OK I'm fed up with the BS and the back and forth.

Well then get off your lazy caboose and drive on down there,lol.They'll probably need you Monday.

 

la least you dont have to clean anything with a toothbrush in trucking

 

The Honest truth is that the job is the only constant and the difference in companies is what color the paint on the truck is... the end.

 

You see the little fitness informercials on TV, advertising a piece of equipment or a workout. They show the absolutely beautiful people smiling during a workout. The make it sound so great and so easy. You can't fail! You will have a fabulous butt!

The truth is, most fail. Why? In order for a workout to be effective, it requires extremely strenuous WORK. What's your WORK OUT without the WORK? You're just OUT. So you join a gym, and shock the system. Feel crippled and sore the next day. Even had to ask the wife to help you wipe, because you couldn't straighten your arms. Most never want this to happen again, so they opt to do a fruity workout. They never achieve their fitness goal because fruity workouts don't work.

You run into some guys in the gym that push you. They spot you. They yell at you not to give up. You like hanging out with these guys. You won't see the difference, but suddenly, the wife can't keep her hands off of you. She's always rubbing your chest and arms. Wow, isn't that encouraging? Anyways, within a year, your strong as a bull, feel fantastic, confident and better than ever.

Trucking is sort of the same way. The lightweight, easy, cushy job where you don't have to think and know anything doesn't pay much, and the people at Moron Trucking treat you like a necessary evil (that's not always a bad thing). The people around you are mentally lazy, good for nothing, and unhappy, and they want you to join them. Look carefully, though and you will see the Cool Kids. They hit it hard core. They spot each other, they encourage each other. They will invite you to run with them, and within a year in trucking, you will be where you want to be. Just be sure to remember the woman at home. Learn how to be a really good listener. If she can't get that emotional support from you, she will get it from someone else...whether you are local or OTR.

 

I see you're in Washington. I would look into Gordon,or maybe Interstate or Builders Transport,as Im pretty sure they are all based out there,although Im not sure (other than Gordon) about their policies on hiring new guys. Reason being,you have a wife at home and I'm sure you'd be able to eventually land a regional or even local account that will have you home weekly or even daily. Yeah,it's going to suck at first,but honestly, what job doesn't until you start to learn it? If you dealt with 8 years in the military,this ought to be a breeze for you . Thanks for your service to our country my friend, it's appreciated a lot more than you think. And good luck and be safe with whomever you decide to roll with!

 

You are just in your first week of school, a private one at that and you have this attitude?

Seriously, you will have a very difficult time in this industry with an attitude that the world is against you right from the start.

Take some really good advice, get over your attitude, take everything that you read and hear with a grain of salt but don't ignore it and learn before you judge. Unless you do that, you will never last in any job you have.

 

Yes, take everything you read with a grain of salt. I'm continuously astonished by how many on this board say "trucking sucks" or "all companies are the same" - or something along those lines - and then I look to the left and see the poster has been a driver for one year, or less.

For me (and several others here) trucking has provided a good life. Everyone has to start somewhere and trucking is not much different than other industries in that the beginning gig is not always the best. One simply gets the necessary experience to move on to something better.

Trucking is a career. If you are going to be one of those (well represented on this board) that adds up all the hours they're away from home and then divides this into their pay, and then whines endlessly about how little they're making, it's not the career for you.

I knew early on what I wouldn't like - flatbed and tankers and doubles/triples - so I haven't done any of that. Just not my thing. Others like any or all of that. YMMV - but it is not necessary to get all endorsements and try it all if there's something unappealing to you.

Trucking can be hard on relationships. No doubt about that, especially in the beginning year or two. It is not, however, impossible to find companies with dedicated runs (not my thing either but, again, YMMV) that will cycle you out and back every week (often with a little home time during the week as well) that pay $50-60K. I recently had offers from a couple companies for just this sort of thing (Schneider and Knight). Whether runs like this would be available to a new driver I don't know, but they're out there.

Trucking is very varied. Though some companies might be quite similar, the oft-repeated phrase that trucking companies are all the same is absolutely not true. If you pursue this career, have a head on your shoulders, and listen and learn, you can find - or develop for yourself - a position that suits you. I have for over two decades - and there are many others like me.

 

12 miles from the house, that is EXCELLENT! You are only 30 minutes or less away from the terminal. Too many drivers live many miles and many hours away from their terminals.

Also, you have an excellent job with an excellent company, (Tyson Foods). By all means, go on down there and find out what is going on with your truck. Who knows, you may be getting a brand new truck or a newer used model. Either way, do go down and find out. It is a reinforcement to both dispatch and management that you really take your job seriously and want to get back on the road.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

Im only 10 minutes from my terminal and if I was otr and wanted to get going soon,I would have drove there already.Hint hint pete,lol.