As a truck driver, kinda? But it gets damn old after a while. And pay is shit (when you calculate how much you work.)
But I did get to see 47 states.
this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2024
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Yeah, I hear the pay is like oh cool I made 100k last month and spent 90k on fuel.
Well see there's multiple types of drivers.
Employee/company drivers drive the company's truck. The company pays for maintenance and fuel.
Owner Ops and Lease Ops own or lease their own truck and have to pay for fuel and other expenses.
Company drivers make anywhere from $60k-80k, maybe more on the top end of the bell curve depending on speciality, market, luck. Owners it varies wildly but usually in the 6 digits, but then they have expenses and usually end up around or a bit more than company drivers total. But they also assume all the risk.
But we also work 6+ days without break (some don't ever have days off until they go home), are away from home weeks and months at a time, have super long days, and get no overtime or wait pay.
So $10k/month and hookers every night? Still seems like a good deal.
Aren’t jobs that require you to buy your own fuel 1099 or something? Doesn’t seem worth it? What about if taxes are deducted? Does it pay better?
So a 1099 allows you to deduct work related expenses. It’s the difference between being an actual employee, which has both labor law and tax implications vs a contractor. So if you make 100k, and you spend 20k on fuel, your taxable income is actually 80k.
The trade off is you can’t take the standard deduction which is like 12k for singles now? Double if married. If you itemize expenses, and you have to document and track those expenses. There’s also a higher risk of you getting audited by the IRS.
So the short answer is as long as you can deduct more than you would have been able to with the standard deduction, it can be worth it. But then you get slapped with “self employment tax” or whatever bullshit it’s called.
This is over simplified and I’m not any kind of expert.
This is the same kinda thing the wealthy use to dodge taxes. The trump method is “lose so much fucking money that you can have net 0 income for years”.
Quick edit: if you file a W2, there’s a 90% chance you take the standard deduction by default
Yeah i know what 1099 means, just not the details of deductions. I’m saying fuel costs a lot lot; it costs hundreds? to fill a big rig? So the deductions can’t possibly make up for it? Unless you’re never off the road? I know there’s long haul and local short jobs, I’m just trying to get a picture. Doesn’t seem worth it. Plus driving gets hard on hands, arms, neck, back and butt so add in medical issues from years of it.
You can deduct fuel, you can deduct t any food bought while working, you can deduct the depreciation of the truck itself which on those big rigs can be significant.
Spending 12k in expenses wouldn’t take very long at all I imagine
I mean, that's what practically any business is like.
10k leftover per month would be 120k per year, which is actually quite a bit above median income in the US
did you see 47 states, or just 47 states worth of truck stops?
Somewhere in the middle. I certainly saw a lot of the landscape, spent some times in small towns around the country on my off days, and met some people.
But certainly didn't get a great feel of the culture a lot of the time.
I had a similar experience traveling for work. My first job out of college required traveling to lots of customer locations. I was excited to see the country. Turns out I got to visit a lot of airports and conference rooms.
How are the hookers?
Eh, why not? This is something Anon can try without any long-term consequences (besides STIs, possibly). They might even find a career.
Loads of jobs would be fun like this, if you ignore there is fierce competition leading to loads of scheduling pressure, bad pay, no benefits, existential fears, health implications...
I guess those professions really would be nice if you're already set for life and just do it for fun, taking only the best jobs, only doing it for 6-8 hours a day max and have days off... generally not giving too much of a fuck.
That's van trailer work, and it is bullshit. Reefers and van and grocery hauling is exactly what you said. Flatdeck, wide load, grain hauling, fertilizer, etc, there's very little to none of this. Farmers want their seed and fertilizer delivered before spring, and what they are selling delivered sometime this winter. Pays better too. Dealerships just want their cars delivered undamaged, if they're a day late, no one cares. Days off are mandated, although you may not be home for them, true enough. I lived in a truck for 4 years and found myself able to write out a check for my house.
Is trucking as fun as it was ten years ago? I feel like there must be a lot more surveillance and rules and regulations these days.
Its the worst. You're constantly sandwiched between employers who expect you to be on the road for a full 13 hours, and police who will slap you with huge fines or take your license if you work over those 13 hours.
Every slow car in front of you or delay at a depot compounds into a stress that eats away at you. Which side is going to win out today? Are the cops going to take my license, or is the company going to sack me for not making my delivery on time?
Get into grain hauling or out of Canada, it's 11 hours down south.
You can still hassle other trucks on CB
Are there a lot of jimmies being rustled?
All I know about CB talk is from cartoons and all they do then is try to hook up with each other.
Are the hookers part of the contract?
Sure, if you join the union.
Friends of the road Bubs!
Lot Lizards?
ladies of the evening
That's the fuckin' way she goes Bubs. sometimes she goes, and sometimes she doesn't, and that's the fuckinc way she goes.
anon spreads diseases
The lifestyle is not good for your digestive system, or bones, or brain health, or respiratory tract, or reproductive health, etc. So sure, go for it, just don't plan for a comfy retirement if you get into it early.