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Author Topic: Need advice on a new career path....Tim Reed....I could use you... Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 10-16-2006 07:14 PM                     Hey everyone. I'm in a dilemma... Currently I'm driving pizzas and miserable as HELL. I want to make a RADICAL change. I like the alone time of being on the road and I don't have any family, aside from immediate, parents and brother. I think I'd like to consider truck driving. I have found a company that as long as you stay with them for 1 year, they will cover tghe entire cost of training you. It is a tanker company hauling sulfur. It is local routes, home every night...I'd make about 200+ more dollars take home a week than I do with pizza. I've also found that this route is a better way to go to get into OTR driving. If I wanted to get my start OTR immediately, I'd probably be miserable as I would have a partner...unless she's hot.... My goal is to have my own truck and be OTR... I'd appreciate any and all input on this subject that can be given...it's a path that I am SERIOUSLY considering. Thanks in advance.  |  IP: Logged Edwin Sheldon Film Handler Posts: 95 From: Mobile, AL, USA Registered: Sep 2006 posted 10-16-2006 07:35 PM                     I actually thought briefly about doing that while I was returning from Alabama last night. Fourteen straight hours, most of them at night, and I didn't feel tired at all...in fact, I loved it. I don't think I could keep it up for long, though. I imagine doing local routes would be easier to do for a long time, and you could actually have a social life! They'll cover all your training, HAZ-MAT and everything?  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 10-16-2006 07:41 PM                     They'll do the Haz-Mat and tanker endorsements...you need them for sulfur  |  IP: Logged Mike Heenan Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1896 From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 10-16-2006 08:58 PM                     What happened to the club job?  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-16-2006 09:57 PM                       Any of the majors (Werner, US Xpress, Swift, Schneider, Roehl, et.al.) will happily start you out OTR. Driving team and OTR are not synonymous, though. You can be an OTR solo. I started out that way and after about a month, landed my dedicated route and stayed with that for the remainder of my 3 yrs. as a driver. Dedicateds are very good because they offer consistent miles, you go the same places all the time, and you know when you're going to be home every week. On the other hand, you get to know every bump in the road. And, enough time OTR, you also get to know most of the interstates in the US, by mile markers. If you hire on with a major, be sure to get in line early for any dedicated accounts in your area. One potential problem to be aware of, living in FL... it may be difficult finding loads going back home. Depends on the company, though, and if they're currently hiring drivers from your area. A lot depends on the freight lanes. So you may be better off local. It would pay to check your options. Also, running local, you will most likely be driving a daycab with no radio and no air conditioning. You will also have no sleeper berth, in which you can take naps if you need to. The hours are irregular, but you WILL eventually get used to it. I did, and I was one who needed 10-12 hrs. of sleep a day before. After driving for a few months, I could run hard, and only get 4hrs. a day sometimes here, and a couple there. You do what you have to do. It works out. I have let my haz-mat rating expire, because of the increased fees, the fingerprinting and FBI check BS they put you through. Not worth it. Besides, since those laws went into effect, a lot of carriers no longer require haz-mat of their drivers anymore. Richard, the deal you mention -- school in exchange for a year's committment -- is fairly common. Depending on the company, it's not a bad deal. The fly in the ointment, however, is that 70-80% of people who go into the industry quit within a few weeks, when they find out they're not going to be hangin' out at truck stops all day. It's never what they expect and they get homesick. I would have no problems recommending my old employer to you (especially since they have very nice trucks, and the fleet is 100% autoshift), but they don't have a school. You have to have a CDL in hand. After a few months with most of the majors, you can make in the low to mid .30's (cents per mile), which isn't bad. Of course, the magic numbers are when you hit that 1yr. experience level with no accidents. The better jobs open up to you then. You can pretty much have any job you want after 3 yrs., with very good companies that pay well. Check out the Newbies forum at: Truck Stop USA .com You can find a lot of different kinds of info there, from driver testimonials to what you should carry