Profile For Big H

The money is there and so are the hours. My CDL school instructor did it. He had one of the physical jobs with 12-14 hour days, 10 days on/3 off. After 11/2 years he was tired of the routine and quit.

Here are some things I heard from some folks from a town near Minot ND.

The money is good. The work can be hard and boring. Even though the money is good, the cost of living is very high. A 2/1 apartment goes for around $1100 or more. There are very few places left to put your RV/5th wheel, etc..... if you find one, the space is going to cost you plenty.

Here is a sad social fact they told me. The oil companies came in and bought hotels, motels, apartment complexes etc.... unfortunately rates that were reasonable for senior citizens were raised to the amounts mentioned above, BY THE OIL COMPANIES, and these folks on fixed income were forced out with no where to go locally because of the OIL BOOM. A real economic boom for some but a social disaster for many.

FINALLY someone who knows what's going on around here haha! I work in Ross it's located west of Minot about 65 miles. cost of living and housing are expensive however most companies PAY for your housing and some pay you up to $30 a day for food! but you are right the social life sucks out here. as I mentioned earlier this is only good for a few years to make some real money and get out.

stay safe

Over-the-Road experience is usually needed to be able to be hired for local positions.

Check out Raider Express: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JMBvw8viQw

Smaller companies are always better to make money than large fleets, however most companies get you by that per diem as soon as I opt out of it my paycheck dropped down! I'm single if I didn't opt out of it I would be owing tax by the end of the year. it's great for those who married and have children to claim.

In my first nine months I've gone from 28 to 40 CPM and my monthly miles have gone from 8500 to 11000 per month. Started in one of the oldest trucks in the fleet and in April, got the keys to a brand new truck.

Prove your worth to the company you are with and they will reward you. If not, get your year experience (which in itself is extremely valuable) and move on.

Who do you work for?

Ok, now I am just getting into trucking. Schneider looks good. Can anyone else comment on the allegation of decreasing miles upon getting raises? What about getting 'stuck' in the NE? This news is making me re-think my career move. Thanks

I feel obligated to answer.

Decreasing miles upon a raise is complete bull. They wouldn't pay you X amount if you weren't a profit. They're a business, and like all businesses, they're there to make money. I assure you this is completely false.

Jeff, some weeks in trucking are great, some weeks are just good enough and some weeks are bad. What sucks about the NE is that the distances from city to city is small so the loads aren't as long. Not going to lie, you will get NE loads here and there, but you'll usually just do a couple and leave. Maximum time you'll be "stuck" is for a week. It's not like you go there and you're there for months.

Jeff, I would strongly suggest you don't read a single sentence written by that knucklehead. His numbers are embarrassingly wrong so that tells me he has no experience and doesn't know what he's talking about. 90% of what he's said is horsecrap, yes I've read all of it.

I've been there and done it all. and I'm currently working here in ND I know what's going on here at the Bakken. if you don't believe it, do some research and ask other people around you little STINKY ****! I don't even ****ing now you so next time you respond to a comment be nice about it you STUPID SOB!

Ok, now I am just getting into trucking. Schneider looks good. Can anyone else comment on the allegation of decreasing miles upon getting raises? What about getting 'stuck' in the NE? This news is making me re-think my career move. Thanks

Schneider is the best of the wors! it's only good for 6 months to year just to get your training. you will be pretty much a local driver up in the crazy traffic in NE! been there done that. if you are looking for something long term I suggests you try a smaller company. I was based out of Indianapolis I spent most of my time in NE. infact I have a friend he was based out of Dallas and he still spent most of his time in NE! they give NE to the rookies because the experienced drivers refuse to go up there. and that's where the lack of miles come!

What kind of trailer do you pull. what endorsements do you have. if a company is looking for driver what kind of experience do the look for and how much.

I pull pneumatic trailers for sand we also have water and oil division as well. most companies out here pay you by the hour and the minimum they pay is $20 an hour. you get over time up to 70 hours a week. they pretty much want you to have all the endorsements especially hazmat and tanker.

Get a couple years experience and you can make 70k driving hazmat tankers OTR which is a hell of a lot more glamorous than man camps and an oilfield.

Why not PA or TX why did you choose ND? Going to be brutal there over the winter

You are right the winter is ugly out here! but more opportunities are out here in ND and wages are higher than in TX or PA although I've been thinking about transferring to our Sand division in PA. they haul sand to the frac sites but I haven't decided yet :)

Dear Old School, I somewhat agree with you and you have much more experience than me for sure, however regardless if I work for an oil company or an OTR company in my opinion if I work 70+ hours a week and live in a truck stop, I deserve a better paycheck than taking home $500 a week! large fleet company trucks are governed at 55 or 60 mph and they're on e-log which means you can only get a maximum of 2800 miles a week at the MOST. it comes up to around $800 to $1000 per week versus up here you can make up to 1800 a week! and not mention you will be at your company paid housing every night rather than living in a truck stop. as a driver I can work up to 70 hours per week so might as well make the most money out of it by working in the oilfield than getting paid 35 or 36 cents a mile, yet getting screwed at the shippers or by dispatchers for hours on daily basis (been there done that). As for those people who waste all their money during their time off, this job wouldn't be a right choice for them. thank God I'm not like that haha! as far as I know this boom in ND will last for at least an other 10 years. so if I work here for 3 years @ 75000+ per year, I better have some real savings by the end of the 3rd year otherwise I'm just a looser...

Thx for the reply and stay safe out there

Hello fellow drivers. A quick poll for ya`all. I'm looking for an inexpensive Bluetooth earpiece or light headset that is: not gaudy with a huge boom covering your face like a football helmet, that's light, loud so you can hear the person on the other end over road/engine noise. And can hear you and not road/engine noise. Under $100 is preferable, but if I have to pay more to get what I need, then so be it. What do you use?

I've been using the Platronics Voyager I've been happy with it. it's pretty light and it has a clear voice. http://www.amazon.com/Plantronics-Voyager-Legend-Bluetooth-Headset/dp/B00DQ5NU76/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408073042&sr=8-1&keywords=plantronics+voyager

To all those OTR drivers out there who work for the big fleets like Schneider, Swift, Warner,C.R England etc... STOP letting them use you and stop fooling by thinking you have a great career! I started my trucking career back in 11-2013 with Schneider national as an OTR driver. I stayed with them for 6 months they were getting me stuck up in northeast for weeks at a time! as soon as I got a 3 cents pay raise they started to lower my miles which I'm pretty sure most of you familiar with that crap. if I stayed for one full year I wouldn't be making more than 35k but then I came to the North Dakota oilfield now I'm making 72k a year! that's right 72k year... and it's all paid HOURLY anything over 40 hours counts as over time! I get up to 60 hours a week, some people gets up to 80 hours a week! not to mention my health insurance is covered by the employer 100% there are no weekly or monthly deductions. most oil companies out here also pays you up to $600 for travel allowance if you live more than 300 miles away. basically you work 6 weeks and get 2 weeks off or 4 weeks and get 1 week off (depending on the company you work for) So... those of you are single (like myself) and want to make some ca$h I encourage you to come up here and make some REAL money! we have oil drivers they make up to $35 an hour and $50 an hour for over time! my advice to you is stop letting those companies use you! don't waste your time, effort and age with them!!!

Feel free to ask any questions my fellow professional drivers :)