Most Important Questions From New Drivers Threads

1. What can a newb in today's market expect to earn during the first, second and third years?
You will learn a lot if you apply yourself you will learn that it is not always what truckers say it is, some are honest.

2. Are lay overs paid for? Is the time spent waiting for this or that paid for? If so, when does the pay clock start?
This depends on the company you work for, each policy is different.

3. Is there such a thing as overtime with pay?
If you drive for a Local company.

4. What expenses is the driver expected to cover and be reimbursed for?
Most big companies cover near all expenses with the exception of Scale Tickets and they sometimes pay for them, check with the company policies.

5. Are there enough loads to keep drivers driving?
The answer is YES there are plenty of Loads, just depends on the company and the Fleet mngr /Disptcher

6. How does one find local transport companies to apply for? Are there web sites that list those for a specific area? Where would you suggest I start my search specific to my locale?
Google CDL Jobs (your State)
7. Is business getting better or worse?
Better in my Opinion slowly but surely

8. What's the general outlook of the industry?
Well Considering if you bought it in a Store a trucker brought it to them.

9. What happened to wages in '06, '07 & '08 when fuel prices exploded but business was still good?
Some companies parked trucks, and turned their trucks down, a lot of Independents suffered big time, many O/Os went to work for companies.


10. Is it realistic to believe I can make $50,000/yr as a company driver?
First Year No, five years from now as a NEW driver YES. Realistically and I am not a Recruiter, I am a driver who has been OTR for 16 year and Driving for 23 spent 5 years hauling pigs for a farmer,(and anything else he said to haul)

11. When looking for a company what signs should I look out for to gauge whether I should choose that company or run away?
SIGN ON Bonuses, and AUTOMATIC transmissions, Also Do a safestat search google the word goto the site follow the directions, the higher the number the crappier they are.

12. When over the road how much time are you 'off' per day? Do you get a day off during the week?
There are many variables to this question, again it will depend on YOU and the company you work for.

13. How do you not kill yourself eating truck stop food?
Get a fridge in the TRUCK go buy groceries, Continue to exercise, and when you can not see your shoes when you are standing up, well you forgot to follow instructions, get out of the buffet line and go do some situps.


Ok, that's all I can think of right now. Let me just go over what I think I already know. You can correct me if I'm wrong.

Don't go to swift, CRE plus a dozen or so others. Don't lease. Go to driver school at a CC or private company. Expect to work 14hour days. Expect to see home ever 5 weeks or so. Driving is a lifestyle, not a job. Grandma Debi is a CRE recruiter. Stay away from the lot lizards.
I will say this about Crash and Roll Express (CR England) Not all the Negative is true, I do not work for them, but in the late 90's the O/O I worked for leased on there (before England started leasing trucks to drivers) NEVER had any issues there, Dispatch was easy going, Safety had some HOT women (was happy to goto SLC terminal and see the g/f in safety) But then again We worked hard, were on time, we did not give the Driver managers any crap, we never complained we were happy to be hauling freight. We moved on after 1 year there and continued to keep in touch with People who are still there today. You will find out with any and all companies, and ALL drivers. There are good things, there are BAD things, they all have Happy Drivers and they all have Drivers who are not happy.
I can tell you this if you work smart, not hard, Don't get nasty when talking to people (you win more ware with sugar than vinegar) you can be successful almost anywhere you go, if you put YOUR mind to it, and desire to make money. What ever you do no matter how mad a Company makes you DO NOT ABANDON your TRUCK get it back to them at all cost. Also Do not JOB HOP, always line up a job before you quit one, it helps ask all the questions you can think of and if you think of more call back. If you think the Recruiter is blowing smoke up your tail pipe ( Which they will they make a living doing it) call back and get transferred to Dispatch ask a DM hell you might be surprised at how much they tell you about the company and how freight is moving.


If I missed anything, please let me know.

 

Thanks for the advice folks. And thank you to the moderator who buried my thread into a 18 page half dead one.....*sigh*

 

have so many questions as i sit here and wait for orientation. When do you see your fist pay check? How much do they usually pay per mile when you first start out? Will i ever be home?

 

Well, like everyone else at one point, I'm just getting started in the industry. I have one week of school left that I sold my pickup to pay for. I fully expect no issues in passing the tests and getting my fully endorsed Class A.

Also like everyone else who's new, I have a bazillion questions about what company to trust. I've been a self employed custom woodworker since I was 16 and started with nothing but a girl and her son to raise. As such, I know what it's like to work hard and start down low and build up over time.

I spent a month OTR with a friend and I really did enjoy the life style. I've always prided myself on being able to drive anything and now I'm having an absolute BLAST driving the only thing left...LOL

I'd like to go OTR all 48 and haul mostly van. Since I've lost everything to the second "love of my life"...lol...the truck will be my home. I'd like some informed opinions about Crete if possible. I have apps in with about 8 major carriers but the "Shaffer, Crete, Hunt" outfit looks like about the best for my goals. I'm not concerned about home time as I have no home. I'm rebuilding my life again and that's my sole focus now.

Any and all suggestions about good companies that will simply treat me fair would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance and sorry for the length of this but I plan on being here for the long haul and wanted to introduce myself a bit.

 

I have put my thoughts down in an extensive thread about trucking I am putting the link to it here as it is located in this Forum.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ice-about-trucking-without-sugar-coating.html

 

I have been working for Crete for the past 2.5 years. I like the company but I do need to warn you that it appears to be on a slide. Regardless, I have been unable to find another company that is better than Crete. So, regardless of their problems, I would recommend starting with them if you can get on board. They are still picky about who they hire though not as picky as they use to be.

 

OMG ! Yeah thats is so true your going to be promised the moon and more , watch your back and the benefits for drivers are awesome if you are a company driver, better I think to stay company let them pay the expenses not you, until you know and can afford to be an o/o or even a lease driver, dont put your neck on the line until you are absolutely sure this job is for you and your family, fiancial ruin can occur seruiously fast, if your footing all the expenses. Company drivers have the company paying these full benefits and wages and fuel, ect cost let them, dont pay their bills for them they wont do it for you

 

crash and roll yeah they are ok for company drivers but are currently facing class action lawsuit (past cre lease operator here) , for their leasing practices, so as a company driver they be great nice top 5 in terminal , equipment, mechanics, training very thorough, and they have and move hecka freight if your ready to run, but if your of a mind to be stopping and hanging in the terminals or truck stops remember this if the wheels aren't turning your not earining, be safe out there just cya and watch out for things that appear to be to good to be true THEY ARE and they bite

 

Good advice but what is wrong with auto-shift transmissions?

 

Depends on the type. I hate the full on automatic transmissions and they hate me. I've blown out several, no idea why. We had a brand new medium duty tow truck that only I drove. Blew the tranny 4 times in the first couple months we had it.

We had a 2000 pete on another job with an 18 speed auto. That was just a regular 18 speed with the clutch pedal. It was all run with solenoids and worked pretty well.