Reach Your Earning Potential: 3 Tips for Increasing Your Truck Driver Salary

“How much do truck drivers make?”

Ever found yourself asking this question? If so, I get it. Maybe you want to know how much truck drivers make a week. Maybe you want to know if you’re earning more – or less – than other truckers. 

Or perhaps you’re totally new to the industry and you’re unsure if trucking is for you.

The reality is that semi-truck driver pay can be lucrative. And it’s absolutely possible to make six figures (yes, six) as a trucker on our roadways. 

But this doesn’t happen overnight. And it won’t happen without a plan. So, below, I’m outlining the steps you should take to make good money as a trucker. For those new to trucking, I’m also covering the benefits of this career path and how to get into trucking. 

So, if you’re looking to make six figures as a truck driver, read on.

 

About Andrew Winkler

My name is Andrew Winkler. Why trust me to explain how truckers get paid big money in the US? Well, I know how it feels to be driven too far. I know the truth about trucking, and I also know how to make it work so you can have a work-life balance. 

I’m also the general manager for a Best Fleets to Drive For carrier, so I know how much a trucker makes in a week. And a year. And how truckers just like you can maximize that income. 

So, I’m going to give you the truth about trucking. I’ll be focusing on three tips you can use right away to improve your earning potential. Without further ado, let’s get started so you can make some real money!

 

Why Get into Trucking?

When you’re trucking, it’s just you and the open road. Sure, you’re on a schedule. You have jobs to complete. Deliveries to make. Hauls to manage. 

But trucking is one of the most freeing experiences. 

There’s plenty of room for progression. And if you choose a company like Chief Carriers to work for, you’ll have a work-life balance, too. That’s because, at Chief, it’s important to get you home safe and sound – as soon as possible. 

If there’s anyone who understands how much a work-life balance matters, it’s me. 

When I was a new solo driver, getting home on time but making my deliveries was a constant juggling act.

 

Make More Money Trucking

I was constantly battling with myself trying to leave the house on time so I wouldn’t be late for my delivery but spend as much time with my wife since I didn’t know when I’d see her again. It felt like every time, no matter how early I left, it wasn’t enough. So, I would often find ways to delay my departure even more, whether that be in the evening or early morning hours.

 There’s no doubt that earning more in trucking means working hard. And sometimes, this can be really hard to juggle with family life. But that’s why your family (and your spouse, especially) must be on board with you. They must understand how hard you’re working – and how much a higher income benefits them! 

Really, there needs to be an understanding between you and your wife or your husband, whatever it may be, that, hey, we want you to come home at the end of the week, too.

 

How Much Do Truckers Get Paid: Per Load or Per Mile?

Most new drivers, or at least less experienced drivers, want to know this one thing. How much do truckers make? Veteran drivers have the answer, but for our new truckers, it’s a tricky question. 

For more truckers, they want to know their “cents per mile”. And sure, this is important, but it’s not the most key figure. 

The gross pay for the week is much more important than how many miles you’ll be paid for. 

What can you provide me? Think of it this way. If all you’re worried about is per mile, I could potentially pay you $0.60, $0.65, or even $0.75 a mile.

Now, say I don’t give you any miles. Or at least not many. That’s still all equal to zero pay. So, let’s not focus so much on the cents per mile as we do the gross pay because what really matters is what gets deposited in your bank account on Fridays. That’s the truth, right? Let’s be honest!

 

Everything Adds Up

Here’s how to think about it. You’re not just driving and putting in the miles. You’re also doing other jobs out there. Loading and unloading, deliveries, maintenance. 

It all adds up. And it should be factored into your pay. 

Maybe you’re a reefer van guy. Maybe there are bumpers or stop-offs or something like that. If you’re a flatbed driver, a lot of your income can come from that activity pay. You think about the tarps and the straps and those types of things that flatbed drivers must do.

Yes, cents per mile is a good portion of it, but it’s certainly not the whole picture. So, $100,000 is the income goal. And we know that drivers were worried that drivers think, man, what do I need to do to get that $100,000 a year? 

Does that mean I have to drive on the road all the time? Seeing my family is more important than anything.

But don’t worry. I’m here to tell you it’s nothing like that at all. You can still see your family. And earn at least $100,000 a year. 

 

Time at Home

At Chief Carriers, we target 75 days a year for our truck drivers to be at home. So, if we were to take the calendar year and 365 days and subtract the 75 days that you’re going to be at home, we come up with roughly 290 working days throughout the year.

Therefore, if we take the $100,000 and divide it by 290, we end up with about $350 a day. That’s your goal number. You need to make that-$350 daily while driving a truck.

So, what you’re really focused on now is earning money from mileage pay, right? No, we already discussed that a bit. A good portion of your earnings will come from driving up and down the road. But we all know there are going to be times when you must load and unload merchandise, which takes extra time. 

Maybe there’s even bad weather involved sometimes.

 

Your Week to Week Pay

You’re going to experience unexpected occurrences while driving that will prevent you from completing the desired number of miles every day. Working 42 weeks out of the year, we aim to make about $2,350 a week as a company truck driver.

So, to summarize, it really matters how much money is in your account by the end of each workweek. The goal is $2,350 a week. That’s how much truck drivers make when they’re on six figures. 

That sounds like a lot when you start dividing, thinking about how many miles I need at $0.60, $0.65 a mile, whatever your rate may be to hit that $2,350, it almost seems a little unrealistic.

But remember, not all our pay comes from just the driving miles. There are other ways to increase your payment on Fridays.

 

Incentive Programs

The second tip is to look into your company’s incentive programs. Most companies offer these, and they often give base programs for the average driver. Right?

