Up until your rig breaks down, so I'm told.

I hear you. There are definte risks in trucking, but for people with a strong work ethic who understand electronic logs and can keep their fuel efficiency in check, you can make good money.

For what it's worth, I began driving about 30 years ago. Started out OTR, did that for a year and then took a job with a local grocery company. Teamsters job. Great benefits and the pay was fairly decent. Usually made around $55,000 a year and some years made $60-65 a year.

I will caution you about OTR work, however. As a rookie, look to get screwed a great deal. You, for the most part, won't get enough miles to make a decent wage, OR, they'll work you like a dog for little or less money. He'll, look at it as a way to get the experience to work for a company like Yellow, UPS, or any number of local companies.

The other thing I would caution you about is if you are running OTR, look to be gone for several weeks at a time, so if you are prone to "homesickness", you might want to look elsewhere...

Good Luck to you!!

Many of the big companies are self insured so that doesn't matter.

It was called deregulation and it has slowly destroyed an industry that once was a great way for a non college educated type to raise a family with one income. Now without the industry being regulated it is a race to the bottom.

Some good info in here.

Thanks.

I always see some trailers around advertising for a company that pays all training and licensing. I can't remember the name FFS, but they're out there.

My cousin does this and makes a hell of a lot more money than I do. I think he owns his truck and contracts with a logistics company. Last I knew he was hauling bulls. I think he was hauling corn down and DDGs back at one point.

Actually driving the truck is pretty easy unless you have an unbalanced load or liquid. It is the ****ing regulation that is a PIA. Fortunately I don't have to **** with it much.

Yep, 1977 was the start of the downward spiral.

There are trucking companies that will train you, and pay for your CDL licensing, they'll even give you just enough to live off of while you are training. You just have to work for them for a year, and it's totally free. That's what I did. I was lucky too, I lived local to the trucking company, so I was home every single night. Long ass day, but I was home and slept in my own bed. Problem is, the trainer I got was a **** up. And the guy who was my boss and controlled the routing was best friends with this guy. Yeah, luckily I'm a smart enough guy that I was able to muscle my way through it, but I'm telling you, go this route and you are STUCK with the guy who trains you, and you're pretty much his bitch.

So, you have more leverage if you come up with your own CDL, but if you don't feel like paying 4-5k, there are alternatives. If you want some, I'll list some companies that will train you.

I started out in the oil patch in western Kansas as a swamper, worked my way up to my 1st road truck, eventually the #2 tandem driver.
My 1st couple years driving were without a chauffeurs license since you had to be 21. It was quite comical when I went to the DOT to get my license. The instructor asked where I had been obviously driving & I said backroads of Nebraska. Didn't matter, he abruptly instructed me to turn around chewing my ass out all the way back to the office (we only made it about a mile). No highway driving, nothing. Got my license & a free ass chewing.
Sounds like an exaggeration but it's true.

The US made up with OPEC & the patch bottomed out. I took that experience & went to work for Roadrunner Trucking pulling flatbed. I averaged close to150k miles a year with a 68mph top speed sometimes 62. Of course I sometimes ran 3 logbooks. I'm sure it helped that I had a good attitude, kept my truck looking immaculate & never, ever sat to wait on loads. I think the most I waited was 2 days.

To make any money, you have to keep your door closed & stay out of the truck stops. Most of the time I'd turn my CB off when stopping for fuel.
It helps if you're single as well. Also if you are married, you need to be able to have undying faith in your wife that she won't be sleeping with your best friend.
Taking your wife or a loved one with you isn't always such a good idea. For 24/7 weeks on end you're less than 10' from that other person. Maybe it's just me, but even loved ones' get on my nerves.

Another thing...you can take your driving experience & move up the ladder into other trades. I fell in lust with a cocktail waitress @ Jubitz Truck Stop in Portland. I moved up here & the lust wore off after about 4 months.

So I ended up hauling lumber for an outfit with chromed up beautiful trucks for a couple years.
I left there & went to work for a heavy haul outfit for right at 2 years. Sometimes I would haul cranes for this local crane rental outfit, sometimes a week straight of just scattering cranes. Anyhoots, they offered to bring me in as a journeyman.
So I changed trades somewhat. I went to work as a crane oiler on a P & H lattice boom crane. The money & hours were over twice what I had previously made. We were able to have a house built a mile from the hospital (where my wife still works), & I was able to step up with my classic car ownership.
I was with the crane rental outfit for 10 years when I had my 2nd new crane. This one was a 3.2 million $$ big mobile hydraulic crane.
Last month would have been 19 years with them. I never planned on quitting & loved my job. And then Nov. 28, 2003 I chased after a friend who had just sprayed me with sand over a widow's peak & paralyzed myself. :grr:


Sorry so long. My point being, this all started from my decision to give driving/oil patch a try for a year or so, then make up my mind what I wanted to be when I grew up & start college.

Good luck.

No to truck driving school, try to get on working the dock at Fedex Freight, tell them you are interested in the driver apprentice program.

There are many highly qualified drivers out of work so your chances of landing a decent job as a driver is slim at best, sure there are plenty of Swift Jobs but they pay peanuts.

Truckload pay Sucks LTL Freight is where the money is.

If I were to ever get back into trucking, this is the 1st guy I'd go too, and I probably wouldn't need to go any further.

Why thank you Mr Flopnuts, one more thing to add, do not believe anything a recruiter tells you, they are all liars....

Fedex Freight is not the only job out there by no means, your best bet in Florida is to become a city driver, lots goes into Fla but not much good paying freight goes out.

Check UPS Freight, Fedex freight, Estes, Con-way, Anywhere you can get your foot in the door...

It's very easy to get a shit job, about all you have to have is a pulse, we call it meat in the seat, so don't think you are special if you get lots of offers from the bottom feeders... If you decide to go to a bottom feeder you will basically live in that truck, you will wait at truck stops on your own time for loads that may not come for a couple of days, recruiters will not admit this, they are paid to get you in the door. All recruiters are liars, always remember this.

Work the dock until you get your shot in LTL, it's hard work sometimes but it will pay off bigtime in the long run... + no tickets or bs like that... If you ever had a DUI or a Felony, don't even waste your time.

If you are in good shape and young, Throwing Groceries is not a bad gig, the work is demanding but it pays good... Throwing groceries is delivering food and supplies to restaurants (sysco, pfg etc.)

They don't have enough CDL truck drivers up here.

Indeed I did Greg 2.6 million miles in 12 and a half years as an Owner Operator delivering to every damn nook and cranny of North America you can think of.
And YES, I've also run the "Ice Roads" in Alaska, Yukon, and NWT.
Flats, drops, double drops, trombones, step's, tanks, rocky mt doubles, Super B's, quads, boosters, vans, reefers, ...Just about ANY kind of trailer you can think of.
And as far as loads, just about every size/weight imagionable.

One of my more scarier moments was when some nut job in gold Vett past me on an off ramp out side of Billings one night :doh!:


My advice a rookie starting out, let the "big" company pay for the mistakes your abbout to make...(and you will) Like Schnider or J.B Hunt. Get about 6months to a year with them, then go for a smaller better paying private carrier.