24yo no-lifer, need company / newbie advice.

with no experience you don't have many options, the best ones were covered in early posts

All the best company driver trucking jobs pay basically the same aswell, it depends which niche of trucking YOU want to be doing, we cant tell you
that leads to do you actually want to drive a truck, most people don't make it past the first year
pick one and re evaluate when you have some experience.

 

Note also....that the CDL job market for rookies in your area TOTALLY SUCKS....for the time being.

You might well be best served by paying close attention to whatever carrier(s) that pay your CDL school class a visit -- they are there obviously looking for some help.

Pick one that is OTR (& of course, will hire you)....& stay with them, for AT LEAST ONE YEAR.

In the meantime -- no accidents, incidents...or citations (keep that record clean!).

-- L

 

1 week off per year is common. Sometimes you have to complete 1 year before you get that 1 week off.

 

Okay, so, @Spartananator I have some things to share here, as one who's been where you're endeavouring to go.

Before we even get into companies, commodities, or pay, I want you to drink in what I'm about to pour. If there's one lesson I implore new drivers (and shoot, even some experienced drivers) to learn from, it's the same lesson any experienced dominoes player will tell you:

All money ain't good money.

What I mean by that is this: trucking by nature is a job that already takes a lot out of you even before the checks hit the banks. That said, I see so many guys all up and through this industry rail on and on about finding the best-paying jobs, the highest cpm, and whatnot. (Not that long ago we had a guy up in here swearing up and down he needed a six-figure job plus a 75mph truck or else...) Here's the thing: while none of us deserve to work for peanuts, don't let pay alone drive your decision(s). There are a BUNCH of other factors to consider, and if you're gonna be living in whats basically a 6x4 box on ten wheels, you should consider how much you'll be enjoying what you're actually doing. That may not always pay the best, but let me tell you what's worth more than the highest cpm: pom...that is, peace of mind. Trucking by nature can incur a lot of stress, but I've seen too many guys, myself included at one time, burn themselves out doing all they can to chase $$$ all while forgetting to actually enjoy life on the road and in general. That is one quick way for a person to die well before they ever stop living. Hopefully that makes sense.

Now, with THAT said, let me see what I may can offer of assistance....

...Others have spoken of various segments you can look into—tanker, skateboard, reefer, etc. All but the last three years of my now 14-year career have been in skateboard (well, one of those years I double-dipped in dry van), so that's where most of my perspective comes from. That said, I spoke with guys from multiple segments and...well, the first question I have for you is: how physical do you want to get on the job? If slinging straps, chains, ropes, and tarps—in sun, rain, wind, snow. Hot, cold and everything between—doesn't sound fun to you, I wouldn't recommend flatbed. That segment of trucking is WORK, but if the physicality of it appeals to you, then I would recommend it. (I chose it because "I got a figure to maintain", lol...plus i figured it'd be fun.)

Having said that, if you search deep enough, you'll discover some flatbed companies—and for that matter, some companies in general—specialize in certain commodities. Example: @Truckermania mentioned a page or two back about the company we used to work for, Britton Transport (now Bison USA). The flatbed division chiefly carried three commodities, all out of either Watertown or Sioux Falls SD: Terex boom lifts, utility bodies fron Dakota Bodies, or ag equipment from a company called Diamond Mowers. Those commodities were [mostly] preloaded, meaning less time sitting and more time rolling. We did carry various backhauls, as as at the time Britton had a network of dedicated customers; I have no idea if that's still the case. The point is, the company was good about keeping us moving, our average length of haul was 1100 miles per trip, and when you're paid per mile, even at a lower rate that's a good way to keep the dollars up since you spend way more time moving and less sitting. (Oh, and, we might have tarped less than 20% of the time, which also helped with the time thing.) Sure, every now and again we may be detained at a customer or shipper, but nowhere near as much as some other stick-and-brick companies (and I started at one of those, TMC).

On the stress front, our ops manager was very much the type to send us a load with where to pick up, where to take it, a window of time to get it there...and then leave us alone to do it. No micromanaging. (Seriously, some of us went for days without hearing from anyone in either office; thats the respect they had for us doing the job.) That alone was a stress reliever. We also ran all 48, but most of our freight lanes were along either I-90 from the Dakotas to the pacific northwest and back, between SD and Virginia (again, owing to those boom lifts—our busiest customer was out near Lynchburg), or up and down I-29 (again, owing to the boom lifts and our Kansas City customers). I say all that because on those long trips, I got to enjoy the road. And I personally LOVED the transcons (that is, trabscontinental longhauls) AND the fact that we went to the pacific northwest so often. (I'm from Florida, and before running with that company I barely saw the west; with them I was out there all the time...loved it.) Oh—and most of us at the time ran a three-week on, one week off schedule—some guys, like me, stayed out longer at times—and as long as we let our manager know enough in advance, as long as he could find a load, we could take that "hometime" anywhere. (That worked great for me since my kids and I lived in different states.)

I say all this because these were the factors I considered in choosing that company: it was the outfit that best fit the way I wanted to run and the lifestyle I wanted to experience at the time. It wasn't *just* about the money; it was a sum total of multiple factors. Now mind you, by that time I had enough experience in the game to know better, learn lessons, and make wiser decisions. All of that is why I'm sharing all of this with you, because some guys don't think this deeply. Some end up paying for it. But those who do will enjoy this job, or lifestyle, much more...especially if you’re gonna be living in the truck.

Now, that's just one segment of trucking. I'm not well versed in reefer (or tanker), but from the reefer guys I spoke with at various times, if you pull produce or floral, that stuff moves pretty regularly, especially during harvest seasons (spring and fall, and of course summer is busy for just about everyone). There's really no one-size-fits-all answer to any of this; it's all in what fits you best. But hopefully this gives you some more things to think about—AND gives you an idea of the kinds of questions to ask when you apply to different companies.

Hope this helps!

 

Probably shouldn’t be a complete make or break, but finding a company with APU’s or Opti-idle, and allows and/or provides an inverter is a pretty big factor if you’re wanting to live exclusively in the truck. Being able to have a fridge, TV, cook in the truck, etc. is a pretty big deal for comfort and saving money.

Sure, you can buy a 12V cooler, use the communal truck stop microwave, watch things on your phone, etc., but that’ll get old when you spend 3 months straight in a truck.

Once you get past the mega carrier phase, it’ll be much easier to find companies that allow idling or have APU’s, etc.

 

That is defintiely fair. Skateboarding certainly ain't for everyone—even less so when you start having overdimensional freight dropped on your deck. (Driving oversize is a whole other learning curve...and the more over the dimensions, the bigger that curve grows.)

And I believe you are correct about the pay differences between starters/megas regarding segment/commodities. It almost sounds like your lane might be reefer. No physicality like in flatbed, you can transport more stuff than regular dry van...oh, and it aint just food or produce. Some hazmat and other material loads, like certain Firestone roofing rolls and certain liquids in totes, also have to be temperature-controlled, so there's some more flexibility. (Those totes, though, are also why the tanker endorsement is necessary...but you may already know that.)

Whatever you choose, sounds like you'll have a great attitude about it.

 

Not all companies allow a cat in the truck. Some allow dogs, but not cats.