Recently retired USAF, considering trucking as a 2nd career

KKW Trucking Inc – Performance In Transportation
KKW Trucking hires Las Vegas new cdl school grads and runs the 11 western states.

• Inverters
• GPS
• New mattress for every driver

 

KKW Hiring area:

 

Personally I’ve done flattened and food service work. I’m now hauling gas. If I had to do it over I’d gone right to tankers.

 

Yes ss# required.
Another local would be hauling fuel for Pilot or loves. Pilot driver/boss told me it’s six figure income and easy.
Personally...if I could. I’d do the Sysco or other food service for local. The exercise is a plus. Lack of exercise is a problem in driving.

 

I have the utmost respect for ALL the veterans on this Forum (& elsewhere, of course)--THANK YOU for your service to our great country!!!

You are pretty much the main reason we are great, in the first place.

To the original poster: Welcome to the Forum--and in response to your original query....

I would heartily agree with some of the earlier posts given here, that a trucking job is indeed better (in most cases) than an office job (having done both, myself).

But don't let anyone kid you, or sugarcoat things. Your first year to 18 months or so, as a truck driver will NOT be easy. It is not a good choice for the faint of heart, or lazy--or impatient. The washout rate for first-year drivers is something like 90 percent.

This job, in the beginning especially, will indeed test your mettle.

If you are looking for a new gig that is 40-55 hours per week, this is NOT the place--especially for a beginning driver.

This will sound wreckless to some (and that's fine--this is America--here, we are all entitled to our own opinions, at least on paper)...but one thing (among several) that kept me going when things got tough/bleak, was the British SAS slogan: "He who dares, wins".

Having said all that....choose your first trucking employer carefully. Stay there at least a year. Longer is of course better.

When you get your CDL--go ahead and get those endorsements: tanker, hazmat, & doubles/triples. You'll be glad you did. They are door openers.

I think Chinatown's suggestions given above (in the LTL sector) would be a good place to start--especially if you want to be home daily, or almost always daily (you'll need those mentioned endorsements pretty much everywhere in that sector, also).

However, given the fact that you're retirement age--in my opinion--tanker duty is probably the better way to go, for someone older.

From what I have learned both in the business and also on this forum--slinging hoses is easier, than setting up/breaking down doubles (i.e., LTL work)--but still a great way to get some exercise, and stay in reasonable shape...without overdoing it as an older person (like would probably be the case with food service/beverage work).

When I started tanker duty (hauling fuel, & home daily), I lost 15 pounds.

I see far fewer fat/overweight drivers in tanker and flatbed duty--than elsewhere.

My first tanker trainer was eat up with arthritis pretty bad--but was still doing tanker duty, almost every day (this was in food-grade tanker).

Some fuel hauler companies will now take you right out of CDL school, apparently. Also--with fuel hauling--you generally do not have to get up on the tank, or have the tank cleaned out.

Still....I was really glad I had 2 years of OTR experience (pulling boxes) under my belt, when I started fuel hauling. I just can't recommend that for a total rookie.

Hope this helps.

--Lual

 

They will when you accept the job. Everyone takes SS number as an automatic requirement. That’s how you will collect SS when you retire.