Few questions

Who you drive for is going to be based upon what you are looking for vs. what various companies are willing to offer. You could ask 100 different drivers that same question, and get 100 different responses. One person's "top choice" is another person's "avoid at all costs".

As long as you are currently living within the operating area of a carrier, and are moving to another location within the operating area of that carrier, you will usually not have any problems moving. However, if you choose to move outside of the normal operating area of the carrier, you may have issues getting home IF they allow you to stay on with them. In other words, any carrier who runs lanes where you are at now, and also runs lanes where you intend to move, should be able to accommodate you when you move.

You really need a "tax home". If you live in the truck, you cannot take advantage of the per diem deduction on your income taxes. That "tax home" could even be your parent's address or that of a friend or other relative....just SOMEPLACE to lay your head a few nights each year and receive your mail. You also need some sort of mailing address for your license...so you may as well claim residence there too.

In a down economy, 2000-2500 might be all some carriers can move you. Others might be able to run you 3500 or so. It all depends upon what freight they have available to move, and how many trucks they need to spread that freight out amongst. If you make a reputation for yourself as a dependable & safe driver who always picks up & delivers on time, is courteous at the shippers & receivers, acts professionally, and generally represents the company well, then you'll be more likely to given more loads than you would if you were constantly late and generally caused trouble wherever you went.

Nah...typical questions, though...even though there is no real answer to most of them they still get asked pretty regularly.

 

Good answers in above post. The only thing I have to add is your question about living in the truck. At one point last year while going through a divorce I decided that having a residence and paying 600/mth was silly as well. So what I did was use the parents address as a mailing address and switched my license. When I wanted to go "home"...wherever that happened to be at the time...I would find a an Extended Stay America chain, rent a car to get around and take a few days off. Still cheaper than paying rent and maintaining a vehicle

 

Each night you spend away from your "tax home" you get to claim a meal & incidental expense (M&IE) on line 5 of form 2106. As a driver subject to the HOS, you get to deduct 80% of that amount.

If you have no tax home, you do not get this deduction.

 

Again, that's going to be a matter of personal preference. Dry van is usually open the doors & bump the dock...but loading & unloading your own freight isn't unheard of. Flatbed is a lot more physical work, and you've got to know what you are doing in regards to load securement...so it will usually pay more per mile. Trying to secure & tarp a load when it is 35 degrees & pouring rain with a 20 mph wind and you'll wish all you had to do was close the doors.

Either way, you're still driving & gaining experience....so which do YOU want to do?

 

He's gonna have an address on his CDL. His employer is going to consider that his tax home and hold out state taxes if appropriate. The IRS isn't gonna dig that deep.

You can live in your truck if you want to. I've done it for two years once. I picked a company where I could move back to TN from IL too. I stayed with family or got a motel on my off time. It's a good way to save money. But do it for a reason like saving money quick. Get you a PO Box for your mail. Medium size if you stay out a month or more. Pay everything online.

You work to have a life and a future. Home ownership is something you should focus on when you are young. The sooner you pay it off the better off you are. You'll never beat the interest rates right now. Even if you don't live in it, you are not throwing money away. So what if you only stay in it 2 days a month. One day it will be yours or an asset you can sell for a profit.

Another thing I would do at your age is start up a Roth IRA separate from the company 401K. Put you $100 a month in it and you can retire when you get 55. Prudential is a great company to deal with.

 

Welcome to the forum man! Crete is an excellent company! Make sure you check with the recruiter first though because they only take students from a select few schools.

As far as pay scale goes, I would be weary of any company offering a newbie above average mileage pay. Chances are they aren't running any miles if their pay is abnormally high.

Yes you can live in your truck. Take it one step at a time though. Don't sell your place before you go out over the road. Make sure you like living in a rolling closet before you make any drastic decisions. Like the other poster said though, you can get a motel on the beach or wherever you want when it comes to taking your time off. I love driving but have found after three months or so you need to get out of the truck. You need a little time to reset your own clock and come back fresh. As far as where you live, as an over the road driver it really doesn't matter. Unless you are living in Florida most over the road companies travel all 48. Both Wyoming and Illinois are smack in the middle of the freight lanes. On a side note, both are too friggin cold for me!

You are in a very good position though to be an over the road driver. Jump in man and enjoy the adventure.