Can I get my own authority and haul freight without experience?

I'm not trying to be rude, and I certainly wish you the best of luck.....but if you think trucking will be either easier or less stressful, I'd advise you keep looking. There is a reason this industry has such a big turnover. Much of it, I believe, is that this job is far harder and more stressful than the humble borderline poverty/low low middle class pay compensates for. You sort of have to want to do this to do it long term. And here, you have no great satisfaction with having helped someone. Just haul another load of lumber, toilet paper, fattening food, etc....then go do it again. And again, and again.

 

Are you nuts? I am in trucking because it is almost stress free and pays exceptionally well for time invested.

 

I'd be nuts to believe what you just posted. Or maybe your expectations are different. Or maybe you haven't been doing this very long. And also, I was making a generalization as a comparison to what the OP was currently doing. Not what you are currently doing.

 

Because up to 70 hrs a week of work while living in a little box in a stinky truckstop 300+ nights a year for the industry average of around 46000 is a great paying stress free career. Add in the lousy food, sedentary lifestyle and a heart attack at 56....sounds great. If I had better options in South Dakota, I certainly wouldn't be doing this. Around there, many careers requiring a master's degree only pay in the high 30's to low 40's.

 

You might need the air ambulance after you price insurance lol

 

21 years. So long enough. And my income is quite a bit more than 46k. As far as sedentary, that's on individual drivers for choosing to not be active.

 

You don't have too many options, even if you own a truck no one will lease you on with zero experience, go on your own with no truck payments you will probably have a insurance payment around 3k a month.
With no experience or training you will probably run your CSA score up and your done.
You won't like this but you need to start at the bottom, pay your dues and work your way up.
6 months of learning would save a lot of heartache.

 

Just know, there are many types of trucking jobs and each one has its pros and cons and some are more stressful then others and some months can be more stressful than others. Think can't miss appointments and 800 miles of snow and ice, or random construction traffic backups.

Spend 10 hours driving on snow-pack with gusty cross winds and you'll get a sense of stress.

Also, life insurance premiums for truckers is much higher than most other professions and trades.

 

Ok its great you want to start on your own but here's my advice.

**Get your CDL

**Work for a company for at least a year, take the backing from a company, TBH in the first year you could screw up & lose everything being a O/Op.

**If you can finance a truck yourself at this point venture out on your own, maybe lease onto a O/Op carrier for a year.

**Then when your confident you can succeed then go out on your own.

 

Hahaha! That's what I've been reading! I've heard the the insurance can be between $10,000 and $20,000 per year, your first 2 years of driving with your own authority.