The Daily Vent - Divas, Primadonnas, And Trolls
Topic 20181 | Page 2
The point I was making, it could still be everything Trucking entails, plus being shot at. If you don't mind adding being shot at to the mix, and being away from family for a year at a time, you can make 6 figures driving truck in a war zone as a civilian contractor.
What kind of 6 figures? The problem is, most drivers that are just drivers, can't shoot back. And a lot of this stuff runs without escort (I have friends that have done contract protection work over there).
We risk our lives with the dummys in 4 wheelers here enough - without adding IED's & snipers to the mix.
Rick
I had a buddy that did the truck driving thing. Didn't pay as well as working on aircraft does over there, but if I remember right base pay was around$60k - $70k with another $40k (also tax free) for ummmm let's call it 'Per Diem'. Working on aircraft typically pays a base pay between 80k - 90k (which 80k is tax free). Plus the 'Per Diem' between $40k - $50k.
Per Diem:
Getting paid per diem means getting a portion of your salary paid to you without taxes taken out. It's technically classified as a meal and expense reimbursement.
Truck drivers and others who travel for a living get large tax deductions for meal expenses. The Government set up per diem pay as a way to reimburse some of the taxes you pay with each paycheck instead of making you wait until tax filing season.
Getting per diem pay means a driver will get a larger paycheck each week but a smaller tax return at tax time.
We have a ton of information on our wiki page on per diem pay
Eh.. Trucking is easy for me. The backing was the hard part. I mean come on...Patrick is talking war zones...I worked at the USPS and dealt with gunshots, anthrax and bombs. And I didn't get combat and hazardous duty pay.
Trucking is easy.
Great read in the yards dirty bathroom stall at midnight with a broken truck, 40k lbs of ice cream being repowered, sack full of dirty laundry (turning underware inside out as we speak), 7k miles in 6 days, 2 showers in the 6 days and paycheck from Wednesday sent home and gone....
Tonight is good......time to sleep for a minute!
Things are quiet and peaceful, you're enjoying a little Bob Seger on a sunny day in July, and suddenly there's a huge fireball and several bodies are rolling and bouncing across the highway.
I must have a a little dark humor in me, because the way you put it made me laugh. I know, it's not funny in real life.
Just in the couple of months I have been OTR , I have already seen cars and trucks on fire, tires exploding on heavy hauler flatbeds (2 for 1 special), idiots-galore yammering away on their cellphones without headsets or texting, a truck run off the road into the black night of the desert, a dry van rearend another dryvan out of impatience....I say this for any new people reading. The one thing that I find keeps me out of trouble is that I am one of those people who has always been a defensive driver. I stay vigilant and have a complete understanding and respect for the monstrosity of loads we are hauling. I also think back to my Physics classes, especially the one focused on mechanics and motion. On paper, there is mathematical horror to be had with drivers making mistakes and semi-trucks involved.
Lastly, I am thankful for this website. The test practice area helped me learn a great deal and I owe a bit of acknowledgment to the forums as well. The people who invest the time to make this site have helped me. Thank you
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
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.Dryvan:
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Patrick wrote:
Sorry...I got "it" after the second read. Formidable to say the least.