Independent or Company...

raynchk · Dec 27, 2006

I'm new here,this is my first post but I've been lurking for a couple of months. My question is this:
I'm thinking about going to work in the trucking industry. I'm 54, divorced/single, in reasonably good health with a clean record and no accidents or tickets.

I've been trying to figure out which is the best way to do this: go to school and get a Class A CDL or start driving for a friend. My buddy has a 1 ton van and is going back on contract with Panther, doing expedited freight. We're thinking we can 'slip seat' the van, each of us staying on the road for about 3 weeks and then taking 3 off. He says he'll pay me .50 cents a mile and I *should* do somewhere between 1500-2000 miles a week.

The other option is to go to CDL school, get the Class A and haz-mat endorsements, then go to work for a large company like TMC or whoever offers the best pay/benefit combination. I'd do the over the road for 6 to 8 months and then should be able to go to work pretty much anywhere and make a decent living. The down side is its about $5,000 for school and living expenses to get that CDL, then I start with a company and train for another 6 weeks, then get a truck and .28-35 cents a mile to start.

My ultimate *goal* is to work for 6 months, make enough money to take 6 months off and live in central or south america for the rest of the time. Do-able?

On the surface working for my buddy seems like the better deal -- more money and more flexibility -- but since I don't know the industry, I thought I'd get some input from you guys.

slfisher45 · Dec 27, 2006

Try the van for a while to see if you can handle the lonely moments, time away from home, road rage you'll encounter, all aspects, before you commit to a class A CDL. I also think you'll need at least a year on the road to hire on with most of the major companies.

greg334 · Dec 27, 2006

OK this seems confusing but I will add my comments anyway.

You Said; â€œI'm new here,this is my first post but I've been lurking for a couple of months. My question is this:
I'm thinking about going to work in the trucking industry. I'm 54, divorced/single, in reasonably good health with a clean record and no accidents or tickets.â€

Welcome to EO, the most important thing is a clean record.

You Said; â€œI've been trying to figure out which is the best way to do this: go to school and get a Class A CDL or start driving for a friend. My buddy has a 1 ton van and is going back on contract with Panther, doing expedited freight. We're thinking we can 'slip seat' the van, each of us staying on the road for about 3 weeks and then taking 3 off. He says he'll pay me .50 cents a mile and I *should* do somewhere between 1500-2000 miles a week.â€

Well truthfully, 1500 to 2000 I donâ€™t know about that â€“ some weeks are better than others and there are slow (sometimes very slow) times for vans and all of us. Figure on making a limited amount of money to start with. Now I may sound odd but if Panther gives 77Â¢ a mile and you are going to make 50Â¢ a mile, who pays for what? I mean make sure if you go down this path that EVERYTHING is written out and signed â€“ better yet get a lawyer to look it over. Even agreements between friends there are problems and expectations that are never spelt out.

You said; â€œThe other option is to go to CDL school, get the Class A and haz-mat endorsements, then go to work for a large company like TMC or whoever offers the best pay/benefit combination. I'd do the over the road for 6 to 8 months and then should be able to go to work pretty much anywhere and make a decent living. The down side is its about $5,000 for school and living expenses to get that CDL, then I start with a company and train for another 6 weeks, then get a truck and .28-35 cents a mile to start.â€

OK honestly if I had to do this all over, I would get my class A w/hazmat (no biggie), doubles and tank endorsement. If it takes going with the pumpkin company or the trucks that seem to run me off the road all the time being swift (get it?) for a year, I would do it. 6 months? I think a year would be better.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that flexibility with your skills put you in a better position to make the money.

Any which way, you will need to get a CDL.

x06col · Dec 27, 2006

Either way you go with this, i'll suggest that your soup will probably get pretty thin, if you are planning on trucking for a six month vacation each year.

Tennesseahawk · Dec 27, 2006

I would say running a straight truck, then vacationing 3 to 4 months out of the year would be more realistic; even for South America. I've been checking out Belize for vacation and retirement, so I have an idea what you're thinking. In a van, I think it's possible, but not probable. Vans have the tendency to run out of freight even when everything else is doing good. And if you hit a long streak of nada, there goes your plans.

You could always get your cdl-B at the fraction of the price for going to school for an A, team up with someone and learn the biz that way. I don't know if you'd find someone who wants to slip seat where they'd drive the winter months (I'm guessing that's when you'll want to vacation). But it's a very realistic scenario if you could swing it. Another option is to run for a bigger company with the understanding you'll be gone for x-amount of months a year. Good luck to you!

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

raynchk · Dec 28, 2006

Thanks for the replys. I think my buddy's van and getting my feet wet before I commit to CDL school is the best way to start out. If it works out well and I like the work, I might even buy a straight truck -- but that's a ways down the road.

Anybody have any idea what kind of mileage I can expect to acrue in the van? Is my 1500 miles a week figure realistic in the current market?

cheri1122 · Dec 28, 2006

Welcome to EO! I'd agree, that driving your buddy's van will give you a clearer idea of what you can reasonably expect, especially as far as average miles go. I'd also totally agree on getting everything in writing, because misunderstandings can get REAL expensive. Good luck!

chuckwagon · Dec 28, 2006

I did both the class-a through a school training and then got my class-b on my own.

If I had to do it again I would skip the school and grab the class-b first - just to see if you like this kind of work without investing alot of cash.

highway star · Dec 28, 2006

Chuck, if you did the school for class A wouldn't that be the one to have for versatility?

Tennesseahawk · Dec 28, 2006

Coulda saved a lot of money by getting right into expediting, rather than driving for JBHunt first. A B is a heckuva lot cheaper than an A. And chances are I woulda learned right the first time.

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

Moot · Dec 31, 2006

I did both the class-a through a school training and then
got my class-b on my own.

Hey Chuck, I think the class A covers it all.

Tennesseahawk · Dec 31, 2006

Moot... I'm guessing you got your A first, let it expire, then got your B later?

"If I claim to be a wise man, it surely means that I don't know." - Kansas

cheri1122 · Dec 31, 2006

Unless I misread it, Moot was quotong & questioning Chuckwagon about the CDL A first, then the B - which was the same thing I was wondering: unless the A expired, why would you then get a B license?

Moot · Dec 31, 2006

Cheri is correct. I was quoting Chuck. His reply confused me.

Quotong? Cheri, no more drinks for your spell checker!

nightcreacher · Jan 1, 2007

Confused me too,but id like to see how this buddy of his can pay him 50cpm,when the truck only takes in 77cpm,per all advertisements.

Do those B units really run 2000 miles per week,sure seem like they sit around a lot to me,of course ther are so many of them,you can't tell whos who with out a score card.

omg,you mean after 30 years of driving a tractor trailer,if I want to drive a D unit,I have to get a B liscense,guess Chuck likes to give money away

Heres luck to you,which ever way you go