Pay...van owner/driver...how does it work?

sabbatinog

New Recruit
Researching
This part is confusing to me.....say a load is sent out to van owner paying $600, how much should driver espect?
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
The "normal" split would be either $360 plus 100% of the fuel surcharge pay, however much that is, and the driver pays for the fuel for the trip OR the driver gets $240 and the owner supplies the fuel. Usually the former leaves a bit more money for the driver but not always. Good luck with your decision.
 

sabbatinog

New Recruit
Researching
The van owner says that if a job pays $600...1/3 goes to the trucking company, 1/3 to her as owner, and 1/3 to driver...then driver and owner split the cost of the gas. Is this reasonable?
 

LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
The van owner says that if a job pays $600...1/3 goes to the trucking company, 1/3 to her as owner, and 1/3 to driver...then driver and owner split the cost of the gas. Is this reasonable?

Short answer, no. The most common split is 60/40 of the gross pay of the load with the side getting 60% also getting 100% of the FSC money and paying the fuel. The other side gets 40% of the gross pay and doesn't pay for anything except their own expenses like food, laundry, etc.. I would RUN from anyone only wanting to pay 33% and take half the fuel out of that.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
The van owner says that if a job pays $600...1/3 goes to the trucking company, 1/3 to her as owner, and 1/3 to driver...then driver and owner split the cost of the gas. Is this reasonable?
Whatever the "job pays" is after the trucking company takes their cut, unless the van owner always gets to see the line haul bill the carrier charges for the load. If the line hul bill is $600, and the carrier takes 33.3%, or $200, then the "job" (which is hauling the load) pays $400 (to the truck, which, for now, is the only thing you need to be concerned about). On a 60/40 split, that would be $240 and $160, with whoever pays for fuel getting the $240.

On a straight third split, you and the owner would be doing a 50/50 split, assuming the carrier took one-third of the line haul. In that case, after splitting fuel, you'd both ind up with about 40% of what the load pays. So that could be doable, and you'd end up being about the same as a 60/40 split. But because the van owner wants to complicate things by introducing the carrier's cut into the mix, instead of doing a simple industry-standard 60/40 split, my Spidey Sense tells me there's some shenanigans going on, and I'd take a pass on that owner.

It sounds to me like a fleet owner who decided to become a fleet owner because of all that easy money that will roll in, but doesn't really understand the industry, and realized just how little revenue there is to split between and owner and a driver, and has decided to ty and juice the pot in their favor a little bit.
 
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Noname

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
Gross pay with my company (Bolt) usually includes FSC. Therefore, if the driver gets 60% of the gross and an additional 100% of the FSC, driver is getting 160% of FSC. I usually subtract FSC from the gross, then calculate 60% of that non-FSC amount for driver, then add back in all of the FSC to the drivers share. We may be saying the same thing but wording it differently, but it is important that all parties understand the split up front.
 
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sierra98

New Recruit
Driver
Ok so if my owner is paying me only 40% should I be getting the 100% of FSC if she is paying for the fuel? Also, should she be subtracting the $50.00 per week that she is paying into escrow off the top of the amount paid to her for the entire load, then paying me the 40% cut?
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
Ok so if my owner is paying me only 40% should I be getting the 100% of FSC if she is paying for the fuel?
No. Whoever is paying for the fuel gets the FSC.
Also, should she be subtracting the $50.00 per week that she is paying into escrow off the top of the amount paid to her for the entire load, then paying me the 40% cut?
No. You should be getting 40% of the load, not 40% of her net after her expenses.
 

sierra98

New Recruit
Driver
Ok thanks. So my pay should be 40% of the load? Out of her 60% she should be subtracting her 50.00 escrow? If she pays for fuel, tolls, repairs, etc, is 40% good or should I talk to her about 60/40 split with me paying for fuel. What is the advantage of the 60/40 split and would I make more money long term?
 

sierra98

New Recruit
Driver
Oh and should I be paying the $32.04 per week for occupational insurance or does owner pay that?
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
So my pay should be 40% of the load?
Yes
Out of her 60% she should be subtracting her 50.00 escrow?
Yes. Because she gets the escrow back when her relationship with the carrier ends.
If she pays for fuel, tolls, repairs, etc, is 40% good or should I talk to her about 60/40 split with me paying for fuel. What is the advantage of the 60/40 split and would I make more money long term?
Getting 60% plus the FSC comes out a little better in the long run, but not dramatically so. A 60/40 or a 40/60 is fair, either way.
Oh and should I be paying the $32.04 per week for occupational insurance or does owner pay that?
No that's on you. It's you insurance against injury and accidents while under a load. It won't cover you for any accidents while you're not loaded, so be extra careful when not loaded if you don't have health insurance. But if you're ever injured while loaded, you'll be glad you got it. Trust me on that one. I have some experience witrh that.
 
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sierra98

New Recruit
Driver
Yes

Yes. Because she gets the escrow back when her relationship with the carrier ends.

Getting 60% plus the FSC comes out a little better in the long run, but not dramatically so. A 60/40 or a 40/60 is fair, either way.

No that's on you. It's you insurance against injury and accidents while under a load. It won't cover you for any accidents while you're not loaded, so be extra careful when not loaded if you don't have health insurance. But if you're ever injured while loaded, you'll be glad you got it. Trust me on that one. I have some experience witrh that.
Thank you
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
What is this escrow about?
In trucking, the escrow is a monetary account to be used in an emergency to handle some of the expenses that will occur if there is any damage, freight claims, etc. Like, if you have Qualcomm equipment, and it gets damaged or you fail to turn it back in when you leave a carrier, the carrier will use the escrow money to help recover those costs. If you are off some some eason for weeks or months, your weekly deductions for insurance and occupational accident insurance still keep happening and getting paid, and if you don't come back or something, the carrier will use the escrow funds to pay for that.
Does the carrier company have any say as to the agreement between owner and driver?
Not if the carrier is smart. The last thing a carrier wants to do is get between a dispute betwen a vehicle owner and a driver. The carrier's contract is with the vehicle owner, and they pay the owner accordingly. What the owner does with that money is really none of the carrier's business.
 
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sierra98

New Recruit
Driver
I’m still learning the game. I enjoy what I am doing and have been driving for years but not as a truck driver or expedite van driver. I just want to make sure I am getting paid properly. If the carrier pays for DH, I would get 100% of that correct? That’s not something I only get 40% of because I was the one doing the DH miles. So for instance if the line load pays $179.00 and DH pay was $35, I would get $107.40 plus the $35.00 equaling $142.40?
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
DH pay can go wherever the owner wants it to go. Generally, DH would go to the truck or whoever is paying for fuel, since DH pay generally only covers fuel costs. Some owners will split DH with the driver, though. It's true you did the DH, but so did the truck. Assessorials like hand unload, that's a people expense, so that would normally go 100% to the driver.
 
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LDB

Veteran Expediter
Retired Expediter
I did an 80/20 split on DH pay with 20% to the truck and 80% to the fuel purchaser because there were still tires and oil changes etc. during DH miles. None of my drivers ever commented on it at all. I paid 100% of hand load or any other people pay to the drivers since they were doing it. Layover pay was split 50/50 since the same amount of layover time involved the people and the truck.
 
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