Trucker Rates

Our company has been getting all automatics since around 2015. I had a 2014 Peterbilt with a 10 speed manual and it was one of the last. Honestly, I prefer the new Macks we have now with the 12 speed auto except when doing liquids. I think the manual transmission reference on a CDL is more of a restriction than an endorsement as my CDL doesn't have it. I've been driving 24 years and have to say the pay is better now than ever. We were losing drivers to Wal-Mart so the company I work for bumped up the pay to compete with them. I've been working for them 20+ years. Going to retire at 62 and I only work part-time now.
 
Automatic transmissions have been around for a while, I think since the mid-1990s for trucks. We had some 1990s Eaton Super 10 transmissions that were called "Super 10 Top Two", since 9th to 10th gear was automatic. It would shift at about 45-50 mph and downshift pretty much as soon as you hit the Jake if you were under 60. You could defeat the automatic shift by waiting until it started to shift to 10th, then pop it into neutral and mash the gas to the floor causing it to be confused and go to manual shift mode. Then you could manually shift 9th and 10th until you turned the key off and restarted the truck.
 
Would you recommend truck driving to a younger person still in high school ?

All career fields are difficult and stressful, some more than others.
 
Silverado12 said:
Our company has been getting all automatics since around 2015. I had a 2014 Peterbilt with a 10 speed manual and it was one of the last. Honestly, I prefer the new Macks we have now with the 12 speed auto except when doing liquids. I think the manual transmission reference on a CDL is more of a restriction than an endorsement as my CDL doesn't have it. I've been driving 24 years and have to say the pay is better now than ever. We were losing drivers to Wal-Mart so the company I work for bumped up the pay to compete with them. I've been working for them 20+ years. Going to retire at 62 and I only work part-time now.
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You wouldn’t have to have it anyway since you were already driving when they passed it. It is restriction E on a CDL. My dad doesn’t have any restrictions on his except for corrective lenses.
 
Silverado12 said:
Our company has been getting all automatics since around 2015. I had a 2014 Peterbilt with a 10 speed manual and it was one of the last. Honestly, I prefer the new Macks we have now with the 12 speed auto except when doing liquids. I think the manual transmission reference on a CDL is more of a restriction than an endorsement as my CDL doesn't have it. I've been driving 24 years and have to say the pay is better now than ever. We were losing drivers to Wal-Mart so the company I work for bumped up the pay to compete with them. I've been working for them 20+ years. Going to retire at 62 and I only work part-time now.
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I turned my CDL in at 62 and got a regular license so I can show my a$$ like a lot of the other idiots that don’t have to keep their license spotless. But old habits are hard to break. When you get used to keeping a safe distance and watching farther ahead, and predicting what others are going to do, it gets unnatural to do otherwise. My first driving job was for the least paying co in my area but we went out and came right back. It paid so much more than what I was accustomed to it was crazy. Trucking then was nothing like it is today. Had to be able to use a paper map. That’s all there was.
 
OLEJOE said:
I turned my CDL in at 62 and got a regular license so I can show my a$$ like a lot of the other idiots that don’t have to keep their license spotless. But old habits are hard to break. When you get used to keeping a safe distance and watching farther ahead, and predicting what others are going to do, it gets unnatural to do otherwise. My first driving job was for the least paying co in my area but we went out and came right back. It paid so much more than what I was accustomed to it was crazy. Trucking then was nothing like it is today. Had to be able to use a paper map. That’s all there was.
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I started driving in 1996 as a mid-career change. GPS and cell phones weren't practical and I didn't get a cell phone until 1998. Even then I couldn't use it for calling dispatch as you only got around 30 minutes a month. Road atlas would pretty much get you close to your exit or closest cross road and then I would call for directions if the company didn't already have them. I had a little book filled with different customers directions.
 
Dave Hess said:
Would you recommend truck driving to a younger person still in high school ?

All career fields are difficult and stressful, some more than others.
Click to expand...

Not a driver of anything other than my own cars, I would say it is for some people but not others. It is not the worst career (retail sales is IMO), but not the best (engineering or medical would be the best IMO). With the way technologies are evolving I think the industry would demand fewer drivers but more skills in logistics and computers systems, just like how mechanics have evolved since everything becomes "by wire". They may become drone drivers like they are in military drones and only handle the "take off" and "landing" of trucks of certain stretch of roads and areas.
 
Allison makes a great 6 speed auto..I worked a regional (home nights 4x4) outfit here they averaged 150 drivers +100 of them had less than 1 yr. with the company, what a meat grinder, I lasted 2yrs. camera on me the whole time.
 
If they are working that many hours for that amount of pay, they are with the wrong carrier. I worked 55-60 hours a week and crowded 100K yearly with excellent benefits but I had an excellent safety and attendance record. If a driver is going to succeed in a driving career, a clean driving record is mandatory. Truck drivers of late have gotten a bad rap because of the actions of a few. You just can't stereotype people because of their profession. I'll have been out of it for 2 years first of November and don't miss it at all. If I need to make a trip, I'll hook up to my travel trailer and take off.
 
There are several trucking jobs that pay well, with decent schedules and lets you go home every day. I've been pulling a fuel tanker for almost 5 years now. I drive between 200-400 miles a day. I got lucky and just started with company that only runs M-F and works no holidays. I put in anywhere from 8-13 hours a day and go home.

We only do a handful of gas stations as a majority of our loads are for companies with on-site fuel for their large fleets. I do a lot of county/city public works departments, school bus shops, law enforcement facilities, rock quarries, etc.

My truck is pretty awesome. 2007 Peterbilt 379 with a 550hp Cummins (that's had all restrictions removed) and 18 speed gearbox. This thing pulls like a mule on meth.
 
If I was going to truck drive it would have to be FLAT BED hauling. 90 cents a mile w/ clean record, and even oversize/escorted.

Flat Bed drivers seem to know what the hell they are doing on the roads, rugged and material handling.... I would not haul sawmill logs...I got my limits.

You can drive a cooler looking rig with chrome, not some lame ass Volvo driving dock to dock with no touch on the goods, those are cut throat jobs, and then you might as well be a Wal-Mart driver, they pay good. Trucking is one of those jobs where don't expect to be with the same company in 10 years.

Trucking is just dumbed down too much thanks to GPS. I like the truck industry in the 70's and 80's, and now I'm going to watch "Every which way but loose" lol
 
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I’ve always wondered how long haul truckers made it with no GPS back 30-40 years ago in an unfamiliar city.

Flat bed pays well but they also spend more time tarping their loads.
 
Truck driving on a rock of the middle of the ocean is totally different from what I see on the mainland. I do local freight reefer so I get paid hourly whether I'm stuck in traffic or lumping pallets at a CS warehouse. GPS is great to get you where you at but not so great in routing or avoiding low clearance areas especially if you are not familiar with the area.
 
Zee09 said:
Was in Oxford PA. this morning
UPS had a sign out paying " private drivers" $21 an hour.
Is that using your vehicle hence "private"
Not for me- just throwing it out there.
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That’s not too bad lol. My dad is a over the road driver for a company he gets paid by the mile which he doesn’t like as much as by the hour.
 
OLEJOE said:
If they are working that many hours for that amount of pay, they are with the wrong carrier. I worked 55-60 hours a week and crowded 100K yearly with excellent benefits but I had an excellent safety and attendance record. If a driver is going to succeed in a driving career, a clean driving record is mandatory. Truck drivers of late have gotten a bad rap because of the actions of a few. You just can't stereotype people because of their profession. I'll have been out of it for 2 years first of November and don't miss it at all. If I need to make a trip, I'll hook up to my travel trailer and take off.
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Lucky you. I fell through the cracks. I worked 100+ hrs a week.2+ log books and was lucky to gross $330 a week. We were not paid to wait @ IBP for 3 days,or to wait 5 days in a cornfield. Later I got a different job at a local place. Forced dispatch,same pay etc

A 7hr turn we did paid the driver $56 gross.
 
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