How to decide where to live/what company , when you first start?

I ran OTR, but the good part is never had to pick up a backhaul. Just unload then deadhead(empty) back to the terminal in Nashville. Some trailers are dedicated to a certain customer or chemical and can't be used otherwise. I would deliver as far away as Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Seattle, Phoenix, Las Vegas, then back to Nashville empty & it paid the same both ways. Many tanker companies do this.

 

Most tanker companies have local/regional/OTR.

 

Submit application to the others during the first week of CDL school.
This way, if Trimac doesn't work out, you'll have plenty of time to pick from the other job offers.

 

First off if ur (green) brand new to driving don't expect to find anything local. Most local jobs want at least a year otr before they will even consider u.

Hazmat: good idea to get it because alto of companies pay more cpm on loads. Tanker: depends on what u want to haul.

Where u live: simply put u cAN live anywhere in the US u want too and u will be able to find a job. First things to ask is what ur sometime will be then what ur cpm will be.

When u go to work for a company unless its a day cab place u will eat, sleep, drive, and breath ur truck from the moment u are upgraded to solo until u get ur sometime.
Can u handle being away from home 7-30days at a time. Generally most companies i have seen have drivers out 7-14 days and then 2-3 days at home. Depends on the company and ur experience level for what type of equipment u get how much sometime and ur pay. Hope this helps

 

If your on a side loader, you will definitely not need a gym membership thats for sure. I did bulk delivery so I just bumped docks and pulled stuff off with my electric pallet jack . But when I was a spare driver I ran some sideload routes and the fast paced thing is nice too, makes the day go by that's for sure.