A good fit for me?

RickG · Dec 4, 2009

JimTheHut said: ↑

There are no guarantees in life! There are no guarantees in Trucking! There are many negative posts on this board as you will find. But there are success stories out there as well. This board is not the final word in trucking as there are many successful truckers at all of the companies that just do not bother to post on here.

I am not a trucker, but I am going to be going to school to become one.
You should check with your state as there are probably programs that will pay for all of your schooling so that you will not be on the hook to any company.

You are a displaced worker. You are laid off and there is not hope of you getting called back. That is the same situation that I am in.

Check with your local jobs and family services and see what they have available.
In ohio the program is WIA. Not sure if it is called the same thing in Florida. But I am sure that they have something.

If that does not work, then you can go to a trucking school and they will pay for it.
All of the horror stories are real, but as I said before, there are just as many, if not more success stories. From what I have read, you are not going to get rich, and it will be a year or two before you are making any decent money.
But if you always wait for everything to be perfect, you will never make a move.

Do what you think is best for you. Make a decision, go for it and don't look back until you have achieved your goal!

God Bless!
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The success stories for people out of CDL school are about 1 in a thousand . The statement there are as many or more success stories cannot be substantiated t all . Too much smoke being blown around here . If so many wannbes are successful why are companies constantly hiring ? Freight is still declining and they are still reducing fleets . Something doesn't add up .

jtrnr1951 · Dec 4, 2009

Your weight may also cause a problem in this profession !! Just a heads up !! I honestly wish you well, but trucking is not the answer everybody thinks it is !!!

mjimlay · Dec 4, 2009

jtrnr1951 said: ↑

Your weight may also cause a problem in this profession !! Just a heads up !! I honestly wish you well, but trucking is not the answer everybody thinks it is !!!
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I'm not too bad. I am 5'4 and around 215 lbs, give or take 5 lbs. I don't look anywhere near it as I have a naturally large frame, but for the Military I need to be down to 160 lbs, and I haven't weighed that since I was in Elementary school.

jtrnr1951 · Dec 4, 2009

Thats my weight, I'm 5'10. Body mass for me is OBESE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out BMI- body mass index.

mjimlay · Dec 4, 2009

jtrnr1951 said: ↑

Thats my weight, I'm 5'10. Body mass for me is OBESE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Check out BMI- body mass index.
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You wouldn't know I weigh 215 just by looking at me.... I look nothing like it at all. It's just the size of my frame/bones. A lot of people think I am between 160-180.

Brickman · Dec 5, 2009

BMI is a huge joke. Kinda like the globull warming nonsense.

jtrnr1951 · Dec 5, 2009

Yes BMI is bull.....But before long insurance companies will jump on the band wagon. Already a couple of trucking companies go by it...........

RickG · Dec 5, 2009

mjimlay said: ↑

You wouldn't know I weigh 215 just by looking at me.... I look nothing like it at all. It's just the size of my frame/bones. A lot of people think I am between 160-180.
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Doctors giving DOT physicals don't go by looks . They use chart for BMI
The BMI for 5'4" is 36 . Anything 30 or above is obese .
Testing companies and CPAP manufacturers have lobbied for mandatory testing for obese drivers but they havent been successful .

Similarly, regarding the subject of Body Mass Index, a measurement which expresses the ratio of fat to muscle in an individual a BMI number above 30 is considered to indicate obesity FMCSA medical programs director Mary Gunnels said BMI would not be a factor by itself in any testing mandate for conditions associated with obesity, such as sleep apnea. She, Lester and Papp all stressed it was just one among many measurements associated with determining obesity, in Gunnels words, and that we dont have a specific requirement on testing.
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http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=83589

mjimlay · Dec 5, 2009

That's funny, because my step dad is 260 or 270 and is only 5'4 as well, and he has been truck driving for 10 years and has worked for at least 10 different companies (he can't keep a job) and has never had a problem passing the DOT physical. He even is legally disabled because of a back injury he got in the military.

RickG · Dec 5, 2009

mjimlay said: ↑

That's funny, because my step dad is 260 or 270 and is only 5'4 as well, and he has been truck driving for 10 years and has worked for at least 10 different companies (he can't keep a job) and has never had a problem passing the DOT physical. He even is legally disabled because of a back injury he got in the military.
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It is the discretion of the doctor whether to require testing for sleep apnea .

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