Dont believe the new drivers

STOP CRYING AND LETS GET BACK TO DRIVE,FAT ### DRIVERS.IF DONT LIKE QUIT DRIVING TRUCKS PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

 

You're definately right. One way to keep costs down and eat some what healthy while on the road is to eat at Subway, Blimpy, or Togo's. I usually get one veggie footlong ($ 5.00) a day, and additionally have a case of Cliff (24 for $ 10.00), Luna, or Power bars, munch on peanuts, Gorp, or smart food & mix Propel in my water bottles. The cost per week is $ 60-$65.

It's by no means good livin but it does the job.

 

I did figure my hourly wages long time ago, it doesn't make much difference if your options are limited for whatever reason, probably I would keep on trucking for $8/hr in an exchange for a free roof and an occasional stop at Wall-Mart. Trucking preys on and feeds on desperation. BTW, if you really into making the least amount of $ for the most amount of work, butt pain and all kinds of risk, you can't go wrong with flatbedding

 

Or you can go LTL and work mon thu fri, make about 80 k per year and be home for ALL holidays and get great bennies !!.. Yea thats what I'll do.... Been with my current employer 12 years and still going stong... O did I say I have a PAID FOR house in calif "because I drive a truck"

 

Yes, I've met a few recreational truckers (according to them), however it's negligibly small number to even mention. Trucking is not voluntary (in the true sense of a word) employment, for the overwhelming majority of the truckers it's an unfortunate "choice" they had to make. BTW, have you been to a truck stop lately, geez, do you turn on your CB to listen silence once in a while? The times of meeting and talking to each other are gone, I don't know why but truckers act like isolated robot zombies who cannot wait to lock themselves up in a sleeper with their PCs and gadgets. Every worthwhile conversation with a stranger is stuck in my mind for years, because there are so few of them.

 

Lots of interesting ideas hear! I can't wait to get on the road and see how Much $$$ I can save/spend on food. 30 days and a wake up, then it's off to orientation.

 

This post makes me giddy for some reason...probably because it's the most honest thing I've read in a while. I really hope I get the pleasure of meeting you on the road!

 

Congrats on starting your new career! Don't let the neg posters get you down!

 

Oh, those LTL riches we all heard about... I have a new for ya, top 5% (income wise) of janitors and dishwashers make good money and benefits too, 80K is not out of question. Top 5% of every occupation is doing OK, that's why it's more "informative" to look at the bottom 90-95%. BTW, unlike a top 5% janitor, you can lose your 80k and bennies in a fraction of a second, considering hefty property taxes, your paid for CA house could follow shortly after that. As I said, if you have other options in life use them first, if you don't, keep on trucking , one of these days to may hit an 80k LTL jackpot (not an 8 hrs work day though), but chances are against that. I've seen plenty of the truckers with 15-25 years of experience at my first and the only Swift orientation (I didn't work for Swift). Unlike a janitor, a single mistake will send you right down the employment heap or directly into unemployment pile.

It's another less than pleasant aspect of trucking, you can NOT plan for anything because you can become unemployable, homeless .... any second of any day, it doesn't matter how good you are. They don't provide "golden parachute" for the discarded truckers who really need that to survive.