New CDL Holder Looking For Advice

Chinatown · Jul 23, 2022

Lawrence! said: ↑

@Chinatown ,

Great advice! I am in a 160 hour school. Something unfortunate is that they won’t allow me to be tested by an examiner until I’m closer to 160 hours; Not because of my lack of ability, but in case they get audited. At least that what he told me. I’m not giving up though. I saw that some people are able to test early and come back in to the school to clock in and out to make sure their hours are correct. I know that I’m not rushing into it prematurely, but am confident in my ability to do what they are asking of me, and work well when the pressure is on. Hopefully in the next two weeks I will be able to have done enough research to feel as confident as I do right now with passing my test as finding an initial position to get in to.

While I’m waiting for them to let me take the test I have been working on getting my endorsements. I’m waiting on the return file for the background check for Hazmat, and I have been studying for tankers and doubles/triples. I will go in to take those next week. There aren’t others that I’m leaving out right?

I am open to going wherever! I’m excited to see where this can take me geographically. While I don’t know yet what I would like to do routinely, I know that it’ll be great seeing different places, cultures, landscapes. Why do you ask?
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Werner just got busted for taking short cuts in training. Same happened to Swift. All those drivers lost their cdl and have to retest.
Do the complete 160 hours, otherwise you could lose your cdl later.

Lawrence! · Jul 23, 2022

tscottme said: ↑

I'm working on retiring early, unless I get a particular cushy job I've applied for. I've been doing this since 1994. My experience is 100% as a company driver, and employee. My dad was briefly an Owner-Op O/O in the 1980s. I learned I didn't want anything to do with O/O. It's about 2-3 times the work of driving the truck for about 150% of the pay of driving. Every moment of every day your mind is occupied with plotting and planning every detail of the business because the margins are so small. O/O is the only way anyone is going to make much over $100k per year. The very best driving jobs will pay $100k per year, provide benefits, supply trucks/tires/maintenance, and time off.

Right know trucks are at their historical most expensive prices. There is./was about a 12 month waiting period to take delivery of a truck even if you had all cash in a suitcase to give to a dealership. I last worked for a small Owner-Op fleet out in Idaho. That's where I saw the numbers. Prior to that I was a driver in a 100-3,000 fleet. I never saw their numbers. My brand new truck In Aug 2020 cost $160k with all the bells and whistles. In December 2021 the same truck cost $220k and was on a 12 month back-order. At the same time the freight rates the company was getting paid were almost half what they had been in Aug 2020. Fuel cost more than doubled. The costs of operating a truck went from $0.70 per mile to $1.50 per mile just for fuel. Freight rates have collapsed. At this moment, trucks have never been more expensive, fuel more expensive, and rates customer will pay lower than ever before. It's like starting a stock brokerage in 1930.

Even with YouTube you cannot know what this job is like until you start doing it. You don't live on the Hours of Service schedule, you don't sleep in truck stops, if you can find a spot to park, you don't get treated by customers like a diseased skunk just because you hand them your paperwork and showed up that the appointment time. You have been banished from real bathrooms to porta-pottys. You haven't tried to sleep beside the trucks with screaming pulleys and air compressors popping off every 3 seconds. You haven't been 2,000 miles from home when you are told somebody is on the way to the hospital or dead. You haven't had the 30th car TODAY swerve in front of you and slam on their brakes so they can exit from the left lane. You haven't busted your rear and "fudged" your logs to show up ONLY 45 minutes late, due to being told the appointment was later or waiting for a dispatcher to make a decision, knowing that every customer and dispatcher's FIRST excuse when THEY screw up is to blame you for sleeping too long or getting lost.

