TMC CDL (in-house) Training Day 1
Topic 24229 | Page 12
I mispoke. My 6 months is this coming Sunday, but it was nice to wake-up to this weeks check this am:
The contract has lowered from the initial 4k now to 2k, and will decrease to 1k 10/25.
3 drivers from my class have already left due to not making the money they were expecting to make + not liking the OTR lifestyle Sun-Fri. You can make ok money IMHO, but not enough to justify the risk of the job by being home on weekends, but if you want to make good money (but still not worth the risk, again, IMHO), then you have to stay out OTR.
Having no wife/kids/bills really helps though.
Ok, 2 more updates and I'll call this diary a wrap (9-month mark and 12-month mark)
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.
Solo, it's very odd to us that you're making 100,000 dollars your rookie year. You will be the first person I've ever heard make that claim. Then you say this...
I will be moving on once I hit my 1-year mark with TMC. I won't do another summer without an APU or continue OTR (which I don't intend to stop doing) w/o a pupper by my side...neither of which are available via TMC.
If it seems people lost interest in your diary, it could be they doubt your candor. I know I do.
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.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
So you'll see $100K the first year, but won't stay because no APU?
Your posts continue to prove themselves unbelievable.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
I've been in the truck now over 6 months and still out here killing it...but it's tiring. Maintaining 33% and $2k weeks is mentally exhausting if nothing else. It becomes a competitive game and every second wasted from detainment at a shipper or con can cost you 1-2k in truck rev, but I push on.
Solo, you sound like a guy who is propelling himself toward a bad case of "burn-out." Anybody that thinks "every second wasted can cost you 1-2K in truck revenue" is headed for a bad accident or a severe case of "burn-out." Are you always prone to being extreme? Do you tend to over do it in other pursuits?
Look, I'm all for giving it all you've got. I'm that way, but I understand the importance of balance and stability. We flatbedders know how important it is to take the requisite measures of securement for safety purposes. We can't rush it to the point where we aren't running safely/legally. I'm using that strictly as an illustration you might get. By the same token, truckers can't put themselves under undue pressures so that we burn ourselves out. You don't have to be the wealthiest rookie driver on record.
Your new insistence on an APU sounds silly. I've never had an APU, and never felt any need for one. To me it's a symptom showing that you are burning yourself out. You are stressed out man - that's also why you're wanting your dog with you. Pets can be great stress relievers. You have hooked yourself up with a harsh mistress and she's wearing you down. Give yourself a break. If you don't you are going to end your new career prematurely. It will either end in a bad trucking accident, or you will simply become so disillusioned and frustrated that you'll despise trucking bad enough to turn your back on it forever.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Solo, I understand the numbers in trucking very well. I can see how maintaining your level of pay at 33% of the load revenues could net you 100,000 dollars. I'm not doubting that. My issue is that you sound stressed out - that concerns me.
Can you lay out for us the metrics you have to maintain to stay at that level of pay? I'd like to see those requirements.
You made this statement...
3 drivers from my class have already left due to not making the money they were expecting to make + not liking the OTR lifestyle
I'm familiar with TMC's onboarding process and class sizes. I'd be surprised if it's only 3. That's a pretty good record at the six month mark. There's probably some others who've left without your knowledge.
You also stated that what you're doing is not worth the risks.
You can make ok money IMHO, but not enough to justify the risk of the job by being home on weekends, but if you want to make good money (but still not worth the risk, again, IMHO), then you have to stay out OTR.
My question is why are you not one of the ones who have quit? I can't quite figure you out. You seem to like talking about all the money you are making, and then you turn around and claim it's not worth the risk. Anytime I'm involved in something "not worth the risks" I get out.
Is that your plan? It doesn't seem to be, because now you're talking about moving on to a lower paying job that will provide you an APU and a chance to have your dog with you. So do those options make it more acceptable to you with lower pay? If that's the case then you just seem to be pushing yourself unnecessarily hard temporarily for some financial goals. That's okay I guess, but in a safety sensitive job like trucking you need to find some degree of balance, and hopefully that's where you are headed. But for now I'm concerned about you. I've watched guys like you crash and burn really bad. I've seen it both physically and mentally.
