Newbie Introduction

wilpa70 · Mar 18, 2009

Greetings,

For the life of me I can't seem to locate the "Introductions" thread, so forgive me if I've missed it. I'm happy to be here, and have learned so much reading the threads. I decided to join and participate since I'm seriously considering expediting.

I'm a former Marine (six years), a retired police officer, and now a small business owner living in South Carolina.

I have my class A cdl through a six week technical college course, and less than a month of flatbed TT experience.

My desire is to become a solo van/sprinter driver. I would like to hire on with a fleet owner, and maybe (in a few years) own my own van/truck.

I know from reading the threads here that things are slow right now. I've applied online to a few carriers, and have had no response.

I'll keep reading, and appreciate any advice.

I'm glad to be here!

miker · Mar 18, 2009

where r u in SC?

wilpa70 · Mar 18, 2009

Hi,

I'm in Martin, which is about 38 miles south of Aiken, SC.

aristotle · Mar 18, 2009

wilpa70 said:
Greetings,

For the life of me I can't seem to locate the "Introductions" thread, so forgive me if I've missed it. I'm happy to be here, and have learned so much reading the threads. I decided to join and participate since I'm seriously considering expediting.

I'm a former Marine (six years), a retired police officer, and now a small business owner living in South Carolina.

I have my class A cdl through a six week technical college course, and less than a month of flatbed TT experience.

My desire is to become a solo van/sprinter driver. I would like to hire on with a fleet owner, and maybe (in a few years) own my own van/truck.

I know from reading the threads here that things are slow right now. I've applied online to a few carriers, and have had no response.

I'll keep reading, and appreciate any advice.

I'm glad to be here!

Wilpa.. I'll send you a PM with the names of at least three small carriers that were hiring as recently as six weeks ago.

Turtle · Mar 19, 2009

Right now may very well be the worst time, ever, to get into the business, particularly as a van driver, and especially as a van driver driving for a fleet owner where you will be splitting nearly half what little income you will get with an owner. Many owner/operators who are driving their own vans are doing OK, not great, but OK, and many are not doing well at all. Those driving vans for fleet owners are doing well just to make enough money to eat for the week. I'm not kidding.

You've got a Class A. Work with that. You've got less than a month of TT flatbed. Stick with that. 6 months, a year, and you can go into an expedited tractor or a straight truck where you have a shot at making actual money. In any case, do your research carefully.

mjolnir131 · Mar 19, 2009

assuming and ex-cop/prior mil's knees can take it another 6 months

wilpa70 · Mar 19, 2009

mjolnir131, you speak the truth! I certainly didn't realize the amount of work involved. I truly questioned my sanity when I was training (TMC Transportation) and we got a load of fabricated steel. We arrived in Troy, Il in freezing rain after deadheading from Missouri. It was 2100 hours, we had been up since 0400 that morning (caught a flat along the way). We had to swap for the preloaded trailer, and then I had to tarp it. I've never been so exhausted. It took me three hours to properly tarp that stuff.
Oh, and then we had to drive a few miles to a truck stop and try to find a place to park. Oh joy!

Needless to say, I've been stepping up my workouts in anticipation of re-entering the industry. It's a beautiful thing to see an experienced professional trucker do his/her job! I hope to be there one day!

I appreciate the information and welcome from you all!

I really want to become an owner/operator in the future, and calculated that financially a van is what I can comfortably transition into as an owner/operator once I get some experience.

Turtle, I read you loud and clear. I would really prefer to drive a straight truck or tractor trailer.

I'm still reading, and I again thank you all for taking the time to share your wisdom. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes on.

inkasnana · Mar 19, 2009

Hi wilpa70 and welcome to EO!

wilpa70 · Mar 19, 2009

Thank you!

MentalGiant · Mar 19, 2009

I would suggest what Turtle said. CV and/or Sprinter expediting are two different animals. I tried a Sprinter for a couple of months, I'm back in a ST now. With you being in a TT right now, you may have a better chance in a ST, but most owners want teams in their ST. There are some out there that will take a solo, but the money is in a team effort. Its always best to have a team from the same house hold, so all the pay goes to one house hold pot. But, it depends on what kind of money are expecting to make also.

Btw, welcome to EO.

wilpa70 · Mar 19, 2009

MentalGiant,

Seeing that I have a very limited amount of experience (1 week with a trainer, about 1000 miles) in a tractor trailer, would a fleet owner consider me for a straight?

I have been several (Panther II for example) websites that state they only seek verifiable experience for those wanting to drive tractor trailers.

A straight truck is fine with me, if I could find an owner/carrier that takes solos. I have several friends who are driving tractor trailers OTR that I might be able to talk into teaming down the road.

wilpa70 · Mar 19, 2009

I thought I might add that there's nothing negative on my DAC. I had to discontinue training due to a family emergency (wayward teen-aged son). The carrier said they couldn't hold my seat, but I was welcome to reapply and I wouldn't have to go through orientation again. Well, as it turned out the hiring area changed while I was taking care of home.

The carrier I started training with had weekend hometime. I thought hard about what time of hometime I prefer, and weekends at home don't work for me. Two of my good friends drive for a carrier with weekends off, and it's more like a day and a few hours if they're lucky. I'd much rather stay out three to four weeks, and then get home for several days in a row to take care of whatever I need to take care of.

MentalGiant · Mar 19, 2009

wilpa70 said:
MentalGiant,

Seeing that I have a very limited amount of experience (1 week with a trainer, about 1000 miles) in a tractor trailer, would a fleet owner consider me for a straight?

I have been several (Panther II for example) websites that state they only seek verifiable experience for those wanting to drive tractor trailers.

A straight truck is fine with me, if I could find an owner/carrier that takes solos. I have several friends who are driving tractor trailers OTR that I might be able to talk into teaming down the road.

Sent you a Private Message wilpa70.