Does Size Matter?

Ok I know this is going to be a stupid question, but going to ask anyway. Does size matter with truck driving? What I mean is, I'm small, like 92 lbs and 5' 3 or so. I mean, I know I can drive the truck, what I'm wandering about is passing the physical assessment they put you through. Im looking at going with celadon if they take me. If anyone has went thru them and can tell me what its like, I'd greatly appreciate it. Any info on the physical stuff would be great, and any advice on things I can start doing now to prepare for it. It looks like I will go in October providing all my checks come back ok. And also, I already have a medical card that I got in august, will that make a difference? I currently drive a school bus so have to have the medical card for that. Thank you for any info you can provide!

Glad you asked b/c that means there is something you may need to work on in order for it NOT to be an issue as you reach for your goal. In other words.....pretend it DOES matter and figure out what you need to do to not make it matter to YOU. Get it? We females ALWAYS have to come up with something to get where we want to be.Cole

Some companies will make you do a physical assessment to measure your ability to push, pull, and lift certain amounts of weight. They measure your pulse after each assessment to make sure it isn't above a certain level...90% of your maximum heart rate I believe. The exercises are designed to simulate work we do daily whether hooking and unhooking trailers to securing a load. I am 5ft tall and passed my company's assessment but not without some worries. I had to lift 50lbs in a crate and put it on a shelf sitting 48 inches off of the floor...that is fairly high for someone my height and you cannot use the handhold on the crate. I could lift the weight (barely) but my pulse was too high on the the first try. That got me even more upset which naturally made it higher. Thankfully I managed to calm down with the help of the test administrator and passed on the second try. If this sounds like it might be a concern for you, ask prospective companies if they use the Work Well assessment for their physicals. What may be your biggest issue is bring able to push 100 psi. Women do not have the upper body strength men do generally and you have little weight behind you to help. Hope this is helpful and best of luck to you!

I wish I could help you out, sister, but I'm exactly double your weight and same height. Really, as long as you can physically do the job and prove that by passing the OHS physical, there's nothing that should hold you back. I'm a flatbedder and I had to pass a 90 lb lift test. I failed it the first time but the company let me come back and retest. Second time was the charm. If you're still wondering, you could talk to the recruiters for the companies you're interested in working for.

Best of luck!! Keep us posted :)

Well my 15 yr old daughter weighs 115, so ill make her get in a wagon and start pushing and pulling her around maybe that will help.lol Thanks for the replys. This is something I really want to do so will deff ask the recruits and start trying to build up more strength. Thanks ladies!!

Jolie, if you dont mind me asking, where did you go through?

I am totally opposite from all u lovely ladies, I'm a heavy set girl, it's mainly in the hips, butt, and leg region. My husband is a driver and I am OTR with him, I don't have issues getting in and out of the passenger side, but a little difficulty on the driver side, which I hate. We're planning on doing teams, and I'm worried about my testing I would need to do, anyone know about what type of physical swift does for woman?