Profile For Texas Tim

I’m a little late to the thread but here’s my two cents…

I’ve left my 2021 for several days without any issues. I take the key out of the ignition for safety reasons but apparently it keeps the lights from killing the battery too. I haven’t noticed if they are on or not but I’ll look next time I go home.

I have been having an issue with lights coming on when toggle switch is in off position. I am taking a couple days off and cant seem to find a kill switch for batteries. Any ideas?

Well start watching my videos lol

When you say "take home" of W2 vs 1099 you are negating something....

Your 1099 doesn't inlcude taxes and benefits. And everyone has different "take home" based on state/local income tax and benefits. You need to compare W2 gross to 1099 net revenue. Most lease ops at Prime are making exactly what company drivers are making...they just dont believe it until i show them in their settlements.

Would you be willing to send me your settlements? I would love to compare them to company.

Truckingalongfun@gmail.com

Thanks

Prime has tanker, flatbed, reefer and intermodal. Intermodal depends on where you live.

I emailed you the monthly for February (I think) and the last 4 or 5 weekly I got. I didn't include the last two weeks as I took off for a week to move.

Welcome to Pima County! I do miss it.

One of the tragedies of truck driving is there's a lot of jobs that fall under the heading of, "truck driver" but it's up to the individual driver to find them and figure what they're worth. Here's what I figured out after coming off OTR:

While it's possible to make money going OTR for a common carrier, it's harder. There's a lot of unpaid work and most of the work goes to the lowest bidder. There's no thought to, "Is this rate enough to fairly compensate the carrier and make sure it's worth the driver's while to stick around?", just lowest bid. That's why the rate for company drivers is so low and that's one of the reasons why many OTR carriers have driver turnover over 100%.

The three best gigs I've found are:

Dedicated

Imagine driving to your yard every Monday at 1 pm. A loaded trailer is waiting for you. After picking up the paperwork and performing your pre-trip inspections you head out for a ~3,000 mile trip. What's the rate? $30/hr. You head to the receiver, but it's the same company all your loads are for and the you keep making the same trip week after week. If there are delays at the warehouse, you get paid the hourly rate. Not after 2 or 3 hours, you get the hourly rate for every hour you are delayed. You usually return home sometime Saturday and prepare for your next load out next Monday at 1.

Dedicated gigs have low turnover and rarely advertise because you have to wait for someone to retire or die for there to be a vacancy. Google, "drive dedicated for" and Ruan, Cardinal, Shaffer to see openings in your area on the company websites.

Linehaul

You show up at night, hitch your set and either head out to the next terminal 2-3 hours down the road or meet another truck for a drop and swap. Your drive time increases as you gain seniority. You get annual raises and make more money every year. Generally sleep in your own bed every day and get weekends off.

Opportunities vary by location. When I applied at Old Dominion in Seattle after 2 years of OTR experience I was told I didn't have enough experience. In other parts of the country OD is hiring drivers straight out of school. They want tanker, hazmat and doubles/triples.

Hazmat Tanker

Harder to get into but once you have some experience it's an all-weather job that pays well. People will cut back on Amazon knick-knacks when times get tough but they still need fuel to get to work.

Pick up you truck at the yard and take it to, "the rack" a fuel distribution point in your area. You load your truck and pick up your BOL's then head out to whoever needs fuel. It can be gas stations, truck stops, airports, marinas or parked trucks - whatever niche your company serves. Pump fuel from the truck until the truck is empty and then head back to the rack for more!

Safety is very important and there are more ways things can go sideways in an accident but it pays well and there's the home daily, weekends off perk.

Good luck!

These are great points! Thank you! I'll definitely refer back to this thread as I do my research.

My suggestion is to ask actual company drivers at Wilson for pay stubs. Not just going by what lease ops tell you. Just because starting oay is 48cpm, doesnt mean there arent bonuses. Here at Prime we start at 50cpm, but with bonuses, you may be at 58+cpm. And the lightweight starts at 55cpm but with bonuses you could be as high as 65cpm. Ask actual company drivers because lease ops have no clue what we make.

My own students send me their pays and are making $1700+ per week in lightweight trucks at Prime. If you are willing to train, you could be at $3000 per week as a company driver getting home every month. Thats reefer. Plus benefits.

Chief Brody was in full size trucks and did close to that as both flatbed and tanker here at Prime.

Dont just take rumors. Ask for proof. I am maling a video shortly with pay stubs comparing lease vs company. My guess is that you werent making much more than company and dont realize it

Hey Kearsey! I'm glad you commented because I knew you are a Prime driver and I wanted to ask you about it. I can switch if I give Wilson notice of like 30 days or something. I am curious about getting into either flatbed or tanker or whatever options Prime has that we don't have.

I only know one company driver at Wilson. Everyone I know is lease... I asked him about his miles and pay and he said he brings home only $1200 after 2000-3000 miles a week. That wouldn't work for me and what my family's budget is.

I've heard that Prime only sends Wilson the junk loads you guys don't want so we're scraping the barrel if that's true. Another reason to move over as well as the option to learn something new. I would love your input.

