Is 56 to old to go trucking?

Follow your dreams in 9 years. Don’t give up that pension. You may have dreams of trucking now, but if you lose that pension, you’ll be having nightmares 9 yrs from now.

 

I would advise staying with your current job for the retirement benefits, whatever they are; old style company funded type annuity, 401-k, or IRA. I dropped out of the nuclear power industry 2 years ago at 61 and have been retired catching up on a few hobbies. The last job I had in nuclear had a large suck factor, decided to throw in the towel after 1 year there. Should have stayed a few more years, but...

Now I'm considering getting into trucking to bring in a few bucks, lessen the drain on the IRA, and get company benefits. I have medical coverage through the VA, but we're paying big money for the wife's coverage.

 

Stay where you are, get the pension, then go do it. You can drive that truck till you can’t pass a physical, so if you take care of yourself that could be awhile. After you retire, go buy yourself a truck, and then you can run as hard as you want, or don’t want. It will all be up to you, but get the pension. That will ease a lot of stress.

 

You made it sound like you wouldn’t be talked out of it in your 1st post? My suggestion was to wait till your Youngest graduates then seriously decide. We are the same age and I’m all about the experiences in Life now. Also have Military and Construction background too. I personally would not get up and go to a job I hated period, but that’s me! Again keep processing it, maybe Your Wife ends up hating it after jumping in or a Grandchild appears and you want to be around for them! Lots to consider that’s why I also suggested to drive local somehow to ease your mind for now. Not sure where you live but a part time or weekend run here or there seems doable? Again Good Luck and don’t worry to much about Autonomous Trucks, I know you’ve heard of checking your load, load shift or the most recent the Tractor that shutdown in the middle of the Highway. There’s so many scenarios they haven’t figured out yet.

 

IF the trucks were on Autopilot today? HA.... they are going to need millions of us right now to tend to them like one chases after wild children seek to escape daycare. It will as the Canadians like to say be a Gong Show. Many will be running out of fuel waiting to be loaded in the grocery.

I say the changes are here. But not that catastrophic yet.

I worry about the enforcement side. Thought crimes behind the wheel might even invite felony charges after you yell at someone cutting you off. //snarky.

What I do myself when I have bad days on the road is find a forest of trees. Go in there and tell the trees what I think of that dumb dispatcher or stupid customer or over the top staffer or tinpot DOT etc.

Once I get that out of my system Im pretty good. But Im pretty sure there has been calls from others about a deranged nutcase yelling at trees a time or two. he he.

If you ever say something to a boss like you tell the trees.... tsk tsk tsk... that's it for you.

 

Go do what you want. Go find a non EPA truck, buy it, do some work on it while keeping your current job. In frame it, get it road worthy, fix up the interior and find a good outfit to lease on with. Use your time to learn your truck, learn how to fix it, be an owner. Just my .02

And keep your pension. Tinker with the truck...

 

You know what, that could very well happen. But guess what, if it does, you will still have that phone company pension. If you go trucking now, in 10 years if that happens all you’ll have is a job you hate again or maybe no job at all. You definitely won’t have a pension.