My wife and I are looking to get our CDLs and begin a trucking career together. We've been married for 10 years and together longer. No children and we really enjoy driving in general. For the past couple of years, perhaps three, I have exclusively been doing Lyft and uber. I really enjoy it, but I know I can be making more money by taking on a trucking career.
The catch is that we practice Sabbath and from nightfall on Friday to nightfall on Saturday, we can't work. I'm not looking to start a religious debate with anyone and I would just like to say that I don't know anything more than any other human. However we take it seriously and we want our Creator's blessing in what we're doing.
That being said, I have been researching and looking for the past few weeks adamantly and just cannot find a way to make this work. We need a company that will allow us to respectfully follow our religious beliefs.
At the moment it seems like the best we've discovered is attempting to get our CDLs and go the owner operator route and then partner with a company and dispatcher, choosing our own loads to prevent an overlap with the day of Sabbath.
I'm coming here for help. Maybe there's someone out there that knows or has been through this. Please and thank you very much. My wife and I really want to do this and we really need help.
Edit: Location Update - Fort Worth, TX
Husband/Wife and Sabbath (Help)
Discussion in 'Trucking Schools and CDL Training Forum' started by Tribunal, Dec 19, 2024.
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Last edited: Dec 19, 2024
Reason for edit: Adding information.JolliRoger, Cherokee65 and Flat Earth Trucker Thank this. -
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You need a ton of cash to become an owner-operator.
The insurance alone is extremely expensive for those with no experience.
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Some companies teams can make well over $100G or even over $150G for each driver in the team.
tscottme Thanks this. -
You need a Dedicated trucking job. For example, your employer has 40 loads from Big Customer every week. Those 40 loads move from Big Customer factory to Big Customer distribution center (DC). There are 5-6 truckloads leaving every day M-F. That's one example of a dedicated trucking job. I worked for a trucking company for 18 years and all of our work was moving freight from factory suppliers to the car factory that used those parts. All we did is drive back and forth between suppliers and the car factory. Drivers picked runs based on seniority at this trucking company so drivers had some control over their schedule once a year when we bid runs. There are dedicated runs using dry vans, flatbed, tanker, and reefer (refrigerated trailers). The main thing is you need to focus on Dedicated, that's the word to listen/look for. You also need to emphasize what your time-off specifics are and make sure everyone you ask and deal with is accepting and approving of this schedule. Generally, any requirement you have is going to limit the employers that want to hire you. YOU CANNOT RELY ON THE WORDS OF A RECRUITER. You want any/every "promise" related to this scheduling need to be written in form so nobody can "forget" or ignore it.
With your schedule needs, you should avoid Over The Road (OTR) trucking which means long distance, irregular route. Perhaps some Less Than Truckload (LTL) trucking could work, but LTL is often Sun night-Fri night. You will need to ask company by company to find such a work schedule. THERE IS NO DRIVER SHORTAGE, BTW. Husband-Wife teams are highly sought after, but imposing the Sabbath time off kind of blunts your attractiveness as a team. It's better to serve God than have a good job, anyway. Right now the industry is S L O W. Hiring is not happening very fast. -
7th day Adventist I assume. Not sure what kind of driving you are looking for but you might be able to find a regional thing where u leave out on Sunday night and come back Friday night. As a Catholic driving OTR it is much easier for me to attend mass during the week if unable on Sunday. ( since multiple week night services are offered at a lot of churches) I am guessing you cannot work at all from Friday thru Saturday? Maybe if you are able you can work that in somehow OTR but not likely. I dont know enough about it. A regional dedicated choice is your best bet. Anyway all the best.
Last edited: Dec 19, 2024
tscottme Thanks this. -
The reality is that the trucking industry doesn't really cater to religious practices, as demand for goods is much too great. The best advice I can give you is not too look so far ahead. First things first, you gotta get your licenses. Then if you get with a company, just try to explain your religious practice to them. I gotta be honest, it's no guarantee that a company will honor that. I wouldn't hold my breath there, but maybe you get lucky and find a home weekly company, and even then, sometimes circumstances out here will force you to delay or miss observing the Sabbath. The onus will probably be moreso on you and your wife to keep that space blocked off.
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Not team work, but maybe a local job on shift work.
tscottme Thanks this. -
You dont say where you are located -- that would help out, A LOT.
With that said.....
Get your CDLs on your own -- thru the community college or tech school of your choice.
Then look hard at the flatbed sector of the industry.
Many flatbed carriers try to get you home & off duty on the weekends.
In particular: BE SURE to check out this flatbed carrier:
McElroy Truck Lines | Flatbed Truck Driving Jobs
The owner/leader of this company thinks A LOT like you do -- & is thus pretty adamant about getting his drivers home for such.
Keep us posted on how things progress....
-- LJolliRoger, Tribunal and blairandgretchen Thank this. -
Only thing I can think of is LTL team like UPS, ODFL etc. We had a Tuesday night to Sunday night schedule paying $200k/year.
If you found or were close to terminal that offered a Sunday morning to Friday run - but our terminal did not. Then there’s a year experience, clean record and endorsements .
Sorry to say, I think the chances are slim.High Stepper, Flat Earth Trucker and REO6205 Thank this. -
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