You will need to choose a place to work. That choice among Company A, B,C, and D will largely decide how much money you make, how often you get home, if you get home for more than 34 hours, what parts of the country you drive in, which determines the traffic and aggression of the car drivers, What kind of health insurance and the cost of it, etc. It will determine of you decide which route you drive and where you fuel or if all of that is determined for you NO MATTER WHAT. Your choice of company will decide what comforts you truck has installed or may be installed, such as inverter to use household device in the truck. An auxillary power unit APU that provides electrical power and air conditioning/heater when the truck is shut off. There are many other things company choice decides. Choice of company will decide if you can bring a pet or a passenger. As you work that first year you will see which of the stated details are VERY important to you and which are unimportant to you. The normal pattern is you pick your first company, and then slowly learn why you want to work somewhere else over that year, unless you picked very wisely for your first company. As you work in this industry you learn more and more which details really decide your quality of life and which are important to other people. The company and the driver fit, or don't fit, each other like a pair of shoes. Giving me the highest quality shoes made by the Davinci of shoemakers using the finest Italian leathers from the King's own private herd does nothing if they are too big or too small. It doesn't matter if others think those shoes are worth more than my house, they don't fit me and I can't walk in them. Likewise, if they are the cheapest quality possible. If they don't fit, or fit everyone but me, they are of no use to me. I learned in the last 2 years I would never ever pull refrigerated trailers. I loved tankers, did mostly dry van. There is not an obvious path to big money or everyone would be there now making it.

80-90% of new drivers leave the industry before they have 1 year experience. IMO, most of that is due to the new drivers doing nothing to find out what they are getting into and relying on Google ad placement to determine who to work for. Watching YT videos and mentions of trucking in the media will make you think this job is just one long vacation drive past national landmarks at sunset. If you pick the wrong company it's a lot more like working in a sweatshop. ALL COMPANIES ARE NOT THE SAME, although plenty of people like to claim that so they have an excuse for working at some junk company that treats them like a prisoner.
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@tscottme ,

Thanks for taking the time to write the post! You given me a lot of good things to think about.

First I’d like to ask what makes the position you’ve applied for so “cushy” if that’s okay. Be as detailed as you are open to.

I spoke previously about what I’ve seen and heard and it definitely seems from everyone that now is a poor time to be getting into O/O.

I have a list of questions that I have been asking companies as I Interview them to try and get to know what they are looking for in an employee and whether it matches what I am expecting to do. I know I can’t cover every base, but I’m trying to be as well informed in all the aspects prior to making a decision.

I know that I don’t know and can’t/won’t know what it’s like until I’m out there living the lifestyle, but I am excited to get started. I’m sorry some of the people and companies you encountered have treated you like a second class citizen. We’ll see in time how I’m able to handle that, but I tend to not let things like that affect me.

In regards to YT, many of those people probably are trying to brand themselves and their lifestyles as admirable because they are truly trying to make money on the platform rather than doing what they are saying they are trying to do, which is educate people on the trucking industry. I have really enjoyed watching the day in the life videos and like the diversity in what I see.

Lawrence! · Jul 23, 2022

jethro712 said: ↑

the company did not do those programs to lose $$$. dispatch plays a large roll in your success. i tried l/p for 6mo @ trekker logistics. had a bad dispatcher for a couple weeks, she got fired. new dm was good to a point.
6 of us started orientation only 1 stayed beyond 6 months.
i had near 4 yrs exp when i tried l/p..
read my contract & asked questions.
imho, get 1yr minimum otr exp b4 trying that.
better to learn on a companies dime than yours. lol.
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@jethro712

Good advice! What makes one dispatcher better than another? Is it based on their work ethic, or maybe the relationship you develop with them? Or is it a trickle down effect from higher up in the company? I dont plan on l/p out of the gate, and I agree with learning the ropes while you are not as liable. Thanks!

Lawrence! · Jul 23, 2022

Chinatown said: ↑

Werner just got busted for taking short cuts in training. Same happened to Swift. All those drivers lost their cdl and have to retest.
Do the complete 160 hours, otherwise you could lose your cdl later.
Click to expand...

@Chinatown

Interesting! Do you a link to the article where you read that? I don’t want to be in that position, that’s for sure! Thanks for the advice.

