Rookie/Student Looking for Advice

Hello chompi, my name is anthony. No i havnt talked to anybody but you about central really....so how does the company treat there employees? do they make you do alot of illegal driving or anything like that? how is the rider policy and pet policy? Do we get alot of miles? those are really the only questions i have. but if you have more info for me othethan the recruiter sent me i would appreciate it. oh do you think they would fly to utah from pa instead of the bus?

 

hey man, just sent you an email! Let me know if you need anything else.

 

then why do you drive a truck then any of you if its so bad?

 

Hello all,
This may seem like the perfect end to the perfect thread, but I just cant help but present my situaiton and beg for advice. I am a military officer, 2 years out from retirement. I have become good friends with a local truck driver and we have decided to start a company together, my contribution will be entirely financial. He has been driving a long time, and I would trust him in bed with my wife...naked. I have done a ton of research, read more pages on this site than I can count, and I really believe we can build a future together if we are smart and dont get greedy. I am going to buy him a "starter truck", something in the 20-25K range knowing it will need work and attention within a year or two. I wish I could get a better truck, but I only have about 30K to start and I want to do this now. I have anohter friend who currently owns a couple trucks and runs with landstar, he will be a mentor of sorts for a guy who desperately needs it. So, I have my LLC, taxes, truck, driver and most details that i am aware of ironed out. My friend has his application in at landstar and I am praying they accept him so we can get this show on the road. I am asking you men and women for any advice you can give a person in my position, and if you had it to do all over again, what would you do different? Fire away.

 

Indiana Rambler, I thought I was the long-winded one on this forum. Bud, you put me to shame. You covered about everything that can and probably will go wrong. I've never sacrificed more for a job or profession and I've done/had a few. I love trucking but I had no idea what it was, wide eyed and dreaming when I entered it. I'm stil going to share my FWIW, cut and paste advice.

Read the "good companies" and "bad companies" section on this forum and get an idea of what company you want to work for and what kind of trailer you want to pull. Don't just go to school and then try to figure out where to go.

You need to look at your driving record and criminal record. Many don't take this into consideration and find out they can't get a job after school. The school likely won't mention this because they want your money.

I don't know your financial situation. Don't take training from a company if you can afford it or get it with financial aid. You will be their slave for up to year. If you leave they will trash you DAC and credit record.

Just know that training and trucking company recruiters will do nothing but lie to you. They will let you talk about what you want and then tell you what you want to hear. Trucking is about moving freight to make money for the company. Your home time, family, paycheck and everything else comes second.

It is not like any other job. Local is usually backbreaking delivery work 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Often you unload dozens of times a day or you are a salesman. Regional is lots of loading and unloading time, fewer miles than OTR and not as hard as local but will wear on you and push your HOS limits. OTR is out 3 - 5 weeks with 3 - 4 days home, less manual labor and more miles.

You'll probably have to pay your dues before you get the gravy job. Weekends off, if you are lucky enough to get something like that starting out, may be home Thursday afternoon and leave Saturday night or home Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. Loads deliver on Monday early and you leave in time to get them there. Often your home time will be in the middle of the week.

Regardless of your driving choice, after school you will go through company training. This can be six weeks to three months with little or no home time. The first phase is usually $400 a week and the second phase is $500-550 a week. Some pay less. One company pays 12 CPM for training.