Truck Driver questions...

Before my hubs died in '06 he was a company driver/trainer with Swift and then Knight. With both, he was home every weekend, no touch loads, well maintained trucks and good pay. Very rarely did he not get home every weekend, and then, it was by his choice. Both companies treated him very well.

Keep in mind that government is the largest employer and check out the jobs available on their websites at local, state and Federal. Your military/vet experience will be taken into consideration for job hiring in almost any government based job.

http://agency.governmentjobs.com/michigan/default.cfm

And it's a good thing to know what the CDL health requirements are before applying for one:
http://www.ehow.com/list_6016860_med...l-drivers.html

along with the new medical certification for CDL from the US Dept of Transportation:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/registratio.../cdl/faqs.aspx

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There are endless combinations of truth.

Drive only for dry box or flat bed companies. The best for you would seem to be the dry box. They are mostly drop and hook these days. If you do reefer most places have lumpers to unload for a fee usually paid for by the shipper. They are a real problem IMHO.

The location of the company has nothing to do with where one lives. I never drove for a company based close to the house. I never moved either.

Do not do hazmat. It does not pay any extra and is lots of hassle.

The CB is usually only good for locating truck stops close by. One can tell by the kind of talk on the CB. Occasionally they do help but not worth having IMHO. I mostly kept mine turned off.

Do not become and O/O stay as a company driver. Stay in your truck. That is why they are sleeper cabs. Most come with conviences these days. You still will need to shower and toilet outside the truck. But even showering can be done in the truck.

Good luck. I enjoyed my 6 years as a driver. Miss it when I get in a local conversation with drivers and exdrivers.

I drove for Prime. My lease was for 2 years and was I glad. I would say stay away. They seem to want you in the NE. Few and very poor Truck Stops, very heavy traffic and toll roads (DO NOT MISS AND EXIT besides the problem it creats for your log book). Toll gates are DOT hang outs.

The best driving is south and west. The north is great in the fall for colors.

Thanks for those links. No issues with any of that!!!

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Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

My cousin used to drive for Schneider (sp) till she retired. She had something like 5 trucks at the end and a wrecker/repair truck.. She of course worked hard and built her "fleet" but as I said she has retired and sold them.. She seems to have made a good living...

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Pennsylvania Constitution, Article 1 Section 21 "The Right of the Citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned"
www.pafoa.org
http://www.45thpacok.com

I would also suggest getting prequalified with as many companyies as you can. It will kep more options open to you if your disappointed in what the recruiter tells you.

Also as someone else said look at truckersreport.com they have some excellent insight on the goods and bads of several companies out there.

Did you pass grammar, when you were in the second grade? If, so, you do just fine, with a CB radio.

Most companies that hire new inexperienced drivers, will be regional haulers, that cover a few, or a buch of states, and keep the truck out 5 days, usually Sun night through Friday evening. If they are good, after you get your CDL, they'll put you with a an experienced (or at least more experienced than you) trainer for six weeks.

I started with TMC , which runs flatbed, which does not have many female drivers, assumingly because it's pretty physically strenuous tarping loads..Not many fat flatbed drivers, for sure. I now drive for a private Company running a hazmat tanker, hauling fuels and chemicals.

DO NOT LEASE ANYTHING. You need a job starting out, not a cut-throat business.

Just fill out on line application at one of the truckers sites and you will probably get 100 replies.

shop around for comapnies, (benfits, pay, detention pay, terminal locations, etc.) Since there is a shortage for drivers, this is one of the best times to be job shopping.

Most will want you to get Hazmat, which you will want anyway, to get better loads. Hazmat and Tanker endorsement, is a great ticket to have, for easy, higher pay work.

Whatever you do - don't give up when you start, it's a very hard job to learn, a nightmare sometimes. but it will get easier, plus not too many jobs any more, where you can make $65 grand +, per year, with an 8th grade education.


Good luck.

I am female and drove sleeper team w/ hubby for 15 years. We hauled produce, ice cream, meat, flatbed oversize, grain, gravel, pretty much everything but livestock.

Trucking company recruiters will promise you the moon, when reality is much different.

You will be expected to 'push through' in any type of weather. Snowing/blizzards, throw the chains on and go.

