Paying a driver

T270_Dreamin · Nov 27, 2014

Correct me if I'm wrong. The set up I have is 60% to driver (driver pays fuel) 40% to owner.

Driver gets 60% of settlement (check) plus 100% of the dead head and empty move. Anything that comes in such as a bonus, layer over, Canadian border cross is added to the check and split 60 to driver /40 to owner when the check comes in.

Is this the industry standard or do some owners pay differently?

Do some owners just split the bonus/borderX/layerover 50/50?

Should the driver be happy with this setup? Do some have it worse?

Does any one pay the same way?

Thank you and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Turtle · Nov 27, 2014

It's done a myriad of different ways. Hopefully Leo will chime in, as he has a pretty good, common sense system that, IIRC, is very fair to all concerned.

If it were me, I think whoever negotiates the bonus should keep it. Border crossing, since the driver is the one who has to put up with all the crap of doing one, and is certified and willing to go there, I think it should go to the driver. But that can also be correctly viewed as straight revenue subject to the split. I think layover and detention gets split. Hand load and unload should be all the driver's. I think deadhead and empty move should be split, since the truck incurs costs, as well.

asjssl · Nov 27, 2014

I pay a flat 67/33 on the total revenue to the truck...makes it easier for both of us..

T270_Dreamin · Nov 27, 2014

I think I'm doing this correctly. In my mind the driver should get the entire empty move and deadhead because it is enough to cover fuel, so why should a owner get a portion of the empty move and deadhead when the driver needs that to get to the location they are going?! Just seems like the right thing to do and I think 60/40 on anything else that comes in is fair. I think I have a good system down here. I may be down to go 65/35 in the future to make it easier but then the driver will question empty moves and there will be complaining and complaining turns into arguments which turn into driver unhappy which turns into threats to quit. So don't worry and be happy!

And yes Canada can be a bit time consuming but the owner is sending his truck to another country so he should get a slice of the pie for putting up the risk and allowing the opportunity to happen. I guess if a owner has 2 plus trucks on the road he starts to see things differently which potentially allow more money to pay his/her drivers.
Is it a bad move to add another sprinter in this business? Adding that second truck could open up more pay to drivers keeping them happier. I noticed the owners with 5 plus vans on the road can afford to pay more. I'm not the kinda guy who needs 7-10 vans on the road, a couple is all the headache I'm good for

All though I did come from a automotive reconditioning back ground so maintenance is my thing.

LDB · Nov 27, 2014

OK, here it is, for linehaul it's 60/40 and the driver gets 60 and pays fuel. Driver gets 100% of fsc. Anything else is either time, money, or people money. Time money is detention, layover etc. that is paid for extended time. It is split 50/50 as an hour of time is equal if it is for the truck or the people. People money is hand loading etc. and that goes 100% to the driver unless we happen to be at the same dock at the same time and I help hand load. In that case it's 50/50 or 66.67/33.33 depending whether it's a solo or team truck. It's pretty simple, at least to me, and no complaints so far.

I should have added if there is a line item that is truck specific, like liftgate fee, that all goes to the truck, i.e. my portion, since the drivers don't pay any portion of the purchase or upkeep. I try to look at it all to see where it legitimately belongs.

Treadmill · Nov 27, 2014

Like Leo said, fsc should go 100% to driver if he is paying the fuel.

cheri1122 · Nov 27, 2014

I think LDB's system is eminently reasonable - except for the liftgate item. I've only done a few of those loads, but they can be extremely labor intensive. One memorable one involved backing the truck to the front door of a Holiday Inn near Chicago, in January, and wrestling a really heavy crate onto 2 'furniture dollies' [purchased enroute just for that delivery], then pushing it up an icy/salted walk, across the lobby, down a long hall, around a tight corner, and into a conference room. All of it by myself, because the manager [a young lady] was the only other person on site, [it was Sunday] and she couldn't leave the front desk.
Also, the hydraulic liftgate moved at a speed that made glacial look like Nascar, lol, because of the intense cold, so it took a loooong time to get the thing off the truck.
I think liftgate deliveries should be at least split with the driver, myself.

