One Part Of Trucking I Dont Understand ....

JPearson I noticed you made no mention that you love trucks. Your post sounds like you really want to be a professional tourist. It is clear you have romantic ideas in your head about the job that's only a tiny fraction of what the job really is like.
The yearly gross pay numbers thrown about aren't for a 40 hour work week and home every day. They are for 70 hours logged and 30-40 hours donated as "off-duty" time just because your truck is not moving. Add in compensation you are not paid for being on the road every night and you make a better wage at McD's. You will have no home life until you acquire some good equipment and pay it off. Then you need to cut your income to keep your taxes low.
If you can start as a rookie for a company that is not a mega-carrier/training sweatshop on wheels you will be doing the right thing. Newbs with the attitude of I'll work for __________ (insert mega carrier name) for a year or two to get experience I have no respect for because they have no respect for themselves.

I testify that you can start out small and local. I ran 6 wheeler trucks for a greenhouse, then drove trash trucks a few years and then got into construction and hauled/drove equipment, and even operated a shovel! I could have sold my soul to CRST or Midwestern back in the day but I had a gut feeling that it was a bad move.

The reality is you wake up every morning to the smell of urine. All truckstops smell the same. You never get a break from the sound of engines running. Noise is stressful for our bodies. Then you will sit in one position all day long dealing with congested traffic.

I'm not trying to keep rookies out of the industry. It's impossible. Like trying to wipe up the ocean with a beach towel. Just telling it like it is.

I would suggest getting a well rounded machine and mechanical education like I did. Work first operating smaller equipment and have a boss who let's you take the reins and do some work on the truck.

Too many steering wheel holders out here think the truck is just a big car. It is an industrial machine. Same type of pneumatic systems, same types of bearings, etc.
I could go on and on but it's time to end this post.

Use your head JP, good luck.

 

You say you have a thickskin, so use it. Ignore the naysayers and do what you want.

Some people are simply never happy. A disporportionate number of them gravitate to trucking. Go figure.

 

I told you people the world was turning much slower!!!! Now I have a 2nd verification!!!
(LOL, sorry, couldn't pass that up, and DID understand you're taking into account the driving time to "be there")

 

You snipped the most interesting part of the thread. If I was riding around pulling a box in a moron spec'd truck, forced to run team, hanging out and the Loves and the Peelots, I would have all negative things to say too. I mean, what would you have to say positive? "Hey, my teammate finally bought some odor eaters and so I didn't have to smell feet today! Wow, they have a CarlJr here! Love that place! We have an 8 PM appointment at WalMart! The lumper was really nice!"

I do know that a lot of you have to do what you have to do to get your foot in the door, but why are you doing that same crappy job 3 years later? I would understand IF you liked it, but IF you liked it, you wouldn't be complaining, would you?

For the record: If you are inquiring about a trucking company that has more than 750 trucks pulling 53 ft vans, set to moron specs, then I don't think it really matters whose name is on the door, it's on the bottom of the pile. The reason why I am saying this is because I notice that some drivers bounce from bottom feeder to bottom feeder. It's like a football player running around behind the line of scrimmage. If you're not moving forwards, you're not going to score.

 

A lot of the negativity comes from the Public's perception of Trucking. Anyone over 50 will tell you Truckers were the Knights of the Highway now a long gone image. I think now days if you were to stop and offered to help a stranded motorist they'd be dialing 911 and you'd be Cuff'd and Stuff'd. Then again you might get robbed, so why bother.
As far as "Veteran" Drivers go yeah some have bad attitudes towards new drivers because years ago it was common for the newbies to ask the Vet's for advice, help, etc. Today it seems some newbies have the attitude I went to School and I know it all. Good luck with that! I was always told years ago if you don't know ask for help instead of looking like a fool.
I'm kind of dumbfounded by your "Tourism" part of your post. On occasion you might be able to park and wake up in a "Post Card" setting. 9 times out of 10 you're going to be in a Filthy Truck Stop Parking Lot that has more germs then a Trash Dumper behind a Hospital. Or if you decide to park at a Shipper/Receiver more then likely it might be in a rough area surrounded by Razor Wire and Graffiti. A lot of that will determine which type of freight you haul.
Like so many stated before and so many offered you a tremendous amount of Good Positive Advice, trucking is what you put into it and get out of it all depending on you. So many are Brainwashed by Recruiters and Trucking "Mill" Schools it's not funny. You seem like you have the right attitude and i wish you all of the success with your choice.
One more thing buy a C.B. Radio and keep it on you can tune out the BS but IMO it's still the best Tool Truckers can depend on.
Now your choice of companies is going to be your most critical decision. They'll all promise you Prime Rib, but you'll be lucky to get Round Steak unless it's Bologna. My advice to you if you like a demanding and rewarding path try Flatbedding/Specialized Hauling. Instead of bumping docks, bribing lumpers, dealing with warehouses, etc. you'll haul challenging freight that takes you off the beaten path and yet to some of the armpits of society as well.
Trucking is a challenge my friend and it's all up to you to succeed or fail. It's easy to get burned out but if you're like many of us who left and came back. You'll miss it once it's in your blood no matter how crappy it is in the Real Truckin' World. GOOD LUCK!!

