Another "Is Trucking Right for Me?" Thread

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10 top reasons for wanting to be a truck driverr
Am I completely foolish to think of starting a career in trucking now?
What drives you new drivers to trucking?

 

If you can get your wife to do it with you I would say go for it! My wife and I drove team and it was the greatest adventure of our lives. You can make really good money too as a husband/wife team. Sometimes it can be stressful but that is pretty much part of life. Trucking companies treat husband/wife teams like gold. Training and orientation was a blast for us. Maybe give yourselves 2-3 months out on the road before you get into the groove of things. The trucking lifestyle can take a little while to get used to, especially for ladies. Showers and make-up aren't always an everyday happening in trucking. You will get to see everyday nook and cranny of the country. You will have your favorite restaurants in every state. Occasionally when you breakdown or maybe just take a day or two for yourselves you can get a hotel. We had a load pickup one time in Moab national park (potash mine). Went swimming in the Colorado with the dog, saw the dinosaur footprints in the mud, went hiking, saw the ancient indian hieroglyphics on the cliffs, rented bikes and then spent the night in the park in our truck, all in one day! Not everyday is roses but everyday is definitely an experience. We drove over six years together and now we have a horse training facility. The worst part is we both extremely miss it! We are all ready making plans to do it again in our elder years. If you guys have any questions shoot me a pm. Good luck!

 

Not everyone measures quality in dollar signs.

A good life? That's a highly subjective question to which you'll get a wide range of answers so I'm not even gonna try to answer it for you. But it has it's ups and downs.

Now, if stress is yer major reason for wanting a change, trucking may NOT be for you. Especially if you plan on driving in the northeast, around Chicago alot, or SoCal. Northeast regional is some of the best paying company driver jobs around (all else being equal) but there's a reason for that, it sucks compared to everywhere else.

Traffic, weather, construction, dispatchers and shippers/receivers who either don't understand or don't care about HOS regulations, breakdowns, hell even the freight itself, are all sources of pretty much constant stress and worries. If it's not one thing it's usually another.

Now, there are periods where things go right, and you run your 11 hours out with no issues, find a truck stop with a spot that looks like it was reserved just for you, the waitress is great, the food good, the shower clean and you get a great nights sleep because the trucks around you aren't constantly starting/stopping or have their air compressors constantly kicking on and off (freaking Internationals, they're the worst for this...) But those days don't happen too often. Neither does the other end, though, usually somewhere in between.

As for seeing the country. Well, ya you get to see it. Mostly from the road though. But there sure are alot of pretty sites along the road. I-80 west from Salt Lake City is an awesome drive. I-5 north from San Fran all the way to Seattle has alot of pretty scenery too (Mt. Shasta in the early spring at sunset is an awesome site to behold.... if ya don't believe in a God before you see it, you might just become a believer after.)

Just don't expect to go where you want when you want, or to drive a different road all the time. At times you will get sick of seeing the same stretch. Especially if you get a dedicated run. How those LTL drivers do that terminal to terminal and back crap day in and out I'll never know. God bless 'em.

Anyway, I have only 2 years in so I'm not the most experienced driver out there by any means. But that was my 2 cents, best of luck to ya whatever ya decide to do.

 

I see your point as a single driver raezzor. As a team you won't run much Northeast/east coast. Most of our loads are drop and hook and the single drivers usually take them and deliver them in the Northeast. Teams are better utilized running back and forth cross country. It made us feel bad for some of the single drivers, but then again we weren't running the company. As a team you also won't be sleeping in truck stops very much either, you will be driving. So sleeping while your spouse is driving may take a little getting used too. Raezzor is right, you might get board of a dedicated run. They are good in that you make the same amount of money every week and you always know exactly where you are going. However, it can get very monotonous day in and day out doing the same exact thing. You also don't get to see all the different places that way. But to each is to own. You also might want to consider reefer. Loads pay more and are always out there. You can haul dry load or hazmat too with a reefer trailer. You will have your occasional breakdowns with the reefer but sometimes breakdowns are more "brake" downs when you run team. This gives you the chance to stretch your legs. As a team you are going to run hard. Most companies expect 1000 miles a day from their teams.

 

Raezzor you must be doing fairly well as a new trucker because you seem to remain fairly positive!

 

Hehe, not really well... I've been with 4 companies in the last 3 years. While they weren't really horror stories as compared to what some folks have posted, they weren't the right fit for me. I'm one who has no problem walking away from a job I'm not happy with before I have another lined up, especially if there's safety/legal issues with the job.

But I've kept my nose as clean as I could and tried to make the best of even the bad stuff. I'm not an optimist really, just a realist.

 

That's pretty close. There are good trucking companies out there, just takes some time to find the right one for you. Trucking is a varied industry too, so it may take time to find the type of trucking that you enjoy the most too.

And ya, you do get alot of "alone" time if you drive solo. That's why there's so many nuts on the CB at night.