55 PLUS looking for the right job

@Chinatown

 

Once you have your cdl you might want to check out magnum Ltd. Its a pretty ok gig and meets all of your requirements.

 

Chinatown is the best here.

Regarding working conditions, its almost dehumanizing in the wrong situation. Choose carefully.

I like pharmacy loads, high dollar variety or perhaps flatbed coils to Busch overnight from Logan Co to Williamsburg VA facility and deadhead back asap for another set of coils to keep those can stampers going.

You will have a time to sit once your 70 is burnt. The socalled 34 hour reset is your time to decompress, chores, laundry, eat, sleep bill caught up, and maybe if you are lucky do a little tourist junket.

Home time is expensive. If you plan on parking that semi on grass, have someone put down two or three dump loads of gravel yea high 100 feet by 15 wide a foot down. You do not want that rig on grass even if you are on good ground. We did that on our home lands as well, I think it was a thousand for rock and so on. Bobcat was essentially free from a neighbor.

You are going to find pay in trucking really bad. OR really good. I don't know. Carefully look at the dispatch, if a trip pays 1200 miles at .34 a mile (Something they have paid 40 years ago to top hands...) its going to come out to 410 dollars over delivery on the third morning assuming first day is consumed in deadhead to shipper, loading at dock all day and rolling that night.

If everything goes well, it's 24 hours work in driving the load to destination. Thats going to come out to 17.00 something a hour. Then withholding takes 40% If you bought insurance for wife etc thats more coming out. Whats left will have to go to savings for that load in order to stack money at a steady rate. Leaving just enough for you to be in fluids and a minimum of food as not to get run down or sick driving in all weather.

IF you sit 24 hours trying to get loaded, that wipes out the good money rate. Make you work for less than minimum wage trying to fix whatever snafus and fubars that come along.

You are older yes Im about that age too and will die a trucker. But you are motivated by a 10 year goal to get to a certain age. Thats the other thing about trucking. I may seem damaged or otherwise strange talking about things like accidents, encounters that go bad against you and possibly fines, enforcement, jail, INJURY in particular, or even infection by virus etc which is a growing possibility this year and so on.

Its not all that bad. But again choose carefully. Recruiters do not care about you. They sweet talk a fairy tale that draws in children like the Pied Piper does and when there are problems are no where to be found. And problems you will discover.

Finally but not least. You have a ethic. Thats good. Rock and roll em. But you will find a percentage of drivers have apathy. They could not be bothered to lift a finger for anything. So there is that. And dispatch? oh boy. Not to mention the lawman.

Here is a short story of a encounter I had once.

Lawman: your PA sticker is not on truck. (It had fallen off due to bad adhesive leaving a sunburnt shadow of itself in the paint)

Wot? There is sticker information, use that.

Lawman: I cannot, here is ticket for sticker gone. $50.00

Me: Thank you very much.

BOSS: WTF!? *explodes. In those days PA Stickers are a pain.

Choose wisely.

 

@Chinatown will definitely help you. I can say that going to your own schooling will help you immensely as you won't be contractually bound to any carrier. You hit the nail on the head as far as the younger guys go... based on what I've seen and heard first hand. As an o/o with an old truck, the best I can say about hands-free phone calls and such is this- What happens in the truck, stays in the truck. Hope everyone else don't crucify me for saying that. Just remember, always be safe, professional, and always, always pay attention. I don't think your needs or goals are unreasonable at all if you're willing to put in the time to do it right. Best of luck to you and the wife!

 

I can't help much except to tell you that I like your attitude. It is quite refreshing to be honest. For what it's worth, I started at mega Schneider on a small paper account. Before I even arrived, I knew it wasn't my career company and they were FAR from perfect but I made the best of it for a couple years, kept my chin up and my record clean, then moved on to much greener pastures. Results always vary but I am a firm believer in getting out what you put in. Best of luck to you and yours.

 

I'm guessing a little; cdl school in Pomona, CA and you now live, in or, near Joplin, MO.
Is the class you'll attend 160 hours or more?
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For your financial needs, Transport National will probably work for you.
Probably make $1500 average weekly; drivers say it could be a little more or less.
This company hires new cdl school grads. Give a call and ask which class you should take. I feel like they'll want 160 hrs. at least, which is the Professional Driver, Class A (160 Hours) that Dynasty Trucking School offers.
Transport National
Transport National
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Springfield
5575 MO-OO
Strafford, Missouri 65757

 

If you any questions about Magnum I can answer them, been here 5 years

 

As @mud23609 & @radioshark posted, Magnum Ltd. seems to be one of the better refrigerated outfits that hires new cdl school grads. Can take the wife along also.
Home | Magnum Companies
https://www.magnumlog.com
~

 

The numbers add up just fine.

Wheels aint turning you ain't earning isn't a blanket statement.

Layover pay: 150.00
Loaded dedicated: 1454 = 603.00
Loaded dedicated: 915 = 379.00
Empty dedicated: 938 = 342.00
Empty dedicated: 15 = 5.50
Other pay (training): 250.00
Stop pay, 5 stops: 150.00
Unload 1 time: 50.00

Total gross for week: $1,929.50

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Make sure where you end up working gives you good accessorial pay so you aren't only getting paid for turning miles.

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I get 1 week off per month, work the other 3 weeks. And get paid 850.00 the week I don't work.
It all averages out to about 1500.00 gross per week, about 80,000 a year.
That was driving my first year.

Those miles I posted, I only drove half of them, maybe less since I was training a new driver. That's not even a lot of miles. A solo driver could drive those miles. Eazy Peazy.

P.S. There's a 312.00 per diem on that. I only pay taxes on about 65,000 of that income.