Starting my Trucking Career

Live in WA, I am starting a truck school here locally on Tuesday, I am pre-hired through Schneider and will most likely be doing a dedicated run.

Any truckers on TW? I am always looking for opinions.

My goal is to drive with Schneider to get the experience and then find local work. Where i live there is A LOT, But I am also 23 with no experience.

I will not do OTR. These routes that I am applying for are out 5-7 days with a 34 hour restart (I think that is retarded and should be at least 48) But I guess that is the way of the industry.

I have always wanted to do trucking but my dad (who has been in the industry since he was 17) always got me to steer away from it, Finally I decided that I wanted to risk it and give it a shot.

My goal is not to drive forever, Eventually I want to own a truck or 2 and just maintain them. It is still lucrative where I live and enough to live a comfortable life, if anyone has experience with that I definitely want to know what your thoughts are

I have 4 years experience in sales, My current pay is around 45k/y It is looking like it will be a wash for my first year in trucking but will increase as I move up.

 

Are you talking about becoming an owner/operator when you mentioned having 2 trucks? If so that's probably the worst idea you can have . IMO

Drive on someone else's time and money . Remember if you ever happen to get a ticket there are 2 (1 to the driver and 1 to the company )

Personally I wouldn't waste my time with a dedicated route at a young age . Also Schneider is a decent larger outfit . We have a local one TMC which is larger than most and people breakin close to 70-90k OTR

But overall it's not a bad idea but I would do OTR make a lot and stop after 4 years . Although I know you said this goes against your plans . Also F doing it on any coastal state .

Granted I can't say u have this experience, my dad is a truck driver and doing fine OTR . He wanted me to do it even and I just haven't moved on it yet . Anyways good luck to you and hope you enjoy it.

 

My brother used to drive for the company he still works for and loved it. He has since been promoted and sits behind a desk, and is more involved with supervision and logistics. Makes pretty decent money at it.

Stuff has to get moved from point A to point B, so I say go for it, see if you like it.

 

I think about doing this also. but wouldnt want to do it around here. also what I have seen or read, its not that profitable. what pay will be looking at to start> good luck.

 

I've always thought that I could be very happy as a truck driver. I love to drive. But the way things are going with technology, it won't be long before the trucking jobs start drying up. As scary as the idea of an unmanned Freightliner is, it's only a matter of time...

 

Schneider is a good outfit. You have chosen wisely. They aren't intent on running you to the ground like Swift.

Know that trucking is not easy. There are no 8 hour days. It's long hours, some of which go unpaid because you're not moving.

Learn to be healthy now. Eat off of your truck and not the shit truck stops serve. Too many drivers are ticking time bombs.

Be patient. You will get behind schedule. Traffic, unloads, reloads, breakdowns, etc. Be patient. When you panic, you fuck up. Equipment gets trashed and people get hurt. Or worse. A late load penalty is better than an upside down load.

Don't let your trainer run you as a team. You are a student. They are to be awake when you drive. If this happens, request a different trainer.

Trucking will open up a lot of opportunities for you. Somebody is always looking for someone to drive something. Getting into specialized areas really pays well.

 

Where I live Local is more lucrative then OTR imo... Because of the many ports in my area and the industries like wood and tech Local routes pay very well and I get to see my family every night. OTR is not for some people including me, I need to see my family and friends But I am young and that is why I am starting out with Schneider and doing a dedicated run. Mentally I want to be home weekly which this will allow me to do.

At the end of the day If I can average 50k I would much rather do that then OTR for 70 or 80k after all... what is money when you cant use it because your always gone?

 

Nice, I have heard good overall views of Schneider.... at the end of the day I felt like they were the BEST company to start with.

 

Actually I was raised in HB california and my dad has been driving since he was 17. He raised 4 kids working at chevron hauling fuel... when he left to come up here (chevron sold to common carriers) he was making about 90k a year. My dad has a good friend in northern ca that will pay him 110k to come do the same thing. The work is hard and its longer hours then even normal. My dad is in his late 50s so he wont go near one.

You can make a lot in CA if you look in the right places... Here in WA the same job I would maybe break 60k

From what I have seen I am hoping to make mid 40s on my first year with Schneider...

 

i studied and looked into this hard, There is no doubt that Autonomous driving is coming, My thoughts are that between the hurdles in politics,society, and infrastructure will push out the time it will take to get all the trucks autonomous... I want to say 40 years but like everyone I have no idea. I can say that in the next decade I bet we will see OTR drivers using the technology to make longer runs.

Worst case is someone will need to operate and fix those systems... I can always do a career change.

 

I am a heavy set guy and wouldnt consider myself healthy, That being said I have begun to already eat healthy and not eat wasted calories like fast food or soda. This is one thing I am worried about... I still have to find ways to pack a lunch for being 7 days out... asside from the PB and J I cant think of anything else X_X

As far as stress and road rage, I feel that I will be fine. I have no road rage and I would have no problem telling dispatch whether I will make it or not, I do not get stressed usually at things like that I have a more it is what it is kinda attitude.

I hope that a trainer would not sleep while I drive, I would be pissed. I also hope I get an actual good driver. I have heard of the occasional driver who does it for the extra cpm and they do not know anything.

 

By ticking time bomb I meant that they are seconds away from a heart attack, full renal failure or stroke.

Most of the sleepers have a small fridge. Pick up a small microwave and a crockpot. George Foreman grills will come in handy too. You can cook anything you need at that point. Your trainer truck will probably have that stuff and most let you use it.

A few drivers will cook some extra meals on their down time so they don't have to do it when they're completely wiped.

And get a dash cam. They're cheap and will save your job.

 

I thought Schneider would have a camera pointed at me and on the road, and even while I sleep (just in case) Are they not like that? I guess I am just used to what my dad has done, When he worked for chevron it recorded every little detail since he was driving a bomb around.

I have a George foreman grill.... That is actually a good idea.....

 

I'm not sure if they have one or not. You can always ask once you get a trainer assigned.

 

Oh and talk to them on how you're paid. Hub miles or what. A lot of outfits use a program where the mileage is calculated. Often less than actual. Swift is being sued over this no.

 

Been driving for 24 years, and every year it gets worse. Between suicide drivers and a company that makes up more stupid bs policies. No matter what you do always cover your own ass because nobody else will. Good luck no matter what you do.

 

is that what Hub Miles is called? I want to do some research on that

 

Working in sales I can say its the same way... if I sell a policy and it becomes a he said she said my work would easily throw there arms up and feed me to the commissioner. I can loose my lic (for insurance) and be fined 25000 dollars.

No matter what career you do I feel like you will always run into that.

 

Not many companies are going to pay hub miles, usually house hold movers guide. 10 percent less then actual miles is what you can expect.

 

Hub miles is an odometer that is on the axle hub of the first tandem.

Practical miles is a calculation. You don't get paid for what you've actually driven. U-turns, detours, temporary reroutes, etc are not taken into account.