What should I do to take my career to the next level?

It really depends on where YOU want your career to go. There are sooooo many options for you to take. Do you want a life outside of trucking or do you enjoying being in that truck all the time and just going all over. Some guys do and there is nothing wrong with that. If you have hobbies and want to enjoy life outside the truck, then LTL is one of the best ways to go. I personally have found that small private tanker companies around my area are the best paying and most lucrative. LTL is very very hard to get into here as We are saturated with trucking companies and a limited freight base and Companies over hire to keep their hours down and then lay off in the same month.

You can continue with perfecting Flatbedding and perhaps get into hauling oversize or learn tankers, Liquid and dry-bulk. And just because you have a CDL, that doesn't mean that you have to stay in trucking. Some jobs, you need a CDL to drive their work trucks. You could work for the railroad, a news company, or anyone moving specialized equipment(you most likely will have to have some training or a skillset in their field) But you are very young and have alot of options at your disposal

 

You might be a bit young, but have you thought about hauling gas? You'll have a set schedule, 12 hour days, and decent pay/equipment. Downside is working weekends for many years, and you work holidays if scheduled. I know of a few companies in the metro hiring if interested…

 

I know who you've been looking at.

every time I am up in the Twin Cities area, I see these tricked out Pete's that run together. Can't remember what kind of wagon they pull. Hot trucks. Nothing wrong with wanting a large car. When I was young, that's what I wanted and that's what I got (mine was a company truck tho...those trucks I am thinking of are probably company trucks too).

A word of caution with driving a large car.

1. You have to be good at what you do. The first time you screw up, you're going to be all over YouTube, CNN and Fox.
2. Don't be a prick. You're going to stand out in the crowd. Runing off at the mouth on the radio will catch up with you. You have to be kewl 24/7.
3. You have to be a better version of you. Be courteous to slow trucks, they're doing the bested can. If JB jumps out to pass Swift, don't say anything on the radio. You're in a large car, getting slowed down isn't going to hurt you. Never under any circumstances do you tailgate.
4. Drive a large car like a large car. You're easing up the bigroad in North Dakota. You got the cruise set on 70 in a 75. A Bison truck is in the right lane. You get within 2 truck lengths of his ICC and you go left. You're 1 trucklength from him when you see a truck stepping on the on ramp. Do the large car thing and tap your brakes. Flash your lights. Bison doesn't want to piss you off but there's a truck hitting the bottom of the ramp at 40 mph. So let him over. As soon as he can, that grateful driver will get out of your way, and you can hit resume and everything flows.

When you park your large car and walk into the restaurant, you want friends to be inside there instead of enemies. Anyways, good luck with the rig. Find the gig you want to do and work it before you go out buying a truck. Having your own truck will make you proud. Driving your toy to work every day will make you grin from ear to ear.

 

I bought this particular truck to pull big loads. She's geared too low to be the fastest truck on the highway, but she pulls so hard that you almost catch wood. I like that stretched out, full fendered look too, but I roam all of North America. And I've pulled lots of loads to new power plants and wind farms and whatnot, so my truck sees quite a bit of time on hard pack dirt roads and gravel. I like how the Canadians in the northern provinces do their truck...just plain rugged. So I try to have a mix between both. She's got chrome and lights, but it's all go, some show.

Pulled a stretched load last week grossing 92000 lbs. overheight (14 ft), over length (91ft), over width (10ft). Was in an area where they restricted my speed to 55 mph. On flat ground, everything's fine. The problem comes in when I start pulling hills. I'll normally set the cruise and just piddle along. Well, she will walk right up the hill. Suddenly, the majority of trucks will be dropping speed and then we have a bottleneck. What do you do? On a long pull, some of them are going to drop to 20 mph. Short pull, I will back out of it...long pull, I'm going to have to left lane it. Left lane it, go around and get back into the right lane. I know it's frustrating to everyone to have to pass me again, but I didn't write the stupid laws. I also know that most of the drivers on the road do not like driving a truck with Beancounter specs on the engine.

Walk into the restaurant and someone asks, "Are you pulling that great big oversized load?"
(Uhoh...did I piss someone off? Lemme think...)

Remember what I said about being courteous in your driving. You WILL stand out. Anyways, have you figured out where you want to go from here? If you like flatbedding, want your own rig, and want to stay in your general area, but do some travel too, try MidWest Transport...I believe they're in Rogers,Mn. Good company. They pull mostly machinery. Call Kurt the recruiter/Safetyman (small company) and tell him you are the man. He probably won't believe you, but they will give you the opportunity to show what you got.

 

Get a few more posts, and PM me...

 

Go to college instead. Truck driving is a dead end job; honorable work, done right, but not a "career". Where's the top echelon, driving for Walmart, or hauling radioactive waste (all non-local driving)? You're 24 and have the world by the bass, you just don't know it. You'll know it in 30 years, and what you should have done, but then it will be too late.

Few things amused me more than looking off the interstate in the south and seeing a $200K rig in a muddy yard scattered with toys parked between a broken swingset and a $12K mobile home.

 

This is what i would tell you. Shiny chromed out trucks look nice but driving a Daycab with no chrome except for the mirrors gets me home
everyday by 5pm and pays well, find an LTL carrier

 

get your hazmat and tanker ..Praxair has a plant in Minneapolis... great job good money and bennies (teamster job) you will make way more than most otr guys and be home almost everyday..if not home you will be in a motel not a truck...cryo is a great job for the right person...but it will be nights and weekends for a long time..at your age you will be setting good someday if you can stick it out..I work for a competitor of them but know many guys that work for Prax at other locations..its a sweet gig ...I started driving intrastate at 18 got into cryo when I was 28..best move I ever made rough at first being bottom in a union shop but after about 5 years I started moving up been there 15 now Im #4 on seniority now life is great..at your age it would be a good move for you (In my opinion) good luck..