Preparing to get my CDL

Being a newlywed and trucking oftentimes causes some problems.
For that reason alone it might be wise to go the company driver route for a year or so, just to get the feel of the actual lifestyle.

 

Take the company driver route first because there's a good chance you'll find it's not what you want to do after all. Lots of people tend to romanticize commercial driving but the reality is not the same.

 

So you want your wings right away huh? Ha ha ha what I would do if I were you finding a job working in the yard as a spotter , then jump on the road . you’ll do fine but , you gotta get to learn how to drive a truck first before you fly. Good luck

 

Idk if you have the money it might be a good idea. If you buy an older pre emissions truck and fix it up a bit it will probably only go up in value. If you want to be able to drive it on the road it will need to be registered and insured which will probably cost quite a bit. Other than that I don’t see why it would be a bad idea.

 

I went on my own after a year of working for someone. I found a local sawmill that let me haul wood chips for them. I was able to run locally which kept me out of elog. I was able to run NR tags (natural resources) which let me haul wood chips and logs without a DOT number or getting my authority. Basically I registered the truck, paid my 2290 heavy road tax, got insurance, and went to work. Done that for years and made a decent living.
Some guys pull hopper bottom and run farm tags which makes them exempt from all kinds of stuff too, and they deal with only a couple brokers to find loads instead of load boards. There’s much easier ways to be an owner operator than going all out and going all over the country off the load boards right away.
If you live near a port you can lease on to companies and pull containers under their authority too. Check out your options before you just bale into something.

 

He will make far less than a company driver. Port rates are literally the lowest of all in the transportation arena. The only step up from there is intermodal (which is also the bottom of the barrel.)

 

I am curious, are your a type 1 without insulin?

 

In my opinion it is reckless & financially dangerous to enter the industry as a Owner-Op or Lease-Op. Work at least 1 full year as a company driver. Driving is a small part of the job. Working for a company removes the financial risk. Keep your nest egg intact until you find a good deal, not just a hunk of metal for sale. You don't know what you don't know. Company driver let's you learn the tasks. Then you can learn the tasks the company was taking care of in the background.

Freight rates are terrible. You can't just do OK getting freight on load boards. The brokers will eat your lunch on load boards while you learn what not to do. The maintenance on an affordable truck will also eat your lunch. Company driver at a good company will avoid both of these dangers.

 

Bad idea.

 

To the original poster: Air Force cadets....just out of basic training....do not go the following day (or week) straight into the front seat of an F-15.

So it is....with trucking.

You have to crawl first...before you can walk; walk before you can run....& run...before you can fly.

Your first 2 years or so....is learning how to really drive a big rig....& on a professional level.

Going straight into owner-op (especially in the current market) is dangerous & wreckless....at best.

-- L