Why do most new drivers quit?

Well you are saying the right things, but if I had a dollar for every time I've heard those words, I'd be sitting on a beach somewhere with one of those drinks with an umbrella in it. You have to mean those words to enjoy the life. You don't have to tell us, but look inside yourself and make sure you mean what you say. You can understand the words that the people here are saying about long hours, crappy shippers, HOS rules, dispatchers who have 40 other people to deal with besides you, receivers that make you an app't but you still sit there for hours waiting to get unloaded, crappy trailers because some buttwipe didn't want to take care of the problem themselves, not the best money in the pay envelope at the end of the week, believe me, this list can go on and on, but trust me the reality is a different thing to handle. Trucking is a good way to make money and enjoy life, as witnessed by the 1000's of trucks on the road and the men and women who operate them. Make no mistake, it is also a very hard way to make a living, nothing is handed to you, but if you do your part and accept that most of the time the only reward is going to be the satisfaction that you get from knowing that you are a truck driver and you did "make it happen".

 

It took me a lot of prayers and going to trucker chapels to get through OTR. Without that i would have quit the first week.

 

The more interactions I have with the office, the more Our Father's I say.

 

Let me tell you where I come from:
51. No wife, no GF, no kids and I have very supportive friends. Clean driving and no criminal record. My room mate will cut the rent in half if i go trucking so they do not have to rent to someone they do not know. Plus they will take care of my cat who they love so that's a plus. These are all the upside. I have no ties, so to speak, and I am debt free except for a small car payment and minimal monthly like cell phone and car insurance.

I work as a meat cutter and have been for quite some time and am done with it. No challenges. Add to that my orthopedic surgeon told me that my cutting arm is turning to junk and I need to consider another line of work. The constant repetition is wearing it out and if I keep doing it I will need a full joint replacement. He did say that there is time for it to recoup if I have the elbow cleaned out and reshaped. this will buy me about 10 years he says and I trust this guy. I would have the cleanout done before I went into trucking. It would only put me out a few days as there is no muscle issue. I had the right one done in September and it helped a lot.

Why do I hesitate? Reasons?

You deal with a recruiter over the phone only, never meeting them until you have signed the dotted line.
You get put on a bus and are told to arrive at such and such at a certain time and have clue about the conditions of the school or the general environment of the company.

I know that the first year is tough as all hell and I call it "truckers bootcamp"
I am worried that I will not cut it and then be without a job but I see a lot of schlubs out there who are doing it and if they can so can I. Failure would not be an option for me and I would make it part of my mindset.

1 to 2 year goal? Get the experience and go either regional or local. Every ad I see and ever trucking company I have talked to, and I have talked to 14 big and small, says that they want at least a year or 2 of TT exp.

I will go visit the company or companies that I plan on applying to, on my own dime, since I can afford it. I sold cars for 5 years and have done retail for 15 so I have a great handle on how to read people and know when I am being lied to.

Now I know that it does not guarantee anything by going there but I want to have something tangible to come away with.

Yes, I expect it to be hard. I drive a stick but know that driving a truck is a whole new ball game. Living in someone else's space til I get my own rig might not be easy. I plan to listen to my trainer and ask questions. I plan to respect his living quarters. i plan to take every load and accept the fact that disp and FM's can be jerks.

My 2 cents.

I have said enough.

Be kind.....

 

Another very simple rule you have to learn as a newbee :Finding the right trucking company is like finding the right person to marry. It really comes down to finding one whose BS you can put up with and who also can put up with your [bs].

 

Umm as long as you pass the cdl you are good you may get a local job and the way I hear it many of these companies will bend the rules so to speak. When you get your CDL it opens a lot of doors. This is one career choice that won't put in depth and you can make more money than a lot of people with a 4 year degree. OTR isn't the only choice in trucking it's just the starting point in most cases

 

I think your dogmeat for the first year because your options are so limited, and the carrier's take full advantage of that.
They all lie. They will tell you what you want to hear to get you in the door.
Some are fully slimed, some only partially.
I would avoid CRST, CRE, or SWIFT like the ebola virus.

 

Best type of trucking job for you is one with mostly drop & hook type freight. Attend a private or community college cdl school and hire on with a company like Abilene Motor Express. This is a decent smaller company, by comparison, with good, long coast to coast runs and lots of drop & hook loads.
Which state do you live in?

 

Ever do any work for John Wayne Gacy? He had interesting crawl spaces.