How much should I pay my employee for this position?

$20/hour would be a good start.

LOL LOL LOL at the guy who said $10/hour. 1978 wage??? Who does he think he's kidding?!!

my experiences 30 years ago in sunny california,,job bank carried a lot of jobs,doing casual labor,helped out a homeowner install a 40 ft x 15 x 15 joist to serve as support for a second floor addition over a garage,my job (in 85 degree heat & sun) was to move one of a dozen levers on the heavy cat an inch to the left up a quarter,,back,,move it out,back in again,raise it an inch, did that for the bossman over 12 hours for 3 days,,he paid 9 bucks an hour,
helped a brit emigre radiologist do construction work on his new house over the ocean.\
it worked well for both of us,
you can find people who will work for about bucks,,some will not work for less than 13-14$/hr,
use you antennae to avoid druggies,people in rehab,paroled felons,place ads with a couple pics & descriptions of what kind of work,
also see where students hang out off campus,to avoid the school diversity
worker ( who usually have never had work, job hustling experience outside school bureaucracies) telling you about discrimination rules if you post help wanted at the school bulletin board.
I bypassed a a lot the above bureaucrats by packing a shoulder bag with food gloves change of socks,coffee ,parking the vee dub close to a multi unit job site,visiting each place where work was underway.spoke to a lot of the guys at the sites,I was paid cash,one fellas hired me & job lasted a year,I declared income,paid what the tax man wanted,( tiny tax it was by todays measure)
all involved were happy campers

If you think you put ON tires at the final location, you won't be in business long enough to HIRE an employee.

Negotiate with the prospective employee. Maybe it is a 2 tier wage system(one for just driving) another for physical work. You are located in Vermont but the set up job could be in another state or country. So time away from his home. They are talking about a $15.00 minimum for FLIPPING HAMBERDERS $20 IF IT IS HAMBURGERS(cause they can spell)
. If you want the guy to stay with you & Learn more than flipping burgers
you know $15 is the CHEAP MINIMUM(I would rather be at home flipping bugers and drinking beer with my mates rather than driving a pilot car half way to hell on some schitthole town road to set up some schitt trailer in the rain on a hillside). Yeah, not every day is a good day. You know those days happen. You could always decide that the amount you pay is too much and fire the kid. To hire another one at a lower wage.
. Skin color, or nationality(or political party or religious affiliation or SEX) should not be a determining factor. I know girls that can swing a chain saw just as good as ANY GUY.

You know Brains and common sense is the most important assets. Having the knowledge of leverage or moving heavy loads SMART.
. As much as you try to dress it up, it is STILL JUST A LABORING JOB.
NO special skills will be learned here.

Since you aren't looking for a temporary hand just for pilot truck driving, I assume you want a full time employee to hire as an assistant. Usually especially depending on experience and age, and location. Carpenter helpers start out at minimum wage and work their way up by learning and proving themselves. I would say with the added things he will be doing such as pilot truck driving around $10 to $12 with no experience would be a fair pay with 3 months probation period that leads to $15 an hour or more depending on how much he/she has learned. Good luck. Good hands are hard to come by in this day and age

well pilot truck drivers make 14 to 30 an hour plus everything else so I would start with 16-17 an hour.

If You pay too, low You will lose Him ..Every Spring companies are looking for trained employees and will offer Him a better wage than what You are giving Him . He will use You to learn and gain experience Treat Him decently and He will have no reason to leave You . I would start Him off at $ 12,00 per hr with a raise to $13,50 after 3 months if He,s good . Try and make Him like You . I have a CDL and a Heavy Equipment Operators ticket and can pick and chose My jobs . I only worked for employers I like and respect .

I don't know prevailing wages in your area . . . just don't cheap-out: dangerous work . . . a mistake can cost a fortune. (Your insurance must cost a fortune) Any info available from your trade association, a union, Chamber of Commerce/BBB, a competitor ?

Do a bit of research in what the trades in your area are starting general laborers at, you can find that out by simply going through the help wanted ads. If you wish this person to stick around for a while, after you hire them, see how it goes for 90 days, then give them few bucks bump in pay. Just so if they are looking to make a little more, they wont see it.
Thing is, you have to decide if you want a worker or someone to build the business with. Young adults bulls can always be found, they are easily interchangeable, cost less but come with occasional issues. You can continue to use one after another of them. Or, you can figure on one who you can trust, can do the job if you are not around, will eventually have a crew of their own, will be willing to grow with you, be a friend and partner.
The development and pay rates are different for the type you are looking for.

is this an overnight travel job, or out and back same day? If it is no overnight travel, I'll bet VT Dept of Labor says that your employee has to be paid portal to (return) portal ... from when she/he reports to site until you return her/him -- meaning that employee is paid to drive back to home [even if you do the actual driving].

Doubt you'll get anyone in VT for less than 12 an hour and overtime does apply after 8 hours a day. And to get someone reliable, I suspect you'll be paying over 15.

Another question -- besides pay, what is the upside to this job? What future can it hold? What will the chosen person learn while working with you?