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Truck driving


Howabusa
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3 minutes ago, Howabusa said:

It is time for my 2 year vacation to end. I am waiting on a call from Millis Transfer. They have a CDL school in the Cincy area. 3 weeks in school and 9 weeks of on the road training and I will be a truck driver. 

Perfect timing, trucking business is booming right now. My sister is an owner operator.

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12 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

I might do something like this when my kids are grown. I think it would be a cool thing to do for a while, not long term but maybe 3 or 4 years.

That's my plan, 2 or 3 maybe 4 years. I am thinking that if I can ride a bike for 10 hours a day, doing that in truck should be easy.

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22 minutes ago, JustinNck1 said:

I always wanted to start a motorcycle courier service. They have them overseas, but I don't thinking would take off unless in a severely dense populated area.

Yep, they are big in Europe. That would be a dream job!

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I suggest you get on a trucking forum asap. I looked into doing this and quickly realized all the cons. and they're big cons.

any company that is going to "train" you will keep most of your paycheck until it's paid back.  you will be OTR driver for at least a year or two.  that means you will be spending 20+ days at a time in that truck.   you will sit out on the road for a day or two before you are given a run.  schedule so tight you can't stop to use the bathroom or eat.   you have to pay fines for broken trailers if pulled over.  the pay they claim is almost impossible to accomplish.  you can only drive for 10hrs a day so do the math...  it's not what they sell you.   you've been warned..

 

Edited by serpentracer
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47 minutes ago, serpentracer said:

I suggest you get on a trucking forum asap. I looked into doing this and quickly realized all the cons. and they're big cons.

any company that is going to "train" you will keep most of your paycheck until it's paid back.  you will be OTR driver for at least a year or two.  that means you will be spending 20+ days at a time in that truck.   you will sit out on the road for a day or two before you are given a run.  schedule so tight you can't stop to use the bathroom or eat.   you have to pay fines for broken trailers if pulled over.  the pay they claim is almost impossible to accomplish.  you can only drive for 10hrs a day so do the math...  it's not what they sell you.   you've been warned..

 

I have been researching it. Looked at a forum, called truth in trucking. The company that I am looking at only wants less than $3000 for CDL training.

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You can get your cdl easily without a trucking company school and contracts. Those are traps. Please don't do that. Most vocational schools offer it for substantially cheaper. Also you don't need school either. You can go get your temps just as you did for car and motorcycle and most testing sites rent you a truck for the driving test. You don't need to sign a contract with a company 

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9 hours ago, MidgetTodd said:

You can get your cdl easily without a trucking company school and contracts. Those are traps. Please don't do that. Most vocational schools offer it for substantially cheaper. Also you don't need school either. You can go get your temps just as you did for car and motorcycle and most testing sites rent you a truck for the driving test. You don't need to sign a contract with a company 

Thanks for your input, Todd. Still researching all my options.

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I didn't do the school either. The downside to not going to a trucking "school" is most companies will not put you behind the wheel of an OTR truck. or long hauls. Work you way up the chain. Or buy a truck. Great money can be made as an owner operator. But, "it takes money to make money" 

If i could start my career over again, I would be driving one of these Demo trucks for Yamaha or Honda. They pay very well, and its a blast!.

*Disclosure- I still have my CDL but do not drive a truck. 

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You're exactly backwards. 

Any company will put any driver with a pulse and a cdl in an OTR truck because they are all understaffed and hiring because no one wants that life anymore. You start otr with no experience and work your way to a good local job. Or you start at a low paying local job like container hauling and work to a good paying local job. 

I run 4 local trucks out of my plant but I can't hire without 1year experience school or not. 

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  • 1 month later...

i've driven a truck for a living for almost 10 years now, in a bunch of different configurations: van, reefer, and flatbed OTR, dump, brine transports, water bottles, rolloffs, and currently sand boxes:

ahMLVZtl.jpg

i took roehl transport's contract system. they pay you to drive up to wisconsin, spend three weeks in training, take your test, and then put you in a semi over the road with a trainer. two or three weeks later, you're on your own. if you stay with the company a year, the school is free. quit early, and you pay back a prorated amount. their training is excellent, the pay is entry-level. most drivers move on to something better after two years.

OTR is not for everybody. i'm mostly home every night doing the sandboxes, but atm i'm in eastern pennsylvania parked in a flying j, home tomorrow after two weeks living in the sleeper.

Edited by dorset
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