What are the 5 highest top-paying jobs in trucking?

 5 highest top-paying jobs in trucking

Private Fleets

One of the best highest paying trucking jobs is with private fleets. Private fleets are great these days for truckers because they're not worried about the cost of fuel or the cost of equipment. They're making that all back in the products that they manufacture and sell the people. They're more concerned with service.

They've got a customer base they want to keep that customer supplied with their product. Because of that, they have nice equipment and they want good guys running it. They want people you are going to be there when they say they're going to be there. Usually, they pay their guys well. Companies like this have a pension plan built into the package and stock options. These private fleets are worth looking into. For example, Walmart drivers.

Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Walmart Fleets are bringing in close to 80 grand a year just for delivering to Walmart establishments. A lot of private companies treat their drivers well and supply them with great equipment. Private fleets are an excellent thing to get into.

Chemical Tankers

Chemical tankers are primarily jobs for trucking professionals, certainly not for rooks that's for certain. Because you're working with chemicals, it's essential to take your time and be careful. If you're able to do that, they'll pay for every second of your time. Another plus side of hauling chemical tankers is fuel mileage.

Assuming that you own your truck and you choose to haul a chemical tanker, your fuel expense will be a ton lower than if you were to haul a big freight wagon through the wind. Tanks are a lot smaller and much easier to maneuver. They'll pay you for washes, they'll pay you for loading and they'll pay you unloading so they'll be paying for every moment. Of course, there is a pension package built-in.

It used to be that all tankers got paid a little bit better than these days. Now gas tankers and food tankers get paid a lot less. So if you're a professional trucker, chemical tankers are where the cash is at.

Plenty of guys don't want to do work with chemicals but the reality is that you're not the one that's going to be handling this stuff as a driver. You're simply backing in and letting them handle it but, of course, you don't want to roll the thing over on the freeway or have a crash. There are all kinds of perks to chemical tanking.

Oversized Loads

This job is a very niche market and pays better than normal hauls. Back then, oversized loads were something not that many people wanted to do. Driving with an oversized load and getting stuck under a bridge is something you don't want to go through. Today that's not the case. Now oversize loads are all charted out by the company and they tell you specific routes, police escorts, or ground escorts as well. Technology has improved on oversized loads. A typical oversized truck driver can make between $60,000 and $90,000 a year.

Something else nice about oversized is you're not racing against the clock. You're going to get there when you get there. You don't need to drive in poor weather conditions just to make up time because they just want you to get there in one piece. Generally, the stuff you'll haul is very heavy and very expensive and they don't want screwups. They want calm, relaxed guys that have the skill to get these wide loads through narrow streets or under bridges or whatever they got to do.

Owner Operator

Being an owner-operator is a dangerous deal and it's always going to be a risky deal. You've got to be careful about who you contract with and, you've got to know the contract inside and out. you've got to research the carrier. You don't want to get stuck with a bad carrier. The best way to find out who's good and who's bad is to ask around. But there are still good deals out there for owner-operators.

Now I'm not talking about lease operators. I'm talking about guys that own their trucks and are paying for their trucks through a bank, not through the carrier. The carrier always has an angle but if you own the truck and you find a good carrier to work for there's money to be made. If you track your miles, they pay you to buy the mile. If they take a percentage or you pay a percentage keep track of everything. The right guy with the right truck with the right carrier can still make money as an owner-operator.

Union Truck Driving Jobs

These jobs are getting fewer and farther. These kinds of jobs used to be the way to go. Because the union took good care of you. The Union wanted to make sure you were making money because they didn't want you to leave cuz the union also wanted to make a chunk of what you were making so they ensured that you were making money so they could make money and the guy paying was the carrier. Now teamsters aren't what they used to be. A lot of truckers who were Teamster for a little while found out the system was just a little bit awkward to work with particularly when it came to seniority. When they all got too slow everything is based on seniority so they'll suggest you move to another location to a different yard because this yard is so slow. Or sometimes work will send you home because they're just not that busy.

Sometimes the senior guys just keep taking the loads out and the newer guys would sit there and wait for a long time. Some union guys would sit until the weather got really bad and then the senior guys decided they didn't want to work in the snowstorms or blizzards and that was when they would call all the rookies to go.

Now not all Unions are like that. Some truckers used to laugh at UPS drivers. But now, UPS is a desired job. If you're dragging down a hundred grand a year working for UPS why not?! Because that's what it's all about the money at the end.

If your goal is to make more money, then you have to get away from General Freights and Mega carriers. you can't do those kinda jobs except a big payday. They want to pay themselves and pay you the least they can pay. they want the money and they're pocket, not yours.

If you want that big payday you got to concentrate on Specialized stuff or Niche markets stuff. To get any of these jobs you have to have experience. These guys are not looking for amateurs. They know they're paying top dollar and they want the best driver they can get.

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