I'm hoping you can take all this constructively. I mean it all in that way.
Ultimately trucking breaks down to a lifestyle. It's the lifestyle that should draw you in, not the income. Almost everytime I see people so singly focused on the income there's a bad ending to their experience. I hope you can figure out if trucking is a good career choice for you. Right now you seem to be focused on the income, but you're letting the lifestyle slowly break you. That's not a good approach to this.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.
Money is not everyone's top priority when it comes to choosing a company to have a career. In my research, because I have been approved to TMC and Millis, I believe the numbers that he is showing. How long can he maintain this lifestyle? As I said, there is more to this life than the W-2 amount.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Southern Dad believes...
Money is not everyone's top priority when it comes to choosing a company to have a career. In my research, because I have been approved to TMC and Millis, I believe the numbers that he is showing. How long can he maintain this lifestyle? As I said, there is more to this life than the W-2 amount.
How can you possibly validate Solo's numbers? Not that it really matters, but seriously?
SD, unless you are currently working for TMC, and drove over the same period as Solo, your confirmation is superficial, subjective and anecdotal. As an executive, you of all people should know to provide proof in support of any confirmation of fact, especially in lieu of any relevant, first-hand experience.
"Money" should never be anyone's top priority when choosing a company. Although TMC drivers enjoyed a limited period of time when freight rates were at their peak; that, which was up then, has significantly dropped in the last 6 months. That's a fact that cannot sustain a 6 figure, annual income with TMC.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Oh, I'm burnt out and won't be able to sustain this...but last years top rookie made 80k gross, and I have no quit in me, so I'll knock out this first year and will best that 80k while not breaking a sweat but in full dehydration mode.
My current load of John Deere will gross my truck $3k on Monday and I'll still have the rest of the week to run.
Last week I did $5.4k to the truck off 3 loads.
I can't even BEGIN to express the amount of hate I've received with regards to the amount of money I'm making as a rookie driver, or just a company driver in general, but honestly...it's literally what keeps me going (The hate that is. The money is just cream on the top).
As for risk/reward, I still very much feel strongly about this. I will be moving on at the conclusion of my 1-year contract. Partially due to the former, but also to just how unhealthy of a lifestyle I can see this becoming if I don't stay on top of things. Though I've not run since January, people still ask me (as recently as this morning while watching the marathon in downtown Baltimore) "Do you run? You look like a runner" "Why yes I do" (Thank god I've not put weight on yet)
But burnt-out I am.
side note: We've lost 3 more drivers. 1 to a motorcycle crash they were in and the other 2 due to their GF/wife not being happy about them being gone all the time, so they each found local gigs. So of the 10, we're down to 3 remaining. 1 keeps saying he's quitting every-other-week, but he's making great money (more than TMC's claimed avg, but less than me) and each time he says he's going to this, that, or the other company...he ends up staying at TMC because he knows the money won't improve, if anything, it would decrease. 1 guy who I think stays OTR like me but has his wifes with him, so it seems to be working out for them perfectly, then me of course.
Anyway, my 9-months is coming up next week (contract amount goes down to $1k from the original 4k) and winter is nearly upon us again.
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.
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So I've been in the truck now over 6 months and still out here killing it...but it's tiring. Maintaining 33% and $2k weeks is mentally exhausting if nothing else. It becomes a competitive game and every second wasted from detainment at a shipper or con can cost you 1-2k in truck rev, but I push on.
I hope people who are physically capable of doing flatbed start with TMC or Maverick, because nobody else (company OTR driver) is making this kind of money consistently that I've been able to find from a few forums.
https://imgur.com/a/7LI51D7
https://imgur.com/a/vqv0VTU
That being said, I will be moving on once I hit my 1-year mark with TMC. I won't do another summer without an APU or continue OTR (which I don't intend to stop doing) w/o a pupper by my side...neither of which are available via TMC.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
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.
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit
On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.
Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.