how much does a monster truck driver make a year

Other OTR drivers follow dedicated routes, carrying flowers from Miami up the east coast, or wine from California to Chicago. Most OTR drivers follow irregular routes, where their dispatchers send them anywhere based on the load they carry.

America depends on its nearly two million commercial truck drivers to keep us all fed, housed, clothed and comfortable. That’s a good thing, since nearly everything we eat, drink, wear, watch or buy comes to us, at some point, by truck. Setting aside a long tradition of country songs related to trucking, many drivers do find the romance of the open road compelling. America Depends on Commercial Truck Drivers Because liquids slosh from side to side and front to back in a tanker, these drivers are financially rewarded for their special training in handling moving loads. Not every liquid is milk, however wine, industrial chemicals and orange juice are all loads a tanker driver could carry. A single trucking company may have drivers hauling dry vans, other drivers specializing in flatbed loads-which requires knowledge in tying down and adjusting the load-and still other drivers who carry liquids in tank trucks. Commercial truck drivers in Hawaii do run on Interstate Highways H1, H2 and H3, which sounds like a joke but simply means federal highway money helped pave the way, so to speak.įor each type of driving, pay rates differ.

Keep in mind, of course, that we have no interstate trucking from the continental United States to Hawaii. goes by dry van, but refrigerated units (reefers), flatbed and tankers also run all 50 states. Movers, waste haulers and other specialists carry particular kinds of loads. Day-cab operators also roll over the interstates but begin and end their runs in a single shift, so they have no need to sleep in their cabs.ĭelivery vans carry cargo within cities and towns, with their drivers home at the end of each shift. Over-the-road trailer-load (OTR TL) drivers take full trailers of goods from state to state, often sleeping in their tractors (the cabs). Pay in the trucking industry is directly related to the type of driving you do. Most drivers, though, can earn a comfortable living from operating in a variety of trucking services, providing steady, year-round income for themselves and their families. Exactly how much a truck driver makes, however, depends on a number of factors. For newcomers to the industry, commercial trucking may seem confusing or even mysterious. What one side of the discussion called a “driver shortage” is identified by others as “lagging pay.” In this atmosphere, well-trained commercial truck drivers are already seeing increases in wages as companies struggle to fill tractor seats and get loads moving. An article in the New York Times last August pointed out the increasing pressure in the trucking industry to pay its drivers more.

How much does a monster truck driver make a year