I'm staying with my girlfriend in Marin County, Ca( just North of San Francisco off highway 101)
I'm unemployed and broke. I really want to start working again and am seriously considering OTR.
I need company paid training, as I have no savings left. Right now, I'm trying to figure out a way to come up with $800-$1000 to cover my expenses until I get my first check.
I used to drive taxi here in the area, but I quit because the money dropped by more than half after 2008 and I just got really tired of being in close quarters with strangers for 12-15 hours a day.
I was about to apply with Swift until I read Sheriff's 92 pages of reports on driving with them.
What companies that have training would you work for if you were me ..and.. in my location and ..why?
From what I can tell, in terms of getting miles, the trucking life is very similar to the taxi life. The general consensus with experienced taxi drivers is take the crappy short rides with no complaints and the dispatchers will reward you with airport runs and longer rides. Also tip the dispatcher a lot ( $20-$50 per day) I did that for quite awhile, until it occurred to me that other drivers were also getting their fair share of long rides - and they took their lunch breaks when they felt like it, turned down rides, tipped the dispatcher the minimum $5... etc.
I stopped trying to be the dispatchers best friend and noticed that while they complained about my change in work ethic, my income did not change. It was the same. Some days were busy and I'd make $350 net, other days would suck and I'd go home with $80. The difference was that I no longer put up with customers that were abusive, I no longer put off eating until my blood sugar dropped so low that I felt like a psycho, and I didn't drive 18 miles round trip for a $4.50 fare. At the end of the day, no matter how much the dispatcher favored another driver over me, he had to dispatch the call to somebody. If his star drivers were en route to the airport, he couldn't just leave me sitting on the stand. He had to give me that call to San Jose for $150 on the meter, even if it chapped his you know what.
Does this same dynamic occur in the OTR trucking world? At the end of the day is really that much better of a life to be the dispatcher's little workhorse?
Thanks in advance for your replies to this thread,
I live in the SF Bay Area- Which company to work for? And other questions....
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by rockmalone, Jul 2, 2013.
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Hey man,
I think Mike Lowrie Trucking out of Lodi will help you get a CDL if you work through the tomato season. I'm not sure what they're offering right now.
It really sucks that you don't have your CDL right now... get yourself a CDL with doubles/triples endorsement and the tomato and grape crush season is an EXCELLENT way to get a *local* job right out of school. Being in Marin, you're close to Napa and lots of agricultural regions.
No, I don't think that kind of dynamic you mentioned occurs in the OTR world. Tipping (BRIBING) your dispatcher is unethical. It will probably get both of you fired at any respectable trucking company. Taxi companies are sketch--I used to know a guy who drove taxi in san jose and he'd give us discounted rides all the time, off the meter
With so many companies filling seasonal agricultural jobs, I'm wondering if you couldn't get on somewhere working the dock while you drive around trucks in the yard.rockmalone Thanks this. -
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