Truck driving is a very important profession. Without you, everything would stop; stores would run out of products, construction would halt and food production would stall.
It’s estimated that trucking moves around 70 percent of all freight in the U.S. annually.
Through all of that hard work, trucking is also a rewarding career for many.
As a truck driver, there are a lot of ways to use your skills. For example, you can work directly for a retail company, moving cargo between stores, for an over-the-road trucking company hauling different kinds of freight and everything in between.
Here at RDO Equipment Co., we have a team of heavy haul truck drivers who move open-deck, oversized and/or overweight cargo between our stores and from our manufacturer partners’ facilities to RDO locations.
If you’re interested in joining this team (we have more than 60 drivers now), you might wonder what it’s like to work in these roles and whether they align with your career and lifestyle goals.
In this article, I’ll outline some key aspects of what it’s like to be a heavy haul driver at RDO and what to expect as a member of this team.
What Will You Do as a Heavy Haul Truck Driver at RDO?
Heavy haul drivers keep our business moving — literally.
Whether it’s a piece of machinery or the components of one (buckets, blades, other attachments, etc.), RDO drivers are responsible for moving freight of all shapes and sizes.
Regarding full machinery, RDO truck drivers may haul John Deere Construction, John Deere Agriculture, Vermeer, WIRTGEN GROUP or another type of equipment.
These machines vary in size, from compact utility equipment and lawn tractors to combines, loaders and motor graders.
With a few exceptions, the heavy haul jobs at RDO are not over the road.
Instead, our drivers are dedicated to several stores within a region and get home each night.
Though we don’t have one driver for every store, our drivers become familiar with picking up from and delivering cargo to a few RDO stores and manufacturer facilities.
What’s It Like to Be a Heavy Haul Driver at RDO?
Our heavy haul drivers are an important piece of our business, developing relationships with people throughout it. Many of our drivers become a part of the teams at the stores they work closely with.
In addition, our heavy haul drivers have connections to our field support teams.
Every driver has a trucking manager who oversees the drivers in an area.
Each trucking manager works with six to seven drivers.
As a trucker here, you’ll be fully supported by your manager and other team members. They are responsible for ensuring you have access to all of the load documentation, information, support and resources you need to be successful.
What Experience is Required to Become a Heavy Haul Truck Driver at RDO?
Some trucking experience is required to become a heavy-haul truck driver at RDO, and previous heavy-haul trucking experience is preferred.
Although there have been times when we’ve trained current team members to haul for us, when looking at candidates, 5-10 years of previous experience hauling equipment — either for another dealership, a manufacturer or a trucking company — is highly preferred.
How Much Will You Drive as a Heavy Haul Truck Driver at RDO?
The number of miles you’ll drive in a day, week or month as an RDO truck driver here will vary slightly depending on your location.
That said, you can expect to drive 70,000-80,000 miles per year.
At RDO, our drivers move high volumes of freight without necessarily traveling as many miles as truck drivers in other circumstances may. Broken down, our drivers cover around 6,500 miles per month or 1,600 miles per week (on the high end).
While this is more than a local driver might, it’s fewer miles than the average over-the-road heavy haul driver.
We also have four drivers (as of 2025) who operate on an over-the-road schedule.
These team members drive more:
How Will You Be Paid as a Truck Driver at RDO?
RDO truck drivers are paid a consistent wage, not by the mile. Depending on the situation, this might be by the hour or with a set salary.
Every RDO truck driver is eligible for and receives a quarterly bonus, which fluctuates based on their work that period.
What Kind of Equipment Will You Use?
As I mentioned previously, our heavy haul teams move a lot of different types of cargo. I like to say, if RDO sells it, we move it. While this makes this job more interesting for our drivers, it also means that our loads range in size.
To handle these needs, our drivers pull trailers suited to carrying cargo weighing between 200 and 100,000 pounds. The vast majority of our trailers are removable goosenecks (RGNs), ranging from 3 to 10 axles.
Our truckers also drive Volvo semi trucks, which we maintain at regular intervals throughout the year.
Is a Heavy Haul Trucking Career at RDO Right For You?
We’re proud to offer trucking careers that match our heavy-haul team members' professional and lifestyle goals.
This includes getting them home when they want to (most are home every night), offering them the best training and support, providing competitive pay and benefits and supplying new, quality equipment.
Creating opportunities for our drivers is another thing we value. There have been several instances where members of our team have, in alignment with their goals, moved up in the size and weight of the loads they haul through training and experience.
We’ve also had truck drivers move into other areas of our company, as driver managers or in sales, for example.
Choosing a company to work for is difficult and there is a lot to consider.
Here are some signs that you might like the heavy haul opportunities we offer:
- You’re interested in heavy machinery (agriculture, forestry, construction)
- You have experience hauling heavy machinery and equipment
- You’re looking for stability in your driving career
- You’d like to get home regularly
- You’re okay with being paid a flat salary or by the hour instead of by the mile or per load.
- You’re looking to be an employee, getting the benefits of being one (PTO, 401k, sick leave, holiday pay, health insurance, etc.)
Interested?
Learn more about RDO’s careers and find a heavy haul trucking job in your area here.
If you have any questions for me or the rest of the heavy haul team, contact RDO careers.
Erin Albrecht
Erin joined RDO Equipment Co. in 2012 as our central trucking manager. In this role, Erin's problem-solving and analytical skills helped him build our trucking team and systems. Today, Erin is the director of heavy equipment transport, where he oversees a team dedicated to overseeing the successful heavy haul trucking operations that keep RDO running.
