can anyone answer this please?

gasunshine

Seasoned Expediter
My husband and I are class A CDL company team drivers in an 18 wheeler otr, have over 20 years experiance between us and perfect driving records. I have always wanted to run expedited and have found a couple opportunities the last few days to do so. Now the question, can you earn at least as much driving someone elses truck expedited as you can driving an 18 wheeler company truck? We average .42 cpm plus bonus (usually) and bring home between 800 and 1000 wkly each after taxes. I really need someone to advise me as we are running our very last trip in right now and are about to make a commitment to whichever company we choose. HELP
 

purgoose10

Veteran Expediter
Probably the best two to ask is Bob & Linda Caffee from Fed ex.

[email protected]

They will also be at the Expediters workshop Feb 17 in Knoxville Ky. It's free and probably a good thing for you and your husband to attend.

By the way they are a husband and wife team.
 

JohnMueller

Moderator
Staff member
Motor Carrier Executive
Safety & Compliance
Carrier Management
Purgoose - Excellent response. Bob and Linda are the best and will offer honest opinions and some suggestions.

Gasunshine - please be sure to consider all of your current (company tractor) compensation program. You may currently have medical insurance, life insurance, 401k or a pension program in addition to a few other perks as a company driver. Depending on the truck owner you drive for, these items may or may not be part of your compensation package or subcontractor agreement. In most "fleet owner" situations I've seen, they are not typical within the Trucking Industry.

Good luck with your decision.
 

gasunshine

Seasoned Expediter
I appreciate the quick replies....just dont wanna make a wrong move here although I am inclined to just jump in the deep in and sink or swim.....probley not the best idea.
I can tell anyone anything they need to know about big rig trucking and the various companies pros and cons...but expedited is a whole new ballgame and I really dont have a clue other than I really want to try it.
Thanks
 

moose

Veteran Expediter
Welcome to our Li'l online community ,i hope you find it to be your next home.

with your level of experience ,it is obviously that you are currently 'under paid' . so change will be good .

believe it or not ,there is an ad right here ,right now ,for a company trucks position claiming their teams trucks 'average' over way more then whet you make now ,look them up.and again believe it or no...

you probably won't get a straight answer here in the open forum ,but it's never hurt to ask . specially since it looks like you already made up your mind ,and certainly already slammed the door tight behind.
the rezone is ,that YOUR level of income ,what we call here 'take home', is SO mach depends on you ,your choices ,and yes luck.

unfortunately ,we see it all the time.
experienced truckers comes into expedite ,for one rezone or another, only to loose all they ever worked for.
at the same time, other experienced truckers gets here and do better then the rest of us ,we see those also all the time.
there are 2 main rezones for it to happened .
one is the long wait between loads ,some truckers simply freaked out .
the second is that ,regardless if you own the truck, or driving an owner truck ,expedite is business first ,and many 'company drivers' simply are not prepared well enough to run their own business ,so the truck cost too mach ,and hardly making enough.

* we normally recommend reading the archives back, looking for words of interest ,and reading it carefully.
* the good news ,is that you are prepared to follow our 2 all time advice ,which is 'drive for an owner 1st'.
* we also always recommended having enough cash reserve ,or start up money ,so you can support your bills ,throughout the learning curve .
* make sure you have a sign contract ,and take it to a professional for review .get all of YOUR interests protected.
again ,please read back.

the more you tell about yourself,your goals and the options you are considering ,the better we can help. we won't bite .
Good luck !
 

gasunshine

Seasoned Expediter
Thanks Moose for all the info. I have spoken to two different places that have expressed interest in hiring us. One is an owner who is leased to one of the bigger companies and pays 60/40 split. The other one pays by the mile and you buy the fuel. The first ones equiptment is awesome and would be a pleasure to drive....but would it be financially rewarding is the question? I was quoted as driving 2,000 miles weekly to 5,000 which is a very BIG gap (at least in my world). And 60% of what exactly? Oh my, too many questions?? ha ha I just need REAL answers....
Thanks everyone, sorry for my lack of knowledge.
 

JOHNCLARK

Expert Expediter
Thanks Moose for all the info. I have spoken to two different places that have expressed interest in hiring us. One is an owner who is leased to one of the bigger companies and pays 60/40 split. The other one pays by the mile and you buy the fuel. The first ones equiptment is awesome and would be a pleasure to drive....but would it be financially rewarding is the question? I was quoted as driving 2,000 miles weekly to 5,000 which is a very BIG gap (at least in my world). And 60% of what exactly? Oh my, too many questions?? ha ha I just need REAL answers....
Thanks everyone, sorry for my lack of knowledge.

Please take more time to consider your options when making a career decision especially when it comes based on decisions that will effect your family long term. Please consider and ask:

+Years in business (verifiable) Type of freight? automotive,etc. I suggest staying in the automotive parts sector and or a goverment carrier. Any particular dedicated lanes, and PLEASE becareful, dedicated means less $. Run a "open board" and stay with a company around 50 trucks. This insures you still have a "name" and not a "number". You should also ask the questions of medical,401k, etc that was mentioned early on in a different thread. Get hard numbers, like for example we run $2.35 a mile baseline then the FSC. Also, do they pay deadhead and how much? $.50 a mile? NO WAY. Your tractor runs the same empty as it does d/h the only factor is the weight. What are your cost? Be firm, don't pay for satellites units, admin charges, etc.

Your incharge here. You make the demands. If it's a percentage make sure that you get a percentage that works best. And fsc should always be seperate if your responsible for fuel.

FYI, never give away "free miles" to the carrier. I might be jumpin around but it's all the same. If your l/h is $2.35 then you should get about $1.50 a mile on d/h. Always put in writing your accesorials, detention, border crossings, tolls, etc. That right there will nickle and dime you. Is the owner paying that or are you? If you need more answers to questions please send a PM to me anytime.

Just my opinion,:D
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Two big things here. One, you won't be hired, you'll be leased on. You will not be an employee, you will be an independent contractor. The mentality is very different between the two.

The other thing is, going from a team company truck to team expediting is as different as night and day. In expediting, the reason for that large gap between 2000 miles and 5000 miles is that you will not, not, not be driving all-day every-day like you do with a company truck. You will sit for days at a time waiting for a expedited (emergency freight) load. You may get 5 loads back to back that are all under 300 miles, or you could get 2000 mile loads back to back. And you could sit for a day or three between loads. That right there is the hardest thing for people from general trucking, especially company trucks, to adjust to when coming to expediting.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
I would actually talk to Nightcreacher about getting into this business for a number of reasons, one is your background. I would also suggest NOT going with an owner with your experience but rather look for a tractor to buy and become an Owner.
 
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