Flooding areas, drive around and go.

Tornado's, keep watch out your window and go.

If you want to save money, you sleep and eat as much as possible in your cab. You will get all sorts of comments about your job. Ignore them.

You will earn [starting pay] about 25 cents a mile. It will go up as you gain experience and learn to navigate the system. There is a learning curve with any job, and newbies ALWAYS get the least desirable jobs. You are expected to earn your credentials after all.

Lumping, sometimes necessary. You either do it your self or pay the lumper's to do it for you. Anywhere from $50. to $300 depending on the load. If you do it your self, you will be given thirty minutes to get it done.

Most of the time, you are responsible for paying this cost out of your own pocket. Some companies reimburse, but find out before hand.

Calculate at 50 miles per hour [an average] times .25 a mile, you can work 8 hours a day with a 40 hour reset every week.

Frankly, it's tough. It sounds glamorous, freedom of the road and all of that, but warehouses are never in the best parts of any town.

Go to a truck stop and sit and watch drivers coming in and out. Pay close attention to their eyes. Lack of quality sleep and relaxation pulls the eyes back into the head with dark puffy circles hanging underneath.

Like any job, be informed before you leap.

OK WOW! I mean, wow.....
If I understand you correctly, basically there will be extremely long drive days and THEN i have to unload the cargo, THEN do paperwork, THEN try to get some sleep.....

Hmmm, this does give me pause, as I would be doing this on my own, and not with any partner.....

And, you are correct, warehouses are NEVER in a good part of town (sadly)

this gives me extreme pause.....I know you don't mean to scare me off, but I am scared now.....

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Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

I don't know if I would let it scare me off completely. When I drove for Prime, I went from Maine, to Florida, to California and to Washington, and all points between lol. I never touched a piece of freight. If the warehouse didn't unload it, they had a lumper service that Prime reimbursed me for, and billed back to the shipper.

The days can be long if you want them to be. Basically, you are allowed to drive 11 hours of 14 hours on duty with 10 hours required sleeping time after that. That makes your 24 hour day. After 70 hours, you have to take a 36 hour break. There are ways around that, but I don't recommend it. Everything I did was on "e-logs". No paperwork, everything done on the Qualcomm computer in the truck. Not all are like that yet.

Since you get paid by the mile, it is in your best interest to drive all the 11 hours that you are allowed. I would get plenty of sleep sitting at the docks waiting to be unloaded lol. Your trainer will teach you all that.

You will hear from people that went broke doing it and hated it, just like you will hear from people who made good money and loved it. Everybody has their own opinion of it. I never was in seedy parts of town that I know of, as most places I went were big giant warehouses.

I wouldn't get scare away from it. Diligently do your research, look at all your options, and try it out. If I was single, I would certainly be doing it right now, but I look at it from a male standpoint. There are a ton of drivers out there who are really nice people, and will help you out in ways you can't believe.

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“You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”

Really? so .25 cent/mile X 50 mph X 8 hr/day = 50k /year (is this right?).
I understand you can work more hours, but wow, that is not much money, for a lot of hard work. You guys are amazing!

PNWest's information on the hours, is no longer correct.

Current regulations will let one drive, for up to 11 hours (during a 14 hour period) and then take a required 10 hour break, before another 14 hours period, for up to 70 hours in 7 days.

After a year with Schneider (for instance), pay is .39- .42 cents mile and one can get 2700 miles per week.

Truck driving is good money, but you have to work to get it.

Those expecting easy money, need to looks elsewhere (wherever that is).

Don't fall for the scare tactics.

Many companies do not require their drivers to unload trucks (TMC is one), some are drop-and-hook, where you unhook a loaded trailer and hook up and empty one.

"paperwork" does not usually take long and yoiu will be required to take a 10 hour break.

Truck driving is not a simple job, for sure. When I started in 04' 5% of US drivers were woman, not sure now but its certainly higher.

The first year is the toughest, as the pay is not as good, plus truck driving has a steep learning curve.

WHEW! Ok, I won't be scared off. I mean, that post really got me thinking. I know that there are downsides to almost every job, but without any knowledge, I needed to ask the 'family' here.

