How do I go about getting experience?

Try starting at the gravel pits north of your area , they hire drivers to run dump trucks from the crushers / screeners to the stockpiles at least its a start " and you will not work for FREE '

 

Please do not go to places and tell them you will work for free ... that will lead to something very bad ... What happens when you have "enough" experience, as determined by you or them? and then you decide you should now be paid a fair market wage? Why wouldn't they just boot you out the door and get the next person just like you that wants experience and will work for free? It would be doing a disservice to all drivers if you were to go to work for free.

Are you looking to get into dump truck work or OTR or ? The reason I ask is because an insurance company may not accept dump truck experience as worth anything if you later go to apply for an OTR job.

 

Do not offer to work for free. Drivers rates are low enough. That's all this industry needs is volunteer drivers.

 

In ONTARIO CANADA the min wage is $10.25 / hour

 

and pay is way lower than that for otr drivers

 

Shes not looking for OTR but looking at someplace to get erxperience in a DUMP TRUCK , others advised not to work for free so the I posted the ONT min wage.

And if you did the math that @ 0.30 / mile averaging 55 MPH would equal $16.50 / hour for driving.

 

sounds ideal doesn't it ? that's what I thought too when I got in; but most runs start with a pick up, so a few hours at the client to get loaded, rush hour traffic nightmares and traffic back ups, construction, then you have to start looking for a place to stop so you don't go over your allotted hours, next day at the client after getting unloaded for a bit wait for next dispatch....oh, and the miles are never actual driven miles are they ? so a 14 day week where I drove each and every day, lived in the truck 24 hours each day- do the math 336 hours away from home family friends etc, I would see less than $800 canadian. lets do that math... $2.38 per hour. Im finished with otr. done and gone. never again.

 

Its not all its cracked up to be. Its a dogs life for the most part. But everyone has a choice and alot of up choose the life. We can sit and complain but that apparently hasn't worked for many of us. Keep on trucking and hope we find that dream gig and be happy truckers.