Profile For Ryan M.

Make sure you freeze any lines of credit you may have, if you haven't already. Having that much of a person's information is an identity thief's wet dream.

I like his videos and yes, he did run for Knight and still might but not sure. He kinda reminds me of that crazy painter Bob Ross but as a truck driver.

"Here we take our paint knife, mix some ochre and just a little bit of white and therrrrreeeee, some nice tree trunks"

"So here we are going down Cabbage Patch, nice and easy, taking our time enjoying the scenery"

What gets me going is when he lip synchs some of the songs that he helped write, and others that he didn't, on camera. That goofy youthfulness that more adults need to have makes him fun to watch.

Doesn't hurt that he records in pretty decent definition so that the viewer gets to see every pothole, and every beautiful sunrise, that he decides to share. I look forward to getting to see all of that - and more - more often.

Viva la goofy truckers!

Anyone else here watch Indiana Jack's videos? As far as I can tell, he's an owner/operator who used to company drive for Knight.

I came across his YouTube channel while researching trucking companies and have been enjoying watching his adventures. I like the fact that he keeps his language clean, doesn't bash other truckers and their videos, plus he just really seems to enjoy what he does for a living.

Something for me to look forward to.

Thanks, Dave & Brett.

I'm actually going to be stuck where I'm at a bit longer than expected due to some medical issues of my own. But that will give me more time to look into different trucking companies and make a better informed decision once I do decide to make the switch. In the meantime, I'll be researching and making contacts like a madman.

Thanks again for all the replies in this thread.

Jason & Brian,

Thanks again the replies, buds. I'm trying to be as realistic as possible looking forward. Home time is important to me, but I know - and my wife knows - that I will have to make sacrifices to make anything work. Just like anything in life. Nothing worth doing is easy, especially starting out, and I know I've got a LOT to learn.

As it stands, I work *minimum* four 10+ hour days per week for the company I work for now, usually picking up an extra day or two per week to fluff up the checking account a bit. I am also on call every 4-6 weeks for emergency callouts, which often makes my total hours for those weeks anywhere from 70-100 hours for one week. Even though the region I work out of is less than an hour drive from my house, you can imagine that I am hardly ever home during those weeks and still don't see my family for 4-5 days on just a normal work week. I leave the house before any of them are up, and get home when they're ready for bed or already asleep. Needless to say, I'm already missing out on family time as it is now. And, like you guys, I'm willing to make sacrifices now to provide for a better future with better schedules, routes, and so on.

One important difference for me between trucking professionally and the work I do now is going to be the amount of stress on the job. I work in the natural gas industry and am the first responder to any and every gas emergency in my region, which is several counties wide. I often times get called to people's houses who are reporting gas leaks, and I don't know until I walk in their front door with my gas detector if that house is ready to explode with a simple flick of a light switch or not. I also the first to respond when construction companies, landscapers, road workers, etc., cut our gas lines/mains. Once again, even in an open air atmosphere, the right set of circumstances could ignite that gas while I'm working on stopping the leak, making repairs, etc. Guys have been killed doing what I do, and others have been badly maimed and disfigured. Some have been burned badly just working on little service lines (1/2" plastic) in the ground. And I do that stuff daily, day in and day out. It's a lot of stress, and I've just become accustomed to it. But, after being out a few weeks for surgery, I've realized how much that stress is taking a toll on my life and my family's.

I know that there are inherent dangers driving a truck, but they are going to be more situational and not something that I would be forced to work with every single day. Just having a career where I don't worry each day whether or not a call will come in that could hurt me badly, or worse, would make it all worth it to me.

A good friend of my wife's husband is a long hauler for a local company hauling heavy equipment and he loves what he does. He just left out of Savannah, GA this morning with a load bound for who-knows-where, but he and I will have a nice long discussion about the industry soon. I'm also going to get with a Knight recruiter in the next day or two to discuss more options going forward.

But I know this: I am ready for this change. I've been contemplating it for years and been dreading going to work for just as long. I need this change and am willing to do what I must to make it work.

Thanks for listening, fellas.

Ryan, welcome to your career change. Most truck drivers did something else for years before getting behind the wheel. I taught middle school math for ten years. Sitting by yourself for hours at a time, watching the scenery is so quiet, ya know?

Here are a few places Trucking Truth offers to get you started:
** The "big picture": Truck Driver's Career Guide and Brett's Book - his life on the road.
** What you need to know about Truck Driving Schools and Company-Sponsored Training.
** How To Choose A School and How To Choose A Company
** There's a useful "step" in the proicess called Pre-Hire letters. Makes life easier. Check out Understanding Pre-Hires
** And very important: prepare for the CDL written test. Start now with the High Road Training Program. (Free-or-your-money-back).

To answer your three questions: (Grain of Salt: the general career path of trucking can be changed any time a company has to fulfill their own needs. You might get lucky!) 1) regional driver Most OTR companies will start you out over the road. Then you're gone for weeks at a time. I have seen the ads for Knight, they boast about several different driving plans, depending on how much home time you want. That's a recruiter question. Do your best to see any recruiter promise in writing!!

2) How often can I expect to NOT make it home every weekend?. Most trucking companies will do their best to get you home around the time you request. But freight comes first. One time I asked for Friday off (for the weekend). I got home the next Tuesday! Usually it's not so bad.

3) What can I realistically expect in the way of benefits from a company like Knight? To be honest, think of something like a hamburger. Hamburgers at McDonalds, Red Robin, Denney's and In-n-Out are pretty much the same. But the little things make the difference. Health plans can be run by one of maybe three companies. Dental & vision the same. Even how much you pay will be close. But look at Knight's list, double check with that recruiter, and decide from that.

