Hourly Pay Vs Mileage Pay

Everyone can't be OTR drivers. Someone has to make the local deliveries. Conditions on the home front may warrant how and what you do for a living. Not everyone wants or can be gone for longer periods of time. I worked for Conway Southern Express [now XPO ] for 14 years and was able to change from local P&D to linehaul each year when the runs were up for bid. It helped with being able to drive for 10 hours a night then home and working 10-12 hours per day delivering freight. The local work was more physically demanding and hectic at times but kept you more mentally alert to your traffic and surroundings whereas the linehaul runs afforded you the longer driving times with just a drop and hook on either end of your run thus satisfying the urge to be on the road. The local work paid hourly and linehaul was by the mile plus hourly for drop and hooks and you made more on linehaul. I think if you ask a driver that is working for OD, SEFL, XPO or most freight companies they would say that they are satisfied and that is why they are working for freight companies. The same would be true for drivers from any of the longhaul companies but for the reasons of "seeing this great country" or the thrill of the open road.

Either way we need both mentalities to make this happen for our country and ourselves. Just like the differences between van, reefer , tanker or doubles we need to drive what we prefer to be sure that this all gets done. I believe too that any driver should experience the different types of operations and equipment available at least once in their lifetime. Just my 2 cents.

Conditions on the home front may warrant how and what you do for a living.

Yeah, I think it mainly comes down to two things in the local vs OTR choice:

1) Some people want to be home with family as much as possible, while others don't

2) Some people prefer a comfortable, predictable routine while others prefer every day to be unique

One thing that always surprises me about hourly vs mileage pay is how many people can't get past the mentality of being paid by the hour and change their focus to getting paid for the amount of work they do. In the end your assessment of the job should be the same; how much work did I do and what did it pay? Was it worth it or not? Simple as that. It shouldn't matter if they pay you by the hour, by the mile, or by any other measure. Is the work you've done worth the pay you were given? That's what matters. But this inability to change the way you approach your job has also driven some people away from regional or OTR work and over to local jobs simply because they preferred to be paid by the hour.

This is one area where people who have owned or managed businesses really shine because they're used to thinking in terms of being productive as opposed to just putting in time. I think athletes understand this a little better also because they're used to being rewarded for their performance, not their time.

Tomorrow will be Poland Springs ME to Buffalo. 700 some miles.

Sorry, the 700 miles included the mileage from the consignee we were at.

This run turned out to be 622 miles, 10 hours, total on duty was 14 for me. My record so far. My hourly would have equalled .45/mile ($280). But, had it taken another 4 hours to be loaded and unloaded, I would have made another $80.

I have also had 13 hour days that I only drove 300 miles or so, but got paid for 13 hours, so I love hourly. :)

Each division is differrnt too. My loads vary too much with weird appointment times to do that.

Some sadistic sales reps give me appointment times like tonight. 0300 70 miles away.. live load. deliver 289 miles away by 0800

on what planet they think that is happening with a live load i dont know. lol

Come on Rainy, by now I thought you would be able to harness your innate trucker ability of time travel, lol

To throw another variable in here I get paid percent doing "local" work. Do 1-2 load/delivery a day and typically drive 400 miles average. The amount you make is very much defendant on your ability/efficiency with unloading and clock management. If you can hustle and get things done those 2 loads can add up pretty nice but it's tough for people to consistantly be at that point. 1 or 2 set backs in a day and your time is shot.

Coming up on my 1 year solo next month and I average around 1200-1300 gross a week and home every night. Start between 3-4 am and get home around 6 PM. Long days but it's not the physical work of unloading cases and I get to have dinner with my family 95% of the time. It all really comes down to what fits your situation just be prepared to work hard no matter what. Also, location plays a huge role.

I'm an old fart....will be 68 in July. I run hard doing 600 - 730 mile days. My Boss let's me run how I want to. He just has me get with the load planner that he leases with. She knows now how I can run and plans accordingly. So a 1500 mile trip, she plans on 2.5 days....or if I pick up at 0900 on Monday, she knows that I can deliver at 1500 on Weds. I run 6 to 10 days (excluding weather delays) and home for 36-48 hrs. If I need extra time on the road so I can stop to see friends and family, I just let her know and she schedules accordingly. I've been with my Boss 6 mths now. He's the same age as my baby daughter (41) so I told him when he hired me that I'm old enough to be his mother and to respect his elders. :-D We get along very well.

Well, it does work for a few. Dave Reed recently says he does it and then takes a mega vacation. I think it appeals more to us old farts than to you young bucks. And yes, I am talking about you Brett, you party animal