Really Good Advice For Your First Job In Trucking

This is excellent advice. I have been out to my local TA several times and talked to quite a few drivers as they are fueling. Drivers love to talk and genuinely want to make sure that you are not making a major career/life mistake so most will ask you as many question as you ask them.

I've never been able to make a day of it but I go out for an hour or two at a time...kind of like a fishing trip.

My problem is finding drivers from the smaller companies. For example, according to their website, Conway Truckload owns about 3,000 tractors. Probably many fewer than that are actually on the road at any given time. Anyway, I have yet to find one. I am too far from a Conway Truckload terminal to travel there and the nearest facilities are Conway Freight terminals. I find it much easier to get in touch with those drivers here on the forum.

Quick question on truckstop etiquette. If I find that there is a driver at a truckstop but he or she is parked and not visible in the cab. I'm assuming that it I should not just walk up and knock on the door. So, what would ya'll advise about making contact with a driver who is not just standing there fueling or inside eating? Should I just plan on talking to drivers who are out and about and not cruise around the parking area?

Thanks for the advice!

 

If you have been a carpenter for 28 years you have a retirement. We have someone we met 10 years ago, owns his own business doing carpentry work, He has established himself with a lot of people that only want him to work on there homes. we pay him $90.00 hour, sometimes a little less. But this guy is one heck of a carpenter, and does actually everything there is on a home. I did 40 years climbing in and out of a truck, jumped off docks ran like heck. Now ready to do Nothing. If you feel you can make it in trucking , the best too ya.

You might be able to do both still. Find a local LTL company, that pays good, and in spare time find people that you done work for, and let them know your available for small jobs. Your choice, and you should do well.

 

The guy we know that does all our carpentry work rarely gives an estimate, but gives a ballpark amount. He sells himself as by the hour pay $95hr. He`ll tell you approximately how long it will take. If someone is a good carpenter, there a lots of people that are looking for quality, instead of cheap labor.

 

Not really good advice, because if the guys at the truck company do not like you or do not want someone taking away their runs, they will say bs. Plus I noticed all truckers complain no matter what. I love trucking. Always moving, always making money. When I am waiting on a load I am watching TV, streaming videos on Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, etc., posting on the internet, working on websites, etc. Some shippers are walking distance from the mall where I do a lot of shopping. Also a lot of truckers been driving since they were a kid and have no idea what it is like to have other jobs. I have worked other jobs including fancy office jobs and the perfect job where you get paid a lot to do nothing is not out there.

 

I have taken this advice and have already gone to a nearby Flying J and talked with drivers from the megas that I will most likely be hired by considering I have no experience. All were willing to talk. Some even at great length. There is no better way than to look a driver in the eye and get the info face to face. You can pick up context, body language etc. In these forums, you don't have that advantage. I have talked to rookie drivers, driver trainers, long timers, etc, and one thing I have found is that they all have said trucking is a lifestyle that can be difficult and that you must adapt to in order to succeed and be happy in. It is what you make it. I talked to one driver recently with Con-Way. He had been with them for a few months and was very happy with them. I asked where he had gotten his training at, and he said he went through CR England. He said Con-Way was a much better company, but he did say it was okay to get a year in with CR England and their training program. You just have to get that year in and pay some dues, stay safe, and it will get better usually.

 

No way a carpenter is getting $90 an hr in North Carolina. Not anymore...A union carpenter in NJ 'only' makes $41 and change + bennies. I get around $50 per hr. other guys average now more like $35 to 40. Pay your workers comp, liability, health insurance, truck insurance, 15% self employment tax, income tax, shop rental, tool upkeep and replacement, ect out of that. I know a carpenter with his contractors license in nc and he gets $70. I do smaller jobs. I'm very good at what I do, but I hate it now! Just sick of doing the same type of work for 28 years.... Just ready for something different. Got a pension coming from the Union in NJ but that's at 65. Same with Annuity... Gotta have something to do!!!
All the immigrants in NC have taken over the trades. The greedy contractors want to pay you $14 to 18 an hour to do trim carpentry and have all your own tools. Painters, which I do alot of also, make about 10 to 15 hr... I have some great customers that I can work for in my home time that don't need estimates... But in an area like Raleigh, Durham, with all the University's and research company's, it's very transient and alot of people comes and goes... You have to always sell yourself to new clients. I guess I'm just burned out on it. If I never replace another ant infested rotted facia board working above my head on a 40' ladder, I won't miss it!! Ready for a new challenge...

 

Chas, your approach is good. You won't find many Conway Truckload drivers at the T/A. We buy most of our fuel at Pilot and Flying J. I started 3 years ago, still there if that is any indication.

Good luck to ya.

 

what he said, if we are in our sleepers then we get cranky if disturbed, sometimes some of us dont have much downtime so its irritating to be bothered when trying to relax after a long 14 hour shift.
Find me outside my cab and you will get plenty of conversation from me as long as I dont have to get going quickly. Yes truckers like to talk, most of us talk to ourselves all day for weeks at a time, sometimes my alter egos like to fight with each other which can entertain me