Can you be a trucker and a good mom too?

If you wanna drive a dump trk all you need is a class B and there are construction companies that will help you get your cdl because they're desparate for drivers.I would be talking to companies first before going to school.Then later on down the road once you get a feel of the industry go to school for heavy hauling.Or even the company could help you with that in due time.I think its neat you wanna stay local and take care of your brother.You live in Texas,I bet construction jobs are very plentiful so I would be calling around and see what options construction companies have.

 

can't say about (for instance) dump work where you live, but here in the north east, when the weather is good, starting in as soon as late winter, dump jobs work from sun up to sun down. it can be grueling, but that's just the way it is here. because come winter time, many dump drivers are laid off for the winter, or called in as needed to plow snow and that is of course, if the company that owns the dumps, attaches plows (if they even own them).

soda deliveries can be long days as well. some soda deliveries you have to take the stock into the store and place it on the shelves.

cesspool work is dying out, as here (and maybe across America) it is now law that if a new home is built it must be connected to a sewer, and cesspool replacements are now outlawed (here) and have to tie into the sewer system.

so if say you get a job at a construction company, any job driving whatever, you might need to expect very long days.

regional work, like your uncle, your best bet is to have him help you get a job with his company, or he can help you find something. but then too, some regional work, you may have to do an over-nighter once, maybe up to 3 times a week.

some regional, like i do, i ma home daily, and only work 5 nights a week, but my company requires 5 years experience first, and they stick to that.

 

A woman's place is in the home. I told my wife the very same thing just before she kicked my ###.

 

Don't waste your time if you are looking for local. Everybody that will be in your class wants local, and everybody who is sick of otr wants local. You have a better chance hitting the lottery.

Plus trucking is not as easy as it looks. Most can't back their way out of a wet paper sack after school. Local is faced paced. You should be doing a job. Where you can take your time and learn how to do it right. A few incidents/ accidents and nobody will want to touch you. Also the hours are usually 14 plus hours a day go home for 10 and do it all over again.

 

All three of them you mean? (Don't fell bad, it's happened to all of us. . .)

A GOOD job really depends on what you are looking for, what you are willing to accept, and what is the norm for your area. GOOD jobs of any kind are hard to come by, unless you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

I'd have to agree with post 22 about the septic/cesspool work. It is more of a dying breed than a growth industry.

You mention that you would like to work some heavy equipment. If that is the case, then starting out with a construction (aggregate) job would be ideal. They will quite likely give you a chance to try your hand at a lot of different pieces of equipment, particularly after you've been there a few years, and have proven yourself.
Somebody mentioned that you don't need more than a class B for a dump truck. Well, yes and no. If you are going to work for an active aggregate hauler, you will be driving well over the 26001 pound limit. You get a dump truck with a tag axle or two, and then a pup on behind it, perhaps with a couple of tag axles, you may be up around double the normal 80K limit. At least here, all of these outfits get the overweight permits, and use them! I'd say go ahead and get your Class A license. You are already set to start the schooling, so I'd say "GO FOR IT!"
But there are some drawbacks to this kind of job. Unless you happen to work a union outfit, you will be doing some manual labor, as well as driving. Ever operate a "Mexican Backhoe?" (generally called a shovel. . .) You'll likely get some experience and blisters with it.
Hauling asphalt can be quite a job. You will find that you are up in the bed of the truck, scraping out asphalt with a scraper every once in a while. Even if they have a shaker on the bed, and you always either spray the bed down with diesel (frowned upon,) or crusher fines, there are going to be times you are in there for a clean out.
You could be hauling many different products in a typical day. Different grades of well, dirt! Going to different job sights for different uses.
The your will be LONG when you are working. Don't be surprised if whatever outfit you work for, ignores a whole lot of HOS laws. They'll get nailed eventually, but they still don't "get it." And of course it is the driver that takes it in the shorts if you get busted on this.
And you could be required to go out of town occasionally on big jobs. That was always a PITA to me, since I detest sharing a motel room with anyone other than my wife. But it paid well.

There are a lot of choices, but if you are serious about wanting to move into equipment operating, the construction is likely the best road for you. This whole industry is built on LONG hours. Sure, some folks have lucked out and work a bit shorter week, but that is the minority.
Good luck with this!

Hey Pack, you forgot the most important part! "And she should go there right after she GETS HOME FROM WORK!"

 

When I started out and wanted to be home every night I hauled grain, I ran belly dumps, eventually hauled logs... There are lots of local jobs, just darned few that pay good and hire inexperienced drivers. No matter how you look at it, you gotta get a couple years in before you will get that perfect money/family balance.

 

I went right from school to the asphalt company I was a laborer for already. We ran long days, I hit 14 hours a day 6 days a week. Quite a bit of night work as well as roads and lots are usually less populated then.
My routine was to get in the truck, hook the excavator trailer, Pretrip the truck and trailer and drive to the job. Get on site and unload the machine, run the machine, work a shovel, a jackhammer, or whatever else it took to get demo done. Then take the truck of demo material to the dump site and load up with new material. Get back on site rinse and repeat.
The pay was good but the workout and manual labor part were grueling at times especially in August.
We got laid off about thanksgiving, collected unemployment until March, and went back to work.

 

Sounds just like the way it is around my way.

 

The best kind of mom if your a boy leave money on the counter for food and see ya call when your coming home.