Errol,

Thank you for the honesty and for all of the helpful links. I've started researching the High Road Training Program already and will definitely immerse myself in that and the other links you provided. I don't have my heart completely set on Knight, but they are local to me, which makes their company-sponsored training extremely appealing. But I'm keeping all of my options open at the moment to find what will work best for my family and I.

Thanks again for the commentary and thanks to all who have put so much hard work into this website/resource!

-Ryan

Welcome, I can only comment on what I have read on here and by doing my own research. Don't expect to be making any sort of BIG money, I think your looking at this backwards, A LOT of people do OTR first for a year. There's something about 1 year OTR magic number. I have looked at local/regional routes and they ALL what 1-2 years OTR experience.

Thanks, Jason. I've considered that possibility, too, and know I'll have to get the experience required to get better routes, home time, etc. I'm fine with the time away from family for the first year, and know that will be expected of me, but I guess I'm wondering what the possibilities will be after I've reached that 1-2 years of OTR experience.

As far as making BIG money, I've been around this crazy world long enough to know that there are NO free rides, and nothing is free. I don't expect to become rich and didn't mean to make it seem that was my expectation if I somehow did. I just want to support my family, put money aside for retirement, and make money doing something that I know I would enjoy.

Regardless, thank you for your feedback.

Hi everyone,

Please bear with me, this will be a long first post. Just looking for some friendly advice, but first let me tell you a little bit about myself. I'm a 33-year-old father of four, all ten and under. No arrests, no DUI's, no traffic violations in the last 12 years, I don't do drugs, rarely drink, etc. I'm in great physical shape and as clean-cut as I can be.

As far as employment, I worked as a private contractor from the time I graduated high school doing audio/video installations in schools, churches & private homes from my early 20's to late 20's, and for the past six years I've worked as a field specialist for a large utility company in metro-Atlanta. I found out today that our company was bought out by an even larger utility company ($12 billion merger; that's BILLION with a "B"! lol) and my previously secure job may not be so secure anymore. Hence my plea for advice. I've got a few college credits (was thinking about getting an engineering degree), but just don't know if I want to go more into debt for a degree that I might not even get a chance to use in this economy. Plus, I really just don't think working in an office is for me; tried it before and loathed it. I like working with my hands.

When I was a private contractor, I also worked part-time for a family friend driving a rollback wrecker for some spare cash on weekends. No CDL required, or at least that's what I was told, but I drove a F650 3-car-hauler for several years. That started my love affair with big trucks, but the job was short-lived as that was right around the time the economy tanked and gas prices started soaring. Being that it was a mom & pop operation I worked for, they had to cut some expenses, and I was one of them. I went to work for the utility company because it was a steady paycheck, they pay very well, and the benefits are great. The only problem is that I've never been happy doing the work I do - which is often extremely hazardous. Working with a volatile product for a living has instilled in me a hugely heightened sense of safety in everything that I do, so I do have that going for me; I'm extremely safety-conscious.

Anyhow, long story short, I've been out of work for a few weeks for thyroid surgery, and feel that God has placed it on my heart to change careers. Even though I've been able to support a family of six on my income with the utility company, I've researched at least once a year what I would need to do to get my CDL and endorsements and become a full-time truck driver. It's always something that's been on my mind. Traveling is in my blood and is one of my absolute favorite things to do in life, and I still enjoy being in and around big trucks. Now that I know my future with the company I've been with may not be secure, I'm looking to take the plunge and really turn this daydream into a reality.

I'm scheduled to talk with a recruiter with Knight Transportation this week and am leaning heavily on company-sponsored training and employment with them as a company driver. I would eventually plan to work on a lease-to-own agreement and be an owner-operator at some point in the future. However, I am wary of going OTR for a while. I again have four young kids, and want to be around for them as much as possible. I'm looking at possible regional and/or local driving for several years until my kids are older and out on their own, then have my heart set on OTR once I can bring the wifey along with me, which she is all for. She's currently a stay-at-home mom working on her degree, but we've both agreed that she would probably stay at home with the kids for the foreseeable future and work on finding some work-from-home opportunities.

So, finally, my questions;

1) How likely would it be for a brand new driver to make it as a regional company driver for a company like Knight? I know I won't be making what I'm making now for a while, and that's fine - my wife is an expert at budgeting - but can I realistically expect to make a decent income working regional/local until I can finally do OTR somewhere down the road.

2) How often can I expect to get screwed and NOT make it home every weekend to see my family working for a company like Knight? They say they're very family-oriented, but I'm sure just about every company says that. My kids are into sports and I don't want to miss a bunch of their games, as I'm pretty much guaranteed to miss most, if not all, of their practices, ceremonies, etc.

3) What can I realistically expect in the way of benefits from a company like Knight? I currently have a 401k that I've been pumping as much money into as possible, have excellent health/dental/vision insurance, sick time, four weeks of vacation per year, etc. I know that sick time and vacation won't stay the same if I start trucking, but I absolutely must have good medical for my family and want to continue investing in my eventual retirement.

I have a ton more questions, but I know this is already probably more than most will want to read. I'll ask more later.

I know I'd do well in your profession. I'm dedicated, hard-working, team oriented, and a very fast learner. I also have a passion for traveling and seeing new places, which is what has drawn me to this profession for years. I'm ready to take the plunge, but I guess just need some reassurances, as well as some reality checks.

Any advice would be most welcome. Thanks for reading.

-Ryan