An In-depth Look Inside My LW Truck (a Must See!)

Definitely couldn't fit all my clothes in there! That is sooooo a mans truck

Inside that box is all my tea. Yes, I have a lot of tea so I needed a large box.

OK, That explains why all of the "water" - I was wondering . . .

Stephen E. Birch

That's called maximizing your space! My first truck at Central was like yours, didn't have cabinets, didn't have two bunks and was very small in the sleeper area. Mine had a front seat, but I couldn't wait to get rid of that truck. I was so happy when I finally got a truck with an overhead bunk and cabinets! But I'm OCD when I pack, I'll bring a book of cd's to drive to the store a mile away. (now that's been replaced with two ipods) and for a weekend trip, I'll pack three bags. I'm getting better at it, but when I had my stuff in the truck, I had way too much in there, but it worked. Good stuff, I always wondered what those LW trucks looked like inside.

Not only was this a great post to me because I will be going PRIME, but you helped me with learning the inventory of things you keep on your truck. Very good stuff. I can imagine the big change it is to go full size after being in one of these for awhile. Kind of like going from a single wide mobile home to a double wide.

THANKS!

"The engine is smaller and the speed is governed at 57 MPH for additional fuel savings."

That's pretty slow.

Yes Randy, it is a slow speed. But speed doesn't win in trucking, safety does.

Lets do some fun math!

If I drive 1 hour nonstop at 57mph I make 24.51$. And that's just at the starting pay for the LW truck - which is .43cpm.

The average pay for a large carrier is roughly .28cpm give or take. For the sake of being polite lets say you make .31cpm. If I drive 62 mph at the rate of .31cpm I'll make 19.22$ for an hour of nonstop driving.

So even though you're blazing down the interstate at 62mph and pass that LW truck that's only going 57, he still makes a heck of a lot more money than you so.

Let's look at weekly pay.

2500 miles in a week at 62mph at .31cpm = 775$

2000 miles in a week at 57mph at .43cpm = 860$

So even though you're blazing past me, you're still making less. I drove 500 miles LESS than you did and I'm still making almost a hundred bucks more than you.

Get the picture? Speed doesn't win, and certainly doesn't guarantee you making more money. In fact, the slower you go the better your fuel economy. At 62mph you'll be lucky to get any fuel bonuses. However, at 57 mph I always get a fuel bonus. So top that off into my already-high salary.

So just because it's slower doesn't mean anything. You make bank driving a LW truck. It takes getting used to but you get the hang of it quickly.

"The engine is smaller and the speed is governed at 57 MPH for additional fuel savings."

That's pretty slow.

You would not be thinking that if you were paying the fuel bill every month. If you had to pay the bill you would be hollering for the drivers to go even slower.

Yes Randy, it is a slow speed. But speed doesn't win in trucking, safety does.

Lets do some fun math!

If I drive 1 hour nonstop at 57mph I make 24.51$. And that's just at the starting pay for the LW truck - which is .43cpm.

The average pay for a large carrier is roughly .28cpm give or take. For the sake of being polite lets say you make .31cpm. If I drive 62 mph at the rate of .31cpm I'll make 19.22$ for an hour of nonstop driving.

So even though you're blazing down the interstate at 62mph and pass that LW truck that's only going 57, he still makes a heck of a lot more money than you so.

Let's look at weekly pay.

2500 miles in a week at 62mph at .31cpm = 775$

2000 miles in a week at 57mph at .43cpm = 860$

So even though you're blazing past me, you're still making less. I drove 500 miles LESS than you did and I'm still making almost a hundred bucks more than you.

Get the picture? Speed doesn't win, and certainly doesn't guarantee you making more money. In fact, the slower you go the better your fuel economy. At 62mph you'll be lucky to get any fuel bonuses. However, at 57 mph I always get a fuel bonus. So top that off into my already-high salary.

So just because it's slower doesn't mean anything. You make bank driving a LW truck. It takes getting used to but you get the hang of it quickly.

Love the analysis and that all makes perfect sense. I like the double blessing on the fuel savings! And yes, the safety thing is huge. I like what it says about Prime too because it means safety and efficiency come before speed. I lived in more than one world where safety was preached but it was set aside for convenience because it was not truly the #1 priority, and that happened at a sulfuric acid manufacturing plant!!!

I was too simplistic in my statement. I was thinking of it in terms of how it compares to the speed limits and the flow of traffic. I know that Ohio has two speed limits, one for trucks and one for cars....or at least they used to....and it did cause traffic flow problems. So that's what I was thinking of. But it obviously works and works well.

Speaking of miles per week, for someone who is doing it the right way (attitude, go-getter, safe, timely, etc.), what is a realistic number to expect in miles per week?

Thanks!

You would not be thinking that if you were paying the fuel bill every month. If you had to pay the bill you would be hollering for the drivers to go even slower.

See my post above. You're right! I would not want that fuel bill! I don't even like what I have to pay to fill up my pickup truck. LOL

I have often thought about the amount of money that it takes to ship a truckload across the country. Having driven a straight truck, CL B, I have some feel for it and it gave me all respect for what trucking is about. I wish there was some way for every person to have to experience it to get a taste of it. It would shut a lot of mouths up.

It reminds me of people who go into restaurants looking for something to complain about so they can justify a bad or no tip. They have never been a server, guaranteed.

Daniel, I love your analysis. It makes you look at it from outside the box. The analysis here and the one you did for running chains in the snow are eye-opening. It makes you think and maybe even change your values.

Thanks for making us look at things this way!