on the truck with you. Some good people run that site. Stay away from Truck.net, though. You can't rely on anything you hear there... lots of abuse and false info deliberately to mislead beginners. Good luck, and if you have any other specific questions, just let me know and I'll try to help where I can. EDIT: WARNING! Do NOT. Repeat, DO NOT let a recruiter talk you into a lease/purchase deal! Stay in the business no less than a couple of years before you even CONSIDER getting your own truck! It will take that long for you to discover all the nuances of the business and whether or not it is for you. Don't be enticed by the high per-mile pay for O/O's. By the time you pay for tires, maintenance, fuel (even WITH the surcharges), you will make about the same as a regular ol' company driver. Sure, you'll hear all the "success" stories, but believe me, there are far more stories of failure in lease deals. All you're doing is paying for the company's truck for them.. let them do that. You be the company driver.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 10-16-2006 10:04 PM                     But, uh....yeah, what happened to the way cool night club bouncing job? Inquiring minds want to know.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 10-17-2006 09:36 AM                       More thoughts re: driving local. The better local jobs are open to drivers with those years of experience I mentioned. Newbie local jobs are often not as good as they sound, because they can offer that "be home every night" line to beginners, who may be afraid to venture out across state lines, and who will accept lesser pay for the "priviledge". Be aware that many of these jobs may "get you home" for only a few hours a day, and then expect you to be right back out. I could've been home every night on my dedicated, but I opted to stay out, get my runs done in 3 or 4 days, and then have several quality, contiguous days off; rather than being home every day (just long enough to go to bed and get right back out again). Also, running local, you will be driving in the city a lot... with all the tight turns, traffic jams (hope you're getting paid by the hour), parked cars, and other obstacles. If you start going down a dead end or make a wrong turn, guess what? You can't always just turn around. You have to have room to do that. And, if you can't get turned around, the police will have to come and clear traffic while they back you out. This will incurr a fine. A ticket that may cost $75 if you were driving a car will cost $400-$800 or more in a big truck! Newbie local jobs also involve local deliveries; to stores, and in the case of your tanker-yanker job, to bulk customers. The big local job the trucking school here bragged about was Coca-Cola. They gave the impression that you'd be running between DC's (distribution centers, not Digital Cinema ) all day, but the actual job was delivering product to grocery and mom-and-pop stores. You unloaded every case of soda off that trailer and stocked the store shelves -- all for $11 an hour! This is why I liked pulling a dry van. My job was all drop-and-hook, and then head it down the road. No loading or unloading. In fact, most companies don't even want you to do that -- they want you to drive. In the whole time I drove a truck, I only unloaded a trailer one time; and I volunteered for that, just to see what it was like and to say that I'd done it. (For the record, I never want to do it again, even as I am getting in shape.) Reefers and flatbeds also involve a lot of extra work, on every-single-load, that it doesn't really pay you to do it... especially since you'll be very tired at the ends of those runs (e.g., you just got through driving 700 miles, and now you have to tarp a flatbed load in the rain or snow). With dry vans, you can sleep while you're parked in the dock door, being loaded/unloaded. With tankers, you'll be climbing up and down all day, handling hoses and/or dump valves, and getting the trailer washed out a lot. It's hard, dirty work.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-17-2006 11:23 AM                        I have new respect for truckers, reading these posts. I've always tried to be a responsible "4 wheeler" driver when encountering trucks, but I'm sure I've made a few bonehead moves over the years. Thanks Tim!  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-17-2006 11:30 PM                     What a strange case of syncronicity! I was listening to the radio this evening and the story was about how trucking companies are having a hard time finding drivers. They talked about the incentive packages that companies are offering drivers and they said that, if a new driver stays with a company for about 5 years and keeps a clean record and works hard he can earn $60K-$70K.