CDL-B Career - Bus driver - Deivery Driver - Box Truck

Apologies for interjecting.

I'm actually considering a passenger (and maybe courier/light freight) independent business and will follow this thread with a lot of interest.

ChefBrian, would you mind taking a look at the new posts in the "welcome" forum and take a quick look at mine? With your experience, you may have some of the answers to some of my questions.

 

Nick...when I drove a beer truck I was in my 20's and in much better condition physically than I am now. The job kept me in shape and that in itself had it's benefits...lol. One of the biggest benefits was all of the women I met on my stops! I was just newly living on my own and single and girlfriends were a big benefit of that job. On the downside...I had to drive 1.5 hrs to my first stop and 1.5 hours back to the warehouse after my last stop. Often times I got to work at 6:30 AM and wouldn't get home until 8 PM. It wasn't unusual for me to deliver 20-30 half barrels a day (157.5 lbs ea.) and at many places I had to disconnect and rearrange draft systems at my tavern stops. I also would haul several hundred cases of canned, bottled and quart beer and I would have to rotate all of that in the customers coolers and storage areas.

Most days I hauled 25-30 thousands pounds of product and ALL of that was delivered using a two wheel cart. One time I accidentally left my two-wheeler at the warehouse...let me tell you something...you only make that dumb ### mistake once! Every other Thursday was a day I dreaded...why? It wasn't because it was any harder work...it was because my distributorship owned the rights to sell Stroh's Beer in an area I never had to drive to except every other Thursday and I would have to drive 2.5 hours further west to deliver 10-12 cases of canned Stroh's. I never figured out why they would route me way out in the middle of nowhere (one bar I had the keys to and I would let myself into it and take the cash out of their register...worked there for two yrs. and never met an owner or employee in that place) in a truck that got 4 mpg just to make $40 on a couple of cases of Stroh's. Then I would have to drive 5 hours home.

I used to love that job...but I'm too old for it now!

 

As far as hard work it all depends, you could run desiel dummy, only work there is draging a hose around, lpg truck, a little work out but not bad, roll off tarping and door swinging with a little clean up work. Strait truck flatbed, outside all thetime but mostly have equipment unloading it. Regualr box, when lucky not much more then a pallet jack. Br carefull running O/O box truck courior had one then i farmed it out and went back to big trucks, lots of hassle for no garentee. Options abound with any type of CDL. Gotta start somewhere, dont mean you gotta stay. Best of luck and keep the dirty side down