I am interested in becoming a trucker. However, I now nothing about it. I have absolutely no experience driving for a living and thus, I do not want to be screwed.

Since the description of this board is

I would like to ask you seasoned million mile pros out there, what should I be looking out for? I am looking for a trucking company that teaches young grasshoppers how to manhandle those big rigs. I've gone to England (Trucks, not the country), Schneider, Stevens Transport. So far, I've heard some not so nice things about the Stevens place.

So what red flags out there indicate that I'm getting a raw deal?

And another thing. I keep hearing about strikes and what not. Is there such a thing that truckers are not driving and not getting paid, or driving and aren't getting paid? I would really like to learn that side of this industry.

I've heard all the good stuff about freedom, open road, a marriage of man and his machine and other poetic descriptions of what driving an OTR truck is like. What I would like to know is what is the daily reality of this.

I hope I am not asking too much for one thread. I am sorry if I do and I thank you to all who answer my questions.

Hey Lev, i need to be honst with you. im in no way a million mile pro. actually, just over 20,000 in., so im an extreamly new. but i can thro some kinds of advise for ya.
being a new driver myself, there some things i can share with you being new as well.
when ever your in a truck stop and you baking up into a spot, . first thing you do is put your 4-way flashers on,
2nd, take your jolly ol' time. there is no driver out there in his/her right mind that is going to get pissed/mad/annoyed with you taking your time to back in.
also. G.O.A.L. Get Out And Look when your backing up.
always, and i mean ALWAYS! remember that you have an extreamly long peice of equipment pulling beind you. wacth out for your turns, specially the right turns more then the left., but still good to be cautious on both turns at all time.
As far as companies go.
; would you go out and buy the first car you found that was forsale knowing nothing about it??? prob not, so do the same thing with the trucking companies.
read this forum, youll find just about everything youlll want to no about 99.999% of the companies that will hire new. un-experienced drivers...
read a lil everyday.
stay away from the bad companies.
swift. werner. prob 2 of the worse.

accoding to many drivers that i talk to from a wide veriaty of companies, reading about this too, miles are down, and down a lot pretty much industry wide. regardless what your pulling,---( may not be 100% corrct, but for the most part, yes )---
ill guess ill keep on going for now
as far as running OTR
some things youll need. ( and also, most of this is already posted here, but ill give a quick rundown of it. )
get sattilite radio for the truck, its about the best purchase iv made for my truck.
a fridge. $68 at wall mart.
pick up a tv with dvd built in. most tv's sold today already have the digital invertr built in. so come the big switch in feb ull be ahead of the game. go to your local video store and buy previously owned dvds, ull save at least $100 bucks a month, cause most new dvds run around 20-50, previusly owned, ull spend around 9-14 each.
dont get sattilte tv. not for right now, go drive for a while and save some $ before you make that investment.
a nother must have, a GPS, if your a young cat as myself, ull need/want/one, i use it, and i rely on it 150%. i still look at my maps, and compare routes
ill end it for now.

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my dream of becoming an o/o and making something of myself is starting to become nothing more then a fairytale

Problem is there is many a driver out here that is not in the right mind... What I am saying is people will complain, just don't let it frazzle you so that you hit something...

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My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

If there is one thing i take from this whole board about being a new driver (or an experienced one for that matter) is that you are responsible for your own truck. You are responsible for your 'safety envelope'...and nobody else will be held responsible if you ding anything.

both of you are right
i wanted to add one more thing,
you mentioned something about the stike talk hoovering around
well, simple as this.
being a company driever you wont have to worry about it, specially if your working for a bigger company.
with th fuel sur-charges that companies are charging its no problem, ok, well, yes it is, but its not anything that your going to have to worry about as a company driver,
no company is going to make/or even allow you to strike. you taking time out to stike with you truck is now costing the company money.
you dont need to worry about it
as to what NoTarps said. he is right. people will get mad, but they are the ones that are not in the right mind set. there is nothing to rush for. at all. ever. let them get pissed, let them scream and yell, and then take off like a bat outa hell once your outa the way., let them hit someone els.
other poster is right. you are the one responsable for your truck and trl.
my best advise is the hell with everyone els. you worry about yourself, and yourself only.
thats what i do, everytime, unless i get to a stop early enough and there are plenty of open spots.
but whenever im backing in-between trucks. i stop my truck, and get out and look, move back some more, stop, get out and look, go back a lil further, stop, get out and look, and i dont care how dumb i look, and how long i take, my goal is to not hit anything or anyone., its not worth it to me
and plus, it was ruin my saftey bonus too

