I found this site about 6 hours ago and have been reading ever since.
I am 56, have been driving since I was 14, never had an accident and outgrew tickets many years ago.
I have always had driving jobs, cannot survive in an office or factory.
Now that there is just my wife and a couple of rats, posing as small Mexican dogs.
Want to give trucking a try for the sheer joy of driving, the possibility of seeing more of the country and taking the family along.
So many horror stories of crooked schools, bad companies and lousy pay...
I live in the Palm Springs, CA. area and would like a good school, a position as a company driver and lots of miles.
Wondering if those are possibles or just a pipedream ?
Not very positive about team driving as I find it very difficult to trust the driving of others.
I possess a very low rated BS tolerance meter and get enough BS from my elected crooks, sorry meant officials.
I have looked at damn near every company in this forum and am still confused.
Last time I spoke to a "recruiter" I was promised the Seabees and instead ended up in beautiful downtown VietNam. The folks there tried to kill me and came very close to doing just that.
The lease thing seems like a lifetime payout as most of companies want new trucks every 3 years.
Any information about the right way to get into this without a minimum of BS would be appreciated.
Absolutely great forum with a ton of info and laughs !
Thankz
Papa T

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Papa T
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Only when the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power........................ will the world have peace.

If you remember nothing else, remember this-

DO NOT LEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That said, there are plenty of happy drivers out there. This job will enable you to see places that you never knew existed. It will also take you to places that you wish you never saw. Keep your eyes open as you do your research. You are already a step ahead of some of the starry-eyed guys who think that their recruiter is their best friend.

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Schneider National is a good place to start.. They have a great training program (top notch) and always looking for teams... I am going to tell you that health is a big thing far as trucking goes... Many people get eliminated do to their health "history"... So, keep that in mind...

Sorry that I am going off topic, but this is PRICELESS.......

Hum, now that I think about it if you was in the service you probably can get the training for free as well and not have to sign a contract.. Just something you could look into..

I was in Viet Nam and I was a Marine . I respect Seabees . They get their basic training in Marine Corps boot camp . In Viet Nam we manned the bunkers around their bases and they built their hooches to sleep in and got good hot meals . But yes , they served well and some were killed .
Now as for saying Schneider is a good company , read the part about his BS meter . Then explain why Schneider and the others have a turnover rate of over 100% .
As for being a vet and getting training paid , if he has been out of the military over 10 years his benefits under the GI. bill have expired .
I'd suggest googling expediter forums and hotshothauling forums . Expediters get high rates but often wait a day or more between loads and actually have time for sight seeing . You can drive for a fleet owner and later buy your own truck or possibly become a fleet owner yourself . Many hotshotters run under 26,000 gcwr so no CDL is required . I know a hotshotter working out of Vegas that is doing very well and is always turning down work .

Howdy Papa T
Welcome to the forums.
Glad you found us.
I hope you'll stick around awhile to read what we write,
and continue to ask questions and to make comments.

At this time there's a lot of competition for employment in the
Big truck truckin' industry as more and more folks find themselves
out of work for various reasons. Now-a-daze they're applying more
out of desperation than desire and the failure rate seems to be goin'
off the meter, making it more difficult to be hired by the truckin'
companies of first choice.

However, I still recommend that a wannaBee shoot for the top FIRST,
and let the arrow fall where it may.
And, IMO, one of the
top starter/training companies is Schneider. Their training program
is one of the best in the industry and they're a company where
many drivers decide to stay, rather than job-hop in search of a
perfect fit. For the record, I started my Big truck truck drivin'
career with Schneider and drove for them almost five years until
I found a better fit with another, smaller company.
During that time, I visited all 48 lower United States.

Just keep in mind that right now it isn't easy to be hired by many
of the better companies due to the current economy and flood of
applicants. But if you're patient, I think you'll have a better chance
of finding the right truckin' company for you, as others are impatient,
broke and hungry.

What I WOULDN'T do, if I were you, is try for the companies with
the shortest training period. Longer training WILL benefit a trainee
in the long run. I also would completely avoid companies that run
their trainees like a team operation with their trainer. It's impossible
to train or be trained while one is sleeping as the other one drives.

I suggest that you continue doing research here at The Truckers' Report.
Post often with questions as they arise.
Read betwixt the lines when reading the complaints others have about
certain companies. Keep an open mind and a sense of humor.

And on a side note, I never had the pleasure of a canine ride-along,
but I always wanted a Texas sand-flea. I would have named him/her
Chili, as in Chili Dawg.
But, that's just me, ----- and as I'm sure you'll soon discover ---
I just ain't right.

Once again WELCOME!
Now, let the readin' commence.

OH!
An AfterShock AfterThought -----
inbetwixt your research periods, join us in the fun games, like
Three Word Game, Word Association and/or Make A Word Game.
You'll get to meet some of the posters that way, and, as an added bonus,
have more fun that a human being should be allowed to have.
But don't just take my word for it, see for yourself.

Aftershock you wrote the following:

I also would completely avoid companies that run
their trainees like a team operation with their trainer. It's impossible
to train or be trained while one is sleeping as the other one drives.

Help me understand whats gonig on here.


It seems to me I wrote a comment, not long ago, informing readers about a company that I believed was using trainee's as team drivers. At the time you seemed to support them, the company I wrote about that is. Now your writing, warning reader's, about the companies that use trainee's as team driver's. What's going on?

I don't know what's goin' on.
You'd have to provide me with more information.
Which company did you write about?
And were my comments about the company in general,
or their training methods? I sure don't recall EVER being in favor
of teaming as training for a newBee.
How a truckin' company operates AFTER team training could be
another story.

Are you in favor of team training a newBee?

I'm in the dark here --- turn on a light.

The discussion was on on
'prime inc'. The board was closed.

I'm against the idea of using trainee's as team driver's.

I could have misread your comment.