Lawrence! · Jul 23, 2022

tscottme said: ↑

The best info you can get about a company is from current working drivers doingbthe type of work you are considering. For example, if you work out of Chicago terminal or yard, for ABC Trucking they can tell you details about ABC Trucking that may apy to all ABC drivers and they tell you about the Chicago yard (break ins to personal vehicles), etc. But if you want Over The Road OTR and they are Dedicated or Owner-Op they cant tell you OTR info, like forced routing, forced fuel stops, idling limits, etc. Ignore whst company reps tell you. Make the company give your info to drivers doing OTR out of the yard you will be based. Adk them the pay rate, how many miles they got last week, do they pick the route to customers, what fuel stops do they use, does truck have an APU, are repairs done quickly, are you expected to "be creative" with your ELD, how long are they home, do tgey leave truck at company yard, anything you want to know.

Many companies pay current drivers if they refer outsiders to join the company. You can ask the driver the company refers you to give your number to another driver, in case you suspect the company is settimg you up with a "company man".

If all you know about a company is what it says on their website andvwhat the recruiter tells you, you don't know enough to make a decision about them, IMO.
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@tscottme ,

Sweet! I’ll definitely add all this to my list of questions for companies & drivers. Thanks for the post!

Chinatown · Jul 23, 2022

Lawrence! said: ↑

@Chinatown

Interesting! Do you a link to the article where you read that? I don’t want to be in that position, that’s for sure! Thanks for the advice.
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The article is posted on here somewhere.

Allow Me. · Jul 23, 2022

Obviously, you're determined. That's a good thing. Don't get confused with owner/ops stating they make 250K, yes they might, but that's "gross" $$$, before expenses. Also, owning a truck )business wise) and "driving" a truck...2 different aspects. I've known trucking co owners who have never driven a truck and drivers who can drive fantastic but can't comprehend the business part.

Another "feature" of the business I've always hated is the amount of people barking orders at you (the driver). It could be the shower guy at Loves, or the security guy at Walmart gate check-in, or the scale guy at Wy. P.O.E. or even the lumper at Americold cold storage ! I won't mention any police agencies or your dispatcher.

So, is driving 600 mi/a day 6 days a week your cup of tea? Long fuel line, long wait for a shower, clustered parking area where you have chosen to bed down ? And that wonderful Subway to eat from ? I won't mention construction zones, lousy weather, a flat tire when you get up and are ready to roll, and those 18 trucks ahead of you at the security gate with just 5 min before your appt time .

As I said earlier, try it for 6-12 months. Have fun !

scoobertdoo · Jul 23, 2022

tscottme said: ↑

Fuel cost more than doubled. The costs of operating a truck went from $0.70 per mile to $1.50 per mile just for fuel
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Sorry, but ########.
Short of running a V8 cat, or a detroit 4v71 you are not getting 3MPG.

lual · Jul 23, 2022

@Lawrence! --

Note that....regardless of the trucking carrier you choose, you will usually be working with 2 clocks.

One is an 11-hour clock (for driving).

The other is a 14-hour clock (for on-duty time).

If you're any kind of observer--the above info should tell you that trucking involves A LOT OF HOURS.

If you are looking for a new gig that is 60 hours a week, or less--the above should be your first clue that trucking is NOT A GOOD CHOICE.

The above is partly why trucking is so hard on families/marriages--and why many say trucking is not just a job--but also a "lifestyle".

It really is.

With all that said--the following Forum thread might also be of interest to you, as (still) further food for thought:

If you had to start over... | TruckersReport.com Trucking Forum | #1 CDL Truck Driver Message Board (thetruckersreport.com)

--Lual

roundhouse · Jul 23, 2022

As other have advised . be very ware of any driving job that’s. 1099

and be ware of any company that’s actually based in Chicago .

be leery of any company owned by or employing large numbers of Russians or people from other communist locations .

and do NOT fall into the lease purchase trap. Where the company rents you the truck and expects you to pay for the fuel and maintenance and repairs .

And watch out for companies that don’t have direct relationships with shippers and get a lot of their cargo loads from brokers , brokers steal a huge slice off the top and once they steal the cream off the top it’s hard to make any profit .

that said . It’s not too hard to earn $60k the first year and $85k the second year and $100k the third year , on a W-2 as an employee with benifits like health insurance and vacation .
Hauling hazmat tankers pays very well

make sure you get all the endorsements
Double triple
Tankers and haz mat and TWIC and manual transmission

Once you learn the business

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