Pay Cut?


"little things" that don't always get considered when trying different income streams.

What is the cost of commuting?

What is the cost for food now? Will you be eating out more? Less?

just thoughts going through the mind as you talk about this is all.
 
Yeah all unknown variables to me at this point except the commuting. It's the exact same job going to the same place so the commute will cost less...same distance except only twice a week (if I don't go home somewhere in the middle) instead of 10 times a week.

I've never had to live in a truck before so I don't know any of the rest.

Right now I pack lunch every day. No clue how I'm gonna work it living in the rig. Pack as much as I can but I don't wanna go buy a fridge in case I never do this again. Might just eat out while doing this trial and ignore that cost. Then get myself set up if I decide to go forward.

If my dad still has his fridge in working order I might be able to borrow it. I already have a food warmer that I take with me every day. It'll help.
 
Also to consider is the fact that these are small sleepers. They don't have the cabinetry and therefore less storage space than your typical OTR sleeper. It's barely more than a bed right behind the driver's seat. There's some storage above the bed but not a lot.
 
If you are going to eat out,

McDonald's (fast food crap) will be about $8-10 per meal.

Sit down truck stops, about $12-15+ PER MEAL.

I can get an egg mcmuffin and a latte and it will be $7.50 to $8.87 depending on locations.

You can get a couple pieces of pizza at a Flyin' J/Peelot for like $4-5.

So figure $25-30 PER DAY for food if you eat three times a day.
 
dchawk81 said:
Pretty good chance I'll say farkit, it ain't worth it. Lol. But I gotta try or I'll forever wonder.
Click to expand...
not knowing your actual location or route, screw micky d's, and stop at a wawa...VERY GOOD fresh deli, and prepared sammiches, and darn good coffee as well.

what i did when i had a sleeper was have a few bottle of fresh drinking water, and several packages of pb crackers, or cheese crackers, devil dogs, or any other type of high calorie snack foods. this was my "emergency food stash", in case of a major snowstorm, which for some unknown reason...Snowshoe, PA, lives up to that...lol, but i also got caught up in hurricanes and other major storms across the USA which when in need...cheese and crackers, was sustainable, what sucked was...no wine with that......
 
ironpony said:
You do a great job in the whine department here, so yer good ya go!

:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
giphy.gif
 
Probably gonna do the regional for a week because I already promised to do it but then say nah. Was talking to a former regional turned dispatcher. He said if he hustled hard he'd make good money...about $1300 a week.

Yes that's good money but I'm currently making $1400 without trying and $1600+ when I gotta pee real bad.
 
dchawk81 said:
Probably gonna do the regional for a week because I already promised to do it but then say nah. Was talking to a former regional turned dispatcher. He said if he hustled hard he'd make good money...about $1300 a week.

Yes that's good money but I'm currently making $1400 without trying and $1600+ when I gotta pee real bad.
Click to expand...
in the "trial week", they may make you busy than normal, just to get you hooked. then too understand something else, that dispatcher may have a buddy that wants the regional, and is scaring you off it, in his favor....
 
It's obvious. You gotta live in a truck. People do it because they live too far away for local.

This is a spoiled people's job. Nobody does anything they don't have to do.

I already know I'm gonna make less this week but the question is, will making less offset having my own truck and only commuting twice a week. The other question is how much less will I make. I don't know how it all fleshes out.
 
dchawk81 said:
Nobody wants the regional.
Click to expand...
could be the regional isn't working out for the masses as pay may be lower, as you know, if no loads are available and you sit for hours on end. i'd like to have the regional run i once had, home weekly and thru the week. worked out nicely, till DHL went belly up.
 
I think it has more to do with their pay scheme. It expects you to run a lot of miles.

I'm sure the work is there but you gotta keep moving.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have 3'x1.5'x1.5' in cubic feet of space dedicated to food storage on the truck, and both cubbies between the side box storage and cabinets under the bed are dedicated to water. 3-5 gallons in 1 gallon arrowhead screw tops for dual purpose, and a flat of bottled. With a real fridge, I'd eat off the truck even more as Target/Walmart all have precooked foodstuffs that just need refrigeration, and a butane stove for catwalk cooking wouldn't be that big of a deal for fresh steaks or the like. My coleman cooler isn't up to the task of maintaining good temps without my ducting, and I pulled it off when I swapped for 2 weeks to a freightliner when my normal rig was in the shop. Haven't put it on, as winter's necessitated defrost and heat use, so it's just a drink cooler and condiment storage for the season.

I prefer the 12v crockpot to the lunchbox cooker since it's got a switch on the pot and I can set it up so I can reach it from the drivers seat, turn it on an hour out from stopping after having put a can or two of soup or spaghetti in it at lunch. The water heater lets me ramen it up if I'm in the mood for something quick and warm before bed, usually before my "splurge day" of off the truck food on a fuel & 30 or if I shut down at a truck stop.

I only eat a meal from off the truck once every two days or so, unless it's an impromptu "Damn that smells good" perfect storm like my last week's delivery in portland.... rolled past a prime rib joint I smelled with the windows up from a block away.... and was blessed with a drop and no empty hook, so I bobtailed my happy butt over to get me some high grade nommage since I fit in the parking lot bobtail, and my pickup window was 1400-2100, with my drop being at noon. Great staff, great service, GLORIOUS food.

Winning.
 
dchawk81 said:
I think it has more to do with their pay scheme. It expects you to run a lot of miles.

I'm sure the work is there but you gotta keep moving.
Click to expand...
i said this in number...234

i as many others and you perhaps, have done regional. that can be tiring as well, but you might also get in some extra zzzz's.
Click to expand...


you will be more tired, as you will be running pretty much at the end of your 10. no spare time for any extra relaxation/rest, it'll be go..go...go...

oh you'll get your sleep, maybe better than what you get now, cuz you'll be MORE tired.

if they "expect" you to run more miles, this very well may be the number 1 reason why...no one wants it....the constant go..go...go after your 10, with no excuses on your part.

there is ALWAYS a reason why, no one wants a transfer...i think the dispatcher that had done it...said that, just not in so many words.
 
dchawk81 said:
I'm already go go go in the day cab. Running up to the end sometimes.

I doubt much will change except more time driving than hooking.
Click to expand...
one thing that WILL change is, unlike the day cab, if you need to take a quick nap, you can lay back comfortably. just be prepared that running regional in a sleeper will be more tiring, than running 48........
 

Random media

Six Days on the Road Dave Dudley
Freightliner Cascadia
11665450_810814569014319_2603247717175669115_n.jpg
Rest
Peterbilt
B&W Pete
concreat pilons for a new housing estate
20180629_142153.jpg
East Bound and Down
Dodge RAM 2500 crewcab like hit and run truck
60ft load
20180504_110748.jpg

Back
Top