You will receive a base pay of cents per mile. In addition, your company may offer bonuses for safety, fuel efficiency, referrals, training, and mentorship. Trust me, it all adds up.

There are probably a lot of different things. They’ve had to get creative. We’ve had to do that as companies to figure out how to continually drive and bump a driver’s pay. 

So my question to you is, are you taking advantage of those extra truck driver income opportunities? The best truck drivers know how to do that.

 

Extra Truck Driver Income

The best truck drivers are focused on that. And again, when you understand that the mileage makes up a percentage, but these incentives, whether they’re paid monthly or quarterly get in your bank account as well. 

By failing to take advantage of every company-offered benefit related to truck driver pay, you’re leaving money on the table. When it comes to incentive pay for our professional drivers who are meeting and exceeding today’s high expectations, they know what needs to be done in order to receive that compensation. They know what questions to ask!

Not only are these drivers hitting their safety bonuses, but they’re also achieving the fuel bonuses quarterly. Furthermore, we evaluate all company progress at the quarter’s end with specific standards that each driver must meet.

Truck driver incentive programs are usually only given to the best drivers in a company. If you want to participate, understand that it’s not easy money.

From a driver’s perspective, it can be frustrating not to earn the extra incentive pay. If you don’t receive the payout, it’s easy to assume that companies never actually hand out those rewards. That belief couldn’t be further from the truth. We make sure to give something extra to our top performers so they feel appreciated for their excellent work ethic and skills. 

Don’t discount the program or think that is just too hard to hit the numbers or that they are not attainable at all. 

They are attainable. You just have to focus on it and know what you’re doing there.

 

Learn From Veteran Drivers

Tip number three is really about what the best truck drivers already know, but first, I have a story to share with you. 

When I joined my current company, one of my goals was to help our drivers earn six figures for the first time 

Company drivers are worth $100,000 or more to me. I believe that it is the kind of job and the industry has gradually been getting there. I’m pleased to see that some companies pay their truck drivers more than $100,000 a year.

Professional drivers are definitely worth the investment. Our company has a program where I review their performance on a six-week rolling average. This allows me to see how much they’re averaging in terms of gross pay. And it gives me an opportunity to help our drivers, too.

Every week, I scan my inbox for any new emails. I’m constantly on the lookout for red flags or anything that indicates somebody may be falling through the cracks. 

 

The Carriers’ Reality

One of the reasons drivers leave is because they didn’t get paid what they thought they were going to get paid. Right? The bank account isn’t what they thought it was going to be on Friday.

Instead of discussing their concerns with a company representative, some people have chosen to take matters into their own hands by sneaking into the terminal, cleaning out their trucks, and leaving the keys.

We’re constantly trying to play catch up and figure out what went wrong when an employee doesn’t show up for work. We reach out to them, but we can never get ahold of them or understand their perspective. As the best Fleet carrier in America, communication is key!

We expected things to go right, but I know pay is a big issue for people. They are expected to make so much that their spouses talk about the why behind it all at home. On Fridays, they expect a certain amount of money to be deposited into their accounts, and when it’s significantly less than what they were expecting, it creates problems at home and at work.

The problems are much worse than you think at times. Just imagine getting a phone call from your spouse when the money’s not there. So, to get back to the story about driver pay, we’re watching a six-week rolling average.

 

Dan’s Story: Successful Truck Driver

I’m the general manager of a flatbed trucking company, so I spend a lot of time looking at data and analytics. Recently, I noticed that one driver was doing extremely well. So I looked at their six-week rolling average to see what they were doing differently from the other drivers.

I decided to add a column and multiply it by 52 to calculate what his annual income could be if he maintained his current weekly earnings.

 This guy, the first year I watched him, was in the upper nineties–I’m thinking to myself, ‘Wow, we might actually have a company driver that’ll make 100k this year at our company.’

After watching him for a few weeks, I noticed that his ranking among other drivers would fluctuate. Curious about his methods, I decided to contact him and see what he was doing differently than the other drivers.

After some observation, I decided to contact the driver, Dan. He lived only 30 miles from the trucking terminal, so I asked him what his secret was.

I was really impressed with what I saw and had to ask: what sets you apart from the drivers?

He said that one of the first things he learned in trucking was that there would be good and bad weeks. And he’s managed to save some money away for when those downtimes come–like during holidays or when he chooses to go home.

We were able to save up some money, which was great because it removed a lot of stress from our home life. I know we all wish we could be in that position, but Dan prioritized savings so that he could get to that point.

Not only did it reduce stress in his home life, but I also noticed that Dan is on track to make over $100,000 this year as a company truck driver – which is amazing!

The driver told me that he only goes home every other weekend by choice, so I asked if he had any tips to share with the other drivers. 

 

Pro Trucking Tips

He’s discovered that this is the best way it works for him and his family. Nevertheless, he often notices that when he’s driving back to the home terminal midweek–say, on a Wednesday or Thursday– 

Most drivers would just go, Oh, it’s okay. I’ll just go home early, and they’d get a couple of extra days at the house, so they’d be home maybe part of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and back out on Monday.

 

That Extra Load Counts

What Dan learned was that he had a good relationship with dispatch. He asked for another short load to finish out the week because he still had hours of service available – and why not use it up if it would maximize his income potential? 

So that was his whole tip, and I totally agree with him. I see that all the time when drivers come in midweek, they’re like, Oh, yeah, that’s no problem because, you know, there’s that emotional attachment to go home. You get to spend a little extra time with your wife and the family or whatever that is.

Dan’s case was different though—you could see it in his bank account and income every week.

In my over 30 years in the trucking industry, this was one of the best trucking tips had gotten from a driver on how he put himself on track for a six-figure $100,000 income.

 

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