Making The Change To Trucker

If you are a company driver you can't take a credit/deduction for difference between practical miles & actual miles. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

That's what I would do; no northeast or New York City.
Another thing, hub miles or practicle miles doesn't mean much if you aren't getting the miles. Danny Herman Trucking runs the long runs and you'll see lots of Southern California and back to the east coast. They run all along the Texas border towns; El Paso, Laredo, etc. The trucks are set up for driver comfort also; APU, etc.

 

I'm interested and like to see new drivers succeed. Also, my computer desk is a mess covered in post-it notes and notebook. Every time I learn something that may help a new driver, I write it down.

 

I suggest to you to settle down into your training period with a trainer before going hog wild on the electronics, luxury etc. You are in training in a trainer's tractor and sleeper and there might be already some of that where he can teach you how to manage power in that truck. It's not like a house where you just plug it in and forget it. Power in a Semi tractor is a valuable and precious commodity, especially in winter where your life depends on having power.

You are going to go into the NE. Dispatch is forced meaning you cannot refuse. If you refuse, you get fired. I don't know any way around it. You can probably go to the west coast Regional and never see the east coast at all. But the Pacific North West has some unique challenges. If you are not a Mountain man you will be broken in on the intermountain west.

It's not so much making money but how you spend it. If my 5th wheel went clank onto the trailer in a drop yard and my qualcomm got paid a net of .. 220 dollars for this load after taxes and deductions and witholding (I usually with hold 100 for uncle sam and 75 to state each week as a form of defense against taxes combined with Perdeim (It's 45 dollars a day away from home as of 2001, I imagine it's worth 60 dollars to you today.

You count the days you were away from home, wherever that is add up all the days multiply by say.. 300 working days a taxable year of income in trucking versus 365 and you will realize about a 15 to 17000 dollar windfall coming into your pocket against any taxes itemized with 1040. Do not let any company pay you a few cents perdiem. The little bit of pittance they pay you per day is alot less than what THEY will claim at 60 dollars a day "Feeding you."

If you want to be a owner operator, you set aside 20% of all your pay. Gross that is not NET. Put it into the credit union and forgetabout it. Let it grow. You might save 10,000 your first year. 12 more months it becomes 20 to 30,000 by the time you hit 50K by 30 years old.... life is getting beautiful.

DO KEEP YOUR BIG YAP SHUT about that money if being a O/O is your goal. You will find many women in puppy love at your age of 22 then they learn you hold 50K by 30 and intend to triple that in pillow talking spilling secrets next thing you know you are hollowed out. And that would be that. So much for women. Or anyone else in your private circle who displays a behavior that does not support your carefully constructed professionalism in trucking.

I had some friends who did not truly understand what I did for trucking, they would drag me into a bat man movie for 3 hours back in the 90's and I could not STAND IT Because Cincinnatti is due 5 am And I would have been crossing Seven Mountains by now. Forget the movies. Eventually forget certain people and they wonder why I went away. Breaks my heart and yours too.

Inverters. Those are nice. But MAKE SURE you have Freightliner or specific truck dealer for your assigned truck install it. DOCUMENT that installation. DO buy a nice fat inverter with metal housing and fins none of that plastic crap. Heat is your enemy in summer and your cuddle in winter. But not with 15 amp 120 volts at god knows how many watts... /paraprase. Typical Mounting location is usually a foot below your sleeping pillow. Can you stand the bee buzz of those fans working to keep your milk cold befroe morning? Make sure you get permission before having the dealer install it. And tell the mechanic to spec wire cabling one size larger than required by Vehicle Code, Inverter instruction and so on. If I needed a 16 gauge wire to run something in my home I installed 10 gauge. It's the way I am. Nice and heavy for a few more dollars as a defense against a oops in the future.

I rather leave the schooling talk to others. Frankly many schools see you as fresh meat. You learn nothing there. YOU WILL learn when you get your own truck and your first three months to one year WILL decide if you have a future or not. (Or even your freedom or life.)

 

Start preparing for cdl school early.
Scroll to top of this page and click on "CDL Practice Tests" and memorize.
Google : "Free CDL Practice Tests North Carolina" and memorize.
Youtube videos : watch "Pre-trip Inspections" and memorize.
You will need : Original birth certificate and Original social security card (not laminated)