6 years later and I am ready to try again.

@dave01282000 went through Prime Refrigerated program and can give you the details.

 

100's or maybe 1000's of drivers living in the truck and banking most of their pay.
I talked to one that had been living in his truck for 7 years and loves the nomadic lifestyle.

 

From what I can tell, Stevens Transport hires from your area.

I would give them a call. They got solid training and their drivers look less clown like than Prime.

Stevens, Schneider or Swift is where I’d start. The only thing I don’t like about Schneider is the training is short and probably not the best unless you got a brain like a sponge, lol.

 

There are many drivers on this forum that used trucking to turn their life around. I did. It seems like you understand you and you could do well in trucking. As a general rule women need more social contact with others than men, that doesn't mean you need or want a lot of social contact. IMO experience 90% of newbies, mostly men, severely underestimate the isolation they will face once they have a solo truck. I rode with my dad in middle school a few times during summer vacation. I knew a lot about trucking. I tried another industry and got into trucking a few weeks before I became homeless. I was so depressed and lonely at the end of 1 year of OTR driving I went back to my previous field. That was before cellphones and satellite radio and internet were available. When I came back to trucking I brought my dog, which was a huge help. Now you can stay connected with people by phone but you must understand you are just a cog in a machine in trucking and you only get time off when the machine can be turned off without disrupting others. The machine isn't going to turn off for your needs. I'd say after training be prepared to not talk to anyone but truck stop clerks and shipping/receiving clerks for weeks and months. You can talk to people on your phone with a headset or ear buds but only if you can do so and still keep the truck under control. Many people cannot talk on the phone and drive and there is almost no leeway with the truck since it is a few feet wider than a car, so it is barely in the lane it occupies and there is little room for not being centered in your lane.

I'd say wanting to become more independent is a good reason to be in trucking, but you also need to enjoy NOT BEING AROUND PEOPLE and see being alone for weeks as a real treat, not difficult or punishment. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE how alone you will be in a truck or you will be wasting your time and money trying to get into trucking. I'm not kidding about how alone you will be. I am not exaggerating to make a point. It is NOTHING like some long car trip you remember in the past, other than you are on a road. You have almost zero say about what happens each day. Prime has probably the best training for newbies, it is the longest training period I know of. Imagine working as a toll booth operator on a closed road. If that sounds like a dream job, trucking might be for you. It that sounds like torture, avoid trucking.

 

Prime has the best training. The usual complaint is the training is so long some newbies either quit or they move to another company, which may not be a good move. Make a decision like you are deciding everything about your next year. Lots of young newbies seem to have the attitude they can change companies for trivial reasons and get a better job. You can always quit and find a worse job. Finding a better job usually requires not quitting and getting experience which most newbies don't have. It's 10 times better to have 12-24 months at one company than 12-24 months at 3-5 companies. Those newbies don't see the difference between having a job and starting the slide toward the shady employers that will take advantage of drivers with few options.

 

Some people are alone in a room full of people. That can be quite pleasant by not being involved in the drama.

 

The problem is with the students that think "I already have learned enough and now they won't let me have my own truck and make real money". The shortest path to your own truck is finishing training at the company wherever you are at. However long it takes, it is likely shorter than leaving, getting hired somewhere else, going to their orientation, and starting training at a new company. It also appears shady to the better employers if you start at a company and don't complete training. There is NO DRIVER SHORTAGE so you don't want or need to have something shady when the employers have dozens or hundreds of other drivers to choose from.

Be thinking about what you will do if after completing the initial training at Prime you are told it will be X number of weeks before the next female trainer is available. You won't make money while you wait in a hotel for a trainer. Also, understand that "s3xual harassment" can mean anything from a misunderstanding or less than polite conversation to an attempted violent crime. There are lots of online media types that seek big engagement with their content by using inflammatory language to make lots of impolite language sound like possible violent crime. Female students have lots of support from companies and getting another trainer, or waiting for a female trainer is always possible. So consider if you can ride with a male trainer or insist on a female trainer. You will be in SOMEONE's truck for weeks or months and they have their habits and you need to be flexible and considerate of their space and not looking to ruin someone's life because they didn't use Sunday School language or tell you how brave and strong you are as many times per day as you would like. The truck is not half yours and half his. The industry is 90% male and these men are not all on the verge of being Male Feminists and looking to adopt your idea of how people talk to each other. Obviously you can and should expect no inappropriate physical behavior.