Trucker Rates
- Thread starter Zee09
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I said decade or two......check back then.
The already have these. They are called trains. They already limit the total number of trailers in combination units and length. A lot of the larger trucking companies use the piggyback system for non-essential loads that do not require a guaranteed delivery date. They have hubs near the rail yards. It works so good is why there is still a shortage of drivers. Still have to have delivery drivers on both ends to deliver or pickup the freight and shuttle the trailers. Government regulations for driver requirements coupled with increasing regulations on hours of service, insurance, equipment, and emissions all add to the BS for trying to do the job for a living. Not to mention the stress. Loss of family time.
You have to take them over every 5 years anyways.
As far as gov't regulations, IMO the e logs are the best thing that's happened to trucking in recent times. It's forced up driver pay, it's getting drivers paid for sitting at the docks, etc. Basically supply and demand influences wages more than anything, and limiting driver's time per day has definitely done that.
Drivers would call their paper driver's logs "comic books". Everyone cheated on their log books and that's really the only reason some drivers are so against them.
Some drivers would be hopped up on stimulants and drive for days without any sleep.
Don‘t drivers get detention pay for not getting loaded / unloaded past their appointment time in today’s trucking business ?
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As long as I keep a clean driving record I only do haz mat every renewal.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
My dad is a truck driver. He is an owner operator and his rate varies based on the loads he picks. It goes from around 45 cents up to around $10 per mile.
I must say, Sir, that that is one impressive record. I can hardly contain my frustrations on an 8 mile commute to work. To be able to accomplish what you did, all while contributing to keeping this economy moving is nothing short of astounding. Much respect to you, and each and every truck driver that sacrifices to provide a backbone for our country.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
Great my dad has all the same stuff on his as well he has been driving since 1981. Luckily he is grandfathered in on the manual transmission endorsement as I’m sure you were as well.
Shows how much I know about driving a rig. You have to get an endorsement for manual transmissions, now? I just assumed driving a manual was a given! Yes, I realize that there are many new technologies available currently like the automated manuals and such. Still, at least as I understand it, having an automated manual or god forbid a true automatic in an OTR truck is still a rare thing. Funny how times change.
Imagine a new recruit trying to drive this:
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
Yep an endorsement is required after some people who thought they could just get in and go messed it up for everyone else. The young generation of truckers aren’t trained on manuals anymore. There is a driving place about 20 miles from my house and my dad was offered a job there and all the trucks are automatic because nobody wants to learn or will learn to drive one anymore.
Some companies pay. Some don't.
Wow. The one industry I assumed was impervious to the auto-creep. Being in the automotive repair business I've seen the decline in manuals for years, and I'm only 31. I remember when I started, some 15 years ago (yea, I know, I got an early start), I saw manuals all the time.
My buddies and I all knew how to drive manuals, and that was at 16-17 years old. Heck, I knew at least 5 members of the opposite sex at that time that daily drove manuals, no offense meant to any female members of course. On close lady friend of mine drove nothing but BMW stick shifts, and currently drives a 6-speed Mazda 6 that she had to buy from 3 states away just to find one.
Now-a-days, I see 50-75 cars a week come through my shop (express lube not included), and I'm being generous if I say 5% of those are manuals. If I'm honest, it's probably closer to 1%. It's gotten to the point where I actually get excited when I hop in something with a stick shift. Actually, just the other day I had an 08'ish Subaru Outback come in, equipped with the unicorn 2.5 turbo and 6-speed manual. The car itself was a complete slug power wise, but it was still neat to drive.
Oh freaking please. This is what I hear from 14 year olds who fetishize Tesla. I know you know better than this.
Even small fleets are almost all automatics now unfortunately. Many of the "first wave" of automatics are downright terrible. Backing something up that is 70 feet long is bad enough without the transmission fighting you. Sometimes a slight press of the accelerator translates to slow and gentle reversing. Sometimes that exact same application somehow gets translated into "FLOOR IT!" and your truck will lurch backwards. Hitting an uphill dock gently with an automatic truck was the bane of my existence. Great in heavy stoplights though.
They handled mountain grades fairly well, but when I'm coming down a 6% grade with 45,000 lbs behind me I'd rather a computer not have any say in what gear it thinks I need to be in.
Again, I can't imagine what it's like to drive something that massive, but I'm knowledgeable enough to know that you speak facts. I'd never want a computer having say over a load like that, while going through that type of terrain.
Yeah, I remember learning how to type decades ago and was told that soon voice recognition would make that obsolete. Still not here yet. Even when I turn on the voice function, sometimes I spend more time correcting the mistakes it makes than if I had just typed it all to begin with. Like how I'm typing this reply now.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2026
Lol
I have been driving manual since 16 as well. I am a mechanic at Toyota and the only things really left with the manual are the Tacoma and I think that’s it but I’m not sure as I haven’t looked at any of the new ones. And I agree it is sad very sad the only person of the opposite sex I can think of that can drive a manual is the female mechanic that works 2 bays over from me. I read somewhere that the US population that can drive manual in cars or trucks is declining year by year and it’s unfortunate in my opinion.- Status
