Did you ever wonder whose is the first voice that people hear in the morning. For some, it might be a significant other whispering sweet nothings. Others might hear the wacky FM disc jockey on their clock radio. Maybe some hear their neighbor Stanley yelling at his wife Stella. This morning, the first voice that I heard belonged to a security guard. What a dick. My appointment time was 6am and there was one truck with a 4am appointment ahead of me. When I got up at 5am, the other truck was still in my door so I set my alarm for 5:45am and went back to bed. The security guard called my cell phone at 5:30am and started bitching at me. He said that I needed to get to my door immediately and, if I didn't hurry up, he didn't know what to tell me. Whatever dude. I drove over to the dock area and the damn truck ahead of me was still in the door. Peckerhead.
A short time later, the other truck left and I backed in. In a strange twist, the lumpers were the most polite people at the place. Usually those people are some miserable SOB's too. Not today though. It was fifty bucks to get my trailer unloaded, so we'll have to see if my reimbursement gets processed before my payroll week closes. I was empty around 7am and got on the board at #1.
I drove about ten miles south to the nearest truck stop and, no sooner than I had pulled my sleeping bag over me, got my next assignment. I had to shoot up to Raleigh and make a drop/hook and then head to Knoxville to relay the load. The shipper in Raleigh is one where the loads are always heavy, so that trip across I-40 was pretty brutal. Rain... mountains... blue hairs... oy. That sucked.
I passed off the load at the T/A on the west edge of Knoxville a little while ago and now I think I'll call it a night. I didn't sleep all that well and today was a taxing one, so I'm feeling a little tired. I got a pre-plan while I was on the way to Knoxville, picking up tomorrow morning in Chattanooga and then heading to Midland, Michigan. I have to pick up by 7am, so leaving here bright and early should get me away from Knoxville before the traffic gets bad.
This next run takes care of getting me home for the most part, but it doesn't deliver until Monday morning. I suppose I'll just head up to Taylor and take a couple of days off and then drive up to Midland on Monday morning. That will add a few miles to the trip, but it probably beats idling my truck for two days. I've been stuck in the heat and idling non-stop for the better part of the last couple of weeks. The other option would be to see if the people in Taylor will take the load from me and pass it off to someone else. It would be pretty shitty to stick another driver with that little short drive to Midland though. It won't hurt me to run it up there.
My week will wrap up with something over 2,600 miles, a bunch of northeast pay, and $35 for one extra drop. That's a pretty solid week. As long as all goes well at home, I should be able to snag a decent pay check for next week too. If I do end up with this weekend off, I imagine that I'll only take a day or two of actual home time once I get back to Taylor.
I have been following your blog for a couple of weeks now. Great stuff. Question? What does a greenhorn rookie start out at on the pay scale? How long before you get your first bump? I enjoy my job presently, but might be looking for something new. Keep up the great blogs, and stay safe!
ReplyDeleteJZ
Here's the thumbnail version:
ReplyDeleteOne week orientation (for those who get a CDL on their own dime) - $400
I don't know how that works for the people who use the subsidized schools through ConWay. I didn't go that route.
Then you go out with a trainer for at least 7,500 miles at .26 per mile.
Then you get a truck and start at .30. After that, pay increases kick in at mileage thresholds.
60,000 --> .32
90,000 --> .34
120,000 --> .36
125,000 --> .37
250,000 --> .38
Safety bonus starts at a penny a mile and ticks up slowly from there, as long as you don't have any accidents.
I won't bother with stop, detention, Canada, layover, northeast, and all the rest, since they are pretty sporadic. It's best just to plan for mileage pay.
So, if you use a conservative 2,400 miles per week as an average, you would make around $625 a week as a trainee and then get up to around $875 after a year or so. Most of us average more than 2,400 a week, but for planning purposes it's better to keep expectations modest.
Now I'll add my usual disclaimer whenever someone says that they might want to do this for a living. 99% of people would absolutely hate this job. It's a strange world out on the road. Even for those of us who enjoy doing it, the job sucks at least half the time.
Thanks for the feedback on the blog.