No touch freight, rookie driver

Erm hold on there.

One thing I have tried always here is to be nice... I agree that trucking is not for pretty young girls. But I say this. Any one wanting to get into a 18 wheeler 40 ton vehicle and run the USA is more than welcome to it. But... with a fair warning that *picks words carefully.... this industry, the places we go into are where angels do not go.

Normally I would shut up at this point. But I cannot, and I will tell you why. In the late 1998 or so things changed. It's not the painted lady standing on your fuel tank in memphis behind the McDonalds crawling with lice asking for a date... it's the guys now.

I almost quit trucking at that point. Almost. But developed a certain way of basically identifying all of the fleshpots and evil places and basically work around them by not being there.

The last time Wife was sitting up in the bunk up in Rochester NY Bullpen bobtail waiting for Guiness to load my trailer we had a pretty thing come up and preposition me for a date while I was outside clearing the mirriors. I said, that you best head out, wife up there in that bunk heard you through the window and as a marine to boot.

Last I saw of her was two blocks and gone. Wife was already taught and prepared well in advance what we were getting into when she teamed up with me in trucking. Some of her ... feed back I would call it that allowed me to.. moderate my position and understand the female side a little bit better.

But again, I try to be nice. If you cannot understand how dirty some of these places you are fixing to get into around the USA... and not treated as a driver, professional or anything other than a Object... this is not the industry for you. I tell you why.

I-95, 85 and 75 became known as AIDS alley back in the 80's along with other health threatening transmitted sicknesses, some of which can kill along with destroying marriages and relationships etc. If you keep living a good life safe from abuse as you do your trucking, you will be more than halfway to making sure that you preserve your future health for when your trucking days are over potentially 45 years into the future.

That's all I am saying here. But it has to be said. Ive gotten pretty moderate myself but there are certain things that has to be taught to the new ones of both sexes who think trucking is going to be alot of fun.

 

I was in the same position as OP. Just out of trucking school, looking forward to traveling round the US or regional. Then reality set in that it's a lot more dangerous and difficult out there then let on. Stuff they don't explain in trucking school (because they want your money). Had no clue most local jobs wouldn't touch me without OTR experience first. All these "better" companies out there that everyone keeps going on and on about will not hire you with gaps in employment or outside hiring area. They want you to work at a driver mill first. Then when you get advice on starter companies everyone keeps telling you to try better. So it's a mixed bag. Just have to be aware of what you're getting into. Go with a company that is close to home. That way you don't have to travel a long ways to orientation because if you don't like what you see. Better to be near home to bail out.

 

A pretty face shows up and it's amazing how suddenly helpful and nice everyone is!

 

Well not everyone responding has been nice.

There are quite a few pretty women in trucking, I am not sure why people would think it OK to suggest that your looks or your gender should preclude a career in trucking.

This is one of the few industries where you will earn exactly what your male counterparts earn and how you look won't have any bearing on that at all. So many other women cannot and probably will never be able to say the same about their chosen professions.

 

I have come up on flatbedders bending chain and pipe and say sir... watch that clinch.. they turn around and it's a Ma'am larger than some good old boys down here. Whoops. That's smoothed over very quickly.

Baltimore is a seafaring city. All the world would come to our city. And when they got off the ship they headed to a 22 to 25 block area known as the block. There anything they wished was available at any price. At a time not too long ago, one of our governors sent 1600 police through the place and cleared it out.

It's a difficult city if you don't know how to watch yourself in any gender or race. For example North Ave. If you are south of it and do not live there, you do not belong and will be hunted. If you made a wrong turn and found yourself on 33rd street with rowhousing too pretty and shows riches beyond compare, they are eyeballing you and your 18 wheeler. Why are you on my road? there is nothing here for you. Go back to boston street where all the other truckers run. It's that way.

Maryland traffic in trucking is not nice. The people will be more than glad to have you hit em. You will lose your job probably and so on. It does not matter what race, gender or color the driver is. Pretty or not.

But again, if someone is young, untaught in certain areas of our Country which is quite degenerate and really bad they are going to get hurt fast.

Sometimes I talk a little rough, but deep inside there is a softy that really wants these young people to understand what they are stepping into and they need to be wise to it. They will find out soon enough for themselves and no amount of forum posts or happy go lucky princess living will save them then.

 

Why exactly are you coming into trucking? Money?

 

I am totally going to steal this line, FYI.

 

Ahhh yes!! The block!! Ended up there a few times back in the 80's after leaving Hammerjack's (the original) and that was a crazy off the wall area!! Pretty tame now but still no bueno!!

 

OP reminds me of Navajo Princess. Maybe that's a good omen.

 

If you don't live near a terminal, then getting you home when you request hometime means that the trucking company has to find a load going to (or at least near) where you live, and one that needs to be there around the time you request hometime.

I drive for Abilene. We have guys who work for us who live in Florida, because we run to Florida all the time, so it's easy to get them a load home. On the other hand, we had a guy last year who lived in Houston, and it turned out to be something of a challenge (apparently) to get him home on the regular, because we don't run to Houston that often.

In your specific case it wouldn't be a problem, because we run cross-country all the time, so getting you to (or close to) Phoenix wouldn't be an issue. We already have at least one driver who lives in Phoenix and he does fine with hometime.