Company-paid CDL training then immediately transition to Lease Purchase?

They need to abruptly shove you onto the floor at least once as well... Simulate that ####### that just brake checked your co-driver... Lol

 

Exactly. Learn the business before you become the business.

 

Here is something else to consider. Can you handle being away from your family for a month or two at a time? This is the main reason I reccomend going company for awhile. This lifestyle is a hard one. You don't want to get a lease truck then a few months down the road realize this isn't for you.

My advice would be to take your time figure out if this industry is even for you. Once you figure that out then go ahead and try calling some different types of freight such as flatbed or tanker etc. Once you figure out what type of hauling you enjoy that would be a good time to start doing the research to becoming an O/O if you still want to.

I have been running a lease truck for a year-and-a-half and it is definitely been a trying experience. I make what I would consider good money but I also have big expenses. In my first year my profit after all expenses and not including my wage was only 73 k. I have a pretty sweet gig hauling a curtain side and running a lot of flatbed and dry van Freight up and down Interstate 5 through the West Coast. I'm through home a couple times a week and home every weekend for a 34. It took me quite a while to find this company and do the research I needed so that I could have a good grasp on what it would cost to rent a truck. And let me tell you this it ended up costing quite a bit more than I anticipated but the experience I have is worth what I have gone through. I have a thread call my lease Adventure I'm here if you want to look at it good luck

 

Not my advice but an avid trucker lives by this “Don’t chase miles, chase the money”.... Always number crunch before saying yes.

 

If you're using the net restraint in the bunk while your codriver is driving, you shouldn't be hitting the floor. Just the ####ing net

 

You can team right out the gate and make great money for a first year if you get on with a good company.

I averaged 1500 wk teaming at FFE my first year. I'm still there, had a milage pay increase and I drive with new guys and so making more now probably. I was surprised I did one week I never left TX and grossed 2200 that week. Had the training pay plus 2 days of layover and 1 ltl over the weekend.

Most of the money comes from miles but the accessory pay really helps a lot.

If I had to guess Id estimate 90k this year, but its still early.

With teaming you will have to adjust to sleeping in a moving truck. Its not like sleeping in a car, its more bumpy. And some codrivers are hard on the truck controls. They will take hard curves and throw you right into the side of the wall. When you are laying down, the curves will pull you harder than the driver that is sitting up because you will have more mass in a smaller area left to right.

It took me about 3 months to train myself to sleep reliably in a moving truck. I almost gave up. But now it's easy.

Some codrivers will be very challenging to work with, others super easy. But more the former. This week I'm training an Asian kid and he is doing almost all the work! I cant even beat him out of the drivers seat. He drove yesterday. Today i was going to drive the 9 hours to the terminal but before I could drag my ads out of bed he was already in his pre trip. So here I am again in the sleeper not doing anything being useless. I only drove once this week. This kid is like a tornado.

 

I used that net up top. On the bottom bunk Ive only seen it used once.

If we hit the side of a cliff or whatever xhances are good Id brake my neck on the storage wall where the option-idle is. Or if the truck rolls into a river I dont wanna be netted in. Id be out of that truck so fast screaming like a little sissy my partner might drown from laughing so hard.

 

Mega's are gonna love you.

 

You'll miss your 7 year old and they will miss you. Go to a community college, get your cdl, stay local. Look into government grants for tuition money or companies that will reimburse your tuition. Schneider might be an option.

Don't team unless you're willing to be away from your family for extended periods (2-6 weeks). They put team freight on people who want to run.

Don't miss your 7 year old. Its a tough life, and 10x tougher when he says, "Daddy, when are you coming home?".

 

Redbone Trucking (www.redbonetrucking.com) hires new cdl grads.
This company has a FedEx account in Williamsburg running teams.
Probably make great money and be home often.