Help a trucker wanna be out! 2.0

Once again, in my personal opinion, local runs will give you some experience, BUT, it will not present you as many challenges and situations to learn from as opposed to having to be on the interstate for half a day or so.

I think Regional will give you a good perspective on things though. OTR may be a little hard (am in the same predicament)

I truly wish I was in your economic position since I am REALLY struggling to see how I put a couple of hundred dollars together to pay for some training before I try my road test (already gave it a try twice and for not having the posibility to pay for school and payingg for some practice, I unfortunately failed). Having a newborn without a job and a wife going full time to school isn't really the best scenario, but hopefuly better days are yet to come.

 

First of thanks for your service. I think you are currently living in Canada and I am not familiar how things work there with driver training. I know they have truck driving programs since I went to a school in North Vancouver 20 years ago to get a cdl for Canada. You seem to be financially secure and I would find either a community college program or good driving school to get your license. Go ahead and get all your endorsements as well.

I would not recommend to buy a truck right away. Learn to drive and learn about the business. Also you need to figure out what kind of trucking you want to do. Buying a truck is easy, but having the right truck for the right job is a different story. When you start driving start tracking your expenses and run the truck like it is your own.

Look at the truck I drive for example 2014 389 Pete, 550hp ISX 15, 18 speed, 3:70 rears, 270" wheelbase, heated tanks, artic insulation package, moose bumper, and the list goes on. I get 5 to 5.5mpg and I am happy, but if I would only run California this truck would be a nightmare. You will need to learn the lanes for the freight you want to haul and spec your truck accordingly.

Take your time and learn on somebody else's dime and you might find out that trucking is not for you. Remember trucking is a life style and not a job. You will be treated like a second class citizen by people that make minimum wage. Your time does not count a lot of times and the only thing for sure is that things will constantly change.

I love what I do and take the good with the bad. I found the lane I want to run and I pull a reefer. I have days where I am on cloud nine and days I just want to quit. Look for my thread in the reefer section of the forum. "Running Produce to Alaska" and you can read about some of my trips.

 

I'm with you Stargoose. I am absolutely dreading that first year. Not because I'm too good for it, but because I'm set in my ways and I've been self employed my entire life.

The idea of being cooped up with a trainer (yes I've read the stories) or being micro managed as if I'm stupid by a faceless qualcom...uhhhggg.

Like you I've been tempted to bypass that first year and go straight into a new truck as o/o. However, I believe these guys, and they gave me the same advice they are giving you.

In a weird way, it would almost feel disrespectful to start out on day one with a new truck. Kind of like the 16 year old kid who gets his license and a new BMW on the same day.

 

Just thought I'd throw my 2 cents in here. I'd absolutely recommend finding a good reputable CDL school and a job with a reputable company (check around the forums as there's lists all over the place here) to get some time behind the wheel before buying your own truck. My guess is once you get a chance to learn from experience you'll do just fine.

Having driven for one of the "megacarriers" here in the US that routinely pushes inexperienced drivers into leasing or buying trucks to run for them I can tell you that the absolute worst thing you can do is try to run your own truck before you know EXACTLY what your doing. Being able to afford to get your own truck and knowing how to run it the way you need to are entirely different things.

Also, I notice no one has pointed out another important thing here: you don't know for sure that driving OTR is for you and investing in a truck could be a huge mistake. Not everyone is cut out to be a driver. It seems like you have a good head on your shoulders and clearly the good intent is there but I've had several student drivers who were great behind the wheel and more than qualified and fully capable of being a driver but they just couldn't deal with life on the road. As the saying goes "it's not just a job, it's a lifestyle".

On a side note, thank you for your service. I did 2 tours in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq with the US Army and I usually enjoyed working with the Brits when the chance presented itself. I had a little more room to work with and a faster ride (I was a UH-60 crew chief) but I always had to respect you tankers for dealing with what most folks would call less than ideal conditions.

 

Valley is just as hot as you remember. As to the pee bottles, I've started using them around the house as preparation - jk.