Checking into Trucking as a possible Career Change

jmc1972,

I agree with Lurchgs for the most part. May Trucking has always been a very good company to work with. They are one of the few that understand that without truck drivers, they would all have to go get jobs as door greeters at Walmart or something. As long as you live in an area that is regularly serviced by May you would be real happy with them. It would be a world of difference between them and Stevens.

The part that I do not agree with Lurchgs is about the trainer. I have been around this industry in one form or another since 1963. I've had the opportunity to see and live all the changes in it since then. I have a few million miles under my butt, and I've been in pretty much every conceivable circumstance in the industry, from driving and all of its related challenges, to owning a trucking company and all of its related challenges. I'm going to tell it to you more straight than you're ever likely to hear again anywhere else. I am a firm believer that any driver who has less than 5 years of driving solo HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER BEING A CERTIFIED DRIVER TRAINER. They're still in training themselves. With all of my years behind the wheel, and all of my experiences, I still learn something EVERY DAY! It is unacceptable to believe that any company is going to take any portion of their entry level drivers right out of a driving school and put them with a trainer just so they can learn how that particular company works. While the comany will want that trainer to teach you the ins and outs of the company and what's expected of you, they also want to make sure that they are not going to have to spend a lot of money fixing trucks that get bent everyday! There's only one way to do that. Teach the new drivers how to handle the equipment.

The biggest part that you have to learn as a new driver is how to develop judgement. EVERYTHING you will ever do in trucking is a judgement call. You won't often get chances to have a second chance at your judgement calls, so they have to be good ones the first time. You will live and die by the choices that you make, learn to make good ones.

Here is a very small list of some of the things that a driver HAS TO KNOW! Most driving schools don't teach the correct way of handling some of these.
1) Driving on snow
2) Driving on Ice (different from snow in many cases)
3) Driving in high winds (what if you're caught in it with no where to hide?)
4) Driving in the desert when sudden sand storms reduce visibility to 0
5) Driving in or around flooded areas
6) Driving into desaster areas
7) Putting chains on tires
8) Driving in urban areas
9) Driving in mountainous areas
10) Being able to drive down a steep mountain grade WITHOUT the jake brake
11) Dealing with truck stops
12) Dealing with difficult customers in a professional manner
13) Dealing with serious crashes (even if it's just coming upon one)
14) Conflict resolution (many areas here)
15) ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, ATTITUDE, etc
16) Taking care of the equipment
17) Knowing that your job is to BE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING!
18) Taking care of the freight
19) Equipment and freight security
20) Trip planning
21) Money management
22) Fuel management
23) Not letting your emotions or issues from home be a distraction to you or to cause you to not display a professional demeanor
24) Striving to constantly improve yourself in all aspects of the job, no matter how good you think you are.
25) This list goes on and on............

ONLY SEASONED drivers can help new drivers to the industry learn the kinds of things that they will need to know and build upon. Twenty-five years ago the entry level drivers were far better prepared for the job than drivers who have come into the industry over the last 15 years have been. Why? Well, back then the average time one spent in a driving school was 16 weeks. It was a serious committment, not just a place to get just enough info to get through the CDL tests. When a driver came out of driving school, he/she was placed with a trainer who in all likelyhood had no less than 8 years of over the road experience. Drivers used to keep themselves clean and presentable at all times. They wore double knit slacks, boots, and button up shirts with a tee shirt underneath, with well groomed hair. They were always the FIRST to stop and help anyone on the road. When they spoke about their jobs, they displayed positive attitudes, even when complaining, which rarely happened. They didn't sit in a truck stop and complain about how much they had to do and how little time in which they had to do it, they just did it! If they had extra time on a load, they got to the other end then goofed off. But much more importantly than all of this, they took great pride in what they did. EVERYDAY! Being a truck driver meant that the world viewed you as a professional that could be depended upon without pause or question.

