Starting at Schneider

You do NOT want to be dedicated P&G. I loved hauling P&G freight, but they're fickle and have no stability for the carrier year to year.

GP isn't just heavy freight. It's also toilet paper, paper plates, etc. IE things that get used even in recessions. You'll haul mill to plant, then pick up scrap going to a mill - rinse and repeat. The other advantage is it's 'block scheduling' - GP drivers tend to be assigned 3 loads out, which allows the driver to better use their time and run more comfortably while still running hard. The downside is you have to restart every week, but with the current pay structure that actually works to the driver's advanatage - particularly when they know how many hours they'll need to complete the week. Once you have enough on your 70, burn that line 4 time to rack up extra cash.

 

It never takes long for a driver to become grumpy and hate most people. It’s a thankless job, that most days I wonder why I ever wanted to do it.

 

Cheer up!

Hope springs eternal.

The first year is BY FAR the hardest.

If you have survived this far, with Schneider -- you can do this....

There are better freight options out there, later.

You just need more experience.

There is no driver shortage.

But I think everyone here would agree ...there is a shortage of polite, careful, truly professional-grade drivers out there.

For a new driver -- that just doesn't happen overnight.

-- L

 

Everyone feels the same way, at one time or another. A day or 2 later, you're on a great run, open roads, traffic behaving, with the past few days completely forgotten.

Hang in there, this, too shall pass

 

My first year I went someplace a couple times that was overwhelmingly hard to back, so much so that despite not going there for a few years I had a viseral reaction to seeing the name in workflow. I had a trainee and warned him it would be tight and not to get frustrated if I pulled him out. We went in, and I coached him how to modify the setup (standard 45, but then do a couple '2x2' pullups to get the tractor to almost 70 degrees before starting going backwards, hold the angle for a bit and chase hard), dude put it in no problem and asked what was so hard. We then watched several other guys struggle to get in. It's a dock that's challenging, but not hard - once a driver understands what he's doing. It gets easier.

About six months in I came out of Denver heading to OKC, massive storm behind me and a double rainbow in front of me all day. Got to delivery and off loaded quickly, went to the next shipper planning to park on site for my morning appointment. They put me right in the dock and I was out with enough time to get to the truckstop. It was a great day, one of my first 600 mile days. A couple days later I was slogging through inch deep, sucking mud and questioning my life choices. I thought back to the great day, and recognized things weren't as bleak as I was feeling. You'll have more good days than bad, but the bad days will feel worse and stick with you for longer. When things suck, just take a step back and try for some perspective.

Once you have your time, hit up @JohnBoy and see about getting on with his contractor. I think it's about the area where you want to live, the money's good, and the work environment seems stable.

 

Not all tanker gigs require climbing. I did hazmat tanker for six years , propane,butane,ngl,y grade,condensate and all that jazz , then co2. No climbing at all.

 

A job in that sector of freight would also eliminate any need for climbing up into a trailer to clean it out.

Just more food for thought....

-- L