New CDL Holder Looking For Advice

I went to a vo tech on the GI bill after my father died and got my CDL. I was burned out on programming the market back in those days was over loaded and programmers were a dime a dozen. My dad would have killed me if I had driven a truck when he was alive. I had driven farm trucks since I was tall enough to reach the clutch in the fields (around 1965 or so) and army trucks at 18 years old (was a ranger/medic and the first thing I did after all my medic training, jump school, ranger school was change the front tire on a duce and a half).

In 1984 I worked for an owner operator for 10 days that was leased on to Norseman trucking running the mail from KCK to J Ville, fl. After 10 days I realized he had no intention of actually paying me, so I hopped out of the truck as we were passing St Louis airport and I flew home. As I said, school of hard knocks.

Back in those days you had to have 2 years experience to have a chance of getting into a good company. USF Holland for example (one of the best companies back in those days) had a 7 year waiting list to get in.

Then I went to Q Carriers and ran reefers from Mn to Charlotte NC, back to Chicago with a fabric load going to various strip malls (where I learned how to make u turns on 2 lane streets) and home once a week. For $0.09 a mile and $20 a drop. I would spend all day in some food wharehouse in Atlanta or such for that 20 bucks. Did this for a year and a half. Got blown off the hiway in a blizzard in Wy and of course when I called in the first thing the boss asked was "how was the truck"? Companies dont care about you. The sooner you learn that the better off you will be. You are just a number, regardless of what some recruiter says. EDIT: I should mention this accident was the only chargeable on my record. There was really nothing I could have done about it, from the time the blizzard hit until I hit the ditch I couldnt find a safe spot to get off the road. This was Feb 1986. My last ticket was in 2004.

Long story short I have run mail for a few different companies. That used to be good money, but not so much anymore. I ran LTLs (Yellow, Estes, R&L, Conway before it was XPO, American Freight before it was Fed Ex, a few others) which isnt a bad gig but its all based on seniority and nothing to do with who is most qualified. I have worked for 5 different union shops. Foodservice is #### good money if you dont mind God awful physical labor and you are under 5'6".

Longest I stayed at any one place as a company driver was 3 years. I dont tollerate bull sh * t very well.

After spending 30+ years as a company driver, I bought a truck 4 years ago and havent looked back.

 

How many hours is the school you're attending?
Get all the endorsements; all of them. Endorsements are money in your pocket.
Do you want to see the USA while you're trucking?

 

I can give you some trucking company names that hire new cdl school grads, then you can check them out. All the ones I list hire Chicago drivers.
Don't pay much, if any, attention to reviews. They're very misleading and usually written by disgruntled employees. In fact, I never read them when I wanted to change companies.
~
Here's one:
FFE Transportation
16100 103rd Street
Lemont, IL 60439

 

Home - Magnum Companies

 

90% of 1099 companies are illegally classifying their driver as an independent contractor (IC) instead of as an employee. They classify you as 1099 so they can avoid paying taxes to the Feds and the state. Companies that cheat on your taxes will happily cheat their drivers.

As an independent contractor you must be able to use YOUR EQUIPTMENT to haul freight for any company you choose. You must be able to make your own schedule. The company giving you a truck, finding the freight you haul, and telling you when and where to work is not using an IC they are talking to an employee and not pay the taxes they owe. 1099 pay can seem 30% higher, if you can trust ANYTHING a 1099 company says, because that is the amount the driver will pay in taxes, but the driver doesn't know that yet. A tone of the drivers on YouTube claiming to have just started their own million dollar company, are nothing but Gomers who don't know that the settlement check they get each weak is like a gross paycheck. It has no taxes for Social Security, Income, self-employment withheld. Usually the next April, when they first start thinking about taxes, and start completing a tax return they learn they owe tens of thousands in taxes to the IRS and Springfield, in those in Illinois.

Chicago is the ground zero for many 1099 scams. Not all 1099 companies are crooks, but the IRS considers at least 80-90% tax cheats. Ignore anyone on YouTube crowing about their trucking empire that hasn't been on at least a year and paid a tax bill.

 

test - Meiborg Brothers Trucking
HTTPSwww.meiborginc.com
Sometimes hires new cdl school grads; case by case.