How Good Or Bad Is This Work Offer?

How good or bad is this work offer?

Since I’m 55+, I would like to have one more career before I retire. I would like to be a Truck Driver for about 6 to 7 years and then retire.

Since I enjoy driving and would enjoy seeing some of our country, from what I know, I just want to focus on driving safely and following all of the rules. Yet I have no interest in loading and unloading a truck. I had heard that some trucking companies offer “no -touch freight” options, but be prepared to be paid less for this luxury.

I found one company that is offering the following (after their paid CDL training program):

Solo $0.53 CPM Team $0.54 CPM per team Dry van no-touch freight Weekly home-time Equipment Premium New Model Freightliner Cascadia & Peterbilt 579 APU’s & Inverters on all trucks 24” TV with DirectTV available Refrigerator Hiring area CA, OR, WA

I know that the CPM is low, but was curious to know do you think this opening would equate to earning $40,000 to $50,000 per year as a newly licensed CDL Truck Driver? What is your best guess when they state "weekly home-time", what does that "normally" mean in the trucking world?

Your thoughts?

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Multiple companies listed here on TT with sponsored training. Some others out there not listed here are Hirschbach, Continental Express, Nussbaum, KLLM, also have training. Location requirements may be stricter w a few of these. I have seen "new drivers can make close to 60k first year w Millis"! advertised. W many companies weekly Home time means 34 hr reset. Others will chime in soon.

It may not be the best-paying job out there but, if you want to get home on weekends, and there are no better options available, you can always move on to a more suitable company after you've completed your contract with the first. After 1 year of experience better options should became available to you.

How good or bad is this work offer?

Since I’m 55+, I would like to have one more career before I retire. I would like to be a Truck Driver for about 6 to 7 years and then retire.

Since I enjoy driving and would enjoy seeing some of our country, from what I know, I just want to focus on driving safely and following all of the rules. Yet I have no interest in loading and unloading a truck. I had heard that some trucking companies offer “no -touch freight” options, but be prepared to be paid less for this luxury.

I found one company that is offering the following (after their paid CDL training program):

Solo $0.53 CPM Team $0.54 CPM per team Dry van no-touch freight Weekly home-time Equipment Premium New Model Freightliner Cascadia & Peterbilt 579 APU’s & Inverters on all trucks 24” TV with DirectTV available Refrigerator Hiring area CA, OR, WA

I know that the CPM is low, but was curious to know do you think this opening would equate to earning $40,000 to $50,000 per year as a newly licensed CDL Truck Driver? What is your best guess when they state "weekly home-time", what does that "normally" mean in the trucking world?

Your thoughts?

The CPM is not low for someone starting out. I highly doubt there is a worthwhile company that is currently hiring inexperienced drivers at more than $.53/mile. I will say that the 1 cent differential between team and solo doesn't make much sense to me. Don't get caught up in CPM pay and choosing a company based on this. You don't have the experience yet to truly understand how to judge what a good rate is. So much more goes into pay than the mileage rate. If this company doesn't having a training program to help you get your CDL, then it's not worth consideration. As has already been explained to you many times, you really are best served going to a company that pays for you to get your CDL. You will get your CDL. Yiu will have a job after CDL school. You will be getting good training that is specific to how that company wants its drivers to operate. There is not a substantial difference from one company to another, but there are some nuances that can vary a little bit. It's helpful for terminology and expectations to go through CDL school with the same company that will put you in a truck with a trainer.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I know that the CPM is low, but was curious to know do you think this opening would equate to earning $40,000 to $50,000 per year as a newly licensed CDL Truck Driver?

Here's the math:

.53 × 2,500 = $1,325 $1,325 × 52 = $68,900

If you can average 2,500 miles per week (an average that is quite doable) you will make more than 50,000. Take into consideration the fact that you might not get so many miles to begin with. After a couple months you ought to be able to get enough miles to me your goal by year's end.

How good or bad is this work offer?

Since I’m 55+, I would like to have one more career before I retire. I would like to be a Truck Driver for about 6 to 7 years and then retire.

Since I enjoy driving and would enjoy seeing some of our country, from what I know, I just want to focus on driving safely and following all of the rules. Yet I have no interest in loading and unloading a truck. I had heard that some trucking companies offer “no -touch freight” options, but be prepared to be paid less for this luxury.

I found one company that is offering the following (after their paid CDL training program):

Solo $0.53 CPM Team $0.54 CPM per team Dry van no-touch freight Weekly home-time Equipment Premium New Model Freightliner Cascadia & Peterbilt 579 APU’s & Inverters on all trucks 24” TV with DirectTV available Refrigerator Hiring area CA, OR, WA

I know that the CPM is low, but was curious to know do you think this opening would equate to earning $40,000 to $50,000 per year as a newly licensed CDL Truck Driver? What is your best guess when they state "weekly home-time", what does that "normally" mean in the trucking world?

Your thoughts?

Another thought of mine, that CPM pay could put you over $100k or have you sitting at $30k. The paychecks are determined by the driver and how well the driver handles being a driver. There is still a lot for you to learn, so I will pump the brakes on going into the weeds of breaking down how paychecks can vary so much with the same CPM.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Dry Van:

A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

The solo pay is decent for a brand new driver (not sure why you think it is low for a dry van? Prime starts drivers at 50 to 55cpm for reefer). The team rate is a little low in my opinion.

It comes down to what you can drive. 100,000 miles at 53cpm is $53,000 per year. Many of us drive more miles than that annually. Are there additional bonuses? A 5cpm bonus can be $5-6,000 per year increase.

I think I started out at 47 cpm thereabouts, and I made close to 60k my rookie year.

Although I cannot vouch for local gig pay rates where you reside, in Southern DE they range from $20-$30/hr depending on the job type and obviously experience. 48-50 hour work week is the norm for local work; at $20/hr with OT up to $1100 per week. That equates to roughly 50k per year.

That said; it’s typically not recommended to take a local gig right out of trucking school…for many reasons, the least of which is difficulty factor; close quarter maneuvering, driving on secondaries, multiple stops per day and unstructured/reduced training. Secondarily, many local gigs require experience. We’ve seen it work, but not the norm.

Best path? Sign-on with a company offering Paid CDL Training. The majority of successful drivers on this forum have gone that route.

Good luck.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the following people for taking the time to read my post and provide some good answers and feedback.

Thank You!:

George B.

RealDiehl

Ryan B.

Truckin Along With Kearsey

Turtle

G-Town

I was not expecting so many great and helpful responses. I sincerely and greatly appreciate all that you have shared with me. I will try my best to respond to all of you that replied in this one reply, so that this post does not grow super long, while hopefully being helpful to other potential truck drivers in the same boat as I am.

As far as the CPM , I often come across truck drivers needed ads that state the CPM as being $0.70+, yet that seems to be for licensed CDL truck drivers with 2+ years of driving experience.

The trucking company that I made reference to paying $0.53 CPM, also offers a paid CDL training program. Yet upon completion of the program and getting the CDL, they have available routes in CA, OR, and WA that start out paying $0.53 CPM (solo) with no-touch freight.

Thank you all so very much for taking the time to read my post and for taking the time to share so much useful information with me. Thanks a MILLION all of you. :-)

Kind Regards,

Nick S.