Oh and what do you haul? Reefer? I haven't watched many of your videos so if you've covered that already I apologize.

Hey guys. Haven't been on TT for a while as I've been so busy. I know it's frowned upon here but for the last year or so I've been a lease driver for Wilson/Prime. Wilson training was great but the pay for company drivers wasn't great so I followed in my trainer's footsteps and signed a lease. The pay has been great mostly because of my work ethic. I never take resets, only running recap hours, and seldom go home (only every 2-3 months). I'm averaging $1800-$2000 a week take home.

The lease life is tiring though and stressful. In order to make what I make I have to work hard and as efficiently as I can. I know other Wilson lease drivers that sabotage themselves by taking resets every week and never make a check. I don't understand why they continue to lease if they're not making any money... I miss my family and have a new grandbaby and would love to be home every week or 2 if I can.

I agree with the general sentiment here at TT and want to get out of leasing but I have some questions. Unfortunately it doesn't look like I will be able to stay with my company as a company drivers dont make much here. They only pay 0.46cpm with a $900 weekly guarantee. I'm doing research to see what kinds of jobs I should be looking for.

As of yet I don't have any endorsements but I'm studying for tanker and doubles/triples. I've ran reefer for these past 18 months. I've never ran flatbed but not opposed to it.

We've recently moved to the Phoenix/Mesa/Tucson area as well. What companies, specialties, etc are available or advised for someone like myself that has a little experience and not a total rookie? I haven't had any accidents though I did get a citation for a tire that had picked up some nails and went slowly flat all while I was rolling. (The scale house picked up the low pressure on their sensors)

Thanks everyone.

I had a NET income from driving of more than $75,000 in 2021 just as a company driver. I also netted an income in excess of $250,000 through real estate, military retirement, and two other businesses I have interests in, stocks, and gambling. My trucking expenses were food, clothing, and entertainment. Nothing extra that I wouldn't have already needed or wanted to consume, partake of, or utilize on the road or not driving.

People who argue that lease is the way to make more money make me laugh uncontrollably.

Please factually post ALL your numbers on here and show all us dummies how you're killing it, okay? I want to see everything that came in and everything that went out or is pending. Maintenance, fuel, settlements, taxes, insurance, workers compensation, accounting, down time, salary, equipment rentals, etc.....ALL OF IT. Prove to us how much we don't get it. Sell me on leasing as opposed to being a company driver. You can't.

You guys always do one of three things:

1. Post incomplete or inaccurate numbers.

2. Make ignorant arguments with nothing factual to prove the rants.

3. Go silent and disappear.

*HINT* Nobody has come on here yet in 15 years to prove our theory wrong, so be the first. Show me how it is worthwhile to struggle to make maybe 10 cents more per mile. Prove Me Wrong! Until you do, I'm done wasting my time typing.

Look at the statement. I’ve netted $67000 already this year in 8 months. That’s a projected $101,000 for the year. How is that not better than $72,000? That’s $30,000 better. That’s almost a dollar more per mile than a Wilson company driver. Is there a company that can guarantee $1.40 a mile to a driver with less than a years experience? I’ll turn my two weeks and go there if there is.

Texas Tim,

You shouldn't be so thinned skin. Pack Rat is full of knowledge and very helpful in all his replies. You have taken it all wrong so if you have to go just go and don't be so bad mouthed.

Really?? Because I’ve asked for advice on another forum and a couple drivers, PackRat included pretty much called me a failure for even considering lease and he continued that criticism here. In order for me to get a CDL my best recourse was to sign on with a company that trains and commit to them for a year. Wilson is one of the best ones. The only two options now that I’m in a truck are company and lease and at 46 cents a mile, company is way less than I can make and be able to provide for my family. I know lease isn’t an ideal situation and I know why but it is the best option I have right now.I came back to TT for advice on how to make the best out of a less than ideal situation and was basically called an idiot. I know you are only seeing part of what bothered me about PackRats comments since they were not in this thread but I am not going to let him continue to trash talk my decision. TT was a big help in helping me get my CDL but now that I am on my own it has been the opposite. I’m sure PackRat has a ton of knowledge but he like a lot of experienced drivers he seems jaded and bitter for some reason. To take that out on me don’t fly with me. I ain’t some punk kid.

As I bring this to a close in order to save time and my brain cells, we teach Best Practices here on Trucking Truth. Leasing ain't one. We're ecstatic you're happy.

The reason you never get responses from lease ops is because people like you give toxic criticism instead of advice. I'm done with this site. S rew TT and screw you.

I'm upset? Yawns.

That's all you have to say?? Pretty arrogant to criticize how I run my business, get the numbers laid out in front of you that you said I wouldn't provide and all you have to say is some snarky comment?? Why would I listen to any ****ty advice you have to give??

See reason #2 above.

That's you.

2. Make ignorant arguments with nothing factual to prove the rants.

Scroll up. I gave you a monthly statement

I'm upset? Yawns.

That's all you have to say?? Pretty arrogant to criticize how I run my business, get the numbers laid out in front of you that you said I wouldn't provide and all you have to say is some snarky comment?? Why would I listen to any ****ty advice you have to give??