LDB · Nov 27, 2014

If liftgate is it's own line item it presumably goes with another line item of hand load/unload. That's how it was when I was running a liftgate truck. In that case the driver gets all of the people pay, i.e. hand load/unload and the truck gets all of the equipment pay, i.e. liftgate. If it is all lumped into one line item then it should be split.

cheri1122 · Nov 27, 2014

Thank you for clarifying. I'm not sure whether 'hand load/unload' was a separate item, though, because I never saw the charges broken down like that. Do most carriers charge for both? Because every one I did required me to at least operate the liftgate, and usually deliver the items inside. [It's just curiosity, I no longer have a liftgate].

Dynamite 1 · Nov 28, 2014

Any labor the driver does, the charge is paid 100% to the driver by us.

OntarioVanMan · Nov 28, 2014

T270_Dreamin said:
I think I'm doing this correctly. In my mind the driver should get the entire empty move and deadhead because it is enough to cover fuel, so why should a owner get a portion of the empty move and deadhead when the driver needs that to get to the location they are going?! Just seems like the right thing to do and I think 60/40 on anything else that comes in is fair. I think I have a good system down here. I may be down to go 65/35 in the future to make it easier but then the driver will question empty moves and there will be complaining and complaining turns into arguments which turn into driver unhappy which turns into threats to quit. So don't worry and be happy!

And yes Canada can be a bit time consuming but the owner is sending his truck to another country so he should get a slice of the pie for putting up the risk and allowing the opportunity to happen. I guess if a owner has 2 plus trucks on the road he starts to see things differently which potentially allow more money to pay his/her drivers.
Is it a bad move to add another sprinter in this business? Adding that second truck could open up more pay to drivers keeping them happier. I noticed the owners with 5 plus vans on the road can afford to pay more. I'm not the kinda guy who needs 7-10 vans on the road, a couple is all the headache I'm good for All though I did come from a automotive reconditioning back ground so maintenance is my thing.

Because the truck incurs a hidden cost....Wear and tear....If you allow 15% for maintenance then it should be split 85/15 just as an example

Tennesseahawk · Nov 28, 2014

T270 - does your company have FSC separated from the linehaul on your settlements? If not, then give the driver another 5-7 percent based on what the company collects in FSC. They should be forthcoming about that info.

On miles driven, ALWAYS consider wear and tear, like OVM said. As a driver paying fuel, I did not object on DH being split, since it was usually a small amount.

T270_Dreamin · Nov 28, 2014

Tennesseahawk said:
T270 - does your company have FSC separated from the linehaul on your settlements? If not, then give the driver another 5-7 percent based on what the company collects in FSC. They should be forthcoming about that info.

On miles driven, ALWAYS consider wear and tear, like OVM said. As a driver paying fuel, I did not object on DH being split, since it was usually a small amount.

The FSC that is paid out is around 21 cents a mile with the current contract rate at a lowsy .91 a mile for a Sprinter. If I pay driver 60% and gave the surcharge, I would not make any $. 60/40 driver gets all empty move and deadhead. Nice and simple. Industry Standard. If I add another truck maybe I can afford to give the driver 65% but they key thing is asking for 6 cents raise and having the driver obtain a hazmat would bump us up to a dollar. We lose money every week because of the contract rate being so low and I've been with the carrier 2 1/2 yrs.

LDB · Nov 28, 2014

That would be .64 plus .21 for the fuel buyer and .37 for the other side. Maybe you'd be better off on the fuel buying side if you have a good, responsible driver/team in the vehicle.

westmicher · Nov 28, 2014

LDB said:
That would be .64 plus .21 for the fuel buyer and .37 for the other side. Maybe you'd be better off on the fuel buying side if you have a good, responsible driver/team in the vehicle.

So, how much should a solo driver of a $printer class van NET per WEEK? (I know it's somewhat variable, give me an average week... or month.... or year even!)

LDB · Nov 28, 2014

How high is up? I have no idea what to answer to either. I know of several Sprinter guys that are O/O that are doing really well, really well. They are smart and experienced and businessmen first. You'll have to ask one of the Sprinter guys what they should make.