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Thread: truck driver

  1. #1
    Senior Member bandit95's Avatar
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    truck driver

    anybody ever do this as a job or a career? i'm thinking about getting into it. not the most glorious thing but it would be cool traveling the country and there is alot of money that can be had in it. not married anymore and so i'm not tied down, but i would hate being away all the time. just there isnt much to do in this area except industrial and medical and im burned out on the industrial field and not smart or rich enough to get into the medical field.

  2. #2
    Senior Member bandit95's Avatar
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    sorry my computer was messing up and it did the thread twice. mods can ya please delete one for me?

  3. #3
    O U 8 1 2 Spaz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bandit95 View Post
    anybody ever do this as a job or a career? i'm thinking about getting into it. not the most glorious thing but it would be cool traveling the country and there is alot of money that can be had in it. not married anymore and so i'm not tied down, but i would hate being away all the time. just there isnt much to do in this area except industrial and medical and im burned out on the industrial field and not smart or rich enough to get into the medical field.
    yes... i'm now working in the office... but i made VERY good money doing it... most places start out around $19.00 - $22.00 a hour...

    our owner operators make from $100,000 - $200,000+ (but remember you are paying for your own insurance and fuel and for your own help but stilll make some really good money...)

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    I drive for a living now also. Been doing it for a year. It's not that bad of a job just have to be able to get up at 2am to take a 8 hour run. If you think driving your car in the snow is fun, wait till you do it in a big truck. I run reginal so I get home most ever weekend. right now I'm making .32 cents per mile. Mostly get 2500 to 3000 miles a week. Now if you don't have a CDL it will cost you around $3k for it and a mouth of school. If you look around some there are company's that will pay for your CDL and all you have to do is drive for them for a year and you don't have to pay them anything back. If you have anymore questions send me a PM and I will get back with you. Good luck

  5. #5
    2004 HEAD/CAM CTS-V 9t8z28's Avatar
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    I did it for a couple of years. I made good money. I got out of it because I can be very impatient and too aggressive (road rage) behind the wheel. I now drive maybe four times a month long distance.

  6. #6
    Senior Member greatwhiteZ28's Avatar
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    i love it, im in my own office that moves, no boss besides the 2 phone calls a day. but im just local soo im home everyday.

  7. #7
    Senior Member bandit95's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by greatwhiteZ28 View Post
    i love it, im in my own office that moves, no boss besides the 2 phone calls a day. but im just local soo im home everyday.
    what do you haul? how much do you make locally? if ya dont mind me askin

  8. #8
    2004 HEAD/CAM CTS-V 9t8z28's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bandit95 View Post
    what do you haul? how much do you make locally? if ya dont mind me askin
    I used to haul dry ice and was 25,000 and under (no CDL) so the pay couldn't be compared. I started out at $15 an hour and kept goin up.
    They were willing to pay for my CDL, but it just wasn't what I wanted to do even though the pay would have been awesome.

    It all comes down to what you like doing. I would suggest you start out with something small and get a feel for what you are about to get into.

    Why are you looking to persue this career?

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    It's hard to find a local job that will take a new driver that has never drove a truck before. Most all local jobs are going to want a year of driving before they will hire you.

  10. #10
    Veteran 0rion's Avatar
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    Personally, I would never want to drive OTR for a living. I worked in the shipping dept. at Coke and saw how most of those guys get shafted on both ends. No way I'd want to do that for a living. There were some damn good drivers I met while working there. We had a lot of regulars that came in and they were just like friends to us. I also couldn't handle the days between baths deal either. I wash my ass once a day whether it needs it or not.

  11. #11
    2004 HEAD/CAM CTS-V 9t8z28's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by camky99 View Post
    It's hard to find a local job that will take a new driver that has never drove a truck before. Most all local jobs are going to want a year of driving before they will hire you.
    Thats true. Start out smalled than and work your way up. But, really, why do you want to drive truck?

