How Was Your 2023?

The stuff I'm doing this week, is 2 to 5 pick ups n deliveries a day. It's 8 to 10 hours 250 a day. Plus the milage goes to my combined miles total. I'm just doing it because I need to be home to feed the new puppy this week. It would have to pay a lot more for me to entertain doing it permanently. The wife would love it, but I can't stand it. I'm exhausted by the time I get home and it's a two hour commute to the terminal. If I had local in a rural area, I might consider it

The regional local I did for a bout a month was milage pay. It was one 428 mile trip daily, 5 to 6 days a week. We couldn't come to agreement on trailer moving fees and I didn't want to get my terminal manager involved as it would have locked me into the position. I abhor front range traffic and early mornings, I normally drive nights. It took almost 2 months to politely extricate myself from it.

I'm blown away by the figures some of our members posted! Not just pay, but the amount of miles and PTO time.

My year was fairly easy so far as weekly hours and miles are concerned. I probably averaged 8 hour days and 1,500 miles per week. I was being payed a flat rate per shift plus $90 per load. I took about 6 pto days for the year. Which sucks compared to what some of you drivers took (I'm looking at you, 🐢).

All that has changed though. For financial reasons Barr-Nunn no longer offers shift+load driving positions starting with the new year. I'm now getting $.70/mile instead.

Good news: I earned more from milage pay this first week of the year than I averaged per week last year!

Last year:

This comment is aimed mainly at Turtle and Rob T.

Day-um! You guys make a lot of money at your jobs. Quite a big difference between my 80,000 and your 125,000.

What is the current hiring situation at Walmart? Are they still adding drivers? I will have 30 months of driving under the belt at the end of this month. Just curious about the Walmart possibility if I decide to look elsewhere. I’m very happy with my current employer but my earning ability doesn’t have much more upside.

Forgot to mention, I still get 2 days off per week (Sunday afternoon/evening through Wednesday morning)

This comment is aimed mainly at Turtle and Rob T.

I've said before that while hard work is admirable and necessary in order to prove yourself, it shouldn't end there. It doesn't always have to be about working harder, especially once valuable experience is gained. It can also be about recognizing an opportunity and positioning yourself to capitalize on it.

All you drivers should keep rocking it, doing what you do. But keep an eye out for a chance to improve your position, and when it comes ask yourself "Why not me?" I believe I can speak for Rob T. as well when I say we took that chance. We've also been at this game for a little while now. It takes time.

As for Walmart, yes they are still in a nationwide push to increase the private fleet. My DC alone still wants upwards of 50ish additional drivers. But some DC's are at capacity, and are not hiring at this time. It depends on where you're located.

You may be eligible BK, but I don't want to hijack this thread further. Email me if you want more specifics.

I've said before that while hard work is admirable and necessary in order to prove yourself, it shouldn't end there. It doesn't always have to be about working harder, especially once valuable experience is gained. It can also be about recognizing an opportunity and positioning yourself to capitalize on it.

All you drivers should keep rocking it, doing what you do. But keep an eye out for a chance to improve your position, and when it comes ask yourself "Why not me?" I believe I can speak for Rob T. as well when I say we took that chance. We've also been at this game for a little while now. It takes time.

This is spot on. Work hard at being a safe and productive driver and keep your record clean. That will follow you. You never know who you'll cross paths with in the future so its best to always remain professional. You don't want to be sitting across the desk from the hiring manager at a potential new job and realize they were your dispatcher last year and you were a jerk. Often times the companies many people want to work for have an extremely low turn over rate and they don't spend the money on advertising the openings due to referrals. I landed my job with roughly a year and a half experience with a clean record (minus the tow when I got stuck in mud at a customer the day after giving my 2 week notice). During my interview I was asked if I was going to give and work a 2 week notice to current employer (which they called to confirm) and if I didn't give it or work it out by my own doing they'd pull the job offer.

In 2 weeks I'll hit 5 years here. I'm comfortable, happy with pay/benefits, and most importantly the schedule works great for other obligations in my personal life. Where I am it's all based on seniority. As long as I don't miss too much work (point system) and I remain a safe driver I have a job. I got lucky getting hired here and very thankful we were growing rapidly when i got hired. I started around #134 in seniority, I'm now around #120 of about 200 drivers with retirement accounting for atleast 10 of those that left. The downside is most days are so good that sometimes when a small inconvenience happens it bothers me more than it otherwise would. I wouldn't mind retiring from there. BUT I still check out indeed every couple months just to get a feel for what's out there. Hiring most places has slowed due to the economy but often times a clean record with a stable job history will land you whatever job you desire.

There's a job out there for everyone. It's just a matter of keeping your record clean, getting some experience and honestly some luck. I'm not saying to job hop but always take steps to get you to your goal whether it's financially, type of freight or anything else that's important to you.

All you drivers should keep rocking it, doing what you do. But keep an eye out for a chance to improve your position, and when it comes ask yourself "Why not me?"

This is such solid advice! I hope everyone pays close attention to this.

This is something I've done while staying in my same position and company. It doesn't always mean a move, but sometimes it definitely requires one. You have to be able to recognize when, where, and how opportunity is presenting itself.

Having a record that speaks for you in this business is important. Keep yourself at the top of your dispatcher's list. They will only prioritize drivers who deserve it. The competition is stiff once you get to the highest levels of productivity. The rewards are there also. You have to grab them by the horns and make it happen.

Don't ever fool yourself into thinking there's no more opportunity. It's there for those who understand how to both create it and capitalize on it. Sometimes it's right there in the same account you are working. Other times it's somewhere else.

Keep yourself highly productive, safe, and easy to work with. Opportunities present themselves to that group of drivers.

Rob, this has been a great discussion, thanks for posting it. Plus, I was wondering what happened with Real Diehl. Hadn’t heard from him for a while, good to know he’s still alive and kicking.

Today I hit the 300,000 miles mark driven solo. 60,000 with Schneider and 240,000 with Helwig.

...Plus, I was wondering what happened with Real Diehl. Hadn’t heard from him for a while, good to know he’s still alive and kicking

Hello, Bruce! My online activity just goes through phases. Like the seasons. I always check in from time to time. I'm just not as active at all times due to things going on externally. It looks as if my Philadelphia Eagles are trying to throw their season away, so I might be around here more often.

Good to see you RD. That was a nice year you had!