Are truckers really make enough money?
#21
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,079
No disrespect to tanker drivers, but they ain't no air traffic controllers and look what happened to them. :shock:
Truck drivers are nothing but slaves to the people that buy the goods. Laws will always be changed to the benefit of the people that consume. 13 hour work days. No overtime. Piece work (pd by the mile) is the industry standard. It's all setup so that the driver has to work insane hours. Do we really think that governments will allow truck drivers to get in the way of the economy? Look no further than Mexico and the middle east for the future of truck drivers. :asta:
#22
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: California...yup beautifull Hollywood just over the hill
Posts: 569
Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well.
#23
Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Mount Vernon, NY
Posts: 187
Originally Posted by pepe4158
Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well. Good luck and happy motoring
#24
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: California...yup beautifull Hollywood just over the hill
Posts: 569
Originally Posted by nsxman2001
Originally Posted by pepe4158
Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well. Good luck and happy motoring Yeah certainly not going broke...Ive made a little $ n made back my investment. I certainly didnt expect to get rich, but after 6 months I cant justify enough extra $ to keep the maitence on the trailer, worry about brokers screwing me or stiffing me, n all the DOT own authority complience hassels Landstars looking better n better if they really will let me keep my independence.
#25
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 725
Originally Posted by pepe4158
Originally Posted by nsxman2001
Originally Posted by pepe4158
Hmmm just wondering...why ask owner ops forums about just wanting to be a driver....I mean shouldnt the question be...going to own my first truck.....can I make $?...hate to be picky but just seems logical
Hmmm so just my 2c....I think ill take Gmans advice n lease on to Landstar next year...this having my own authority just hasnt worked out for me that well. Good luck and happy motoring Yeah certainly not going broke...Ive made a little $ n made back my investment. I certainly didnt expect to get rich, but after 6 months I cant justify enough extra $ to keep the maitence on the trailer, worry about brokers screwing me or stiffing me, n all the DOT own authority complience hassels Landstars looking better n better if they really will let me keep my independence.
#26
Originally Posted by person
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the debt to income ratio of the average trucker in the 70s compared to now. Generally people feel a lot more free to go in debt now. So they don't have the room to do things.
When I first started driving most of us either paid cash for what we wanted or didn't get it. About the only debt we had was for a car or house. Other than that we just didn't have a lot of extra debt. The bank cards were just starting. Of course, there was American Express, Carte Blanche and Diners cards, but those were mostly not for blue collar workers. I got my first credit card in the 1970's. It was a BankAmericard. The name later changed to Visa. It is much too easy to whip out the plastic to pay for something. The debit cards have only compounded the issue. Most of us have gotten used to using plastic. Things are much more expensive today and more cash is needed. It is easier to just pull out a piece of plastic rather than take so much cash with you. It doesn't take nearly so much money to live or maintain a certain lifestyle if you don't have the debt. It might amaze you to see how much less you actually need to live when you don't have debt. We have gotten in a pattern of buying things we cannot afford and paying for them tomorrow. Using credit costs everyone more money. Lenders must cover their losses due to some not paying their bills on time. As consumers, we have to make up the difference. Imagine how life would be if we all paid cash??? I remember those days. Things were much simpler....and cheaper. We pay a high price for credit.
#27
Originally Posted by GMAN
Originally Posted by person
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the debt to income ratio of the average trucker in the 70s compared to now. Generally people feel a lot more free to go in debt now. So they don't have the room to do things.
When I first started driving most of us either paid cash for what we wanted or didn't get it. About the only debt we had was for a car or house. Other than that we just didn't have a lot of extra debt. The bank cards were just starting. Of course, there was American Express, Carte Blanche and Diners cards, but those were mostly not for blue collar workers. I got my first credit card in the 1970's. It was a BankAmericard. The name later changed to Visa. It is much too easy to whip out the plastic to pay for something. The debit cards have only compounded the issue. Most of us have gotten used to using plastic. Things are much more expensive today and more cash is needed. It is easier to just pull out a piece of plastic rather than take so much cash with you. It doesn't take nearly so much money to live or maintain a certain lifestyle if you don't have the debt. It might amaze you to see how much less you actually need to live when you don't have debt. We have gotten in a pattern of buying things we cannot afford and paying for them tomorrow. Using credit costs everyone more money. Lenders must cover their losses due to some not paying their bills on time. As consumers, we have to make up the difference. Imagine how life would be if we all paid cash??? I remember those days. Things were much simpler....and cheaper. We pay a high price for credit.
#28
Everything was less expensive including wages. You could actually make a living on $150/week and have steak several times a week. Most need that much or more per day to take care of the basics. Using credit is expensive. Those costs are passed along to the consumer. Diesel was between $0.15-0.25/gallon. Most people didn't rely on the government for their living. We took care of ourselves. It costs a lot of money to feed several families off of one paycheck. If you get rid of your debt and subsequent interest payments you would not need nearly as much money to get along. Most people think they own a car when the bank is really the owner. We don't own anything until it is paid off.
Yep, you could buy a brand new decked out buggy with all the whistles for between $500-800. A horse would go from $100-500. But we would pay cash.
#30
Board Regular
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 258
Yep, you could buy a brand new decked out buggy with all the whistles for between $500-800. A horse would go from $100-500. But we would pay cash.
But yeh, I can't figure out what Rank wants to know either. Perhaps we should just leave it alone. :P |
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