Starting Mileage Pay

Hey TT,

A brief introduction and a question for the expert community:

I have just finished the 16-day Roadmaster school and I passed my CDL driving test first-time-through this morning. I plan on getting all my endorsements before selecting a company. The open road is calling my name and I get a natural high just being in that truck. I want to go solo OTR and just live out there - I don't really want to be back home very much (if at all). I would also like to see Mexico and Canada. I plan to drive 11 hours/day - maybe more in Mexico LOL. I just want to drive!

Several companies have contacted me but it seems they are all offering about $0.26/mile starting out (after training and orientation). That seems incredibly low to me. I have spoken with people in the past who made more than $1,200/week starting out, and when I calculate the numbers, that seems very difficult at $0.26/mile.

Furthermore, I have been told that a lot of companies have 'sliding pay scales' where you actually get paid less for driving more. That seems psycho.

If I am dedicating my life to a company I want to get decent pay, at least $1,200/week. Does anyone know which companies offer this kind of starting pay to graduates with no experience?

I appreciate any responses, thanks for reading!

-B

Schneider's Tanker division pays $0.38/cpm, then at 6 months it's $0.42/cpm, then $0.44/cpm at 12 months.

Maverick's flatbed and glass division I believe starts in a similar range.

Personally I don't see any reason to go to the companies that start you at $0.26/cpm. Unless they have a pet policy, rider policy, go to areas of the country you want to see, or something like that. Or if they are the only ones that will hire you because of felonies or such.

Also make sure you talk to drivers to see what sort of miles they are getting. Also ask what accessorial pay there is, such as load/unload, detention, and so on.

From my reading ...and there are company drivers here to verify if they log in, Prime pays 39 cpm to new solo drivers , an additional 5 cpm for driving a light weight cascadia .

You can continue up from there by maintaining their MPG requirements for a few cents more and I am almost sure that they pay few cents for dedicated NE . But who wants to drive there all the time .

~S~

Truthfully you can make $1200 a week at alot of companies but that is before taxes. Solo drivers bring home around $700 to $850 a week on average.

Chances are being a new driver you will not even come close to making $1200 a week after taxes. If you do 3000 miles a week,which is average for a solo driver ,at .35 cpm that is $1050 BEFORE TAXES. 3000 miles at .44 cpm is $1350 a week and again that is BEFORE taxes. So no you will not make a boat load of money out here. Now if your really lucky you might could make that after a few years of experience but not as a rookie driver.

Welcome aboard Benjamin!

First of all, so you know, we have an excellent listing of Truck Driving Jobs and you can even Apply For Truck Driving Jobs With One Application. So feel free to rifle off a pile of applications and see who gives you an opportunity. Hopefully you'll get some companies with better starting pay.

But starting out at $1,200/week is not going to happen. Even if you made 40 cpm , which you almost certainly won't in the beginning at most companies, you're certainly not likely to average 3000 miles a week your rookie year. Honestly, after all is said and done you can expect to gross about $32k-$36k your first year. You might find a bit better. The guys had some good ideas for companies to look into. But remember also that jobs like tanker and flatbed tend to pay more because there is more work involved outside of just driving the truck. So you may or may not get quite as many miles running those types of freight but you'll make more per mile and you'll get paid to tarp flatbed loads or unload tanker loads. So the money works out well in the end.

Furthermore, I have been told that a lot of companies have 'sliding pay scales' where you actually get paid less for driving more. That seems psycho.

What companies will do is pay you more money per mile for short runs. Most companies have a percentage of freight that doesn't go very far, maybe 250-400 miles. Well you're not going to make a lot on mileage pay with the shorter runs so they raise the pay so drivers are more willing to do it and get compensated better for their time.

So it's not that they're paying you less the further you drive. They're just giving drivers an incentive when hauling the shorter runs. You'll mostly see this at dry van companies.

I have people I know who work in the oil field who make that kind of money. It's in Texas, don't know where you are, but even those companies require experience.

I have people I know who work in the oil field who make that kind of money. It's in Texas, don't know where you are, but even those companies require experience.

Yes you can make good money in the oil fields but you will spend a lot also. Parking can run $100 a night and up for trucks. Its "Boomtown" pricing.