hello all
Big Truck advice
- Thread starter coolerinfrederick
- Start date
im looking for some advice and just wanted to get different opinions, i have been in commercial hvac trade for 21 years, i make decent money, great bennies and overall i think its a good trade, the last few years i’ve been dealing with issues with my shoulders and actually have had arthroscopic surgery on both, next month i’ll be going back in for another procedure to remove a bone spur ( again ), doc. wants to replace the one i keep developing bone spurs in because its bone on bone, but im just not ready for a shoulder replacement, on top of all the medical issues ive really become burned out from my job,
im planning a 3 year exit strategy, obviously i have no experince and really don’t know if i will even like it, i cant just quit my job and go hop in a truck not knowing it'll work out, my 1st step is i plan on investing in training and get my cdl class A, is that how most truckers start out ? they also “ claim “ but don’t guarantee job placement, how accurate is that ?
teacher said he has fleet owners calling everday for guys, not sure if i buy that but ok, i’d like to start my training next month, my thought is get all my ducks in a row like my license, dot testing etc. etc., and start trucking on the weekends, that way i’ll know if its for me, if its not, fine then im only out the 3k for training ( does that seem high ? ) and say at least i tried, wife wants me to start out in a sprinter but im not the least bit interested in that side of the business, correct me if im wrong but those guys get abused, now i dont mind putting in the hours but i heard those guys will go 16 hours at a time and if you turn down freight they just move on to the next cargo van, and its just really demanding for what the pay is, in my opinion if you want a career in this business you need to be driving the big rigs, the teacher said it’s not the norm to do weekend trips and fleet owners prefer full time but there are some companies willing to work with me, it really wouldnt be about the money anyway but just a matter of getting experience before i jump, is it possible to find weekend work ? any advice would be great, oh and teach said if i one day get my own rig i could make 2-300k a year, i dont know he sounded like a salesmen and i thought this guy sounds like a recruiter
Start asking every HVAC related business/ supplier if you can use your knowledge. Counter sales, dispatch work, etc.
This ain’t a job, it’s an adventure.
Crap money for most, no benefits.( edit, I was talking about Expediting, not Trucking in general. I imagine most entry level drivers start out about $40k. After a year or two, you can move up quickly. And yes, a school may get calls daily for entry level drivers.)
If you’re wealthy, come ride around.
If you need a job,go get a job.
This ain’t a job, it’s an adventure.
Crap money for most, no benefits.( edit, I was talking about Expediting, not Trucking in general. I imagine most entry level drivers start out about $40k. After a year or two, you can move up quickly. And yes, a school may get calls daily for entry level drivers.)
If you’re wealthy, come ride around.
If you need a job,go get a job.
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Walmart is hiring at a new rate that will put thier drivers around $89,000 per year.
Most O/Os don’t do that well.
And that’s about as good as it gets for company drivers.
Weekend work used to be very common. Probably scarce since ELD. You have to log all HVAC work, so you may find a legit company won’t want to bother.
Less than legit company you don’t want to mess with.
Most O/Os don’t do that well.
And that’s about as good as it gets for company drivers.
Weekend work used to be very common. Probably scarce since ELD. You have to log all HVAC work, so you may find a legit company won’t want to bother.
Less than legit company you don’t want to mess with.
i probably should of mentioned that some of the things i like trucking offers, love camping, driving, as it is now i drive a minimum 3 hours a day and at times travel for work, and only plan on trucking, i wouldn’t pay 3k for cdl training to drive a promaster, i know could be very comfortable in a sleeper, i actually have a campervan, i fully understand otr trucking is a lifestyle and one that could fit me like a gloveso the 60k yr mark teacher mentioned is not the norm. for the washington dc area, i’ve been around 95 a yr. for awhile, obviously i’m taking a big cut, which is why i want to start slow, make sure its for me and to pay off my 2 cars and in 2 yrs i’ll debt free to absorb the pay cut
is it true the trucking ondustry is 30k short of drivers
In that you mentioned a serious problem with your shoulders, I suspect you would not enjoy climbing in and out of a trailer or a dock high straight truck. You might not enjoy hand loading or unloading cargo. even with a pallet jack. And, if you are uncomfortable crawling around HVAC system, you'd be equally uncomfortable performing a proper pretrip inspection of a large truck. My advice for you to consider, if you continue to look into trucking, is to look for a carrier or segment of trucking that deals primarily with no-touch freight. Expediting is mostly shipper load and consignee unload; there are occasional exceptions. Many over-the-road tractor/trailer carriers are drop and hook operations where you take semi-trucks from terminal to terminal. Good luck with you career choices.
One of the reasons I'm in a van is due to shoulder problems. I've had surgery on one shoulder and eventually will need surgery on the other. I attribute the shoulder problems to throwing freight, tractors with no power steering and shifting manual transmissions.
Today, most large fleet tractors have power steering and automatic transmissions. But even in drop and hook operations the driver must operate manual trailer landing gear which is hard on the shoulders. Great fun trying to crank up landing gear on a loaded when the temperature is -25º and the lazyass driver that dropped the trailer only partially lowered the landing gear.
Today, most large fleet tractors have power steering and automatic transmissions. But even in drop and hook operations the driver must operate manual trailer landing gear which is hard on the shoulders. Great fun trying to crank up landing gear on a loaded when the temperature is -25º and the lazyass driver that dropped the trailer only partially lowered the landing gear.
Not trying to scare you off but trucking can be physically demanding. Even sitting on your butt all day takes a toll on your health. Loading and unloading a trailer by hand may be a good aerobic exercise but not so good for the back and shoulders. If you can afford to quit your HAVC job give trucking a try. If you go with a company paid training program you will probably need to invest 12-18 months doing over the road truckload. Some of that in a team operation. If you can handle that, then the trucking opportunities should be wide open to you; LTL, city or linehaul, OTR truckload and even expedite in a straight truck or tractor/trailer. When you have paid your dues in any or all of the aforementioned options, buy a van. I know I did and don't regret it.
im ignorant to the industry so im learning, again ty fellas
You are certainly welcome cool! May we call you cool? This is an expedite freight site, but many of us have been involved in T/T truckload. and other trucking related occupations. You have shared some personal info and asked specific questions, which many newbies don't. So keep asking us questions and we will reply as best we can. Good luck to you in your quest and I hope you can find some useful info on our forum.