Breaker 19, Break 19, c'mon back

Greetings all


Start my CDL training in Sun Prarie WI in just under a month and I. Am. STOKED! Got laid off from my last job two and a half long years ago. Lost the house, the car, the wife, most of my fishin' poles, and a pretty good dog. Really am looking forward to a career hauling freight over the roads, keeping America running. Hecks becks, I'm only 44! I got years of good work left in me!

Anyoldhow: Any advice any bona fide skinners want to drop on me will be gratefully accepted. Thanks and let's all be careful out there, people are depending on us!

Kind regards,
Captain Blight.

 

Thanks!

I feel like I am maybe starting off from a good position cause I have nothing left to lose (LOL). What I have going for me is that I've always been a learner-- a liberal arts degree teaches you how to learn quickly and effectively-- and have worked for some years as a tugboat deckhand and boat-mate; I have a intuitive understanding of torque and how to make it work for me and have a good amount of time under my belt working with Diesels. Plus, I used to have this crummy old BMW with a blown throwout bearing, and I drove it for a year like that. I'd start it in gear, and speed-match my upshifts and double-clutch the downshifts. Hell, I even understand gear-splitting from my bicycle touring days, google "half-step plus bailout" for how this kind of translates.

Now, I don't for one minute think I am ready to take a truck across the parking lot much less down a 12% grade with a full load in a snowstorm. Just sayin' I'm hoping I can pick it up fast and stay safe, I'm really ready to start learning about this. Funny that this never occurred to me as a career choice until about 6 weeks ago, and now I am really looking forward to it!

 

One thing that has kept me awake at night is that the trucking industry is full, FULL!, of unscrupulous characters. It's worrisome to me because I don't even know enough to know what I don't know, and I'm worried I'm going to get rooked right off the bat and get soured on the whole deal. I'm really hoping to get a job with the Crete Carrier group, it seems like the great majority of their drivers are pretty happy with them; and the ones who complain seem like the ones who'd complain about any company.

We'll see. Right now my plan is to work as much as I am legally allowed to, stay out on the road and sock as much money away as I can, until I can buy a used truck and become an O/O. Failing that I have a business plan to make and market my Gizmo, a specialized tool for the river tug trade. It's just going to take about 50K to launch that.

But you know what? That's all in the future and no man can predict it. I'm just thrilled to be giving myself an opportunity to break out of my rut and see the country and meet some new folks. And that ain't bad.

 

Well, thanks again for your advice, G/Man. The away from home part I have no problem with-- Im divorced and the lease on my ap't is up January 1; and when I was tugboating, the schedule was a month out and a month in, but I always worked over. Usually 6 weeks on 2 weeks off, and I used to like to spend my off-the -boat time travelling (I actually filled up a passport with visa stamps!). Im a military brat, and a former Dogface myownself, so not having roots is no big thing to me.

So,yeah: Crete or Roehl. Roehl has a tuition re-imbursement plan that sounds real good, though Ive read here that their new insurance-company-mandated safety policies are starting to get in the way of the business of actually hauling freight. But what do I know, Ive never even stepped into the cab of a tractor yet!

Ive heard and seen a lot about the warmth and genuine friendliness of truckers. Im very pleased to see that so far, it rings true. Thank you so much for your advice.

 

There's a hill in Southern Wisconsin near Dodgeville that is posted as 14%. I've climbed it on my touring bicycle and boy howdy, it sure feels like more than that!! 14 feet in 100 is a heck of a lot more than you think! There's a lot of up and down in the Driftless region, but the hills are small. At least the roads are narrow and twisty!