Looking to become a trucker :-)

@Chinatown should be able to assist. Good luck to you.

 

Stay away crom CRE. Too many other good options are available to you. CFI, Magnum, or Abilene to name a few.

 

Don't sell yourself short to a cheap carrier. If you're competent you can be valuable to many outfits. Look into job placement programs to maybe get your training paid for by the state. Better than being in debt to a company that sees you as a number.

 

So, you love to drive and you wanna be a truck driver ? Do you love the idea of waking up in a truck stop parking lot that smells like a urinal at 7am on a hot day? Like eating garbage that they call food? Waiting around for six hours for some imbecil to pull one skid off your trailer? Eating ramen noodles and pbj sandwiches? 65 mph trucks that would cause a maggot to puke because it stinks so bad? Because if you go the starter mega carrier route, this will likely be your first year. Probably about the 3 to 6 month mark, you'll be ready to throw in the towel. So you switch companies thinking it'll all be better at the next one. And have the same results. But,the good news is you'll essentially be a paid tourist, it just won't be like taking a family road trip in the family truckster.


If you can afford to do a community college CDL training program, I'd do it. Talk to some potential employers to be sure this would meet their standards first though.


Or if you really wanna buck the system, find a small company with 15 or 20 trucks and get started that way. Word of caution: this is almost unheard of these days. But the extra effort is worth it if you can do it this way.

So now you're a truck driver with at least a year of experience. Great. Hopefully by this point, you have a good reputation of being on time, and not tearing the truck up. Keep yourself out of trouble, don't tear up the equipment, and don't switch companies (job hop), and within one to two years you should be able to land the really good driving job you've been looking for all this time. Look past the shiny chrome and chicken lights that you will be attracted to at this point. Yes, it's all nice and cool. But don't be the clown in a fancy truck running yourself ragged for slave wages. Save that for the supertrucker. If you don't yet know what a supertrucker is, I'm sure if you do a search on here, you'll figure it out. Dont be a supertrucker. Be better.

There's tons of good advice on here from seasoned vetrans and rookies as well. You may not always like the answer you receive to a question, but you get an answer if you ask. Welcome!

 

CR England thanks you for ignoring the numerous reviews of how they treat drivers and giving them a chance to screw you.

This job is hard. You will be away from home more than almost any other job. You will be constantly frustrated by suicidal car drivers and customers that would rather you drop dead than pick up or deliver their freight. But you have to start somewhere, so might as well CHOOSE to get screwed.

There are companies that aren't taking every runaway that shows up on their front door. If you have a clean record AND YOU DON"T SMOKE WEED you can get a job almost anywhere at almost any time. We can't pick one for you anymore than we can tell you where/what to eat or how to dress. You have to sort through the priorities YOU have and pick. There is no shortcut and picking some random company, or "climbing into the tiger den to pet the big kitty" will almost certainly leave you worse off and fired.

Take your time and first google the trucking companies with locations near you. This makes EVERYTHING much easier (truck maintenance, truck parking, home time, etc.) The biggest decision you will make in this industry is who to work for. Work at McDonalds, if you have to while you make a decision. IMO

 

Trucking is not a J O B. It is a way of life that this Nation depends on to continue to exist with some reasonable veneer of peaceful society we live in with the good things delivered by truck.

You are going to discover that Memphis is truly bad. If you havent already. Driving a car is a joy, but it is a mere toy compared to say a 18 wheeler versus a Haboob (Sandstorm) and 80 mph gust front. It will lay you over quick.

People become parasites around truckers in certain areas of the USA. If you were dispatched to say Chicago Market in the south loop area it's not a NICE market. The address given to you per the street they use is actually a liqour store on a dead end street with 30 parasites eyeballing you for potential riches to harvest or beg from you. And yes there are rats this big there during winter. Ive encountered them and wished I had my colt on me. It would have been justified. (Congress is now presented with a national carry that came out of committee yesterday for all 50 states...BTW...)

Anyhow...

Truckstops are no longer homes. They have become places where there is no place for you to sit and spread out your papers, maps and so forth for a few hours. Oh no. You can only walk through and buy horrible fast food tossed into a paper box and shoved to you by a bored and slightly hostile teen sick and tired of dealing with smelly truckers and unshaven unwashed hordes.

You will discover certain truckstops have been gutted. Jersey City off 15C comes to mind, aint nothing left in that mens room. no way, except holes in the tiles. Not to mention the lizards that scoot from trailer to trailer at night bothering you as you try to sleep.

You will not be going to bed the way you like it. You will sleep by day and you will sleep by night every other day if you follow the HOS.

I cannot emphasize this part enough, do NOT use drugs of ANY kind. Not even mouthwash. It will show up. If you have people in your life at home who do use drugs, KICK THEM THE EFF OUT. There are many who come here whining that they failed a test and did nothing. I say BS. They did something. No one is holier than thou.

Trucks today is rather dumbed down. I hate to say it. I can go on and elaborate but think a bunch will toss peanuts at me and hollar NOOOO.

Need I go on?

 

You'll have to attend a private cdl school in MA or use someone elses address in another state and then attend a trucking company cdl school.
MA is losing population because the politicians and rich elite in MA hate humans because humans are beneath them.
Go back to Arizona and finish what you started or use a relatives address in another state.

 

Dang x1 only a. 45 for rats?
I've seen em in Jersey and I'm pretty sure shooting them with a Lil colt would just piss them off... Lol