The drivers of today simply do not resemble the drivers of yesterday. There just isn't the pride and attention to the profession. Quite frankly, some days I have a lot of trouble refering to it as a profession. The attitude and overall behavior of a lot of drivers these days is far past embarassing, it's down right deplorable! But regardless, it's up to you as a new driver how you wish to present yourself and how you wish to learn the profession. There is a lot more to driving a truck than getting in, cranking it up, and hauling a--! It's nothing like driving a car. It's just really too bad that so many have forgotten this. Anyway, do your best and be real concerned if a company wants to place you with a trainer who, themself have little experience. Think of all the stuff you don't know and try to find someone who does know and get them to help you.

Best of Luck!

Georgia Joker

 

GJ - Thank you for your experience and information!!!!!! You seem to have a WWII Mentality, where professionalism comes first. I understand that the Industry (like all others - including the Army) have lost quite alot of the "Professionalism".

I'm much like you (as far as I can tell) in your work ethic, and beliefs. I grew up in a town of 72 people (a mining town) and learned through my experience that one needs to work hard to believe they earned an honest living. I've been worried about this for my younger Cousins, (over 40 at last count) that they have not been taught the values of honesty, integrity, and an honest days work for an honest days pay. In this aspect I am much like you - Life and 10 years of Active Military Service and family have taught me this!!!!!!!!

As for your list - I know know how to make judgement calls on quick notice - hence my 10 years Army Service. I do understand that Driving is much different, however the skills of Critical Thinking are much the same (I Think.) I've also excelled in College in my Critical Thinking Courses - though I understand that these "Theories" have nothing to do with real life experiences - (I earned my degree last year and I'm 36, and 9 years out of active service.)

I like in the Denver Metro Area and there is a Load Drop area here for the company I'm looking to work for. I grew up in the Mountains and learned to drive when I was 12 (we hunted!!!!) I know it's not driving through Snow, Ice, and the mountains in a 67' Chevy Pickup, but I do know the hazards and "Hope" I can adapt with more than a few ton's with me.

As for Professionalism - I've owned my own company for the past 5 years and know what it takes to articulate your thoughts to ensure you act in a professional manner no matter how irritable, tired, or stressed you may be.

Again - Thanks for all of your information - I would love to have additional information from you concerning the thoughts and resolutions to the above Critical Thinking questions you have. This gives me more to think about while out on the road.

Again - Thanks Georgia Joker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

For being 36 you will be a rare animal in the trucking industry for your age group. That will be refreshing. I grew up in a small town in Alabama where hard work, manners and your word were everything! Sounds like we come from the same background. I've always enjoyed it in the Denver area. Whenever I got a chance to get off the beaten paths out there, I would always find some place where I could pull over and just get out and hike around for a few hours. It was great!

I have a friend who has had a couple of books published. One a fictional novel and another a very humorous account of this time in med school. He's been trying to get me to write about my time on the road. Although I really don't have time to right now, I may do so in the future. But the problem will likely be that a 20 million page book would be a little difficult to carry to the park for some leisure reading under a shade tree! I've enjoyed my time on the road for the most part, but the greatest gift that I have received from my career is the education that I've gotten. Learning how to deal with different kinds of people and how to temper my attitude toward all aspects of my life have served me far greater than any education that I've gotten anywhere else. Like you, I've earned some college degrees: BS Drafting & Design, 1983, BS Computer Science, 1991, BS Mathematics, 1994, and I had begun some work toward a Master's Degree. Learning on the road is a whole lot more fun than learning in a class room or elsewhere.

I wish you all the best in your endeavor. Maybe someday our paths will cross and I'll share some of my stories about my education in those "critical thinking" areas. Most of them are pretty funny!

