 weeks, and the only driver there that actually wants to work/bid nights is the most senior driver there (25 years). I was, for all intents and purposes, hired on the spot when I told them I had doubles/triples, xmat and wanted nothing to do with daytime P&D. I would be bottom of the bid list, but only 1 person wants nights presently with me being the 2nd and there are 2 drivers presently being made to drive nights because they don't have the seniority to bid straight days.

As for your question about nights...what I found when I first started driving with TMC back in '19 is how much I preferred night driving. Then after 1-year w/ TMC I went local and started on nights...then learned how different driving local nights and driving local days was. So after 1 year of local nights, I moved to a daytime position and that's when I learned that I am definitely a nighttime guy. It doesn't matter how much sleep I get the night before...I would ALWAYS be tired when I woke up at 330am and would never wake up throughout the day. I went back to nights about 3 months ago and it's SO much easier for me. I get off at 5 am. Usually asleep by 7 am and back up at 12 noon, then head back in at 5 pm. I could never function as a driver during the day with just 5 hours of sleep, but never even yawn overnight after just 5 hours of sleep during the day.

I don't know if you know my history, but twice I got sent home from TMC.

The entire year I was w/ TMC and updating my diary, I don't recall you ever mentioning you tried out for TMC.

You do learn something new every day.

As somebody who currently runs 4+ miles every morning and goes to the gym every day, Flatbed was my only option/hope to be able to maintain any type of activity level.

Have you been able to keep up a fitness routine while OTR?

Not even once.

I ran all through orientation, but the moment I was issued my truck, that was the last time.

Put on 25lbs this year in the truck, and I can count on one hand how many times I ate at a truck stop.

That changes ~Feb 6th once I start my new local milk hauling gig. Can't wait.

Well, you didn't get the exercise in but you sure pulled the cash in....congrats on that! Hopefully you will be able to change things up a bit with the new gig.

It did change thankfully once I went local. I have a local gym membership via my employer which is pretty awesome + I built a home gym via the bonus room in the house I purchased, so back in pre-OTR shape luckily.

Thanks gang. Hopefully, this thread will serve as some value to prospective new drivers.

Still hauling, Solo?

Just going through old(er) threads, and wondering what becometh~!!

Stay & be safe; update would be awesome, if you have the time!!

Hey there! Yes, I've been hauling milk locally for ~1.5 years since leaving TMC. While I do not make TMC money, there's no way I'd go back to OTR driving unless I literally had no other choice. I'm spoiled and lazy now, haha. Being paid hourly is where it's at for me, even if it means making less.

Thanks gang. Hopefully, this thread will serve as some value to prospective new drivers.

Great job. What type of milk hauling? Tankers from the farm? Delivering to stores? Where are you settling down if you dont mind me asking?

Farm to plant, and to prevent doxing, I'll say North of 40, east of 29, and west of 65, and south of the border.