Newbie with a question

You can go with a local/dedicated when your done with school. OTR is cool but your not going to be home much. I wouldn't recommend it for a family man.

Finding a local job will be a little hard since you have no experience but it can be done.

 

if you goal is to work local and you find a company that give you a local job go for it .
most companies want otr experience but sometimes you can get lucky .
about start you own company straight out of school not a good idea .

 

First off if you have no knowledge of the in and out of the owner operater aspect of the industry you may wanna get with a smaller owner operater that is looking to put on another driver even if it is local most of the larger companies wont take the time to teach you the things neccessary to be a o/o now yes over the road dont plan on being home much so if you have a family that is something to consider.dedicated at least you pretty much have the same thing going on week to week and you can actually make plans for things but just keep in mind the larger the company the less likely they will teach you the things neccessary to be a owner operator"" In short if your desire is to be a owner operator and be home you may want to look into getting a rig and work regional but be sure to get some advice on insurance maybe fuel banks and all the things that come with owner operator"" My answer if you dont mind not being a owner operator look into being a linehaul driver with a ltl money is good and your home everyday without the hassle of owning a truck. Hope this helped a little

 

with no experience it might be hard to find local. you might have to settle for regional. if you kids mean that much i suggest steering clear of starting your own til you have all you financial obligation out of the way, plus at least 3 months worth of cash reserve. STAY AWAY FROM THE LEASE OPTION!!!

 

HeBe here there is no local companies that train and doubt there are where you live.Listen to the people that told you it wasn't a good idea.There are OTR companies that do have dedicated and regional runs.Drivers from swift have that and most the drivers are fairly new to the industry.But you still need to go thru training brfore you're eligible for reg or dedicated runs,also you have to make sure you live in that lane that has those run.Once upon a time I wanted a dedicated route with Werner but because there are no dedicated customers here I had no choice but OTR.

 

HeBe,
I see you posted the same question in another category. It's really better, for everyone, if you just post in 1 category. We do get around.
I'm not tryin to be a forum cop, btw.

 

No, you do not have to go OTR first; it just depends on what's available at the time you start applying for jobs. With a wife and 3 children, you need good pay, so get your tanker/hazmat, TWIC and a passport. The passport will be needed if you do end up OTR and get a load going to Canada. Schneider actively recruits new CDL grads for their tanker division & it would would be a good place to start and get tanker/hazmat experience. Other tanker companies also hire new drivers, but don't make a regular practice of it; just depends on how much they need a driver at the time. Put your location on your profile so others trying to help you, will know the hiring area you are in. Your best annual pay will be with tanker or flatbed because you rarely, if ever, sit waiting for loads.

Two companies that have weekend home programs are Maverick and McElroy. Looking at the big picture, your best pay will be with tanker/hazmat.

 

You want to get some experience in the trucking industry before you jump into being an owner operator. When you get your schooling done and sign on with a company don't let them trick you into leasing one of their trucks its a ripp off. I leased one and lost my ### on it. Payments are 600+ a week just for the truck payment. Get ysome experience out here on the road and look into buying your own truck directly through a dealer. I have been looking and there is a company called Loan Mountain Leasing. Decent trucks all of them have new tires they are inspected before purchase and when you look at the truck rather its cosmetic or mechanical they will fix it before you drive it off the lot. They have a lot in Las Vegas Nevada and Conley Georgia. Friend of bought a truck from them about a year ago and has leased onto Landstar and about has his truck paid off and he is home every week to two weeks. As far as going local its hard to find a good local job that pays well and there are few companies that doesn't consider local job as experience. Hope this info helps you out

 

From what I've gathered from other people on here, being just a student myself, I'd suggest trying your hardest to get a local job out of school if you like, but I think it would be foolish to count on it. In other words, be "prepared" to do OTR. Of course, depending on where you live, it shouldn't be too hard to get a regional job that gets you home weekends. Be warned though, companies that advertise every weekend off don't get you home by 5PM Friday and out on the road Monday morning. It's sometimes/usually 34 to 48 hours off for the weekend, and it's not always guaranteed. Getting the right regional gig can get you home for your 10 hour breaks sometimes, but it depends on your schedule and how close to shipping lanes you are. Again, not something that can be guaranteed (don't believe the recruiters best examples of their guys that are home EVERY single weekend and 2 or 3 week nights, those are the lucky guys, lol), but it could be a possibility.

Just don't go waste $3-5K+ at CDL school and give up because you can't find a local gig and won't accept an OTR position.