Starting out at 19?

Quit bustin' his balls man. There may be alot wrong with this industry but the guy wants to work, unlike alot of people I see who can barely get up from behind the wheel. I don't believe in selling yourself short, but the guy needs to get experience somewhere, maybe you should think back to when you started out and cut him a break?

 

Just a thought; have you thought being a "yard jockey" shunting trailers for a big warehouse like Walmart for a year or so? At least you'd get lots of experience at maneuvering in tight spaces.

 

A yard jockey is exactly how you described. You wait until they radio you and tell you what trailer to get and drop where and so on and so on. You might not use an exact truck as they have mules or whatever they are called now and days. But as mentioned before its a good way to get the feel of backing and what not. Heck it might even give you an idea on what companies to do research on while waiting for the 2-1. Also try the class B route as well. Helps you get the feel for a truck, shifting and handling. Good luck

 

I mentioned this to you the other day, Go to the paper mill in Palatka and see if they will give you a yard jocky job, Walmart will not hire you, simply, their standards are to high. Working as a switcher you will you will use a mule, a smaller tractor, usually with a half cab. You will move trailers from the docks to the yards, and MTs will be put back into the docks. You will get plenty of experence backing trailes in tight spots. You will be able to talk OTR drivers and put together a short list of some of the companies you might want to work for. When you turn 21, and can got interstate, you will at least have some time behind the wheel. This should be looked upon faverably. If nothing else, you will learn alot.
Once again, I wish you the best of luck,

Larry

 

Uhhh, that's "Jockey" bud.

But yeah, in a large warehouse operation he shunts trailers back and forth between warehouse doors and the park yard usually with a day cab (no bunk) or a yard mule erquipped with a hydraulic lift 5th wheel. Occasionally they might do a crosstown move of a trailer. Usually they pay by the hour.

 

It might not be as great as when Smokey and the Bandit was popular but I still manage to gross 3k or more a month, that's nothing to thumb your nose at