gitting ducks in a row

I don't know, chompi. There is a small carrier with about 60 trucks near me. He runs reefer teams to the northwest. I have been told that about the only turnover he has comes from drivers who work too hard and need a rest. They leave for a while and then come back. I know one guy who is over 70 and has been with him for years. He told me that he makes good money and likes the company.

 

I'm not bashing your idea but have you ever thought of opening your own "prototype shop" ? The kind of shop that does most of it's work on older pre-cnc machines and one peice at a time? I know of a couple around here and while not rich they still stay busy.
Good luck with what ever you decide and remember if you do the cdl thing almost ALL company's want you fresh out of school NOT 6months after! Also you will get hired faster and easy if the school is PTDI certified (I think its ptdi)

 

"I don't know, chompi. There is a small carrier with about 60 trucks near me. He runs reefer teams to the northwest. I have been told that about the only turnover he has comes from drivers who work too hard and need a rest. They leave for a while and then come back. I know one guy who is over 70 and has been with him for years. He told me that he makes good money and likes the company."

That's great if you can find that out before hand. For the most part though these small companies aren't going to keep a team busy. I have actually spoken with some fairly large companies that can't keep teams busy!

If you are going to look at the small companies make sure to talk to their drivers and find out how busy they are.

 

I agree that the best information about any company is from current employees. Those who no longer work for the carrier may not give accurate information due to possibly having an axe to grind. My information about this particular carrier does come from what a couple of their current drivers have told me. They seem to be a good company. This guy has his own outbound freight. I don't know if it is his own freight or brokered freight he gets coming back to his home base. He keeps new equipment. Of course, if I were running teams coast to coast, I would want new equipment, too.

I would imagine that it might be somewhat difficult to keep teams busy, especially with the current economy.

 

buyamerican, that is hard to answer because it all depends on Experience, and how you sell yourself to an employer. At the age of 51, you have lifes experience. What I would do if I were you, find a local LTL company, Dispatch, coordinate local loads, try to get into management. I really think you will like that much more. And while working there, get out in the yard when ever you can , and spot trailers. 51 years young, you sound like you can accomplish what ever you focus on. Good Luck Bud.