I can understand a steep learning curve - I am hoping that my intelligence, my military background, my mechanical background, and my military big-truck and trailer driving background will help with the learning curve.

And, I understand that almost any starting job isn't top pay, you have to work for that. And, I don't believe that money comes free or from zero work.

Thanks again for all the info!!!! Keep it coming!

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Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

When I was at Prime, I got .39 per mile. I averaged 2600 miles per week. Some more, none less than 2000 miles. That's little over $1,000 per week. The hardest labor I did, was sweep out the back of the trailer a few times lol. After taxes and expenses, I got about $650 per week in the bank. At tax time, most everything is written off lol.

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“You cannot invade the mainland United States. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”

If Stevens is the company I think it is, they drive all Dark Blue Kenworth T2000's and are mostly (if not exclusively) refrigerated units. If it is them they run their own schools AND in the past they required you to work for them for two years to avoid having to pay for the school which they valued at over $5K.

They are way too proud of themselves. There are MANY other companies that will only require you to work for them for one year to avoid the school fees. Do you really want to be locked into a company where you cannot leave without having to pay such a big chunk of cash? If they are great (and most companies are not), then stay as long as you and they want you to. But if you decide the dispatcher or the company in general is not treating you properly, I think it is better to be able to get a new and better job in much less time. It is alot easier to put up with crap for one year than for two.

Another thing you should consider is a local state run technical school. The one local to me runs a school that lasts eight weeks, (only half a semester) rather than the usual three weeks; so you are better trained when you graduate. They have tons of company recruiters coming by during the school to offer jobs to the class. If you are out of work you might qualify for the Pell grant (Federal) and not have to pay anything out of pocket. Depending on your state other grants or scholarships might be available.

I found living in a rolling condo to be an un-natural way of life. I did my year and was glad to get off the road, however, many others love the lifestyle, and if you can keep the wheels rolling you can make a decent living.

The best advice I could give you is to stay out of Chicago (largest collection of low overhead bridges in the world) and stay out of the Northeast corridor (look at your Rand McNally map of the country and that entirely yellow large blob in the Northeast--you don't want to get sent there. If someone tries to send you to New York City, threaten to quit.

I pulled a flatbed for Prime for about 2 years, 05 and 06. Had an almost new Mack Vision, and loved it. Flatbedding pays different than freight hauling. It was per cent of the load, not by the mile. Best trip I ever did was from Orlando, FL to Eureka, CA, left there on Thursday and delivered on Monday, paid $3600 to me, after expences. I loved flats because you don't have to mess around with the idiots on the docks. Most things that come flat, the people are waiting for it, and are glad to see you.

I liked the tarping. It's not as hard as you think, and great exercise after you learn to handle them. And there is always some old boy around with a Hyster to put them back on the truck for you.

Oh, and by the way, I started doing flats when I was 63. And I'm 5'3 and a little over 150, and female, so you don't have to be big to do it.

I have driven most everything and pulled both reefers and boxes. I would NEVER pull a reefer again. Impossible to sleep and keeping ice cream at 30 below can be hard to do. LOl

Toured with broadway plays and rock bands for around 3 years. That is great fun, pays really good but you are NEVER home. If I needed to go back on the road tho, it would be flatbeds. A whole different and interesting world.

You don't consider $50k good pay? Good Lord! That amount is more than what I make now. I make something over $15 an hour now and I'm paying my bills with some left over.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Yes, Plow Jockey is correct about the hours. We retired as the new HOS were coming into existence, so I was quoting old news.

I am not trying to scare you Red, but you might as well know that the lifestyle is not wonderful for everyone.

When you work for a company, you are dispatched to move their freight. Plain and simple. During the first year you go where they send you, you have no seniority, and no matter if you detest going into NY City, if that is where the shipper is located, you go.

The reason every one hates the North East, the roads are narrow and the turns are a nightmare with a 53' trailer. Some roads in Pa. and Maryland were started as buggy roads and then they paved them.

Obesity is a horrible problem, lack of quality rest is another. What it boils down too, is what you put in your mouth is the only choice or decision you can make on your own. We retired because we felt that the job was beginning to run us, not us running the job.

That is no different than homesteading when the chores become so overwhelming, that all a person does. There is a reason people say, work smarter, and harder.