Thinking about trucking

Well,tanker is usually for a seasoned veteran,and flatbed is a lot for a new guy to handle.((Finding job sites,not getting stuck,tarping,strapping etc . And tanker(fuel sloshing,dangerous,lots of quick stops,hooking up hoses etc). Best advice to start with some dock to dock dryvan runs till you get comfortable.JMO

 

This is like exercise & other such things & feelings that crop up from time to time.

Try to remain calm & very still until the sensation passes.

 

There's good flatbed and tanker jobs for new CDL grads in many places.
Lots of tanker work along the Gulf Coast from Tampa.FL to Corpus Christi, TX.
Check the websites for tanker companies that hire new CDL grads and they show where the terminals are:

Superior Carriers
Trimac
CTL Transportation
SVTN
Schneider Bulk
Tidewater Transit

Good flatbed

Melton Truck Lines
TMC
Howard Industries

Your best money in the long term will be with hazmat/tankers. Get the hazmat/tanker endorsements, TWIC, passport so you will be prepared for the best paying tanker or flatbed jobs.

 

When you ask a which is better question, you have to define what better is. They are different. It is up to you to decide what you like. No two people ever have the exact same experiences. For example. You can go to work for Fed Ex Ground. Pull doubles from Kansas City to Memphis. Same run everyday. Sleep in your own bed every night. Make $60,000 per year. Some would call that a dream job and some would hate it.

I looked at flatbedding. I drove local for a company that delivered shingles to worksites. My Spanish came in handy. Easy work, good pay. Nice people at the office. No pressure. A 48 foot trailer is much easier to handle then a 53 footer. But it got old fast.

Tankers should not be driven by someone like myself as I sometimes drive a bit on the plus side of the speed limit. Making a left hand turn across traffic with a high center of gravity is not something you want to screw up even once. Plus from listening to folks talk about doing clean outs, I think I would want to hire an Amish maid for that.

Refrigerated Vans sounds like a lot of waiting to be unloaded by Lumpers. Checking to make sure stuff is pre cooled. Counting to make sure they give you the correct number of carrots. Not really something that just jumps out at you.

So that leaves Dry Van for me.


Pay is not something that you can say is better one then the other as there is just too many factors that go into things. It is also my understanding that delivering Cars is the best job in trucking but I have no idea how to go about it.

So, after all this typing, let me just say, it is up to you to make up your own mind.

 

Flatbed no doubt. It's mentally psychically challenging. Any monkey can open/close barn doors throw in a load bar and drive 900 miles to vendor and sleep 10 hours at the door.

As a former flattbedder, It has made me more rounded in experience and common sense.

Not discrediting the yanker tankers, they have a unique set of challenges also. but flatbed is way different and more demanding on the body/mind.

 

Now with this post actually more info is needed....are you looking for a company that trains so you can get your cdl? are are you going to a school then looking for a company?..or do you have a cdl already and if so what endorsements?

 

I find a cold shower helps too . . .

 

The Texas & Louisiana gulf Coast area have alot of opportunities for all types of trucking.

The oil fields are booming too.

If you really want to do this to yourself, plenty of jobs are available.

Wash-out / turnover rares hover around 100% in the OTR irregular rt segment within the 1st year. You can read all over this forum why that is.

Shaggy suffers from a mental illness common to senior Drivers with significant skills, knowledge & longevity. We become so complacent with our expertise that we think a monkey can do this.
The truth is something else. This business requires multiple (substantial) skill-sets (even if pulling dry vans). Don't let me forget to mention, that this is also a frighteningly dangerous business.

Lots of good folks here, will help you.

 

Thanks for acknowledging me old man, A monkey is so awesome at my job and wondering why many others don't do it. Common sense, situational awareness and some basic driving skills to earn paid medical cost, high wage, home every night and a pension. What's your excuse?


The oil fields is slave labor