Do you have advice for an Elder newbie ?

quatto does your wife work? what kind of furry and size do you have? Perhaps your wife would enjoy going with you after you get out of training, etc. I went with my husband when he was at US Xpress in 2008 for a year. We got spoiled though with the size of the Volvo he had then, I had half the house in it; everytime we went home I added to my stash of stuff. Of course there are people too who take their pets with them; some companies don't allow, but most I think are getting to where they do with a deposit up to at least $500.00 or so which in most cases they take out weekly till paid off.

I am at home now, he quit in 2009 when the market got so bad and just got back in 2011. Even for a non driving wife there are a lot of things she can help with like writing down the load information such as shipper and receiver, routes that are to be driven, time for the p/u and delivery, etc. We had a Garmin back then that we used, has a Rand McNally now.

I also did the cooking, used a George Foreman a lot, microwave, and 12volt small pot. We most usually made coffee in the truck, unless in a hurry. Maybe ate at fast food one meal 2 or 3 times a week if we had time. Made a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the times when it was convenient to stop like on high value loads.

Whenever the 10 was started it was bedtime, you just have to get use to the varying hours and flip flopping schedules.

Also I read and whoever had the truck before had used some sort of translucent red paint (nailpolish??) on the passenger side light; it muted the light enough that it was glaring and bothering him driving, but I could still see enough to read..

He is 61 also. I am home for now, daughter has 4 kids, 2 twin girls who are 28mo old now and were 2 mo preemie; so I have been helping her for the time being. Maybe in the future I will go back out some, just now it is warm again and the grass and house has to be kept up with.

 

You bet I can...or could! The Kids puting the product away used to call me "the spook".......:smt068

 

I have heard and read that a smaller company is better than a larger company. I realize this is a generalization, but in principle does it hold true? I am 50 and just starting and hate to make a huge mistake at this stage in the game...

Thanks in advance

 

Gd another paint owner! Doing same thing & researching deeply. Some recruiters are confused when asking some q's. State they've never been asked my q's. Pt out new to pro driving not inquiring about a co, how it's run, benefit costs & the fine print. Gonna keep asking til I'm satisfied. These threads help provoke things to qualify w each co. Got it pretty narrowed dwn for my needs.

 

Sometimes, but there is no guarantee. A smaller company can screw you as bad or worse than a larger company, if they get the notion to. It's a whole lot easier to do research the larger companies and know what you're getting into. Over time, you'll get to a point where gut instinct will kick in and tell you, "hey, I think I'd like driving for these guys" or "no, something seems shady here.. I think I'll pass". And it's not guaranteed to be right 100% of the time, but it'll be there.

 

For you would one company with an APU and another one without an APU be a dealbreaker? I am feeling pretty good about both choices I have to go at the moment, but there is that ONE small difference.

 

Me, personally? Having an APU available would sweeten the pot. How much so.. that's dependent. If you were going to run me in the southeast during the middle of Summer with no APU and an idle cutoff timer, leaving me no means to have climate control available, THAT could be a deal breaker. I can understand if someone told me, "it'll idle, but I expect you only to do it if you absolutely must". I'll roast my ### off when I'm on line 4... when you get into any kind of open deck work, you accept that. But not while I'm trying to sleep.

 

One of my favorite things is gift wrapping a load in the rain. They don't care if it gets wet, but don't get any bugs on it! Flatbedders, are an interesting breed. Van drivers can expect the same thing after time. It's in a box, or pallet. Our world is not the same. You have to be driver, engineer, laborer, etc.

 

Rain is rain. You do your thing, get in the cab, dry yourself off with a towel, change clothes, and keep on keeping on. Wind when I had to get on top of a high load... I've already got a thing about heights as is (having been in the Airborne only worsened it)... and of course, there's good old Murphy, who dictates to you that, just when you're ready to get down from there, that's when the wind blows your ladder over.