Thinkin about changing careers

9 out of 10 people fail the first year. Is there a reason not to get any experience before getting your own truck? Nobody is going to hold your hand out there, you're in your own.

Do you know how to trip plan?
Eld? Hos?
Fill out a ifta?
Do you know what forms u have to do? Boc3, w9, UCR
Scale a load and adjust tandem or 5th wheel?

Flatbed, Van , tanker etc?

 

There is a demand for truckers, but at the same time, there is no respect for a driver on the road anymore, particularly a trucker. Your insurance rates are going to be very high for the first year, especially if you’re a start up operation with zero experience, fuel price is high,freight rates are very low, And a lot of people don’t like the extended time away from home, The legal paperwork was already mentioned, and that’s know joke either, not terrible, but you have to stay on top of it. The reason so many startups fail, is because all they see is the glory of the road, but it’s actually a job, and a lifestyle. Not an extended, paid, road-trip. Although if you’re an O/O you might can work some “road-trip” in sometimes!

 

And if you deal strictly with brokers, a lot of them seem to think a truck can run on sailboat fuel, and they send you all over the hinterland for peanuts.

 

There's a demand for truckers. There's less demand for people who say they want to be truckers. It's not for everyone, which is why the above advice is good. Before you sink significant money into buying, insuring, licensing, maintaining, and operating a trucking business, find out if you even like the work by starting as a company driver. Along the way, you'll hopefully learn enough about the business side of the industry, and the various kinds of driving jobs out there, to make an informed decision.

 

Hello, and welcome aboard, you came to the right place, however STOP RIGHT THERE!!! While career changes are perfectly acceptable today, nobody works for 40 years at a punch press anymore, you couldn't have picked a worse entity to spend your money. It's natural for someone who is in your position to think, truck driver, of course, a sure bet. Not so. There was a time, perhaps your fathers time, when that was true, and most of us got our start by investing 1/10th of what you have, regulations were loose and we made it. Today, regulations eat an O/O alive. Insurance is the biggie, and heaven forbid you injure or kill someone, devastate you FOR LIFE, lawyers start at a million. Repairs too start at $150/hr. Today, there are so many better ways to make money, scam the elderly, but don't invest in a truck, please. Can't have enough pizza joints, but trucking is best left to the megas today.

 

Too many trucks on the road as it is. Choose something else.

 

@Chinatown can recommend companies. Do you have a valid medical card? And what type of trailers do you want to haul? Van, refer, flatbed, tanker?