Trucking's the Answer

Far as I am concerned 'homeless' is the best way to go, the less bills you have to worry about at home, the more you can focus on your earnings and savings.

 

I believe Millis, Wiilis Shaw, Roehl and Schneider are pretty solid. I've heard some bad things about Prime.

Prime will run you and your"trainer" as a team operation. This is not good. The trainer should not be sleeping with a student at the wheel. It does not help you learn nor is it all that safe. In a crisis situation you may not be able to make the right quick decision and if he is cutting ZZZs he is of no help.

I've also heard reports of trainers exploiting students making them do more than their share of the driving while they get paid for your miles.

I trained at Transport America. They have very strict policies about how student and trainers are dispatched. The trainer must be awake and in the passenger seat the whole time when the student is driving. They are there to teach you to be a safe responsible driver not milk your labors. I chose TA primarily on two things: emphasis on safety and reputation for a good training program. After I got here I appreciated how well thay maintain their equipment.

The others you mentioned are fine, I'd just steer clear of Prime. BTW 3-5 weeks is plenty of time for training, any longer than 5 weeks and they're likely trying to make money off you while you make cup of ramen noodle wages.

 

As for mistakes I would make a guess that the most common mistake is turning a small mistake into a big one. I'm a newbie, only about 4 months out on my own and though the mistakes are becoming farther between I still make my share of small ones. So far I've managed not to turn any of them into big ones. An example of what I mean by that comes from another new driver I was talking to. He missed a turn, something we all do, but instead of waiting for a good place to turn around or somewhere to stop and replan he took the first turn he could find. I guess he figured 3 lefts and a right would get him back on track. One of the lefts was tight though and he ran his trailer tandems over a small car. I think a lot of newbie mistakes stem from impatience/frustration whether it's trying to get back on route or trying to back into a tight spot and being afraid to get out and look. Never rush and when you make a mistake just relax and deal with it calmly.

 

Good Luck and Welcome to the forum

 

Sorry I disagree homeless is not the way to go. What if you don't make it in the trucking world, where are you going to live? How are you going to support your family? If you want to be successful in the trucking industry, learn, learn, learn, all you can. Don't drive illegal even if your dispatcher insist a load needs to be there by xyz. Don't spend to much of your time in the truck stops, or at the terminals, Don't expect to go home every weekend, the more your home the less $$$ you will make.. And keep the left door shut, and the big wheels a rolling..

 

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Good thing. You would have forked over $100k or more to maintain a house for the last few years. If you are after the lifestyle of owning a house, then buy one. But I dont believe renting is a waste of money. Consider all of the expenses of owning. It's not cheaper, trust me.

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Biggest mistake: Believing ANYthing any trucking company says.

2nd Biggest: Not packing your own dry or canned food. Eating at the restaurants and greasy spoon truckstops will not only KILL you, but will drain your earnings faster than a mosquito will fill his belly with your blood while your in the sleeper on a summer night.

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Good luck with that. I've learned that any company who promises frequent home time, probably does the opposite. Besides, you are not going to be making a lot of money if the dispatchers are trying to figure out how to get you home at the beginning of week two. Not sure how old your kid is, but if he/she is young, you may want to stick with a local job. Your not going to put a lot of money away driving a truck, and your child needs you. Toughest thing I did was say goodbye to my 5 yr old.

 

They're not too bad as a company about getting you home, but some dispatchers are better than others about getting you home the day you request. Also which terminal has a part also. Every other weekend should be no problem just let them know up front that's what you need and they should honor it. I'm not saying stuff doesn't hit the fan from time to time but you should be home within 24 hrs of your requested hometime 95% of the time.

Garmin Nuvi is a great help for keeping you from missing turns or getting lost. However you do want to copy down the local directions to your stop from the qcom and check against the Garmin's. Sometimes Garmin will take you through truck restricted routes so keep your eyes open. I also like the Garmin for helping know my ETA and know how much time I need to get somewhere so I know when to leave and if I'm running behind schedule.

Don't sell all your stuff until you have at least 3 months under your belt to make sure this is the lifestyle you want. OTR is work/sleep/work sleep/wait/drive/sleep/drive. Sometimes the sleep portion is missing and it's just drive/wait/drive.

Living out on the road can cost a lot. The key is to control expenditures. If you can invest in an inverter, microwave, crock pot and fridge you can cook for yourself and save a bundle over the cost of eating out. Eating all your food and beverages at truckstops will cost you $200/ wk. Get to Walmart buy your groceries and cook for yourself and that same $200 will feed you for a month.

One other thing: the boredom factor. Driving 8-11 hrs a day can get boring and sometimes even music gets old. My favorite thing to help the time pass is audio books. When I go home I go to the library and check out about a dozen audio books at a time. I can renew them twice for up to six weeks. Everytime I go home I return the old ones and get new ones. Free thought provoking entertainment. A few titles I enjoyed were One Soldiers' Story ,A Soldier's Promise, Write it When I'm Gone and This Just In.

Good luck!