Profile For Mr. Groves

Todd , we truly are here to help you. We've tried to offer help but instead you try to argue with the experienced drivers, and try to fix things you perceive to be a problem when in reality it isn't as big of an issue as you think. Honestly spend time around the forum with an open mind and you'll see that what you think you know about the industry from those outside of it, or from other forums is often not as prevalent as you'd be lead to believe. All the experienced drivers here have pretty much given up offering you help because you try to prove them wrong when you have no idea what your talking about. Most drivers here are logging in daily offering their advice for free after putting in a 14 hour work day. They are sacrificing their precious 10 hour break trying to mentor rookie drivers as well as those considering joining them on the road. Instead of using all their time to sleep or talk to family they're willing to try to help others succeed. If you are serious about this trucking thing change the attitude and come in here with an open mind. We will all be more than happy to help. Focus on the things that truly matter. This is one of the very few times I've seen members here refuse to help and it all comes down to your attitude. You've refused to take their advice and constantly trying to prove them wrong so they don't see a point in wasting time on you. We would love for you to stick around IF YOUR SERIOUS about this. We all truly enjoy helping new drivers and want you to succeed but it ultimately comes down to you. Trucking really is unlike any other job and it really is a lifestyle. Even most local jobs will run you 60 to 70 hours a week. It takes real commitment to give it a go. If you realize trucking isn't for you it's ok, many people aren't able to make it past their first year. We're pulling for you but it's all on you.

Who is TODD?

Just in case you think that guy, TODD, and I are one in the same, I will tell you that I (the Mr. Groves half of me at least) have been studying High Road Training like the devil for the past two days and have consistently scored high marks on the quizzes. If Mr. Aquila (pronounced ACK-quill-luh, I think) could please bear witness to that and help me out here. Thank you very much.

It's always more challenging when we're dealing with multiple personalities.

I have that problem every day

Dave, do you ever change your CB handle? It's possible some people change their TT handles.

I studied https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/part/393

I've concluded that marker lights are on the sides of vehicles, clearance lights are on the ends of vehicles near the corners and identification lamps are on the ends of vehicles top dead center.

Why ask The questiOn if you intenDeD to research the answer?

Well, Google on this topic had only occured to me as an afterthought. I wanted to double check on what Old School had said for clarification. What might be good is a comprehensive glossary of terms that drivers may need to know in their occupation sooner or later. This could also include all the CB lingo too, you copy that, good buddies, come back?

Again, who is this fellow, Todd, you have me confused with, people?

10-10 on the side.

There are all these special terms for lighting used in the High Road Training material but I would like to find some tutorial with pictures and diagrams that explains all these lights in detail. The High Road basically explains what is required by law in terms of lights.

How does one identify lights on the vehicle? What is their purpose?

I've heard the term "running lights" but I'm not sure of that meaning.

When I saw "identification" lights in the Training, I assumed they were the lamps that illuminate the license plates at night but I don't think so. I looked it up on Google and some sources claim that "identification lights", "marker lights" and "clearance lights" are one in the same. Is this true?

I would like to get to know each and every light on any truck I drive, how to turn them on or off and what their function and proper name is. There are a bunch of vehicle interior lights too. On cars, sometimes they have special names like dome light, vanity light, reading lamps and courtesy light. I call the ones on the dash to indicate trouble "idiot lights". Do truck interior lights have special names?

Some trucks have a "bubblegum machine" style light on top of the cab or two of them that are amber. What are those called and what are they used for?

Vehicle "light-ology" seems to be a branch of science all its own. Reflectors can be something of a challenge to learn about too.

I did a Google search on "second division vehicle" and there are also "first division vehicles". This seems to be an Illinois state legal term.

https://codes.findlaw.com/il/chapter-625-vehicles/il-st-sect-625-5-1-146.html

§ 1-146.  Motor vehicle.  Every vehicle which is self-propelled and every vehicle which is propelled by electric power obtained from overhead trolley wires, but not operated upon rails, except for vehicles moved solely by human power, motorized wheelchairs, low-speed electric bicycles, and low-speed gas bicycles.  For this Act, motor vehicles are divided into two divisions:

First Division:  Those motor vehicles which are designed for the carrying of not more than 10 persons.

Second Division:  Those motor vehicles which are designed for carrying more than 10 persons, those motor vehicles designed or used for living quarters, those motor vehicles which are designed for pulling or carrying freight, cargo or implements of husbandry, and those motor vehicles of the First Division remodelled   1 for use and used as motor vehicles of the Second Division.

So, most personal self-powered people-movers are First Division: automobiles, shuttle vans, limousines, taxis, vans, SUVs, motor scooters and motorcycles.

The key to the definition of Second Division: house on wheels, farm tractors, very big and/or often for commercial or trade use. Could a van conversion be a former first-division vehicle modified to become a second-division vehicle since it now is accommodated for living on board?

Are light-duty pickup trucks second division? They are designed for "carrying cargo".

Yes, your 18-wheel semi truck is a second-division vehicle, Old School.

I would like to secure a new-construction home paid in cash free and clear as soon as enough money can be saved up for that purpose

First of all, how on Earth do you intend to save up that kind of cash? That's rhetorical.

