Changing careers at 48.

Just keep your expectations reasonable, don't believe everything everyone tells you, understand trucking is not a glamorous job, you'll see a lot, if not all of the nation, and it's not all "pretty". You'll question your decision at least a dozen time a month, but the rest of the time you'll enjoy the solitude and scenery.

If patience is not a strong virtue of yours or if you tend to have issues with anger management, DO NOT get into trucking. If you have a wife or girl-friend, be prepared to have this relationship challenged. Know that there is no "perfect" carrier to work for. The best you can hope for is to find one where you fit in well. Try and keep your first job a minimum of 9 months.

You will never become a "trucking master" ... not in 1 year, not in 30 years, so never begin to think you are almost there, because you will then soon fail miserably. Listen and observe more than you talk. Learn from your (and other's) mistakes and you should do fine. Most of the time you are your own boss, but there will be times each week when you will feel like you are being "managed" by a marine drill instructor as you work for "free", correct other's mistakes, take the heat for other's shortcomings, etc.

You'll find a lot of mid/later life career changers into trucking out there. Some happy, some not so happy. It's all in what you want to make of it, your determination, your motivation, and your expectation. How those blend together will determine how long you remain, or how far you go, or happy/miserable you become.

 

No wife and kids is a huge plus. As long as you don't have a social life either then you'll really have something going.

 

Go for it! If you've been in auto mechanics for years, then it won't be nearly as difficult a change as someone coming out of a cubicle.
You may regret being a trucker, but you'll never regret trying it out.

 

You running a olds or chevy bb in your boat?Jetdrive?

 

I see 460 in your sig.ford ? if so that is a expensive way to make power.