On The Road Again

Well to start in this business you need to start somewhere and larger companies are more than welcome to accomadate you. When I started I paid with my 401k from another job to get trained. It was like 2000 dollars which to a man which has a wife and family to feed is a lot of money. I would highly recommend that you either go to a private truck school or check with your local community college or unemployment office to see if they have CDL programs. I would really hate for you to sign a "contract" that will bite you in the ass in the future if either they don't treat you right or you decide trucking isn't for you. That way your not out of pocket either way. A majority of larger companies will "train" (can't stop laughing) you if you sign a contract with them for a year or two. I wouldn't sign it if its over a year. Why?..Because you need at least a year in to switch companies if you decide that the place your working for is ripping you off. Continued.........

Comment By:
VM on Sat, Sep 30 2006 @ 11:51 PM [AKST]

Its all about the insurance and the company I currently work at wouldn't touch me with a ten foot pole until I had two years in. I know because I applied three times and got no response until I had two years in. Only then did they give me a call back. You need at least two years experience before you get a gig that'll pay you anything. If you have a family this job can be extremely stressful because trucking is 24/7 and can be a real meat-grinder to your mental health. I would not reccomend trucking for people that have children living with them because you'll hardly see them. And your wife might be excited at first for your new job but will grow weary of it when she sees you once or twice a month. I don't tell you this to frighten you away from trucking its because it's what I've learned the hard way. I tell it like it is and I challenge any trucker to read this and tell me its not true. It is a career that can be really stressful believe it or not. Continued.....

Comment By:
VM on Sun, Oct 01 2006 @ 12:04 AM [AKST]

Its a good career for people that; dont have attachments, like to drive, like to eat everything fried, just check VaqueroMuerto's post on "Don't be a trucker if.." and you'll see what I mean. Like I said before its not that I want to scare you off from trucking its that I pull no pucnches and tell you like it is. Even if you drive local like I do after driving OTR its still 10-14 hours a day 5 or 6 days a week. Anyway VM-out!

Comment By:
VM on Sun, Oct 01 2006 @ 12:11 AM [AKST]

VM is right about this job being hard on the family life. If you are married and have kids, your wife better be able to handle everything on her own for weeks at a time. Unless you live near a terminal, you will be doing good if you get home every 14 days and they will expect you to head out again after 34 to 48 hours later. Companies that claim to give you 2 days home after 14 days out actually mean 48 hrs after you deliver your last load. So if you have to drive any distance to and from a terminal it will cut into your home time. Alot of the larger companies don't allow drivers to take trucks home. So that means driving the truck to a terminal and then head home,which cuts into your 48 hrs. The companies won't tell you this until your in the truck and ready to go home for the first time. As far as what Swift and CR England are like, the best way to put it is they didn't get as big as they are by caring about drivers personal life.They want the trucks moving, not sitting.

Comment By:
Bigfoot on Sun, Oct 01 2006 @ 4:55 AM [AKST]

Thanks for the advice about driving. I can pay for my own training but figured it would cost less if I attended company training. It cost $5700.00 to complete a 6 week PTDI course here in Alaska (with no job placement). There are 2 training outfits in my area. see my new post for links.

Comment By:
jn on Tue, Oct 03 2006 @ 7:28 PM [AKST]