Profile For Errol V.

If you want to do Expediting, do you know about Expediters Online? Better chances for an expediting partner.

What a luxury! Two jobs to choose from!

Two questions for you before we can give you the information you need.

1. Do you have a CDL-A?

2. Will you get paid cash for either or both of these jobs? If so that's a big red flag.

If you will be an employee on the $150/day local, you know that the buck-and-a-half will include you doing the unloading (meaning you'll earn that money with sweat}.

The OTR gig smells like an independent operator but if you drive someone else's truck and get a percentage, you'll get a 1099 form instead of a W-2 and you'll have more income taxes to pay than you thought possible.

Tell us more. We'll get you the Straight Dope*.

*Thank you Cecil Adams

WOW!

Did you look for a bullet or similar in the cab? Do you drive for Swift or Schneider? (Just kidding.)

Nick's curiosity:

I’m very curious to get an update on how things have gone the last month since this post was made.

That depends on the OP. Many times the discussion doesn't go the way they want, and they ghost.

I have a friend that is making a decent income as an O/O. But I feel it's like basketball. Many people in the US aspire to the NBA. But there's less than 600 contracted pros in the league. (SportsBoom.com) Stick with Company. Fewer headaches, similar take-home.

Nick states:

My years of driving buses definitely has helped, even though it is a totally different animal

You bet! As a CDL instructor, I have had two long-time Greyhound drivers who wanted to move up. It was a devil of a time getting them to do the backing skills with a long vehicle that bends in the middle!

Welcome back, Terry. You will have to take some refresher course for any trucking company. You may be "legal" with your CDL & medical, but you have no recent experience.

I am a CDL instructor. Not long ago I called Walmart Transportation, "just asking" about a trucking job. The first thing the recruiter asked me was if I had recent OTR experience. So it never hurts to apply and get the direct info from a company.

Time to bump this again. 45 pages of "Before" stories. Enjoy reading and/or add your own.

I knew this was in here somewhere:

Questions To Ask Trucking Company Recruiters

Onsdag could have written the first chapter of the book called What It's Like to Become a Truck Driver. But that's already been done: See Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving

I got my start with Swift's CDL school. True, the usual deal is the company pays up front for your training then your payroll deductions as you drive under that contract pay them back. (Veterans often get a special deal. At Swift I drove out the 1 year contract and didn't pay a nickel for my training.)

The bad reviews are often from people who didn't understand how trucking works. So they cry any tell the world they were victimized, while in reality they didn't learn how to work in a trucking company.

Trucking is a complicated business. Government regulation (mostly for safety reasons), company rules, the Over The Road lifestyle take some getting used to. 4 million truck drivers live this way every day. You can too. Companies know this and they are well experienced in getting you up to speed.

As for your "good fit" concerns, ask questions. Not just with recruiters, but other truck drivers and of course right here in the Trucking Truth forums. (Check out the Training Diaries section.)

Don't be a stranger!

That air brakes part is the toughest because, as you found out, the tests must be done in a certain way. I teach my students to keep this "seed" phrase in their mind:

You:

PUSH off the brakes

TURN off the engine

TURN on the ignition

That sets up the testing. Then just remember to set your foot in the brake pedal comfortably and don't move it at all till the one minute is over.

OFF OFF ON