  12. #12
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    you can do local work but you'll need to get 6 months to 1 year exp before you'll get that. go out on the road for the year, and then you can work anywhere. there are some places that will screw you over, but consider it paying your dues. there are places that won't screw you- like Roehl. since you will be gone most of the time, you can get rid of your apartment. put stuff in storage. stay with family/friends on your off time to save money. just some ideas.

  13. #13
    member since may 2000 nhraformula's Avatar
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    over the road drivers dont make shit when you figure in the fact the amount of hours they work.

    best bet would be get into a union shop and do local.
    i dont see union drivers making less than $20 an hour.
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  14. #14
    Oi! Firebug's Avatar
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    I drive short haul 5 days a week. As you say, not the most glamorous job out there but there aren't too many that are. I do day and arvo shift week about and I'm home every night. I'm pretty lucky as most guys driving heavy movers are paid single rate and have to work long hours to make any real money. We still get paid overtime and our boss doesn't watch the clock, he's happy as long as we do it safely. I drive a B'Double made up of 2 pressurised tankers, so load security and tarping aren't an issue either.

    Beware of companies that have seasonal work. Go for something that will offer a steady workload year round...

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    CDL's can't be obtained via your own personal studies? I thought you just had to take a test? If so, they sell the book at the dmv...read it and pass right? I've pondered getting a cdl personally it seems like great time. But I work out twice a day to stay in shape, I feel driving would hurt that.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smkn_TA View Post
    CDL's can't be obtained via your own personal studies? I thought you just had to take a test? If so, they sell the book at the dmv...read it and pass right? I've pondered getting a cdl personally it seems like great time. But I work out twice a day to stay in shape, I feel driving would hurt that.
    how are you going to prepare for the road test on your own?

  17. #17
    member since may 2000 nhraformula's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smkn_TA View Post
    CDL's can't be obtained via your own personal studies? I thought you just had to take a test? If so, they sell the book at the dmv...read it and pass right? I've pondered getting a cdl personally it seems like great time. But I work out twice a day to stay in shape, I feel driving would hurt that.
    go to your local dmv and get the study guild for free, read it 3-4 times and youll pass the test.
    as for the road test, youll need to rent a truck.

  18. #18
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    It takes more than one time driving a semi and trailer to learn how to double clutch and not grind the gears. Most company's will not hire a rookie unless they show that they have been to a school with at least 160 hours.

  19. #19
    Senior Member t-rock's Avatar
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    i used to drive over the road i have been in every state and every major city in the us in a big truck i have logged over a half a million miles in the last 6 yrs i have also been caught on the road during every holiday of the year including xmas. yes i have had to wait over 24 hrs to get a shower and that rolling office that someone wrote about becomes a 6ft by 8ft prison cell once you spend 2 or 3 weeks in one only getting out to feul shit shower and shave. the places that you go to that load and unload high volumes of trucks you will find that they are there to do there shift and go home and you are just another truck drvr to them i could go on and on it wasnt all bad but my only regret would be that i didnt have someone to share all of the neat things i have seen. i am married now so im home every day sleep in my bed crap in my toilet and i dont feel like im chained to a truck all the time. good luck

  20. #20
    Member gonzo99ta's Avatar
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    yo don't have to start out over the road, but it would be easier to make money at the start.
    My father was an owner operator for over 30 years. made great money in the 70's and 80's. he mostly ran phila to fl for the first few years of driving. only home every few days. he then switched to hauling containers from the piers and was home 4-5 nights a week for the same money. only down side to this was he is considerd self employed. it cost a lot to run that truck and keep it up. So yeah the pay checks were big as long as truck was paid off and not broken. He did a lot of maintenance himself, including engine overhauls. These past couple years with rising fuel costs and rising healthcare costs(once again self employed you pay all your own), he isn't making enough running local anymore and decided to retire.

    My brother just went into driving about 7-8 years ago. He used my fathers truck for practice and studied, so no formal training. He only wanted to stay local so he ended up taking some crappy jobs, driving company trucks, the first year or two in the business. He finally got on with Overnight which is now owned by UPS and has been happy with them for the past couple years. Now he makes over 65K yr and is home every evening. Not bad pay for esentially unskilled labor, but he puts in a lot of hours for it, 55+hrs a week.

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