thats right! I just got done with my truck driving classes on tuesday, took my final driving tests on wed. and just got myself a truck driving job FRIDAY!!!!!

theres a small driving company (thats the way i like em) here in piqua called Piqua Transfer and Supply, or PTS for those of you who have seen the big red trucks running down the freeway.

they start me next week...gotta take a piss test monday....damn.....i mean, its not like i have to worry about it then after the results come in whitch they say take around 72 hrs, then ill have a job...so ill probably start wed or thur. ill start with a trainer and drive with him for a month or so. making 350 a week during training, then once thats done, my annual salary will start out in the mid 30s to low 40s...depending how much i want to drive to start with..i thought their pay scale was kinda weird tho...they pay 25% of the job..but im not really worried...sounds like ill still be making decent money to start with

but the trucks are REALLY nice...have factory CD players, they also have a built in refridgerator, and a hooked up power supply so i can hook up a TV, microwave, laptop, what ever..... also, forgot to mention, the trucks are newer Freightliner columbias...fully loaded with the condo package and everything

something else that really sold me with them is i could be home as much as 2 times a week...so its not like ill be gone long at all most of the time...they say i may make a run down to alabama, then come back up to piqua, then make a run down to S. Caralina...thats where they mostly run is the south eastern states



but i am VERY EXCITED and nervous at the same time.......but i CAN NOT wait!!!!!!!!!!

anyways, just figured i would share my good news!

Hot doggies! go get 'em!

I wish they operated out of Denver, darn it. Had one job snarffed by a guy with experience.... though it may come open again. Company is thinking of adding another truck to the fleet.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

one thing im kinda worried about, only bc i heard this from a friend, but hes not in trucking, so its just kind of a hear say thing with him

but he told me some smaller driving companies make the driver pay for their fuel? i didnt think to ask the guy that hired me bc i thought if you worked for the company, and not as a owner operator, that they paid for the fuel

so do you think i have anything to worry about?

They'll either have an account with a company whereby the fuel is billed to the company, or they'll issue you a card.

So, yeah, you'd go through the motions of buying the fuel, but the money doesn't come out of your pocket unless you are an O/O.

Anything else, and I'd be vewy vewy newvous, and hunting a new job.

Of course, I have such extensive experience with this industry. But I've never heard of a company doing that, and I doubt they'd be successful at it.

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Keep the big doors at the back!

cool...i appreciate the feed back...that puts my mind at ease...lol...i figured it would just be them giving me a card and what not...so i would physlcally be paying for it, but would be using some one elses credit card pretty much..

that works just fine for me

Congratulations! Love the enthusiasm your gonna have a ball.

Lurchgs is right, as he so often is, you will hand over the company card and sign the slip but no money will come out of your pocket. Driving the South East? Just think of up here in the frozen tundra once in a while come next winter.

LOL - thank you. One might almost think I've done this stuff, ne? Got a grand total of what.. 50 hours? behind the wheel - and half of that is in the backing yard!

But I read a lot on these trucker forums, and I bugged the heck out of my instructors at school. So, most of what I'm saying is parrot juice

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Keep the big doors at the back!

thanks very much! yea, im very enthused..i know there are some things ill have to get use to, like knowing what to bring with me during the week, how much water and maybe pepsi to bring and how much food to bring for the week....and also the whole scales deal...but, hey, thats what the trainer for the first month is for

drummerwookie, you mention the whole scales thing and this is something I remember from when my beautiful and charming ex-wife was on the truck with me. (I have to call her that, her lawyer was phenomenal! It'll cost me $50 if I don't ) She was very nervous about crossing scales as well and it was not something covered very well at her school.

As a new driver you can enter the scales having made a slight mistake and as long as you show respect and a concern over what you have done wrong, you will as often as not, be let away with a warning.

For instance, "officer I thought I understood the recap form, can you show me where I went wrong?" DOT officers really do want you to understand the regs and are generally pretty decent guys. That is not reason not to use it to your advantage. Learn what they have to teach you , and at the same time, use their natural helpfulness against them. You cannot go into a scale knowingly in the wrong, but if you make a simple mistake, then be polite and ask they officer to explain how you went wrong. More often than not, if you show an interest in doing things properly, the officer will give you a break.

Take advantage of it while you can, after a decade or two passes and you start to look more like me than you will ever be comfortable with, the DOT officer will KNOW that you should know better.

aw, man. I'm DOOOOOOMED!

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Keep the big doors at the back!