 

I don't see why you think people with that attitude would have no respect for themselves, I personally cannot get into a mega carrier due to my MVR. I will be taking a job with Western for a year just for the experience, I know that Western is a terrible company to work for but I will do my year of slave labor running flatbeds. I want to get the experience with Western so I can move on and up to working for the black n chrome team or getting my own rig running specialized loads on a 53ft step.

 

I will say that in the 7 months I have been driving, it is an absolutely rewarding career, driving i 84 in the Columbia river gorge as the sun is rising in, and making the gorge change to all kinds of colors, seeing wind, rain, snow, ice, and a temperature change from 75 degrees to 20 degrees in the same day, being pushed out of your comfort zone, pissing the veterans off because you're crawling down an 8 percent grade that you've never been down, I have seen more of this country in the past 7 months then most Americans will see in the rest of their lives, yes the pay is low, things don't always go rough, you will not always have 8 hours of sleep, and you will have 16 to 24 hour long days some times, but if you can roll with the punches, and learn to have fun (find the independent truck stops, or creative parking spots away from the loves peelot and ta) cram that truck in a movie theater parking spot (make sure it's large enough first though) then it's a great career

oh side note, I run with a mega carrier, and my dispatcher dosent care what we do as long as we go point a to point B on time

 

Sounds like you already have your mind made up.

Your original post would be much easier to read if you put a little paragraph spacing in every few lines or so.

Trucking is an industry that is difficult to keep good employees, so for many it is a job of last resort and this, by its very nature, implies a negative connotation. My wife rode with me for a while and couldn't take it. I could go on at great length about all the reasons why, but you will learn soon enough once you get on the road. Some places have wonderful facilities and treat truckers well, while others are the exact opposite.

Trucking can be a fairly thankless job (depends on the field). Don't expect any applause when you back a load in on time without damaging anything, it's not going to happen. In fact, don't even expect a thank you... ever. That way on the rare occasion that you ever do get a thank you, then you will appreciate it.

I'm not sure how or why the negativity toward trucking and truckers started, but now it is in the self perpetuating cycle of expectations and reinforcement. It's all chicken or egg theory as to how it got started, but I'm sure there's plenty of blame to go around.

So expect the least, but make the most of it. If you can do that, you just might be OK. I had lunch with a young (25 years old, started in state driving when he was 18.) flat bedder yesterday. He had the right attitude, loves his job and is doing very well in the business. You can too.

 

If you go OTR there will be a point when being in the truck is sickening and you may feel like you don't want to do it anymore. OTR is 24/7 as you are always responsible for the tractor trailer at all times. You cannot do it for money. There must be a love to drive, a love to take care of a family, a love for a stable career, etc in order to maintain this career and keep your sanity. You cannot let dispatch, company, other drivers, traffic, shipper/receiver, push you to the point of no return. Good thread!!!

 

Substantial health issues, too, from rumbling, bouncing, whole-body vibration, noise, diesel fumes, extended confinement and isolation. The death rate for unionized drivers at 63 (I've read 61 elsewhere for non-union OTR--received that figure at Gordon orientation) and 55.7 for O/Os (members of OOIDA).

Compare: Report cites 75.1 year life expectancy for general population males.

Worksite-Induced Morbidity Among Truck Drivers in the Unitied States:
http://www.uncg.edu/phe/faculty/apos...los/AAOHNJ.pdf

If you're kicking off at 61-63 instead of 75, you're probably less healthy overall. Physically and mentally. But who's counting, right?

"Truck drivers were also found to be in the 91st percentile for the Global Stress Index portion of the Symptom Checklist SCL-90 (Orris et al., 1997)"