Companies that pay "practical" mileage

by Glenn
(Denver, CO)

Hervy/Jim - I've been monitoring this website for several months consistently and appreciate your willingness to share your experiences on the trucking industry. I have taken the common theme from a lot of other questions posed on the website and personally went out to various truckstops to have conversations with the driver's of the companies that most interest me.

I've found my research to be overwhelmingly inconsistent as the feedback varies significantly between driver's who work for the same company. I imagine this is like anything else in the sense that "you can't please everyone" but I am one that values consensus, not paralysis.

That being said, I understand that majority of the companies out there also portray the same message by stating "most miles in the industry" or "2500 to 3000 miles average per week" meaning that a percentage of those miles are free.

Perhaps you know of companies that offer pay based on practical mileage? My business sense would tell me that the more profitable I could be for the company of my choosing, the better my mileage could be (hopefully). Realistically, the uncertainty of where to begin has me slightly perplexed.

More often than not, I hear disgruntled driver's at these truckstops complaining about how long they have been sitting waiting on a load.

Thank you for feedback in advance and continue to be safe out there.

Comments for Companies that pay "practical" mileage

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Apr 29, 2011
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Oh Boy Companies
by: american trucker

I'm always ask by my student's on an off road.
Who's best company to work for? And whether they pay u practical sliding percentage or by load. It all comes down to if they treat you good then good place to be.In 25yrs+ i been in this industry different pay schemes and down time have always been there.will never go away. My first book american trucker was based on my experiences with these different companies an pay loads.So you can go on-on and drive yourself crazy or take a 9-5 bank job and not worry about it.

American Trucker

Apr 28, 2011
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Few companies pay practical miles especially just starting
by: Hervy

Hey Glen great job on getting out there man.

So inconsistency is the only consistent result. lol, ok not funny. Can be a little frustrating I'm sure.

Well the biggest factor in the feedback from drivers are twofold
1. Drivers attitude and expectation (realistic or not)
2. Where the driver lives in relationship to the common lanes of the carrier.

For the first, factor I am sure you have a handle on. The second factor you may or may not know what I mean. Here's an example....

If a company has a lot of loads requiring travel on I-20 from Ga to Tx but you live in Michigan or NE or Idaho, it presents a problem of getting home and also making money.

If you find a company or drive in a division in a company that is compatible for where you live, you are able to stay in the lanes where they have plenty of freight. So it's just automatically a better situation.

Many drivers will not even consider this. They act as if the trucking company manifest the loads out of thin air to serve them.

so one driver for the same company could easily have a different outlook on the company.

As far as practical miles. Hard to find starting out. There are a few companies that will pay practical miles but most are companies that hire experienced drivers. I hope people who know of them will post. I just don't keep up with the names of them, but in those books at the truck stop if they do pay that way they will definitely flaunt it as part of their marketing.

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