Trying to get back in

I have been off the rode for a few year. I have over a year OTR from before 2005. Currently driving a local hazmat straight truck until I get laid off next week. Thought "No big deal I can just go back to the road again."

Now I find out the jobs I want (Superior, Tidewater) are not hiring and my second choices wont hire me because I don't have 1-2 years experience in the last 6 months to 3 years. I know some of this is insurance related but come on. Just because I drove local for a few years does not mean I forgot how to drive a big rig on a long haul. When I last drove OTR I made .29 per mile. Now it's starting to look like I won't even be able to make that again.

Is there something I am overlooking? Any one know a company that will hire me at a good rate? I am in east Tennessee with an X and T endorsements. I am the only income for my family and need something fast. Would like to be home weekly with no forced dispatch but will work with what is available.

 

It is defiantly a different world out there now. When I first got out of school 10 years ago I had company's tearing up my phone trying to get me to work for them with no experience, just a diploma that said I didn't flunk out of my CDL training. Had one company that wanted to break their own policies to hire me. Of course once US Xpress bent over backwards to get me in the door they promptly bent me over the slightly used heavily abused Freightliner they assigned me. You would think that after they tryed that hard to get me there that they would want to keep me there. I guess dispatch didn't get that memo. After being truck number 9603 (instead of a human being) for a few months I went to a local company and drove for a while. Then I moved got out off the truck for a couple of years, found my wife and wanted to put some money back for a house. Again went to a small outfit and ran two log books for most of the time there. Figured I couldn't get away with that forever so when they cut benifetts I left to do some local work again. Started my family piled up some debt and got laid off a couple of times so here I am again. But where are the companies linning up to kiss my feet so that they can screw me later? The places that I have worked are out of business. Now my CDL doen't mean anything nor my clean MVR. Thank you Obama. Now I just Hope I have enough Change left to pay this months bills.

 

Thanks I haven't thought of that although I didn't realize Berkline and Shelby Williams ran their own trucks. I know that Blue Mountain Trucking hauls a lot of Berkline but I haven't been able to find out much on them yet. Did contact Big G as they have a terminal here. They will not talk to me. Also contacting Morristown Drives Service but I haven't heard much about them. I really want to pull a tanker but I will take what I can get at this point.