How much do tractor trailer drivers make a week?

Question

Is this a good job in your opinion?

How long are they usually on the road, and how long do they usually get to have off?

Answer 1

It depends on what kind of driving your interested in. There are several types of tractor trailer driving jobs. Long haul irregular route, which can include Canada, drivers starting out in this area average
$650 to $700 per week at a rate of 22 to 28 cents per mile. Long haul drivers stay out 14 to 21 days at a time and earn an average of 1 day off for every 7 on the road. They usually take 3 or 4 days off after being out 3 or 4 weeks.
Many larger companies offer regional or dedicated divisions to work in where drivers can be home for the weekends and sometimes during the week for a night or two.
Experienced drivers with 10 years over the road who own there own trucks can make up to $10,000 or more a week. As a owner operator, expenses like fuel, repair costs, permits and insurance can take quite a chunk out of there pay.
I don't think truck driving is a good job for any one who has children. Children need both parents around to be properly raised. Missing mom's and dad's during a child's youth, leads to many discipline problems, and other problems associated with kids seeking other roll models that may not have good moral values in life.
Truck driving is not all it's cracked up to be. Long lonely days in areas only trucks are permitted, with dirty truck stops to shower in, and lots of exposure to desperate people, disease, and perverts on the road.
I've been in the trucking business for 14 years and it's the only job I've ever had that I couldn't relate socially with my co-workers. I find most truckers live on the road because they can't cope with family or society somehow. Most are rude, inconsiderate, filthy slobs. There are a few professionals still out there, but there getting far and few between. To make matters worse, the industry is getting so desperate for drivers they will hire just about anyone. Many are ex-cons, ex-drug attics, or have serious mental health issues. Driving big rigs is the third most dangerous job in the USA.
Experts estimate that in 15 years traffic will be twice what it is now, and roads are not getting any better. Many bridges in the east are approaching the age of 100 years, and are becoming much more dangerous. Global warming is causing extreme weather conditions too.
If you think you really want to try it, start out with a small company. Look for trucking companies with good benefits and less than 200 trucks. Anything bigger and your treated like a number.
Try to specialize in a particular field of driving. Some "drive away" companies can offer a wide range of equipment to become failure with until you find what you like.
Feel free to e-mail me if you have any specific concerns or other questions regarding this industry. Good luck.

Answer 2

Tractor Trailer Driver Salary

Answer 3

There are all kinds of truck driving jobs, but on average a person just getting started in their first year of driving can make $600 to $1000 a week or more. My first year sometimes I made as much as $1200 a week before bonus money. Some companies are better than others, and some jobs pay more. The company I worked for paid more to drive a flatbed truck. I was home about 4 days a month at the most. It's a good job if you like travelling and going places. The hardest part of the job is getting a good dispatcher who will work with you. The whole industry is basically a big pack of liars and there are lots of crooked companies that will steal every penny they can from you. If you do become an OTR driver (over the road) holidays will come and go without notice, and odds are there are friends you might never get to see much of anymore. Being on the road is not a job, it's a lifestyle. Do it for a few years, make a bunch of money, then do what you really want to do. Once you get about 2 years of experience and keep your license clean, you can get a local job where you're home every night.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How much do tractor trailer drivers make a week?
Is this a good job in your opinion?

Answer 5

Driving a truck for a living is truly a career that will be whatever you decide you want it to be........there are many different types of truck driving jobs available to a driver with some experience and a good record. You will not get rich starting off, and you will likely spend alot of time away from home. It is fairly common to figure your time off as 1 or 1 1/2 days off for a week out. This career only works well for those who are self motivated, as it is up to you to get the load delivered. There is no one on your back every minute telling you to get busy, or to get moving. You have to do it yourself. I suspect almost anywhere you would go to work after some training will figure to get you into the $25,000 to $30,000 range in your first year. After you have some time in the industry, it is wide open to you. There are union jobs that pay .50+ per mile, to otr jobs that will let you see the entire country and parts of Canada, to local peddle routes that will pay hourly and have regular hours. There is a job of almost any type if you are willing to look and be a bit patient. I have been driving a truck for 23+ years, and have enjoyed most of it. It is a different job than it was 20 yrs. ago, but it still allows a person to make an excellent living and have more freedom in their workday than most people can possibly imagine. Hope that helps and good luck!!

Answer 6

In the driving profession we call the new drivers steering wheel holders. It takes years to understand the offstreet world I have trained multiple drivers on how to drive offroad but, they won't learn by telling it takes experience. I would think learning a grader and other offroad equipment would have taught you how and where to drive and more importantly where not to. These schools show the newbie driver how to make a turn without driving over the curb. unfortunately they often forget the passenger side mirror when backing up. To answer the question yes it is safe on the streets. But offroad let them bog down and screw up they need the experience so they know not to do it again. also i would recomend that the person in charge of hiring offroad drivers gets your input on how the guy is doing in the field so he might recomend adjustments to his work load. This could allow you to help more advanced drivers to learn tougher challenges., and put this newbie where he should be learning at a less advanced level.

Answer 7

around 5-6 hundred $ that is a good job to get. in our paper it seems like over half the jobs section is for truck drivers.