new driver, what are my options?

Well,why not just ask your DAD???????????????????

 

sure you could but odds are you'd run yourself out of biss real quick... Get some experiance first, then once you've got the driving down and your sure you want to invest in being an O/O then give it a try..


If your looking for a good company up there Call Roxy in the Recruiting Dept for Watkins Shepard Trucking, or if you want to go out with a trainer call MAY Trucking.





American Trucker

 

Hey, I mean you no disrespect here but I've answered this question so many times. I know you're new on the board here but if you'll look around you'll find lots of post where brand new people ask that and the answer is always the same.

So, here it is. DO NOT even think about buying a truck until you've been driving for at least a year as a company driver and preferably two years. Many of these starter companies get new drivers in and paint this great picture and get them to sign up for a lease (fleece) deal and they end up going broke in the process and are much worse off than when they started.

Going to school to get your CDL does one thing. It teaches you enough to pass the test and become hirable by the trucking companies. Once you're hired, you'll go to orientation and then out with a trainer for anywhere from 2-8 weeks. More in some cases. With your trainer you'll learn about the job, procedures, etc. His/her job is to make sure you can handle yourself safely so that when you get out in a truck by yourself you'll have a reasonable chance of being able to do the job and figure things out. Once you are on your own then the real learning starts. That's where you really learn the job.

CDL school teaches you zero about life on the road. What if you go out and spend $30k - $100k for a truck of your own, get out there on the road and find out that you absolutely hate it. Are you willing to that that chance? I'd highly advise against it.

Now, I see that you're up there in Washington State. You have a few good choices that you should consider.

May Trucking has an 11 western state division that'll get you home more often than a 48 state job.

Interstate Distributors runs up in that area a lot.

Watkins-Shepard has 3 terminal in Washington.

Hope that all helps and please, don't buy a truck or lease one for a year at least. You can thank me later.

 

the problem if you went out and got all your stuff, is companies are still gonna wanna know your experience, and getting insurance will be very expensive. like the other guys said, go out for a year with a company. if you still enjoy it, then maybe think about buying a truck and leasing on with a company. i'm not OTR but from what i gather if you start out slow and take your time, and set yourself up right you can make some real good money. but there is a very big mis conception that you can just jump right into trucking and be successful its just like any other field it takes time to get to the top.

 

First off, you will never, ever be home if you buy a truck! Owner operators have to stay out longer than company drivers to survive. Second off with a wife and kids I would think twice about the whole truck driving thing. It is very rare that you will land a local job out of school. Not to say it can't happen. If you are going to be a truck driver than you better get in your head that you will not being seeing your family but a handful of times a year! If you think otherwise you are seriously mistaken. If this is going to be a problem don't waste your time and money on trucking school. This is the number one reason for new drivers quitting. They just don't realize the lifestyle it entails. I hope you don't take this in a negative way, just trying to save you from a costly mistake. That's a lot of money you could be spending on your family instead of school. The only way to make money driving is to drive. As a company driver you are going to be expected to stay out 4-6 weeks at a time and it will be a fight with your dispatcher every time you want to go home. Please take some time to think about this and maybe confer with others on this site. Welcome to the forum and good luck to you!

 

GTI/Gordon is a western 13 area company as well. They just bought out a 100 or so sized truck company and are hiring. Good safety rep.

Interstate seems to be doing some re-structuring and requires 6 months exp. Might be a rough time to get on with them.

TWT is out of Spokane and does alot of I-5 corridor (reefer work) and has a flatbed sister company called Systems. Not sure if they take students/just graduateds. Very nice rigs, good safety rep.

 

Of course,you still have the option to RUN like hell.. Just sayin..