Profile For Babyhog

I've been out of trucking since 2005,my license has recently been renewed, but I'm having a problem of where to begin to get my experience regained, I would like to drive for a LTL carrier or Reefer carrier, what's the pay like today, can I get enough money to pay a mortgage or a car note in this industry today?

I would like to get back in trucking,is now a good time.

This guy is scary,what company is hiring this guy.

If you were going to learn to fly an airplane, you wouldn't start out in a Stealth Fighter.

If you were going to learn to drive race cars you wouldn't start out in a Top Fuel Dragster.

If you were going to learn to climb mountains you wouldn't start out climbing Mt Everest.

If you had even the tiniest ability to assess risk management we wouldn't even be having this conversation. Come on, man! A fuel tanker? Really?

I try to stay away from guys like this.

James, I have been reading though this thread. I don't drive tankers, so I don't feel I could conribute my experience here. BUT, with comments like this:

My only driving experience is at cdl school. 160 hours. And 80 of those hours were me just standing around waiting for my turn to drive. Thanks for the video.

I can add my 2¢. So you want to be a rookie tank driver, and you admit to being shortchanged in school. Not to worry, many new drives get to stand around and watch others practice on the backing range. Yet, they made the cut.

A real bottom line can describe all the advice you have been offered:

Take one step at a time

The steps being to first get a bit of OTR dry van (or even reefer) experience in before you make your next move. Once you know how an 18 wheeler feels & works on the road and in a shipper's yard, you an make the move to more complicated jobs like flatbed, heavy haul, Owner/Op, and even tankers.

James, your comment about not having "to do as they tell me" is against all logic. So if experienced, "million mile" type drivers offer you advice, but you pass it up, what advice do you want to follow? The stuff you hear when you talk to fellow students on the backing range or some anonymous driver in a driver lounge?

You have managed to get the Trucking Truth members to do the exact opposite of what we recommend! You get news reports and stories of terrible gasoline truck accidents. Well, these are true, and tragic. I hope they got your attention. But thousands of drivers pull 16,000 gallons of liquid dynamite around every day. SAFELY. But they didn't just move from CDL school into a dangerous job overnight. Take the slow, steady route and within a couple of years, tank companies will actually pick up the phone when you call.

Got a interview with DOT Foods do anyone have any information on this company, and what the interview like?

How do you dress for a truck driving interview.

Noooo! As a rookie on this site never never ever ask that ?😄

Hi, everyone. Can all the professional truck drivers on here tell me, from their own experience, what are the best trucking companies to work for? When I say "best" trucking companies to work for, I am talking about the pay (either weekly pay or mileage pay), benefits (medical, dental, 401(k), paid vacation, etc.), equipment driven (late-model?), and home time.

Please tell me the name of the trucking companies and not just "this one trucking company I worked for...".

Please tell me how long you worked for that trucking company or how long you have been working for that trucking company if you are still with them.

What are the worst trucking companies you've worked for? Please tell me the names of the trucking companies, how long you worked for them, and why they were the worst.

Thanks.

Combattruckker - check with your primary care at the VA to see if they will give you a urinalysis. Also you can get your DOT physical thru the VA, I'm scheduled to get my in a couple weeks. Just find it more convenient since they have full access to my history and be able to make a more informed decision. I've been off my anti-depressant since NOV and has taken some readjustment but with these new life goals I have for myself I'm finding that my emotional, mental and spiritual condition are more livelier then ever.

Good luck in this endeavor my fella warrior, stay safe!

Took the words right out of my mouth,Yes the VA says they do give DOT physicals. And its free.That will be my best move.Thanks Vet.

Give this trucking company a try (DOT FOODS) they are willing to give me try after being out of the industry for 11years

Well, I've been driving for Knight for eight months now. Like everyone, I've had good days and not so good days, good weeks and not so good weeks. Being away from home has been harder than I expected. I expected to see more of the country, but 80%+ of Knight loads are between Phoenix and SoCal, up and down the 10 and 5 corridors. I told them that I would run all lower 48, but I've rarely gotten out of CA, OR, and WA.