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 10-17-2006 11:49 PM                     You could also land a job as a field service tech in this industry and you can still call it OTR, you can have the same accounts, do the same route, make the same stops, know the same bumps and mile markers. After a couple of years you know the cashiers at the gas stops by first name. You can also own your own truck AND your own cool test gear and tools. Like me you can occasionally spend so much time in one town that you get to see gas go from 2.69 down to 2.12 a gallon and you get to gain almost 6 lbs as the gas prices drop while eating out. If you're smart you schedule calls to allow some fun time along the way.... I don't know how much fun time trucking would actually allow since you have limited driving hours.... no limit on driving hours in this buisness... you can drive till you drive yourself right off the road! And sometimes if you get lucky you still get to drive all night to get to a call by next morning. In this buisness you also get to meet nice theater owners like Mike Blaksley instead of some moron driving a forklift at the next warehouse. You get free lunches at nice restaurants instead of gas station food! Driving so much and eating so much good food you also get to gain as much weight as if you drive your own OTR truck.... gee, I am driving my own OTR truck.... its just a tad bit smaller. So many parallels..... Mark  |  IP: Logged Justin West Master Film Handler Posts: 271 From: Peoria, IL, USA Registered: Jul 2001 posted 10-18-2006 12:23 AM                     Hey Pizza Boy! Bobby wants to know about the Bouncer job...and I wondered what happened to the drive-in theatre manager's job? Fill us in, dude! Whew, Tim's the guy to chat with regarding the truckin' biz of today...especially for beginners!  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 10-18-2006 02:16 AM                  RICH: Ditto what Justin said! Mark, FINALLY(!!!) ***YOU*** make a post that makes "common" sense!  |  IP: Logged William T. Parr Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 823 From: Cedar Park, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 10-18-2006 10:17 AM                     quote: Mike Heenan What happened to the club job? DALTON quote: Bobby Henderson But, uh....yeah, what happened to the way cool night club bouncing job? Inquiring minds want to know. quote: Hey Pizza Boy! Bobby wants to know about the Bouncer job...and I wondered what happened to the drive-in theatre manager's job? Fill us in, dude! OK OK I will fill ya in. They Hired a Cooler named Dalton, badass mofo from NY to help clean the place up. After a few days of watching how they were handling the misfits. Dalton decided Richard did not have the right temperment for the job and was let go from the Double Duece. Was told to try Barber College as he left.  |  IP: Logged Bruce McGee Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1776 From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular. Registered: Aug 1999 posted 10-18-2006 11:07 AM                     My best friend (!) works for CommScope Trucking. He drives allover the US and is home many weekends. He has done this type of work for many years. He was purchasing his own truck up until last year, when the gas prices went sky-high. He lost the truck and all the money he paid into it, thanks to trusting his 'other-half' to make the payment for 3-4 months, which didnt happen. THAT truck is sitting at a truck lot in Atlanta right now. They wont even consider selling it back to him at a decent price. They want retail! I've been on 2 trips with him over the years. I had fun, but was so glad to get back home. He drove with a partner for awhile. The other guy did not like to bathe very often. I caught a whiff of their truck cab one day, and it was rank. We have a local trucking company that advertises all the time on television. They fill up their school and then most of the students quit, as was said before, when they find out what they have to do.  |  IP: Logged Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 10-18-2006 08:38 PM                     quote: William T. Parr OK OK I will fill ya in. They Hired a Cooler named Dalton, badass mofo from NY to help clean the place up. After a few days of watching how they were handling the misfits. Dalton decided Richard did not have the right temperment for the job and was let go from the Double Duece. Was told to try Barber College as he left. Actually that's kind of accurate.... The club ended up being not for me..so I left shortly after I started. The theatre job ended up being a case of corporate espionage. They went corporate and ended up cleaning house COMPLETELY. So TIm, you're saying that I can still get the CDL and go solo OTR? Will they do my training with one of those companies? I'd rather not do locals as it involves lots more work for little money... I'm thinking it might be a good idea to go to my local Flying J or T/A and ask around the lot for opinions...what do you think? This is something I REALLY want to do...  |  IP: Logged

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