Trying To Understand Terminology

Ok, my husband will be going for CDL training soon and we have been doing a lot of research in order to make the best possible choices a long the way. (he has absolutely zero experience but has always wanted to be a truck driver). But there are some things I can't seem to google and find the answer to so I'm hoping someone here might be able to help me.

I know what solo vs team is, but what is relay solo? and how does that differ?

One company says they offer daily deposit and daily settlement. What does that mean?

"Mileage paid from PC Miler Practical Miles" does this mean that it is in fact practical miles, or the lesser desired mixed wordage I keep reading about?

and lastly, under compensation this company says one of the options is "Relay Solo West—Average $1,200 per week on 6-day run" is that really a possible income per week (even with experience)?

any information is greatly appreciated, as I said before, this is all completely new to us. My grandfather was a truck driver but beyond some fun lingo I'm completely uninformed on the subject. lol Thanks!

-Viola

Hello Viola, and welcome to the forum!

I find it intriguing how often we get wives in here doing research for their man - your husband is very fortunate to have his wife being supportive from the get go. It is of utmost importance in this career that the folks who are keeping the home fires burning understand and bear with their spouses in the challenges that this career brings to bear on a household. I commend you!

Okay, I'm going to try and answer some of your questions, but first let me encourage you to take a good thorough look at our Truck Driver's Career Guide, it is a very helpful section for anyone trying to look into this as a new career. Also the two of you may enjoy reading the free on line version of Brett's Book.

what is relay solo?

A relay driver usually is taking a loaded trailer to another driver at a given location and swapping out trailers with that other driver. Then he brings the loaded trailer that he swaps for back to, or to a location close to, where he started at. There are jobs like this that are called line-haul, and in some cases they are referred to as a relay driver. There may be some variation to this, but I think that is probably is what is being referred to in that job description.

One company says they offer daily deposit and daily settlement. What does that mean?

Daily deposit is where you get paid everyday - the money is direct deposited into your bank account. Very few truck drivers actually receive a printed check anymore, direct deposit is the main way to get paid, and some companies offer daily pay as opposed to getting paid once a week.

A "daily settlement" is a term that is used for owner operators or lease drivers. That is basically a settlement of their net pay - meaning the company has calculated and subtracted any maintenance escrow payments, fuel charges, tire purchases (this list could go on and on depending on how the contract is set up) from the gross pay on a completed trip. This is done on a daily basis so that the driver receives his net (settlement) pay each day.

"Mileage paid from PC Miler Practical Miles" does this mean that it is in fact practical miles, or the lesser desired mixed wordage I keep reading about?

PC Miler Practical Miles is a method of calculating the miles it takes to drive from point A to point B. Some people think this is a better method than the more common HHG (Household Goods) miles. Personally I think it is all a wash, and I always encourage drivers to not get hung up on these mileage calculations. After a years worth of driving across the country you are only going to be splitting hairs if you try to differentiate between the two to see if one came out better than the other. I can almost guarantee you that someone will jump in here and disagree with me on this point because some folks get all hung up on this and think they are getting cheated with HHG miles, but I am just telling you how I see it. I would encourage you to concentrate your concerns on how well you do your job, and not be so concerned with whether you are getting cheated by the method that the miles are calculated by. The performers in this business come out on top, and the folks who waste all their time trying to figure out if they are getting cheated by the company usually don't have the energy or the time to be a top performer at this stuff.

and lastly, under compensation this company says one of the options is "Relay Solo West—Average $1,200 per week on 6-day run" is that really a possible income per week (even with experience)?

This would be top pay for an experienced driver who is a top performer - it is possible, but your husband will not make that much during his first year. I would say maybe around the third year of being a top performer you might could be in that range if you were at the right place.

Viola, remember this career is performance based pay. It takes a lot to stay at the top of the food chain. The top performers are gone from their families quite a bit. When you see that part that says "six day run" - that means that driver is gone for six days, then he probably gets home about ten o'clock at night on that sixth day and is expected to be back at it hard by six or seven o'clock the next morning and be gone again for the next six days. It's a rewarding career for the right kind of folks, but it has it's drawbacks on family life. You can earn a very good wage doing this, but it costs you in other ways that you need to be prepared for.

I hope I helped a little. If I just caused more confusion then jump right back in here with your questions and we will see what we can do to help.

Thank you so much for all that information. I greatly appreciate it. My husband and I have spent a lot of time apart during our 8 years together (he was recently gone for 4 months on a job). so we're no strangers to separation. lol Although I do expect this to have it's own, different, challenges. I've already shown my husband this website and he was up pretty late last night reading many of the blogs but I'll make sure to show him that guide you suggested. He'll be very interested to read it. Again, thank you so much. :)

-Viola

Hey Viola, we also have a free training course here, the High Road Training Program. It is invaluable in helping to learn the materials needed to pass the written state exams for the permit and for the endorsements. It is never too early to start working his way through that section of the web site. Trust me he will be able to learn and retain the information so much easier with that program than he could ever do by reading and studying the state manual. The course asks you the questions and then shows you where to find the answer. If you always look up the answer and get it right it will begin to to become retained material in your mind so that you can recall it when you are actually taking the real test. It is a great program which has helped countless folks trying to get started in this career. Good luck!

Thank you! Just texted him about it and he said he'll start on it tonight! Can't thank you enough for all the info!