Most of it has been as I expected -- thanks to all the helpful folks on this forum. I have a sense of accomplishment from the job. I expecially like how backing is no longer an issue like it was. I have pulled into some really tight docks the last few weeks and I remember thinking, "Man, I'm glad I wasn't having to do to this a few months ago!"

While I have enjoyed driving, this latest incident is, I'm afraid, the last straw. I cannot decide if I should just say goodbye to trucking or go to another company. Problem is, most other trucking jobs I see advertised want at least a year's experience. And I don't know that things would be different at any other company. I think that the problem of bad information from your DM (who blames it on the market manager or load planner) is the same everywhere (supposed to be drop and hook, but it's a 5 hour live load/unload, etc). Although, other companies with centralized dispatch might be different from Knight which has dispatch out of each terminal. I am debating whether to stay with Knight for a few more months and then look for a job driving local where I'm home most nights or at least every weekend, or whether to just say good bye to trucking.

But anyway, here's what appears to be the last straw with me:

Last Tuesday, July 5th, I dropped my truck off for service. That was supposed to be one day. Supposed to be back on the road Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon my DM tells me that my truck has to go to the dealer and that it should be finished Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Okay.... What's wrong with it?, I ask. He doesn't know and tells me to call the shop. So I call the shop and after the usual forever on hold time, I get someone on the phone. He tells me that the rear timing cover is leaking. On Thursday, the 7th, I get a text from my DM telling me that my truck is ready and he has set me up with loads for Friday the 8th. Okay, good enough. THEN, shortly thereafter I get a message from him saying that he misread the email from the shop and that my truck will not be back from the dealer until the 13th!! That is nine days!! I ask about breakdown pay. He says that I can't get it because I am at my home terminal. I ask him how he expects me to go without work or a paycheck for over a week?? He says that he understands, but that is the way it is. I ask about a loaner. He says that none are available. I tell him that if I am willing to work and they take my truck out of service and cannot give me a loaner, that I should not be penalized by no pay for nine days. Sorry, is his answer. Then on Friday he tell me that he has found me a loaner... Okay, then I'll go out on Saturday. No wait, he texts back, it's a manual transmission. Can I drive a manual? Yes, I tell him, but Knight's policy is that you have to drive the same transmission that your trainer had and my trainer had an automatic. So, still no truck.

So, here I sit. I have been sitting since last Tuesday, July 5th. I will be sitting until at least Thursday, July 14th. No pay.

Yesterday, I filled out on-line job applications and I have two non-driving job interviews tomorrow. Part of me wants to stick it out four more months at Knight so I can move into another local driving job after I have a year's experience. Part of me wants to quit as soon as I can based on this latest incident with them. The whole thing with them seems so disrespectful of me and my time. If I want more than a couple days off, they tell me that they can't afford to have their truck sit that long and I have to come in and start running loads. But they have no problem with me sitting -- as if I can afford to sit for nine days!

The CPM is good now that I've been there for over six months. But on the other hand, when I think about all of the time that I give them that is uncompensated, it is pretty depressing. I know that trucking is a lifestyle, not just a job, but still. I've had some good paychecks from weeks where I ran a lot of miles. The number looks good until I figure how many hours it took to make it, then it's kind of depressing. Taking a local job paying $11-12 an hour, and being home may be a better option..

Anyway, that's for letting me vent.

Yes you are,try another trucking company.

About a year ago, maybe less, I applied to a local transit company (bus driver - MV Transportation) and was hired. I trained for 3 days with a Class B driver's permit but decided not to go through with the job because I really wanted to be a Truck Driver. After I quit I applied for Prime. Not sure if I screwed myself out of getting hired with a trucking company or not but I do know that a Prime recruiter stopped working on my application half way through and AFTER she called to ask me something about records from the bus company. I never asked why and did not follow up with the application. Apparently, she could not get some kind of paperwork from them OR she didn't like that I quit after 3 days. Not sure which.

Now, I still want to be a Truck Driver and am once again applying for a job. I just finished filling out the application and before I was able to push submit and finish, I notice that the last question on the application was about verifying my employment for MV Transportation last year (during only a one month period).

Again, I have no idea why Prime stopped working on my application and thinking back, I really should have called to find out why. I really can't do anything about that now but I am curious... am I hirable even though I quit after 3 days of training last year? Someone please help...?!