Driver Pay From My Perspective

I grossed $87,000 for 2021, I could have easily hit $100k if I stayed on the Walmart account the entire year, but I was OTR first part of 2021, went dedicated but then two months ago I switched to a Kelloggs dedicated for more home time, and it pays significantly less then OTR or the Walmart account.

Congratulations Gentlemen. These are really excellent numbers. I remember many of you when you were getting your start... if I had suggested you’d be knocking down this kinda coin, this soon? You’d have told me I was FOS.

Geez so cool! Awesome!

My gross from may 27th to Dec 31. Which was my beginning of solo driving to end of year (6 months and 1 week was 40,162. It doesn't sound like much but for 6 months, with over two weeks of unpaid time off to go on vacations, it's above my expectations. It's tracking for what would be 75 to 80k first year. Granted, it includes bonuses (part of our compensation though) and graduation bonuses. I'm happy with it.

Fantastic!

My gross from may 27th to Dec 31. Which was my beginning of solo driving to end of year (6 months and 1 week was 40,162. It doesn't sound like much but for 6 months, with over two weeks of unpaid time off to go on vacations, it's above my expectations. It's tracking for what would be 75 to 80k first year. Granted, it includes bonuses (part of our compensation though) and graduation bonuses. I'm happy with it.

40k for 6 months is very impressive Davy, I'm proud of you!

Here is my year. It was made of several pay rates and a lot of unpaid time (driving between home and different Roehl locations, then the whole month of July I was looking for a job). So it was three weeks of school at $500/week, then 20 days of OTR training at $90/day, then 2 weeks solo at about $1,200/week. After Roehl terminated me I drove local for three months, and that was $15,800. My current job from August to the end of this year was $38,400, including $100 for inspection and another $100 for holidays. The total is about $60k, which is OK, considering that the better paid job was only five months so far.

I would kill for our trucks to be governed at 70. Sadly they r at 63. 😭

We've hired a lot of people as well I'm currently 22nd out of 65. 4.5 years ago I was 35 out of 38.

Lucky! I think nearly 3 years ago I started somewhere around 138 or so, maybe even 144, now I'm 133 of 180. They're still hiring like 15 more drivers. It's nice having people below me but I'm not really moving up. These guys that got hired at the beginning of this hiring craze got it made. By the end of their first month or 2 they'd have 20 guys or more below them. Regardless, so far it's kept me from the limited crap weather We've had in our area. Got more trucks coming in March or April which should get me an assigned truck. Mixed feelings about it I really like the Volvos and these new ones are internationals. Most guys that slipseat won't take the 2022 internationals we have cuz they have no power. They've got them neutered so badly to save fuel mileage it's ridiculous. Governed at 70 and it's not uncommon to drop 10-15 mph EMPTY on some of the I80 hills. If I take one I always just set cruise to 63 or 65 so I don't look like a dummy passing everyone just to fall flat on my face on any sort of hill regardless of how much weight I have. Some guys that drive them claim they've been passed by raider express

I would kill for our trucks to be governed at 70. Sadly they r at 63. 😭

We've hired a lot of people as well I'm currently 22nd out of 65. 4.5 years ago I was 35 out of 38.

Lucky! I think nearly 3 years ago I started somewhere around 138 or so, maybe even 144, now I'm 133 of 180. They're still hiring like 15 more drivers. It's nice having people below me but I'm not really moving up. These guys that got hired at the beginning of this hiring craze got it made. By the end of their first month or 2 they'd have 20 guys or more below them. Regardless, so far it's kept me from the limited crap weather We've had in our area. Got more trucks coming in March or April which should get me an assigned truck. Mixed feelings about it I really like the Volvos and these new ones are internationals. Most guys that slipseat won't take the 2022 internationals we have cuz they have no power. They've got them neutered so badly to save fuel mileage it's ridiculous. Governed at 70 and it's not uncommon to drop 10-15 mph EMPTY on some of the I80 hills. If I take one I always just set cruise to 63 or 65 so I don't look like a dummy passing everyone just to fall flat on my face on any sort of hill regardless of how much weight I have. Some guys that drive them claim they've been passed by raider express

We're governed at 63 on the pedal, 65 on cruise. I'm pretty sure that effective clock management and efficiency in and out of shippers and receivers, planning ahead to prevent down time and good communication with your DM probably nets more paid miles rather than the difference between 63 and 70.

My truck is set at 68 on cruise, and 75 on pedal. It really helps in the long run.

I think pay is influenced by a combination of factors. Number one is being efficient and good trip planning. Number 2 is governed speed. The math tells us that being able to go 68 rather than 63 will get us there in less time. A 5mph advantage will not make much difference for a 500 mile assignment, but over the course of a year can be very significant. Number 3 is safety. Safety bonus? Gotta get that. Safety violations result in downtime of some sort. Number 4: Luck. Breakdowns, traffic backups, weather are things we can’t control, yet they do influence miles driven and therefore our bottom line.