Georgia Joker

 

Georgia Joker
The advice you just gave is the best that I have read, thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I’m a sixty year old retired truck mechanic that has wanted to drive OTR for years. I’m single with not ties anywhere. I have worked on trucks for years and I know the costs of maintenance very well. From what I have seen I just would not consider owning my own truck. Even though I have had a CDL since 1976 I’m going to go through Western Truck School because I know the training will open doors that I couldn’t open otherwise. Not only that they have a placement service, however after talking to some of these companies I don’t know if I will need that. Will probably need to start as a team second seat driver and that is fine with me. I don’t know if my age is going to be a problem but I’m in excellent health so we will see.

 

GJ and Old Wrench -

OW brought about a question which I've come up in the past couple days. What happens if your OTR and the Truck breaksdown? Is the repair cost paid for by the Driver or is it something that the company pay's for as a company driver. Also, is it normal to not get paid for down time during the breakdown? I'm trying to cover all bases since I applied for a re-training Grant through the State. Also included - how does it work for tire changes, Truck washing, Chains, etc.

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Old Wrench,

You may want to go ahead and take advantage of the placement service of the driving school since any reputable school will want to make sure that their graduates remain successful, they are likely to place you with one of the more reputable trucking companies. You definitly do not want to commit yourself to a team situation. You want to be placed with a driving coach which could and should last about 2 months. Anytime you're running as a team, which you will with a coach, you will experiences levels of stress that are much greater than the job itself. Drivers who are new to the job really shouldn't add any more stress than will already be there.

Best of luck to you Old Wrench!

GJ

 

jmc,

When you are driving for a company, and you are driving company equipment, the costs of repairs and maintenance is generally borne by the company. However, if there are damages to the equipment due to driver error of some sort, the driver can expect to be paying for that damage. The only time a company pays for down time while a truck is in the shop is usually when the circumstances are extreme, i.e. the truck will be in the shop for a few days and they can't get the driver into something else. They may pay motel bills and give a food per dium for that period of time. Some,....very few companies will actually pay salary type compensation for a driver when the truck is in the shop.

Most companies will have a policy dealing with expense items such as truck washes. Something like 1 wash for every 14 or 21 days. In most cases the company will have a specific directory of truck wash facilities for these washes. They like to have it done at places that they have been able to establish accounts. This cuts down on dishonest drivers trying to rip off the company with false reimbursement requests for truck washes. Most companies will want you to use Blue Beacon or the like. However, any selfrespecting driver will not go to a "Streakin Beacon" unless it is absolutely necessary. And DON'T EVER let a truck wash destroy the aluminum on your truck with brightener! The only time that crap works is when you have time and money to burn to have everything buffed out immediately after that stuff has been applied. Companies will not pay for this stuff or the buffing.

Chains. Are you asking about chains for flatbed hauling? If so, companies usually pay for your chains and your binders. However, some companies may have you establish a driver escrow account with them to pay for replacement chains and binders for those times that driver error may casue some of this stuff to become unusable. Keep in mind jmc, all of these expenses that we've just covered, and it's a very small portion of the expenses for a truck, will be covered by the owner if you own your own truck. It is also VERY important to know that because the expense of operating a truck are so great, AND that they can vary so greatly depending upon how well the driver takes care of the equipment, they expect the driver to take care of the equipment. Most all companies have means of binding the driver by contract to pay for damages that they may cause due to neglect or inability to properly care for the equipment.

Hope this covers the questions that you had. Let me know if there are more,.....and quite frankly, there should be MANY, MANY more questions from you! As there should be from many drivers.

Best of Luck,
GJ

 

jmc,

There is one other important idea that I'd like to share with you with respect to your comments on your critical thinking abilities. This is something that IS GOING TO catch up with you sooner or later. I can only imagine that in 10 years of military service, you have probably experienced this, but it really does need to be repeated, you know, kind of like shampooing your hair; Wash, Rinse, Repeat. All too often, when making the snap judgements necessary in the trucking industry as a driver, slowly souring attitudes and emotions will tend to get involved. A lot of times it will go without notice, but sometimes you'll be able to catch yourself. Being constantly vigilant for this pitfall is one of the hardest things to handle. Mostly because it's just a nasty part of human nature. When ever you feel that you're letting too much attitude and emotions driver your decision making processes, take some time off. I would always be good for about 3 weeks on the road before I would start to get a little punchy. Then it would be time to head to the house and spoil the kids some more!

