Getting Ready to Hit the Road with Magnum

OK... I am confused..... did I miss something? I'm not sure what she extrapulated from anything that I posted that would be negative in any way.

That's a shame.... I will miss her.

Any ideas TB?

 

Hey there FlatLander!

No, Lil Man was also a 387 Pete. The two in those pictures are trucks I am currently considering.

Financing can be a little tricky if you have less than a years experience as a driver. But there are avenues out there to utilize.... you just have to find them. Just be really careful about the interest rates. Generally, you will get financed between 2 and 4 years on used models. New, I believe you can get 6 years, but I haven't looked in to that so much.

Arf

 

Mileage, for me, depends on, first, a warranty, and secondly, service records. Staying under 500000 is a good rule of thumb, and there are some great deals on ones out there with considerably less than that. It is also going to depend on what you are going to do with the truck. If you are going to stay local, a little higher mileage is not such a big deal because if you break down, you will be closer to home, and you get better deals on higher mileage units for the most part.

Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself. Oh, I don't mind repeating myself.

I am probably going to bust your bubble here. Driving truck has very little to do with "wanderlust". I have seen several posts out there where people getting into the industry talk about sitting on the side of the road, eating an Egg McMuffin, watching the sun come up, and people talking about stopping at points of interest on their way to a load or delivery. As a fact, most times you will not have that luxury. You will be scheduled tight on your time and it won't allow a lot of time for "play". But there are those moments when you can take a moment for yourself.

By the way, regardless of which philosophy you believe in (creation vs evolution), theoretically speaking, the chicken came first. It is impossible to have a chicken egg if a chicken didn't lay it. Sorry, couldn't resist....

For what it is worth, it would be a good idea to make sure your wife is onboard 200% with this plan before you go and do this. Without a supportive spouse... well.... let's just say that statistics speak for themselves.

Your assumptions are correct. However, life is what you make it. There are companies hiring students, and there are students gradauating everyday. You need to get on the net, do a google for "student truck driver". And let the links take you from there.

Depends on where you live. But for the love of Mike, get it on your own. Do NOT sign up with a trucking company that will put you through school. If you do, you have just voluntarily placed yourself in the position of "Indentured Servant". And you will need to hit the ground running when you get out of school. Otherwise, you will most likely be overlooked or required to take an expensive refresher, paid to the company that hires you. And yes, I hit the ground running. I started calling for prehires after my first week of a 4 week course, lined up my choices in order, and then scheduled orientations.... each one one week after the previous one. That way, if I didnt get an offer, I was aligned to go to the next until someone hired me. As luck would have it, I got hired on my first one.

Sleeper Berth.... ehehehehhehe.... Naw, I am in South Beloit, WI, which is just north of Rockford, Illinois on I-39. Tomorrow I head for SC. Had one hell of a day with road closures, construction, detours, and an accident on I-90 just outside of Chicago this morning.

This morning I ended up in the middle of nowhere in central Wisconsin, headed to my pickup, on the prescribed truck route, when low and behold, they closed the road and gave me a 1000' warning. So that had me backing up the road for about 2000', into a small sideroad, and headed the other way. Asked a local for directions to my destination, and he told me to take this road (and I suspect he thought it was funny that he sent me this way). The only word I can think of to describe it was "goatpath". It was roughly 3-4 feet wider than my truck, and wound around like a rattlesnake and had hills similar to a rollercoaster. And that is not an exageration. Think I am kidding? Check out the pictures below. Neither are optical illusions. And believe it or not, the road is not on the restricted list. You can imagine how concerned I was about Tater and the 53' trailer coming face to face with oncoming traffic. (Luckily it never happened)

I am tired and ready to curl up in my kennel. See Ya!

Another Arf!

 

Hope so. Actually, she'd be in here now if I could get Linda in the truck. But she keeps pretty busy with her auctions and schtuff. And I would much rather have Scooter at home with her, keeping the bad guys out )

But that day will come.

 

hehehehehee.... Actually, the shipper is the one that told me to take the route that was closed. And the place that I was leaving from confirmed that. Neither one apparently knew about it. For the record, I ALWAYS call and confirm directions before I roll. Saves me time and headaches. Usually if there is a detour or problem area, they let you know about it. But this place was far enough away from both the shipper and the previous receiver that I can understand why they wouldn't know. No biggie.... I got around it.

I am not saying others don't go down routes that are worse than what I got into. As a fact, I have heard many horror stories that far outweigh what I went through. And I'm sure some of the areas in NJ that you have to go to would be much worse than places I have been. I was merely sharing an experience. Plus you have to remember you have been driving for 2 years.... I have been driving for 4 months. AND, you saw two pictures that were taken in places where it was safe to take a picture. You certainly didn't see the worst of it. I'm sorry, didn't realize it was a competition.... But thanks for stealing my thunder.

If you want to put it in perspective, I used to be a medic for 15 years. Let's say you pull someone from a wrecked vehicle that could potentially explode and you save their life. You would be, and should be rather proud of yourself for getting it done, right? And wouldn't you tell others that you share your daily experiences with? I couldn't tell you the number of times that I have done it. But that doesn't make your experience or effort any less, does it?

By the way... if you go there "all the time", and it is a lot worse than that, I think I would look for a better route. But I would like to see the pictures and know where these places are so I can be aware of it ahead of time. I hate those kind of surprises. Thanks in advance.....

Oh yeah (almost forgot).... GO STEELERS!!!!! OoooWahhh!