Profile For Luke K.

I thank you for the info you have given me. Looks like there are many more hours of research ahead of me.

OK. I though I would ask. Thanks.

I agree with you on that. I guess one way to look at it is since those people are making the choice to be stupid at least others may be a little safer. It is amazing to me that people think that they are able to text and drive. Even when they look up from their phone and their car is in another lane they just steer their car back in their lane and go right back to texting. Not sure what the answer is but there has to be a solution out there.

I understand there are many things that effect fuel mileage. I was wondering if there was any numbers out there on just the different style front ends of the trucks. It has to help to have the slope nose, it just makes sense. There are a lot of different fuel saving products out there and I am sure some are worth the investment and some are not. I also wonder about the big wing you see on the top of trucks. It looks really cool but I wonder if it diverts enough wind over the trailer to out way the increased down force and drag it creates. Is there a set distance on the best distance the front of the trailer should be from the back of the truck? I know the type of trailer would change this but is there a way to know if you are pulling a van it should be set at this spacing?

You seem quick to judge. I am not for texting while driving either. The app works the same as gps. You do not need to text or do anything else but turn it on. If you are coming up to a hazard or anything else that is on the map it tells you over the speaker on the phone. You do not even need to have it up on your phone it can be running in the background and will still let you know if something is up ahead that you should look out for. For example if there is a car broke down on the side of the road it will let you know before you get to it so then you will have more time to move over or make any other adjustments you may need to with more time to do it. It can be a useful tool and safe if used correctly. I thought it may be something cool for people to check out(just dont check it out while driving).

I just called my insurance company and they said they do not require you to go to a cdl school. As long as you have a cdl that is all you need. They said the only factor is if you have more or less than 2 years of driving experience. There is so much to figure out. I guess the insurance thing may depend on the state you live in.

Wow. I thank all of you for your advice and insight. Let me start my responce with the slave labor comment. I have been reading everything I can find online about trucking. The slave labor comment is a very common expression people seem to use in describing their experience with going through company training. They say that the companies are not paying new drivers much because they know you have to stay with them. I am not saying that being a new driver I should make tons of money at first so dont get me wrong. I am looking at it from the point that I need to make a certain amount of money to pay my bills and if a company is not going to pay very much and not be concerned about making sure I get miles in and on top of it not worry about getting me home at all then it sounds like a very tough way to get into trucking. These are the things that many people write when describing there time at these places. I am sure all are not like this but how am I supposed to know when everyone says not to trust recruiters because their job is just to get you in the door. As for the comment about not having money for school but buying my own truck. I wrote that I would be driving with my dad while saving money to buy a truck. My dad does own his own truck and once I get my truck ( if I can ) then I would be driving my truck for his company. Not sure why people seem to get offended by me asking questions. The insurance thing is good to know. I am not trying to cut corners I just thought maybe there is more than one way to get into trucking. Thanks for tips.

Without this site I am not sure I would have had the confidence that I had going in to take my commercial driving permit tests. After studying like crazy and taking the practice tests over and over I went in and took the test and past each one I took. I can not wait to get my trucking career started so I can come back on this and maybe have the chance to help out someone else. This site rocks! I thank all the good people on here for all the tips and help you provide.

I am trying to make the leap into trucking like you. I think the internet in most cases is not a good place to go for advice. It seems that when you can say whatever you want and dont have to put your face next to what you are saying it just makes people mean. I have been trying to look at the facts like most drivers are around the age of 55 so I would like to think if was that bad they would have gotten out of it a long time ago. If you look up almost any job on the internet you would find people talking bad about it. I am not going to let someones bad attitude turn me away from trying something. I am sure like anything else it comes down to the individual. I would like to think if I go into it with the right attitude I will be able to make it work out. If it is really that terrible of a job I will just get out of it and do something else. It is something I really want to do and be successful at and I will work very hard to make it work. I know I did not answer any of your questions but I dont think you should not try it. If it works for you and it is something you really want to do then go for it 100%. Good luck.

There is a traffic app that many people may know about but for the ones that do not it is called Waze. It is great for traffic but is also really good for letting you know if there are hazzards on the road and speed traps. I have been using this app for several months and it is not perfect but it does do a very good job. It depends soley on user input. It is kinda fun because it works on a point system so the more info you put in the system the more points you get. You also get points for just having it on while you drive. Even if you do not put info in it will make adjustments to the map depending on your speed and other factors. You can share your trip with other people that have the app so that is a really cool feature if you want to share your trip with some family back home. I do not work for them or get anything out of telling anyone about this, I am a person who loves my gadgets and the more people that use this app makes the app more reliable. Check it out and let us know what you think. Thanks for reading my post.