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my dream of becoming an o/o and making something of myself is starting to become nothing more then a fairytale

Lev posted: "I've heard all the good stuff about freedom, open road, a marriage of man and his machine and other poetic descriptions of what driving an OTR truck is like. What I would like to know is what is the daily reality of this."

Over the Road driving, or Long Haul, involves a traveler's lifestyle. It has become increasingly difficult for carriers to find Americans or Canadians willing to live this lifestyle that involves camping in a vehicle, eating in truck stop restaurants, using truck stop showers and laundries, and spending many nights away from home and family. The false sense of freedom can be compared with the overly romanticized life style of cowboys in the days of long cattle drives. When you analyze it, cowboys faced danger, slept on the ground, ate chuck wagon food outdoors, seldom went to town, their hours were long and their pay was low. Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys.

Having said that, there are those who prefer traveling for a living. It is not a vacation.

What is the most difficult thing to learn in the truck classes?

Why do truck companies constantly hire new guys for the trucking courses? I've asked that question one of my presentation people and she said that out of, say, 80 people, 20will have a felony, another 20 - a drunk driving charge, another 20 - some kind of a moving violation and another 10 will not pass physical or say forget it I'm out of here - so here we are with 10 people in the class.

But even so, why doesn't the trucker pool ever get saturated?

Is there a big turnover in trucking industry? If so, why so?



One more thing and this is primarily for soon2betrucking. When I look for a used car, I know the specifics of it and what exactly to look for. As far as I know trucking is about hauling a long trailer on a straight highway. That's all. And I'm sure everyone will tell me that there are million more things to do other then honking a horn and replay "Duel" scenes in real life

Lev as posted just be careful when you start, one place i worked, one of the drivers was in a new pete 387 sitting in a truck stop when a driver from a different company decided to be richard petty in a truck and went ripping out of the truck stop hitting the new company trucks left front fender and tore out the headlight and turn signal leaving the fender shredded, ive seen those hotrods time and again fly thru truck stops and out of parking spots not even looking what they are doing or where they are going, one of these days a driver is going to walk out from betwen 2 trucks and get hit by one of those hotrod drivers, as for what company to work for like has been said before take your time and check each company and see which one will fit your needs the most like nice fitting gloves or shoes, good luck in your future.

Lev as posted just be careful when you start, one place i worked, one of the drivers was in a new pete 387 sitting in a truck stop when a driver from a different company decided to be richard petty in a truck and went ripping out of the truck stop hitting the new company trucks left front fender and tore out the headlight and turn signal leaving the fender shredded, ive seen those hotrods time and again fly thru truck stops and out of parking spots not even looking what they are doing or where they are going, one of these days a driver is going to walk out from betwen 2 trucks and get hit by one of those hotrod drivers, as for what company to work for like has been said before take your time and check each company and see which one will fit your needs the most like nice fitting gloves or shoes, good luck in your future.

Lev as posted just be careful when you start, one place i worked, one of the drivers was in a new pete 387 sitting in a truck stop when a driver from a different company decided to be richard petty in a truck and went ripping out of the truck stop hitting the new company trucks left front fender and tore out the headlight and turn signal leaving the fender shredded, ive seen those hotrods time and again fly thru truck stops and out of parking spots not even looking what they are doing or where they are going, one of these days a driver is going to walk out from betwen 2 trucks and get hit by one of those hotrod drivers, as for what company to work for like has been said before take your time and check each company and see which one will fit your needs the most like nice fitting gloves or shoes, good luck in your future.