Am I crazy??

Put your location on your profile; there are several options and maybe even better than whichever one you're considering.
You can have a steady, good income in trucking if you choose the right company.
With tankers you can expect an easy $60K - $70K per year, even as a new driver.

 

If you want a trucking company cdl school, look at Roehl Transport which pays you $500.00 weekly while in their school. Don't know of any other company that does that. I think the school is in Grand Prairie.
FFE (Frozen Food Express) is Texas based and has their own cdl school in Lancaster,TX.
Pretty sure both provide meals & lodging.

 

If your in decent shape seriously take a look at food service and LTL companies. Even your 1st year expect do do around 65-70k and still be home every day. Top food service guys are doing 90k and then some but you will earn every penny of it.

 

I just want to add that Phoenix is closer to El Paso then Dallas is. Denver is almost the same mileage and LA is just a few miles further and if my memory is right is closer then Houston is.. Don't limit your search to "just" Texas.

 

The reason I mentioned Texas is because he'll graduate with a Texas CDL where if he goes to another state for school, such as Phoenix,AZ he'll graduate with an AZ cdl, then have to go back to Texas and switch it over to a Texas cdl. No big deal I guess, just saves some aggravation. Maybe Texas DMV makes it simple, but some states make it a headache.

 

This is true. But this should be the OPs decision to make. Opening up Phoenix add's "gasp" Swift to the process as well as some other schools. I know if I were in El Paso and know what I know now I much rather go West then toward the East.

 

Spouse had a opportunity to join OCS Quantico when she was 36 roughly. A possibility of emerging from OCS a Lieutenant Officer of the Marines was something that occupied us a few months evaluating them. One of the price would have meant severing any connection to VA. And something on the order of 60,000 upon successful commission tax free plus a very good chance in those days to a war posting with large responsibilites (As if you already don't have too much...)

With that said, we ran together as a team. Savings was the first and last thing to be built before anything it is a cornerstone of trucking. Having no money meant you failed in managing your business. Even if you were "Just" a driver. No one is just anything.

Trucking will demand really crazy things of you and everyone with you. IF you are very careful, smart with choices when dealing with on the fly problems such as parasites pigging out on your fuel line that bag of chips you just bought....