Secondly, why would you want to use your cash to pay for a house when interest rates are the lowest in the history of humankind? If the bank wants to give you the privilege of hanging onto your own cash for a measly 4.x% over 30 years well I say God bless em and thank you very much!!!

To be honest, people who don't understand how to grow their wealth always think that being in debt is some kind of evil curse. Understanding how to use debt properly is one of the most powerful wealth building tools imaginable. Using other people's money to buy big things can be a fantastic strategy.

Gee, Brett, I did not think 30-year mortgage rates were that LOW! You're right! I'll have to rethink my real estate investment strategies. I probably should hold down a job as OTR driving for at least a solid year or maybe two years with good merit before taking that real estate plunge. My fear is that property values that seem cheap now in the Rust Belt or Bible Belt states might double or triple over the next couple of years and it will be too late to get while the getting is good. I'm well in to High Road Training now but I'll have to stop and take a look at Budgeting tips for CDL Training as Rainy posted above. I could take out a 30-year mortgage and then pay it off as soon as it is comfortable for me to do so too. I don't know if there is a severe penalty for paying off a home prematurely. I will need to study a good book for first-time home buyers carefully and see what the best strategy is.

The thing is let's say I put in two years as an OTR driver and then finance a home. Bad things can still happen. I could get canned two months later and them I'm stuck with a home I could maybe not be able to keep up payments on living on unemployment that won't last forever. Perhaps I could keep up the bank payments with two room tenants but then there's property taxes and homeowner's insurance. New-construction homes appeal to me because of the building contractor warranties and they should not need expensive repairs for a long time. To some people, having a house free and clear seems safer if they can afford to do that over long-term financing while trying to work to support it.

There are probably a lot of new truckers and some veteran drivers banking every dime with aspirations to someday live the American Dream. For me, a cozy little 3-br home with my own new Toyota Tundra SR5 in the garage and a pair of black German shepherds in the backyard while I still live and breathe in this world.

I think I’ll play this the same way Turtle did except take it to the next level:

Do OTR drivers make cOnsiDerably more money by living in areas that are more costly to live? Is your income reflecteD by tHe city/state yOur company is headquartered in aLl else the saME? I'm conSidering moving from SacramenTo to one of tHosE hearTland sTaTes as Oklahoma, MissouRi Or Indiana where reaL estate prices and rent are much cheaper after the winter is over. Can a truck driver for a mega-carrier even in Indiana expect to make a Lot less than a driver working for a mega-carrier if he lives in California?

In other words, is a company truck driver living in Indiana going to work as equally as long and hard to save up enough money to buy a new house there as he would to save up enough money to buy a new house in Sacramento if he were living there?

A new-construction 3-br home, SFU, can be had as low as $89,000 in northern Indiana. That amount of money might get you a new single-wide on two-axles in Sacramento County that you would still have to pay a mobile home park rent for the lot.

Is my local real estate buying power going to be much better as a driver living in a lower-cost state like Oklahoma, Missouri or Indiana over a high-price place like California, New York or Massachusetts?

Uhh....yea I think this is Todd also. 😀 Lets see if y’all can see his hidden message that I uncovered. Still though full credit goes to Turtle for givin me the idea so I can try to enhance it. 😀

EXTRA

State income tax in Indiana is 3.23 % but a 1-br apartment can be had there for as low as $475/mo. all utilities paid. That's $5,700/year to a landlord for a place I might only occupy two days a month. A three-br house can be rented there in Indiana for as low as $450/mo. no utilities paid. The thing that really kills us all everywhere is federal income tax.

For $50K year gross, Indiana state income tax is: $1,615.00. Combined shelter and state tax costs annually: $7,313.00. Should I just put everything of mine in a big rented storage unit and stay at a Motel 6 for my precious few home-time days? Would I be better off just putting 50% down on a new-construction 3-br home in a "cheap state" once I've accumulated enough money and have the necessary credit rating and have established myself in a driving career and pay that property off as soon as possible while renting two of the rooms out to people?

After reading this post it most definitely is Todd. Todd had posted something extremely similar.

To answer the question, your pay will be the same regardless of where you live. Most people who live out of the truck (don't maintain an apartment or house) tend to use a state without income tax such as Florida or Nevada. You will not make any additional pay for living in a expensive area (california) compared to a relatively cheap place (Missouri), it will be the same.

I don't know who "Todd" is but I like Old School's answer. I will not then worry too much about where I live as a driver. I will have to see how cheap a 1-br apartment can be had in Nevada or Florida to get the income tax benefit if the rent is not too high in those states. Before real estate values go too far up even in cheap states like Oklahoma or Georgia, I would like to secure a new-construction home paid in cash free and clear as soon as enough money can be saved up for that purpose. No 30-year mortgages or interest rates for me!! Even as a long-term Over The Road driver, I would always want to maintain a fixed residence even If I only average two home-time days per month. I have too many personal household belongings to dump anyway. Brett recommends that new drivers maintain fixed housing for at least a year into their career to ensure they are comfortably settled in.

This term keeps popping up in High Road Training.