Looking for Advice

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by lerner, Jan 5, 2020.

  1. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

    34,017
    42,098
    Mar 5, 2016
    White County, Arkansas
    0
    Being FROM NYC, if Dispatch found out, you are going to be first pick for NYC loads that some whine and refuse to go.

    You are missing out on no tax states. And the cost of living isnt that much. Our home here in Arkansas on a few acres came to 33K and that's about a half million on your island. There is a difference.

    You have one thing most do not. A whole life ahead of you. Potentially decades of this OTR work your way your terms within appt times and dispatch policies.

    Unfortunately there is a form of flux in this industry we are enduring a long term loss in freight. Even the railroads have hardly anything to do much less shipping. For the time being. Also when you relocate or establish in a free state you will enjoy new ideas once discouraged in NY state. You follow me?



    towers.jpg
     
    lerner Thanks this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. lerner

    lerner Bobtail Member

    4
    1
    Jan 5, 2020
    0
    Many, many thanks. Yes I believe New York is no longer for me.
    Things have changed.
     
  4. tscottme

    tscottme Road Train Member

    Look on a US map at the cities where 2 or more interstate highways cross. Those cities will have lots of trucking jobs. Pick some of those cities and then look on Craigslist.com at "transport" jobs in those cities.
     
  5. tscottme

    tscottme Road Train Member

    TN doesn't have an income tax on wages, but I think we are already full, especially if someone is moving from the Northeast or CA.
     
    88 Alpha, Razorwyr, Chinatown and 2 others Thank this.
  6. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

    34,017
    42,098
    Mar 5, 2016
    White County, Arkansas
    0
    Arkansas like to munch on you for 6% your earnings on top of Fed Taxes. We are pretty decent here, but just a form of backwards living because always something sometime happening that makes us the butt of Jokes everywhere in the USA. If it aint in Arkansas...

    However our statehouse keeps us positive state budget. If you cashed out everyone of the entire state and wrote a check for every man woman and child here from last years budget surplus, it going to be around 1800 dollars give or take 4.

    Other states are poor, Illinois to be exact. Still others struggle with the concept of money. Don't be moving there.

    A different view on us. Our Song says that if the sun is out, then leaky roof is fine. If it's raining then wait until better weather to get up there and fix the leaks. You follow?

    Im actually from Maryland, A transplanted Johnathan. Took only 10 years for the dear neighbors to stop calling me #### yankee.. ha..
     
  7. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

    68,028
    142,274
    Aug 28, 2011
    Henderson, NV & Orient
    0
    I'm from Robertson County, TN but as time moves on, no longer want to deal with ice and snow.
     
    ghostcookie, tscottme and x1Heavy Thank this.
  8. meechyaboy

    meechyaboy Heavy Load Member

    791
    1,219
    Oct 4, 2018
    Detroit, Michigan
    0
    Watch videos and find out what you’d like to haul first. Tanker is a little detailed but very doable as rookie. Just have to make sure youre at the right tanks and that you have enough room to offload. Flatbed requires you to be out in the elements strapping down and securing everything so no just sitting in the truck. But if you’re going to specialize I would get all the potential endorsements when you first get your license. Also make sure you do not get a manual restriction and that the school practices on manuals. Sure all the megas are switching to autos but it’d be a shame to find that dream job and they only run 18 speeds.

    Protect your license at all times, take your time don’t be out here hitting stuff cause you got impatient
     
    AzuaTanker and tscottme Thank this.
  9. x1Heavy

    x1Heavy Road Train Member

    34,017
    42,098
    Mar 5, 2016
    White County, Arkansas
    0
    I have not spoken much about places like Kroger, Associated Grocers etc.

    You can expect to arrive sometime at the place, be told to camp out and wait. And what a wait. Towards morning you get a dock. Then told to enter this office. You are then told that you will pay 300.00 in lumper charges comcheck or cash so you will be unloaded OR you unload it yourself. 48000 pounds in many boxes on the big pallets to their small pallets custom layer and height to match their store orders. (For them)

    Throw away that day and into the afternoon and wait for inspection and count. For damage or not. Only then you will get your paperwork and told to get off the property now. REGARDLESS of your HOS status. (PC conveyance straight to proper truckstop or equivalent for rest and safety, no further say to a better truckstop)

    Its a young mans work.

    I disposed all that loss of time, filth and piles of outgoing money that I am not sure I will be paid back on and so forth associated with food when I discovered medicine loads.Ive had it to the back teeth with a life time of food. All kinds coming and going. I hope the blessed People are happy with the meals.

    I favor bulk, flatbed and some liquid tankers non hazmat. (Very few of those) Even if I would be a county water boy feeding tanker off our Tower twice a day in season filling pools for hourly I would be happy. because my life has passed around the USA, parts of Mexico and Canada in every way good and bad. I don't need or expect hot time intense precision OTR work. I can do that if need be. But let someone else sweat it out. That might be you. You follow me?

    Whatever it is you are told to do with a tractor trailer, keep in mind you got into this of your own free will and can only carefully consider everything about that load until the papers are signed and done. (Always sign them shipper load and count, no matter how much they scream, it comes out of your pay if the product comes up short.... one time they got me for 11 childrens bikes. Thats' 900 gone and that was 80's money, equal to about 3000 today. Shipper load and count)

    The bikes?

    Loaded on the floor of my trailer for Lionel in Landover DC in Maryland. Hand count marks by 5's on wall of trailer with crayon. Every box. Forklifter showed me a count about 11 off mine. I count bars top to bottom on my wall, 11 off. I said my count is good. He says his count is good. I said get his boss. oh no.. Our count is good, yours is not, sign this.

    No I aint signing *&^% my count or nothing. Boss comes up. Says we close today in 2 hours what do you want to do?

    Get your staff and pull all these bikes off me and between those two sets of yellow lines (60 feet long, 10 foot staging behind their dock) floor to floor and recount the whole #### thing (After 5 hours of labor)

    Oh no. My count not yours driver.

    round and round round. I lost my temper and said eff this... signed the bills their count so I can get the eff out of that place. I had enough of them. That little loss of temper cost me 900 when I showed up and found 11 short my count. Cost me that much to be right.

    There is a little black school childs notebook. In it goes bad shippers and recievers. I check against that growing list to be sure I never go back. In four cases places where I was banned with malice 20 years ago recognized me when I showed up again.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2020
  10. 201

    201 Road Train Member

    11,168
    22,651
    Apr 16, 2014
    high plains colorado
    0
    My advice, get married, buy a house, have a couple kids, quit your company job, THEN go out and buy an OTR truck. What's the worst that could happen? Just ask me, I lost them all,:oops:
     
    baha Thanks this.
  11. Lonestar87

    Lonestar87 Light Load Member

    132
    176
    Aug 12, 2018
    0
    No food taxes in TX either, not groceries at least. Hot/prepared food is taxed. OP there’s LOTS of tanker work in TX also. I think Schneider has a tanker school down in Houston. X1heavy is right about the cost of living differences too. I rent a 2 br house in a small town between Houston and Dallas for $350/month plus utilities. Within major city limits that would go up, but still a steal compared to your part of the country. Most importantly do your research on the job/lifestyle plus ANY company you choose to sign with, especially if they’re going to be paying for you to get your CDL, as you’ll probably be stuck with them for a year or responsible to pay back their hyper inflated tuition costs. This forum is a great source of honest information. Good luck with your search!
     
    Chinatown and lerner Thank this.
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.