Profile For John R.

thank you for the advise, your opinion on any subject related to trucking carries weight. unfortunatly i wish it was that simple. the other problem that is complicating things is that i have had a sizabls stroke and have been told by people(no on in the trucking industry ) that the fact ive had a stroke would make it almost impossable for me to get hired as a trucker, plus i am diabetic. so do i go foe a sure thing now to make a living or hold off for something that might only be a dream? thanks

Personally I don't think working in a grow facility would be a good idea for anyone considering a future in trucking. The stigma attached with it could be quite a hinderance to your employment opportunities. It sure as heck isn't going to help you in any way, and of course there are a million jobs out there which would not be any concern to future employers.

Make smart decisions for the long term. Don't just do what's easiest to do right now and put yourself behind the 8 ball later on.

I am wanting to get into trucking soon but for now i can not. i have been offered a job at a grow facility (marajuana) any job in that field requires that you get a green card. background check no drug convictions ect..) my question is if i get a green card would that eclude me from getting a cdl in the future/ i do not smoke weed, never have, but i need a job now, just moved to denver and there are lots of jobs if your willing to settle for 10 to 15 hours a week at $10 an hour. any help would be great

Let me give my disclaimer first. I drive for Prime, and they tend to pay the highest in the industry for a rookie driver.

I have been thinking about getting into trucking now for some time (i'm working on getting my blood sugar under better control as we speak) and Prime is the company I am looking to drive for. You started this thread a few years back. I was wondering what your opinion is about Prime now that you have been driving for them for awhile?

Do you still think it is a great company? Is it still a great company for new drivers? Have things changed? If so for the better or for worse?

Guy came around the corner at insane speeds and I clipped the side of his truck. His truck got a small dent and my right front lights were ripped out. No one was hurt (Thank God). How badly will this affect me getting into trucking??? Sorry if my grammar or spelling is off but this just happened 30 mins ago or so. This is the first time I have ever been in an accident so I am a little shook up.

Thank you both for your replies. I will be talking to a recruiter later today, but I wanted to ask people here so I could compare answers. It help in figuring out if the recruiter is handing you a line of BS. For example this site and even Primes site says you make $600 a week in training but the recruiter said $700. No big deal but it sounded like she was either lying or doesn't know her stuff. BUT then on here one of you said $700 a week. It leads me to change my view and think she does know her stuff and isn't lying. The last thing I want is to get out there and find out for whatever reason I needed something I do not have. PS I really want to thank all of you on this site for everything. I will definitely suggest going to this site for anyone who is even thinking about trucking. It is Top Notch.

I am moving along with my quest to get into truck driving and currently it looks like Prime is my best bet. But I still have a few questions about Prime and their training, if anyone can help with these it would be awesome.

1. Does Prime provide transportation to the school for new drivers? (from the drivers home to get to the school) 2. Do they provide transportation to the drivers home from school? If the driver passes and gets hired? If the driver does NOT pass and does not get hired? 3. How often do classes start? Are there any times of the year that they do not have classes? 4. Do they provide meals? I read that they provide meals for the first week only. How do you go about eating the rest of the time at the school? 5. How long will it be until you have some kind of cash coming in? Do you get paid after the first week out with an instructor? The second week? Do they have any ways to get cash advances that will get taken out of future paychecks? 6. If I take my written CDL test in KY or PA and get my permit will that transfer and be of use at the school? 7. Are there any upfront costs? 8. What are the bare minimums a student needs to show up with to take the classes and get his CDL? 9. What stuff would you take to school ? 10. Are there any questions that I should be asking that I am not asking?

Thanks for any help you can give me. (Still a little nervous about this whole thing, but the nervousness is being slowly but surely replaced with excitement. Thanks for all of the help so far)

LTL Sounds wonderful. I personally would not mind being out all week and home for the weekends. Home every night? not so much. How does one go about getting started in that line of trucking? Are their different schools for LTL than for OTR? I did a quick Google search and saw one called Conway trucking. Their webpage says they start all of their truckers as dock workers so that they can "to gain an understanding of the freight business and insight into what it’s like to work for Con-way Freight." I really do NOT want to be a dock worker, if I did then I wouldn't be looking into trucking. Do you have any suggestions for schools and companies to look at for getting into LTL Truck Driving? Thanks for the interesting and educational information. It is nice to know that some of the people in the field I am looking into are helpful and professional and I can not thank you enough for that.

Sounds like you are looking for a school with no upfront cost and you should check out Company-Sponsored Training but let me tell you this those company sponsored schools are fast paced and you will learn everything you need to pass the written and driving tests withing 3 weeks and if you decide you want to go to a private school IE local college to obtain a slower paced training you will want to get a bunch of pre-hires and here's a link to help you Understand Pre-Hires but whatever path you take just remember that you should stay with that company for at least one year to gain experience and prove to the company and future companies that you are a safe and reliable driver that can get the job done in a timely manner..... So when you do pick the company you want to work for just remember attitude is everything..... You should check out Brett's Book its a great read

Thank you for the links I will check those out. I do plan on staying with whatever company I get hired to for at least a year to 2 years. After that I might be moving to another part of the country. If not I would prefer to stay with the same company for as long as I can.

Thank you I will defiantly check out PRIME. I am not exactly sure of what kind of truck driving I would like to do. I do not mind being out for long stretches of time (I have no wife or kids or even a girlfriend). The family I was referring to was my father who just went through some tough times and I would like to spend a little time with him as he is 70 years old. (but a very fit 70). I was looking at 21 days out and 3 or 4 days home and was OK with that. More home time would be ok as well but not really a major goal. The biggest 2 goals I have at this point is getting as much experience as I can and earning as much $$$ as I can. You said you can make good money driving locally, what do you consider good money? What kind of trucking makes the most money consistently? What trucking companies pay the best and which try to rip you off? Thank you for your reply. PS Maybe we will run into each other on the road up in PA sometime, I'll buy you dinner.

Congratulations and best of luck on your future !