Really hope I'm not too old

Hal380, you're never too old my friend. If you feel old, then you're old. Make sense?

Anyway, there was a thread in the oilfield forum where a guy was talking about his life on a frac crew and the crazy hours they put in and he made mention about a 60~ year old who was a driver who could pull and drag hoses like nothing.


You can do this.

 

I am 67 (68 in October). Started driving in 1966, retired in 2001 with a 32 year Teamster pension. They will not allow you to drive again until you turn 65. I had several part time jobs including instructing at a CDL school here in Michigan. I now have what is probably the perfect driving job for me. I haul one load every 3-5 weeks which puts me on the road for three nights and gone for three and a half days. pays pretty good for what it is.

All that said, after taking that trip to Arkansas or New York or Pa I usually have about all I want. I run as hard or as easy as I want and get no pressure from the boss at all. I'm the only driver they have and it works well for all concerned.

If you get a job with one of the mega carriers you will have the exact opposite situation and with your total lack of driving experience I don't think you will be very happy.

You might want to check into driving motor homes or delivering new trucks, single or stacked, to dealers. I would think that the motor home deal would be better for someone of your age. That is pretty laid back work and easy on the body. You need a job with a relaxed atmosphere.

When I was an instructor we had several students come through the program that were older than myself and they had a much harder time of it than the younger students. Trucking is different than anything else you have ever done. With all the years of driving and experience that I have there is no way I would want to start out at you age.

Don't want to burst you bubble, but you asked and I gave my opinion for what it is worth.

 

The age discrimination law is for between 40 and 70, so you are now outside of that legal protection. Many larger companies may have age limits at 70 due to their insurance company.

 

I don't see a problem with your age at all.A driver for a local company I drove for was in his 80's.Doubt companies will have a problem either,its all in their insurance requirements.Judging from all your post you're a young 71.

 

Your age is fine in trucking. Attend a good community college CDL school as a first choice; much cheaper than private CDL schools.

I read that Con-way is reopening their CDL school in Romulus, Michigan.

If you live in Eastern half of USA, Millis Transfer has their own CDL school and those drivers average $50K per year.