Another thing that I had found to be extremely important while on the road was that I would always keep a stash of cash. Usually a few hundred dollars. Sometimes you're on the road and the lonelies start to kick in, but simply being around someone wasn't the solution for me. I'd request a day or so off somewhere in the country where I could spend a day at a good museum, (air museum at Warner Robins AFB for example) or I'd go fishing, or if I could get about 2 or 3 days, I'd go camping, in a tent. I had always kept the basics in the truck. There's nothing like hanging in a hammock in the woods and not having to worry about a load, a schedule or anything else. Find your escapes early. They WILL come in handy!

Best of Luck!

GJ

 

Wow Georgia that time off in various places sounds so good. I'm an amature photographer, have actually sold a few of my pictures. The ability to be somewhere and just take a day or two off for some R&R is a tremendous opportunity for a guy like me. There are so many places here in our wonderful country I have never seen, or had the opportunity to photograph. What is your opinion on having remote cam recorder in the truck, obviously one you don't need to mess with while your driving. Something like the cops use today?

 

Others have already answered your Q's better than I would have so I'll just offer this

and just to let you know
I'm what many in the industry refer to as a "whiner or complainer".

That $.26 cent pay rate is not for all the miles you drive. They are "household movers guide miles" or HHG for short. What that generally means is that for every 100 miles you drive you will get paid 90.This is only where the hedging starts.

So in a 65mph truck the best hourly rate you will achieve is $15.21.
But "Over the road" trucking does not pay by the hour. And nobody on this forum can reasonably deny that they do not spend hours upon hours doing this job and not getting compensated for their efforts. Your hourly rate (if you make $.26 HHG ) taking overtime into consideration, will more than likely be around minimum wage maybe less.

You obviously are at a crossroad in life and making a bad move or mistake will be amplified. I urge you to only look for "deal breakers". For example do you want to wait a couple of days next to a foul smelling slaughter house making $25 a day for two days till you get a load. This is not uncommon at Stevens.

It takes very very little ability or skill to drive a tractor-trailer down the highway. So some companies will "pay" for your schooling and have you hold the steering wheel. They don't really care if you stay or not. They make the money regardless (gov't grants and their student contracts).

This industry has an annual turnover rate of 120-130%. I would not doubt if the companies that offer lease programs are in the 200's.

On the front page of this website

"[FONT=Tahoma, trebuchet ms, Arial, Helvetica]The trucking industry is basically a slave industry with truckers working on the average over 70 hours per week."[/FONT] If your lucky you will work more than 70 a week however you will probably only get paid for 40 maybe 50.

For a lot of people trucking is more than a job. For them its even more than a lifestyle. Its an identity. And it will be hard to get objective information from people that are "truckers".

And for them any body that talks poorly of the industry becomes a whiner or complainer.

With an industry avg. turnover of 120 to 130 percent for all drivers. Its a reasonable assumption that new drivers have a significantly higher turnover rate. The probabilities are that you'll quit.


In trucking you not only pay for your mistakes.
You pay for the shippers, receivers, dispatchers, the companies maintenance department, the "four-wheelers"....mistakes.

Above all, just because a company says it will pay you or reimburse you doesn't mean it will. And your recourse will be limited, especially at a company that "sponsored" your training.

I work for one of the best companies around (I prefer not to say) but today I drove two hrs to take care of their equipment and fixing it will take almost a day. I will not make anything for today. This is common. So are many many other "parts of the job".

This is not an occupation for an honest and reasonable family man.

I'd like a little cheese with my whining. Please