Diesel Mechanic getting into trucking

Be careful who you talk to.

 

Listen to your grandpa..
Just curious about the driver who told you it didn’t help..was he wearing flip flops?

 

@Ol' Red --

You would probably benefit greatly by reading as much of this Forum thread as is possible (if you haven't, already):

If you had to start over... | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum | #1 CDL Truck Driver Message Board (thetruckersreport.com)

--Lual

 

Read this thread:
Hello from Lakeland, FL.

 

Look at this website; it's for owner-operators and small fleet owners.
Ooida
www.ooida.com
1 Ooida Dr, Grain Valley, MO 64029

 

In the time I've been here, that has to be the #1 asked question, should a mechanic become a driver? There's no easy answer to that. I say no. Years ago, gramps was spot on, if you didn't know anything about trucks, you were a fool to even try. The driving job attracted mechanics and farm boys( me), sometimes even required in the interview,,because trucks broke down regularly, and service wasn't a push of a button away, you fixed it or froze,,,or didn't make money. Today, with trucks reliability, it just isn't a call anymore. It's normal for a mechanic to think of the downsides of wrenchin', and the seemingly cushy job of a driver, just thinking, the truck does all the work, I just sit here,,,and that's partially true, but the downsides of trucking, stuck somewhere over a holiday, missed loads, HOS, truck stop nightmares, no parking, food and weather anxieties, to name a few, will have you back turning wrenches in no time. Whatever you do, don't burn your mechanic bridge.

 

As a CDL driver the one thing you don't have much of is time. The trucking company and customers attempt to have your truck rolling every legal moment it can roll. While the HOS do require you get 10 hours off duty, in that 10 hours you need to sleep, eat, shower, brush your teeth, shave, use the restroom, etc.

In my opinion, the best way to enter the industry is as a company driver pulling a dry van. Company driver has no financial responsibility for the truck or the frieght. Dry van requires the least attention from the driver. This combination allows you to learn the job of CDL driving with the least distractions, oher than those every person with a job and friends, families, bills to pay have.

All of the time you could spend working on a truck is going to be on-duty, not driving time and counts against your 70 hour, 14 hour clocks as any other part of your work day. You will have a base of knowledge that is very valuable for the future period when you are an owner-operator. I do not see having mechanical experience as paying off as a company driver. The mechanical work you do on your truck puts more liability on your shoulders. As an O-O you can definitely save money but repairs cos time, not just money. When I had home-time as a driver the last thing I ever wanted was to think or do ANYTHING related to the truck. I was only ever a company driver. My goal was to pay my bills, get out of debt, save for retirement but NOT TO THINK ABOUT THE TRUCK 24/7. I steered toward working for big companies with big shops and lots of trucks so I would NOT have to worry about every detail of a truck. Your background will be very valuable for an owner-op if you like thinking only about the truck. Maybe you enjoy a truck-focused life, I would not.

The essentials of driving the truck will easily fill up all available space for storing stuff in and on the truck. That will leave only a limited amount of space for tools and truck supplies. I don't know how you feel about working on a truck with a limited number of tools and supplies. That seems like a recipe for frustration. I worked for a brief period as an aircraft mechanic, and mostly did not like it. I am NOT a mechanic by nature so I left it after a few years. I worked on small aircraft with very little more than basic hand tools and an empty hanger. It was not ideal. I don't know how to distinguish my lack of fondness for the job being due to working in primitive conditions and the job in any conditions. There are tons of trucking companies losing lots of money right now. I would not want to be one of them unless I had a very strong desire to be in trucking and enough experience and resources to KNOW I was operating financially more wisely than those companies. Driving is just one of the very fundamental requirements to succeed in trucking. It's the easiest to learn but it is not sufficient to operate a successful trucking company. All of the other extra duties, those nobody else wants to to do are what you have to be very good at if you are going to be a one-man band or owner-operator. I stopped driving after 28 years, just before rates collapsed.

 

It absolutely helps. Finding a decent mechanic these days is difficult. Even for the basic everyday repairs.