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Nope you don't ever hear about those loads. I never had one of them when I did it. All I ever heard was about the #### ones. I'll say one thing though it was nice in the summertime when the weather is nice to be out of the truck getting a workout on some of them.

 

If you can try to go local, I am currently in the process of becomming a "bedbugger" with one of the local moving companies. You may get lucky and they will help earn your cdl if you dont have one already.

 

Trucking is not for everyone and it's got to be in your blood to stay out for long periods of time year after year. You'll find that the first few years are the toughest and you can get really good advice here from the veterans.

I believe that you must do alot of research and think outside the box. There's tons of drivers out there trying to get a job driving a truck and will take hardly nothing pay wise to do it. And the companies know this. So you've got to get your plan together before you even think about school. Do you have a clean record? Do you have the money to pay for school? Do you have any medical condition that might disqualify you from driving? Never ever trust a school or the recruiters for all the facts. Check it out for yourself before you spend any money or sign any agreement.

Once you finish your CDL school you should apply for work everywhere you can. If you're not locked into the bottom feeders for school, of course. If the company pays for your school you'll have a tough time. Some have made the full commitment and some haven't. You'll find alot of mixed feelings about those type of schools. I myself prefer a community college for the CDL because you're free to pick where you want to work. When you get close to getting done you should flood the market for a job. Not only should you apply on-line but you should get out and apply in person if you can. You'll want to cover all your bases and not just settle. The company that wants to hire you should meet your plan better than the rest. Look at all the aspects of the job. You should consider the benefits first for your family, then pay and so forth. Don't be a waste of time and seek out only Pete's or KW's. A good trucking job is one that fits your needs the best. So make your plan with the pro's and con's and have a time line on where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, and so on. You can do it but if you just sit back and expect the recruiter to find you a job then you can expect the worse. This is a way of life so be the one that is in charge of your life. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

don't worry about the high blood I've got it and control it with medicine has never been an issue with my company. As long as it is not high when you take you physical to get your cdl you will be fine. don't listen to recruiters or people at the school when you decide who to drive for if possible talk to some drivers ask question like how much is layover pay, detention pay, what ar the trucks governed at. some trucks are govered at 65 ours at 71 this makes a difference in you check at the end of the week. feight is slow so you need to know about detention pay when you get laid over for a weekend. if you go flat ask about tarp pay. good luck just trying to help with some stuff nobody informed me about. these veterans are right tarping and securing a load is not as bad as people say it is, but until you get use to it and get in shape it can be difficult at first. not going to sugar coat it for you like some did when I got started. pinola

 

Some members report some carriers will reject you if you are on BP medicine and require annual physicals .
I'd really like to see documented differences in pay when driving a 65 m.p.h. truck and a 71 m.p.h. truck .

 

not goin to get in a pissin contest with you but my friend works for a flat company and his truck is govern at 64 we make the same $ per mile, in the summer when we run non stop I always get about 300 more miles a week do the math. make a huge difference. like I said the bp med has never been an issue with my company, don't know about others.

 

O.K. tht may be true with your company but why does the company govern the truck at 64 and lose 300 miles revenue a week ?
In today's economy few trucks run nonstop . My truck is governed at 65 m.p.h. because I run Canada . Our runs don't require us to run the full 11 hours a day so I may have to run 20 or 30 minutes a day more than other drivers sometimes but I make as much as or more than the other drivers . It depends where you run also . Most of my running is in IN , MI , OH , and ON so I can run the speed limit .