Sydney’s Transport LLC

Hi all! Newbie driver here been driving for May Trucking Company for about 8 months now and recently responded to an ad on Craigslist for a OTR job that guarantees $1400 a week. The company is called Sydney’s Transport LLC. I can’t seem to find any forum topics regarding this company online and just wanted to know if anyone out there has heard or worked for this company and what their experience was like?

Why are you leaving May as a new driver after only eight months? We suggest all new drivers remain with their first company for at least a year, especially if paying off their schooling and written contract.

From what I just gleaned in a two minute internet search, Sydney’s Transport LLC has been incorporated less than a year.

I see trailer doors every day with great advertising: Great Miles! Great Pay! Great Hometime! Are these all true? Most likely not.

I would not leave an established company like May, with their valuable resources and established customer base for a newly established company, with a yet unproven advertisement.

^^^^^^ Exactly what HE said, and the devil in the details. With 16 power units, they've had 6 vehicle inspections in a year (which is high, imho..) and 2 of those OOS'd..... AND 9 driver inspections, with one OOS.

May seems to be a fine company in and of itself. The grass is NOT greener, especially in 'tiny' pastures, good sir~!

Wish you well,

Anne :)

Thank you all so much for the replies. My main reason for wanting to leave is because I run 2900 miles a week (due to trucks being governed at 61mph) and I’m only taking home $600-675 net. I feel that running like this I deserve to be payed more. I’m also looking into Melton Truck Lines since with 8 months experience I can be making 48cpm. I wouldn’t mind the flatbed labor if that was the case.

The first couple of years as a new driver is your behind the wheel, establishing yourself and safe miles time. Your first year in trucking is not going to be the year you turn huge income (its certaintly better than alot of other gigs out there though).

This first year is the time that you establish yourself as a driver. Getting to know and run your HOS , safe driving , backing , handling customers etc

I am a new driver myself and have no plans to go hopping anywhere for at least a year. If I were you I would stay with May a while longer. This is especially true this year where it's been really volatile - freight rates, various company closings, to say nothing of all the geo political turmoil going on across the USA.

As a fellow new driver, my .02 cents STAY WITH MAY and establish yourself as a top tier driver, then the world is really your oyster ( at least in trucking).

Not telling you what to do, just giving my .02 cents.

Moe

Thank you all so much for the replies. My main reason for wanting to leave is because I run 2900 miles a week (due to trucks being governed at 61mph) and I’m only taking home $600-675 net. I feel that running like this I deserve to be payed more. I’m also looking into Melton Truck Lines since with 8 months experience I can be making 48cpm. I wouldn’t mind the flatbed labor if that was the case.

My main reason for wanting to leave is because I run 2900 miles a week (due to trucks being governed at 61mph)

Good grief man! Do you have any idea how many rookie drivers would love to be able to say, "I run 2,900 miles a week?" You are doing great!

You also need to realize there is no correlation between your truck's governed speed and the amount of miles you run. That's a total rookie misconception. You can do all the math you want on that, but you'll never convince a seasoned driver that your 61 or 62 mph truck is hindering your productivity. We can have a civil discussion on the subject if you like, but there's way more to being productive than just having a lead foot.

You gave us your net pay numbers. Switching companies doesn't help much with changing your net pay. We have no idea about your tax situation or any other of the many factors that affect your net pay. Higher CPM rates don't necessarily translate to larger paychecks. The best way I've ever come up with to increase my trucking pay is to improve my performance. That's always where you should start.

I see guys quit the special fleet I'm running in almost monthly. They claim they can't make enough money. I stuck with it, figured out how the account works, and applied myself to excelling within the parameters of the job. My truck is governed at 62. I'll make way more money than most of our other drivers.

I've never felt hindered by the speed I'm limited to. I have no problem turning 3,400 mile weeks consistently. If you want to know the truth, most of the time I set my cruise control on 60. Knowing how to move your appointments up, building trust with your support team, and communicating with your dispatcher in a meaningful way will open up all kinds of opportunities for you to begin learning how to be more productive. I have never looked for greener pastures - I've always found that fertilizing the one I'm in yields positive tangible results.

What is your current pay per mile? At 2900 miles a week you should be doing pretty well. What does your gross weekly pay look like and do you have some large deductions that you are not considering. Net pay doesn't really mean much without seeing the rest of the picture.

Before I went out on medical leave I was grossing close to $1500/week but my take home was only around $600 because I put a huge % of my pay into 401k, stock purchase and HSA.

No matter what, try to stick it out until you have your year in and then carefully shop around. The ad you responded to sounds like one of those here today, gone tomorrow companies that setup under a new DOT number whenever their record gets too bad.

Thank you all so much for the replies. My main reason for wanting to leave is because I run 2900 miles a week (due to trucks being governed at 61mph) and I’m only taking home $600-675 net. I feel that running like this I deserve to be payed more. I’m also looking into Melton Truck Lines since with 8 months experience I can be making 48cpm. I wouldn’t mind the flatbed labor if that was the case.