My situation: need advice

He can't do anything trucking wise for a year when his driving record clears up. He'll make more at McDonald's than starting at a mega anyway.

 

Well, in this day and age, you couldn't convince me for a minute that driver records ever "clear up", and while pay has gone up for fast food workers,, it's still one of the lowest paid jobs in America. Many times, they get just under 40 hours so no benefits. Most "FFWs"( fast food workers) can make $19/hour, but most are around $11- $15 and still, no health ins., no vacation or time off. I mean no disrespect, but there's a reason it attracts the people it does. While the entry level pay for a truck driver is about the same, if stuck to it, trucking will far out pay a ffw, and good benefits and you aren't stuck behind a counter, watching all the trucks go by.

 

In your situation, I have 3 suggestions.

Disclaimer, I’m in the PNW so my knowledge of Florida is non-existent. They may do things differently there.

1) Charter bus driver.
Where I live they like to hire retired folks on a part-time basis. The pay is not great either. I suspect it would still be above what SSDI allows for though, unless you could swing it to work 1 day per week or something.
Downside; you will have to be available on-call, day and night.
Busy season has a lot of hours—you’ll be out overnight, but the money will be good with the tips you’ll get.

2) Hotel shuttle driver. As many of these don’t require a CDL, you basically drive a large taxi, the pay is not great, and you can get part-time work. 2 downsides depending on what your disability is. You will carry lots of luggage, and during downtime some hotels will have you do laundry or attend the check-in desk.

3) Healthcare driver.
There are several avenues to get in, as there are companies who specialize in this transport, transit operators, in-house transport at nursing homes, and even ride-share. All will offer part-time in some form. I do believe you will need at minimum first aid training, which some employers will cover.

4) Rideshare.
Uber/Lyft will give you the flexibility you need.

I realize none of these are class A, but they are paying jobs and May let you keep your health coverage.

If you are physically fit & want to jump in with both feet—there’s one more which is largely unknown. Farm trucking. It’s what I do. It is heavy, it is filthy, you will drive all sorts of vehicles, you must load & unload, you touch product & some of it is both heavy & dirty, you will climb a lot—and occasionally get stuck in a farmer’s field.
But it is NICE. Countryside, beautiful scenery, back-roads, very little stress. Long hours though and did I say you will get filthy? Not to worry you will be home every day and can take a shower.

As for vehicles, anything from pickup trucks to class B bulk carriers, liquid tanks, tractors, huge specialized farm machines and the occasional class A run, all depending on where in ag you end up.

Edit: That was 5 suggestions.

 

Now you're talking sense! Publix is a great outfit, almost drove for them, but they promoted from within. They have the best produce on the east coast,,,of Florida anyway. Job security, people will always need food, trucking?, meh, who cares how it gets there.