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That load says $1,200 for 500 miles. At first glance, that looks like: $2.40 per mile. Sounds decent, right? Not so fast. If you have to drive 150 miles empty just to pick the load up, your truck is actually moving: 150 deadhead miles + 500 loaded miles = 650 total miles Now that $1,200 load is really paying about: $1.85 per total mile And that is BEFORE you subtract: • Fuel • Tolls • Maintenance • Insurance • Driver pay • Truck payment • Taxes • Dispatch or factoring fees, if applicable • Any other operating expenses This is why you cannot look at the rate on the load board or rate confirmation and stop there. You need to know: How far am I from pickup? How far will I be from my next likely load after delivery? Am I going into a good freight market or a dead area? How much fuel am I burning empty? How much time am I spending repositioning the truck? Because deadhead still costs money. The truck is still running. The driver is still working. The insurance is still active. The tires are still turning. The maintenance cost per mile did not disappear just because there is no freight in the box or trailer. And sometimes a load with a lower advertised rate but almost no deadhead can make more sense than a “better paying” load 150 miles away. Do not just calculate loaded miles. Calculate the entire trip. That is how you know whether the load is actually profitable. The truck does not stop costing money just because it is empty.

There is another side of trucking social media that people really do not talk about enough: What happens when the driver telling the truth also happens to be a content creator? Because there are trucking companies that LOVE driver influencers when the content looks like: 🚛 Beautiful truck 🌅 Pretty sunrise 💰 Good paycheck 🏠 Great home time 👏 “Best company ever!” 📸 Clean terminal pictures 🎥 Happy orientation videos But let that same driver start talking about: • Sitting 6 hours without detention pay • Constantly getting home late • Dispatch pushing unrealistic expectations • Breakdown pay being nonexistent • Layover policies that sound good until you actually need them • Poor communication during emergencies • Equipment issues not being addressed • Pay being different from what recruiting advertised • Drivers being treated differently after orientation Now suddenly the driver is: “Negative.” “Unprofessional.” “Hurting the company image.” “Talking too much on social media.” Baby… THAT is what we call the Truckin’ Truth. And yes. Sometimes the truth makes the company look bad. But did the DRIVER make the company look bad… or did the company’s own practices make the company look bad? There is a difference. If everybody in trucking only posted the good parts, how would a new driver know what questions to ask before choosing a company? How would they know to ask: How often am I REALLY getting home? Not what the recruiter says. What are your actual home-time policies? Do you pay detention? When does detention start? Do you pay layover? What happens if I break down for two days? Is there guaranteed minimum pay? How do you handle emergencies at home? Can I turn down an unsafe load? What happens when weather shuts the road down? Will dispatch pressure me to keep moving? What happens if the truck goes into the shop? Is orientation paid? Do you charge drivers for transportation home if employment ends? How are preventable accidents handled? What does your passenger policy actually say?

One thing I want new and current drivers to understand: You do NOT have to stay at a trucking company simply because somebody told you that you have to “do your year.” And no, trucking does not have some federal rule requiring you to give a carrier a two-week notice before leaving. But there’s a right way and a WRONG way to move around in this industry. Leaving a company is one thing. Abandoning equipment, disappearing under dispatch, leaving freight unattended, or failing to return company property is something completely different. If you leave: ✅ Return equipment where instructed ✅ Take pictures/video of the truck and trailer ✅ Save your resignation communication ✅ Keep proof of where and when equipment was returned ✅ Keep copies of your settlements/pay records Protect your record. Now let’s talk about something else drivers need to understand An accident is NOT automatically a preventable accident. If another vehicle rear-ended you, struck you while legally stopped, caused the collision, or you were otherwise involved in something you did not cause, that context matters. So when a recruiter asks: “How many accidents have you had?” Don’t automatically say: “I have two accidents.” Know your record well enough to explain: • What happened • Whether it was preventable or non-preventable • Whether you were cited • Whether it was DOT-reportable • What appears on your PSP/MVR • How the carrier classified the incident The same applies to job history. Having several trucking companies on your employment history does NOT automatically make you a bad driver. The question is: WHY did you leave? No freight? No miles? Unsafe equipment? Pay problems? Home-time promises weren’t being honored? Company shut down or eliminated positions? Or were you repeatedly terminated for safety or performance problems? Those are very different employment histories. There are thousands of carriers with different hiring and insurance requirements. One recruiter saying: