Advice Please: Salary, Weekly Expenses, Debt, And Savings

Hello Everyone, Pre rookie here with some pre rookie questions. I have been trying My hardest to piece this together on TT and other sites but thought I should just ask explicitly. I am a college grad with an FLoad of student loan debt. I have decided thatbfor me the best thing is to pay off this debt before moving on so I can be free. Aside from finding jobs in my field I have been looking into truck driving as an option. I do live driving and have delivered in agriculture and drove a tractor. Though nothing like otr just a bit of exposure. My questions are what are average typical weekly expenses for food and other (assuming the driver has self control and is doing everything right). Just for estimates: I am single with no kids, and am interested I'm flatbedding, if I were to do everything right with my money how much does everyone think I could legitimately save a year on a truckers salaryFrom your experience and knowledge what are average first second and third year salaries for flatbedders?is it the typical 30-35, 40-50, & 45-55 respectively?. Sorry about my typos I am using a ancient phone. Thank you. Also is per diem pay only earned income that is untaxed or is the driver paid additional 59/day on top of the earned miles and bonuses and all other money from driving?

You are in good company, Justin. Lots of college grads are drowning in student loan debt these days.. and having trouble finding jobs in their career path that will provide them with the necessities and pay off that debt.

I personally think trucking would be a good alternative. Flatbedders make more, even in the very beginning of a driving career. Because it's hard work lol. For instance, right now McElroy trucking offers drivers 46 cpm which is nothing to sneeze at. Also fully paid health insurance, and home EVERY weekend. No tarp pay because most of their stuff is generally pretarped. Flatbedders generally make ~$55k in their 1st year.. $40k for dry van. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Expenses: If you eat truck stop food/fast food every day its expensive and bad for your health. $50-60 a day?

If you have a refrigerator or cooler and can prepare your own healthy meals, by stocking up on supplies at walmart you could probably get by with $100 or so a week. Those little burton lunchbox stoves and crockpots are the bomb for cooking on the go.. Add some deli meats for sandwiches, fresh fruits, and salads, and you're good to go.

Hey Mother Trucker, Thank you for the info! I appreciate it.

Hey Justin, check out Persian Conversion and his post today on his pay for the first 6 months. He's a Flatbedder and doing quite respectable.

Flatbedders generally make ~$55k in their 1st year.. $40k for dry van

I don't think it's quite that much the first year. Probably more like $45,000 the first year, $50,000 the second, and $55,000-$60,000 after that for flatbed. I'm sure it's possible to pull in $55,000 your first year but you'd have to run yourself ragged trying to learn to handle the truck, secure and tarp the cargo, and run nearly the maximum miles you can turn in between.

I actually lived in my truck for most of my career. I didn't have a home or a personal vehicle. I was able to save about $1,200/month after all was said and done, or about $15,000/year.

Were you running flatbed or dry van for that Brett?

I was running dry van.

Thanks Brett,

It seems like you enjoyed your time out of the truck having a great time. Just in your opinion if savings were the goal would it be possible to save twice that?

How many miles would you average your first year? I know it depends on the company your working for, but just looking to get a realistic number. Also, what about vacation time? Is 2-3 weeks reasonable?

P.S. Great website by the way, lots of good info without attitude! :)

if savings were the goal would it be possible to save twice that? ($2,500/month, $30,000/year)

I don't think you could double that even if you really went bananas and scraped and scrounged every penny imaginable. Your first year you're probably only going to make around $40,000 with flatbed so even after paying taxes and minimum living expenses I don't think you'd have quite that much left over.

But I certainly wasn't trying to save every penny I could. My expenses were tiny because I didn't need a vehicle or a home. But I wasn't trying to keep from spending money. There just wasn't very much to spend it on most of the time. I did, however, hit Vegas or New Orleans or an NFL football game and things like that for fun. So I could have saved more if that was my goal. Probably not double, but maybe $20,000/year.

How many miles would you average your first year? I know it depends on the company your working for, but just looking to get a realistic number. Also, what about vacation time? Is 2-3 weeks reasonable?

I would figure on about 110,000 miles your first year. It does indeed depend on the training. Some companies send you out with a trainer for a short time and you run it as a solo truck before they release you as a solo driver. Other companies have you run as a team truck with someone for up to a few months before releasing you solo.

I think most solo drivers average around 110,000-140,000 miles per year. Some of that will depend on your motivation and some will depend on the nature of the job you have.

Vacation time for OTR driving is one day off for every 6 or 7 days you're on the road at most companies. If you're running regional where you're home on weekends you're usually home for around 36-48 hours each weekend. That will also vary from week to week depending on how the freight works out for ya. I don't think you'll normally get much in the way of paid vacation your first year with a company. After that they normally give you a week or two of paid vacation depending on the company's policies.