Please help me choose the right first employer/trainer and city

Nationwide Motor Freight Company | Abilene Motor Express

 

Kold Trans Refrigerated Transportation & Logistics Trucking …
Great working environment

• Training program for new CDL drivers
• Newer trucks
• 30+ service centers with parking, maintenance, fuel & amenities
• Single source dispatch
• Open-door policy
• Rider program
• Pet Policy

 

May Trucking Company
www.maytrucking.com/?vm=r

 

Stevens Transport | Temperature-Controlled Logistics …

 

@yamia -- suggestion: if you are new to trucking and looking at the possibility of OTR duty, don't rule out living in the "panhandle" of Florida, instead of central/south Florida.

The "panhandle" area will be MUCH EASIER to drive back to, after being out on duty for a while. Also--it's much cheaper to live there (assuming you look at locations that are away from water, either salt or fresh).

If you're in your 40s and single--consider living in either Pensacola (1st choice) or maybe Tallahassee, FL.

Much lower cost of living than central/south FL--or southern CA.

Pensacola, FL/Mobile, AL is a good area to be in, for trucking opportunities.

Mild winters there, too.

One of Chinatown's suggestions (above) will very likely hook you up.

--Lual

 

@yamia -- USA Truck (suggested above) has a very cool, unique program they call "Drive Your Plan".

It's a self-dispatch, load board program.

After you've been with USA Truck for a year, you can qualify for it.

Basically, you can pick your loads there, and have the freedom to run where you want to.

It allows you to get load board/owner operator experience--while still maintaining the security of being a company driver.

To my knowledge--no one else in the industry has anything similar to it.

You might check it out:

USA Truck introduces Drive Your Plan company self-dispatch program – USA Truck (usa-truck.com)

--Lual

 

If you do OTR you can skip entirely renting a place to live. That's like a pay raise of whatever you would have been paying for rent. You can drop your trailer and bobtail to grocery stores, Walmart, etc. You can buy a lot of Uber/Lyft/Taxi rides and spend less than half of your rent. If you decide to live in the truck you will need a company that has an APU in the t ruck so you can have electricity, heating and air conditioner without running the truck engine.

Prime puts a lot of time into new drivers. 80-90% of new drivers in trucking quit before a year's experience so by not having a steady employment history they have no reason to assume you will stick around. Prime has the longest training period, which gives you lots of experience, but that period when you ride with a trainer is the most difficult period many drivers in their career. It could be 8 weeks living in the truck 24/7 with another man. It's not easy for many of us to sleep in a moving truck and your are going to be listening to a reefer and the truck engine 24/7. There are other companies to work for.

 

Bushnell FL Rooms for Rent | Roomies.com
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Try to avoid moving to California; taxes will eat you alive.
Florida doesn't have state income taxes.
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