Transitioning from Garbage Truck Driver to Semi Driver

it will drive similar to your trash truck. they are both long, have airbrakes, etc. a long wheelbase coe trash truck would probably have a similar turning radius as a shorter wheelbase tractor with a hood. the difference is pulling a 48-53 foot trailer behind it, and backing it up. once you get the past the obstacle of pulling/backing the trailer, you should do fine. however, don't count on a otr company being willing to count that as any experience. my brother applied for Andrus Trucking after 2 years of towing 18 wheelers......they said he didnt have enough recent otr experience........

 

From the crap I read on these forums you are lucky to have a local steady job with bennies and good pay. Don't let the size of these 53' mobile warehouses give you unit envy! Most of the OTR companies treat you like a slave. Look what some of these suckers get paid a week for working 90 hours, logging 70 and trying to sleep in a noisy truckstop every night away from your family.

It takes skill to run those heavy trucks in tight areas amongst all those four wheelers. The only difference is backing up.

I had lots of fun back in my trash truckin' days.

 

What type of trash truck do you drive?

Around here some of the roll offs pull doubles

 

What cc tanker said. 90% of truckers never leave the interstate. Even city drivers only really handle city traffic. What you do is a lot closer to bedbugging. You're going ot have to retrain yourself though. In a semi you drive the trailer. You dont cut corners etc etc every waking moment is about safety. You can get stuck by putting a steer tire in a mudpuddle (not kidding). You can flip a truck by running a tandem wheel 6" off the edge of a turn at 5mph.

But you should listen to these guys about waste management. There are some killer jobs in your field and im not sure what you think is going to be better about trucking. It might smell less but i'm assuming you like sleep, knowing where you'll be in 3 days, being able to see your family and friends, being able to go to a store or your fridge or watch tv or.. have a life when you want.

 

Yea i was wondering, what is exactly wrong with W/M?

That's my plan after a few years, i will eventually need a "normal" life again lol.

 

What exactly are you getting into? Are you looking to be an OTR driver, a sitework driver, are you going to run from the transfer stations to the landfills?
Not all CDL jobs are the same. A freight hauler, as said above, will rarely leave a paved road unless it's a dirt lot at a customer location. Get into sitework, and it can be a whole world of difference. For someone who delivers rollers, pavers, et. al, they may also rarely ever leave a paved road. Deliver loaders, excavators, scrapers, etc., and you'll be learning the joys of having to be hooked to a dozer while another one pushes from behind. You might get into a job where you don't just sit in a truck all day - that's how most of my jobs have been. If you go from transfer stations to landfills, it'll be similar to demolition/demolition roll-offs, where you have to take a look at the top of that load and make sure you don't have sharp edges, nails, etc. sticking up which will rip up your tarp. You'll have to make sure you don't have stuff hanging out which will fall on the roadway - that guy on the excavator probably is no more interested in climbing out of the cab to help you with that than these drop and hook, no-touch freight drivers are. Or, guess what? You might be loading it yourself. Learning the basics of equipment isn't that difficult - the tricky part is gauging how much you're loaded. How much does that bucket full of concrete rap you just dumped weigh? How about the roofing shingles, ceramic tires, or mixed assortment of crap you'll deal with in the C&D industry?
Even if you do haul freight, locally, regionally, or OTR, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a simple matter of driving from Point A to Point B. What if you end up pulling a flatbed or other type of open-deck trailer? You're going to be securing those loads, making sure they're loaded properly, even tarping. Think it won't happen in a van? Talk to someone on a tire account sometime, let them tell you what their job entails.
Either you can/can learn to drive a big truck, or you can't. Some people take to it just fine, some do not. If you feel confident you can get into the swing of it, don't worry about it too much. Take some time and figure out what kind of job exactly you're going to be getting into.

 

I say you're nuts. I'd say screw a trailer and never look back in WM offered me a job. For the most part, most local trailer gigs barely pay more the straight trucks and sometimes it's less so the headaches that come with a trailer usually aren't worth it unless you land one of the few and far between golden local gigs.

 

The biggest difference is you aren't allowed to dig around in your cargo, and take neat stuff home with you at the end of the day.


(Sorry, couldn't help it. No offense intended)