Wannabe trucker needs some advice

Ahh I get what you're sayin now. I see. Wow, you make some good green doing that. $50k for 6 months isnt too shabby. I mean I knew it was good money but didnt know you already were an operator. Doing pretty good for yourself. I suppose I would want to supplement some income too if I were only working half the year. I would lose my mind just sitting at home all day every day waiting for the work to come around again or whatever. You should be able to make a pretty good living on the side hauling for farmers and stuff. One good thing about that is I think farm plated trucks cant just haul whatever back. Or so I was told by one farmer where I picked up hay once. They haul their stuff and thats it. Not sure how it affected his pay though. Sure its not bad at all. Wish you the best though man. You might be able to find someone like others have said who would let you use their truck to take your driving test in. Shouldnt be that difficult. And if not, surely there is some place you can rent a truck for that purpose. Local jobs at least where I am experience isnt really something they care too much about at some places. Wasnt where I first got my CLASS A, but I was already driving for the guy in his rollback though. Hauling construction equipment so pretty much knew what to do with boom, counterweights, rollers, other construction equipment and all that great junk. I am sure you will enjoy it, especially if you are local and home every night. I dont blame you for not wanting to go over the road. When it comes down to OTR you either love or hate it. There really is no inbetween. But boy its rough when you hate it. Good luck to you though. Sure something will turn up for you soon.

 

Look fro ways to advance your career at the chemical plant, They may even pay for your further education. Your making more now in 6 months than you would make in a year as a new driver. Be smart go to school, not trucking school but college. Spend your life dedicated to raising and being qith your daughter. Guard this time jealously.... You will never regret it.

 

#1 Go to a tech school for the training! It's $3-4000 cheaper! And you can maybe get the weekend and nights training!
#2 KEEP YOUR JOB!
#3 KEEP YOUR JOB!
#4 see rules #2 & #3! Why would you give up job SECURITY for trucking? Yes I see where you are pretty young but you really need to go and read more of the posts in here and actually make an INFORMED decision!

Trucking right now bites BIG TIME! I KNOW 32 years experience and no one will hire a 55 year old driver! They want nothing but trainees that will take money that I wouldn't even turn a key for! Read where these newbies are sitting for days and getting $2 & $3 hundred dollar pay checks and even less! Some without enough to eat on!

You need to screw your head back on and get those dreams of "The American Trucker" or Ice Road out of you head! Let your wife on here to read what is going on and if she agrees then by all means start looking for a job! But do not lie to her and tell her you'll make better money than what you do now with all those days off as when she finds out she'll drop you an take the kid to someone with a modem of intelligence tween the ears! Just figure .30 x 2700 a week! That's simple math and about what you MIGHT get! Now take out the taxes and family insurance! And THAT my friend is the MOST important thing you should look at! I've raised my babies and they aren't cheap! ESPECIALLY when it comes to being sick! I bet you have an insurance policy with whoever you work for now and I will bet you that what a trucking company can offer you will not come close to what you have now as it's LOCAL and set up for your area! A lot of these companies you'll have to look all over for a NEW doctor (ask your wife if she WANTS to find a new OBGYN?) Or a pediatric doctor that your child is used to? Then go read some of these posts and see where these companies have gotten so cheap he put a $2-$4000 dollar deductible on top of what they keep out of your pay! A small fact you need to know: It takes about $100 to eat "LIGHTLY" on a truck unless you have a refrigerator, inverter, and microwave! so take THAT out of the .30x2700 too! AND the costs for those items also!

Son, KEEP YOUR JOB! The trucking industry is no better than a cess pool right now! Do NOT think you can come in here and "it wont happen to you!" People who have been doing it for years are getting bent and that's a fact!

Put your 20 years in at that "boring" plant and get the retirement THEN look at driving but for the next 2 years I'd stay so far from trucking you wouldn't hear the Jakes roaring on an 11% grade!

But if you want a truck so bad then buy an old POS truck and rebuild it as a show truck! You'll still have a truck and something you will actually be proud of for your friends to see you in! LOL

Good luck son
Rollover!

Just keep your head screwed on right please!

 

Isn't Yellow teetering on the verge of non-existence?

 

Yes YFL is on a very sharp edge and when it teeters the guys on the top of the "union" list get the first jobs that open AND they can go to other union shops and actually TAKE over the top spots due to seniority!
Ever wonder why I have no use for a union?

 

Milemarker,there's a section in the Texas CDL handbook (I don't know about La.) that states farmers who operate their CMV no farther than 150 miles from the farm are exempt from needing a CDL but I don't know if that also includes their hired help.

Who is exempt from a CDL? (Certification form CDL-2
required)​

Persons operating the following vehicles are exempt from a
Commercial Driver License:
1. A vehicle that is controlled and operated by a farmer;
and used to transport agricultural products, farm machinery,
or farm supplies to or from a farm; and not used in
the operations of a common or contract motor carrier; and​

used within 150 air miles of the person’s farm.