Not sure the best way to get rolling, no pun intended.

If it’s something you want to do then driving a truck might be better. Money wise I make 50-55k a year driving 5 days a week and I get 2 full days off at house.

I say 2 full days off because in trucking they play with how much time off you get. They will say drivers get 2 days off or 48 hours. If you get home on Fridays and leave Monday morning that’s really 65 hours off not 48. They also like to say we get drivers home for 34 hour reset at the house. That means you get home Saturday night at maybe 8pm or 9pm. Then get Sunday off and have to leave at 7am Monday. That’s 34 hours off to reset your log book driving hours.

if you have wife and kids your probably want to be home at least 2 fulls days a week(65) hours or even daily.

I did OTR cross country driving for years and enjoyed the freedom of that but now I want get home more, so I drive 5 days a week regional and get home for 2 days a week. Driving regional is not as fun or nice in my experience as cross country driving.

 

Well, I'll tell ya', if the van doesn't have dual tires on the back, yep, you're a 4 wheeler. After 35 years in a truck, I'm a 4 wheeler too, you know. 1st, welcome aboard, and in these uncertain times, we( this site) get a lot of inquiries, after all, HVAC can be a strenuous job, and one can easily think, hmm, why not a truck, I can drive and just sit there. While driving is a big part, there is much more to consider. Long hours with delays, weather, local, regional, or over the road, tanker, van/reefer, dump, garbage, oh, and those darn 4 wheelers, all have specific needs, you may or may not like. HOS( hours of service) will pixx you off more than anything, with 8 minutes of driving time left, and you have 2 hours to go, and it's snowing, and the place won't wait for you, and spend New Years Eve in a truckstop in Nebraska, or whatever, it's not all sunshine and smiles. It can be done, however, and moving from a respected profession like HVAC to a, well, not so respected one, mainly because no work, shouldn't be the reason to move on. Up to you, Simon and Garfunkel said it best, "I do declare, a man hears what they want to hear and disregards the rest", all we can do is offer advice on what WE did. I can assure you, I never knew any HVAC folks that wanted to drive a truck. I was not well educated and never regretted driving a truck, because it was the best I could do without schooling, but I fear you might. Good luck, it's a long road from where you are now, to when you might earn ANYTHING trucking for a while.

 

As some advised, I'd scratch the itch.
If the license suspension was for no car insurance or behind on child support then trucking companies won't hold that against you.
Moving violations are a different animal.

 

I started out with Schneider National at age 55 -- then went on to a small reefer fleet, after 2 years with Schneider.

Stayed with the reefer fleet for 4 months. Got out while I still had my health.

My latest gig has been hauling fuel -- & home daily. Pretty good money. The earlier poster above was/is right (in post #7 above) -- fuel slows down in Nov, Dec, and early January. But of course people still buy fuel year round.

Some in the business world are predicting that an economic recession will begin in 2024. Accurate or not -- the recession has indeed already made it to the trucking world.

Many carriers that normally hire brand new drivers (like yourself) -- now instead want 3 - 6 months previous experience (& some want even more).

Also: a lot of CDL - A job listings that I saw 1 - 2 years ago....are now gone.

Thus -- the job market right now (and for the forseeable future) is really tough for new CDL grads with no prev experience. It's anyone's guess at this point when things will begin to pick back up.

You really need a totally clean driving record (and also, a clean criminal history) for at least the last 5 years -- to be eligible for the better starter driving gigs. Meanwhile -- if you want to drive fast, or crazy -- find a non-public access race course, and get it out of your system there. Otherwise -- start driving conservatively -- and pay close attention to speed limit changes, and be mindful of speed traps. Especially -- avoid DUI and vehicle open container situations, and anything even vaguely resembling wreckless driving.

If you do recreational drugs on any level -- you need to quit, and go clean. Many carriers now do both urine specimen and hair follicle tests. Flunking (or refusing) a drug test causes LOTS OF PROBLEMS -- and makes it much harder to stay in the industry, and have access to worthwhile gigs.

After reading all of the advice given here -- if you think you still later want to drive the big rigs -- don't have any children -- especially for the first 2 - 3 years of your CDL experience.

Later on -- with a clean safely record -- you can pick from more local jobs -- and then also be a worthwhile dad.

I am still in it -- largely because I'm single, never married, with no kids....and no pets.

It's also easier to run OTR if you're not a homeowner. Owning a home (if you don't have one yet) is just one more thing to go home to....and see about.

With all of that said -- this Forum is an excellent source of info and help to get started. A lot of helpful people are here with a lot of good experiences with different types of freight.

-- L

 

WIOA Program Minnesota will pay for cdl school at no cost to you.

 

Here's one; I think it's in Coon Rapids.
Information on this page: Careers | Magnum Companies (magnumlog.com)
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DRIVER APPRENTICE PROGRAM (DAP)

Have you ever considered driving as a career, but not sure of how to get your CDL?

With our Driver Apprentice Program (DAP), you can acquire your CDL while getting paid – Earn While You Learn!

• 6 weeks of training while getting paid

• Salary increase after attaining your CDL

• After the 4 weeks with a trainer, you’re assigned a position in one of our driving divisions

• The 6 week training covers: Safety, inspections, shifting, control systems, vehicle systems, hazard awareness, 90 degree & offset backing procedures, vehicle control, etc.

• The 4 week training covers: electronic logs, bills of lading, freight distribution, and other day-to-day duties associated with the industry.

We are here to help you attain your goal, and answer any questions you might have!

 

Magnum Ltd. is a refrigerated company. Even during a recession/depression, refrigerated foods, medicine, plasma has to be delivered. Refrigerated trucking is the way to go right now.

 

I wouldn’t hold back besides if it doesn’t work out you can always return to the trade. Best of luck!