What's it like to be a truck driver

The first year is the hardest in my opinion. Being gone from the wife and kids was harder that I thought it would be and any company you work for will test you to see what you're made of. Most companies with a CDL school will not pay much to start and he will be gone 2-3 weeks at a time. If you are willing to relocate, R.E. West in Ashland City, Tn is where I went to get my training in 1998. Stayed the year then left. Wish I had stayed. Still know people there and would go back if I could.

Can he make enough money? Depends on your needs. When I came off the road April 2009, I was bringing home $3200-$3600 a month at .35 per mile. I would leave late Sunday night and come home Friday afternoon/early evening.

I've been driving a school bus this year and I'm looking to go back on the road myself. Hope this helps.

 

For the sake of your marriage especially if you have/want children, for the sake of yours and his physical, mental,and spiritual health, PLEASE STAY OUT OF TRUCKING!
He will not make the money they are promising, he will not be home as often as they are promising, he will miss holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries. It's just not worth it!
I've been doing this for 15, almost 16 years now and I just recently found a job that treats me AND my family right.
This business has done NOTHING to improve the quality of life for the truck driver. Sure the trucks are more nicely equipped and comfortable but it is still a prison cell on wheels! And who in their right mind wants to be locked up in a cell?
Don't just take my word for it, read some of the other TRUTHFUL posts on this board. I would gladly give back EVERY CENT I EVER MADE IN TRUCKING IF IT MEANT I COULD GET BACK THE LOST 15-16 YEARS OF TIME I WAS AWAY FROM MY FAMILY. Why did I do t for so long? I truly believed the lies I was told and wasted a lot of time, money, and my family's love chasing some stupid dream that rarely comes true. I thought that if I kept jumping thru the hoops and doing what I was told that someday I would make good money and be home every day and life would be good. Trust me, it doesn't happen.
After all these years, I finally found a job where I am home every day but I took a pretty big pay cut to get that. I wish I never got my CDL.
Good luck with whatever you do.

 

overworked (expect to work 60-70 hours per week or more)
underpaid (won't even get paid for all miles driven in most cases)
no social life (on the road all of the time)
revenuers (want your money...even if you don't have it)

...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

 

to me it all depends on what kinda driveing he plans to do.he can do otr=requires experiance to get most jobs or go to there school,or get his class a cdl and find a local job like hauling logs or equipment.otr=long hrs,away from home long periods of time and missing out on alot of familiy time.short hauling your home on weekends or every night.i quit otr long hauling to do otr short hauling thats what we call it here,but anyways,i make $2500 a week and home every weekend,theres only 9 trucks in our company and we haul wood chips.i also pull logs witch i love cause i work as much as i wont,home when i wont and the pay just depends on how many loads i get to the mill.my hours aint to bad i drive from 6:30am to 10:30pm mon-fri.the econamy isint hurting our buisness any mostly cause were small and we have no compatition in our runs.

 

Hmmmm.....do you have several hours to kill???????

I could write a book..........

 

Well to say the least, I'm lucky to have a family that is forgiving to my career amd understand I have to make a living like everyone else. Like everyone else states, low pay, low miles, hardly ever home unless you get lucky and land a decent to good paying local job but the chances of that happening are slim by luck. It's not just something you can jump into. Really it's something you have to have in your blood and keep in mind, going to school will put a hurtin' on the pocket book. I haven't heard of a cost to be under $3,200 but most around the $5,000 range not including what you will need to pay bills and stay afloat while in school then waiting around a week or longer to land a job. Being that long to get a job after is because of all the hiring freeze's going on and the new CSA 2010 regulation's that are fixing to go into effect before long that will down size the driving force.

 

i became a truck driver for 1 reason


to look down girls shirts

 

I think he should hurry, before all the Good Driving Jobs are gone !!!!!!!!