How To Choose Trucking Company

Hi Folks, To give you a brief synopsis of my dilemma, I was a Federal Employee and was transferred to Greer, SC from Orlando. This was done under a hardship transfer because my elderly parents wished for us to be closer to them in Franklin, NC. So I found a home in Franklin, and was driving 124 miles one way to work (going through 3 states)! The agency said that they were planning on opening another branch closer to Franklin, but the budget analysts in Washington closed the deal two months after I was transferred. So now that I have resigned and living in Franklin, NC., I learned very rapidly that it is extremely difficult to find a decent paying job within a 50 mile radius. If you can flip burgers, you can easily find one of those jobs, but I have a family to support.

I decided to fall back on my 8 years of Marine Corps Infantry and Embarkation Specialist experience. Embarkation on the civilian side is equivalent to a Logistics Specialist. I load planned and coordinated troop and cargo deployments to 23 countries, on planes and ships mostly. My line of thinking was that I could hit the road driving, and still maintain my residence in Franklin, NC. So here are my decision making criteria that I am confronted with, in which I am seeking advice on:

1. CDL COURSE FUNDING......Due to finances, I understand that there is a Workforce Investment Act program that will pay for your CDL course. Unfortunately, my Veteran Representative told me that this program does not exist in my county. I would have to be a legal resident in Buncombe county (Asheville, NC) to become eligible. Being that I am not a rich guy, I am needing all the help I can get. I do not have the GI Bill. I was screwed by an NCO in my first 4 months of active duty. I wanted to pay a bill off, and inquired if I could exit the GI Bill program and come back. He said, sure, sign here. Once I paid the bill off, I came back to the admin center to rejoin the program. That NCO left the Marine Corps the same week I signed, and I could not rejoin, period! If I am 99 years old, and saw this guy, I would reach way down and knock his brains out. So if you folks know of any assistance in this area, I would be honored and greatful to learn on this. I would like to choose Veteran assistance, or otherwise, before considering being sponsored by a carrier.

2. CDL COURSE LOCATION....It is preferable to find a training course locally, and there are a couple in the Asheville and Hendersonville, NC areas. After speaking to them, and looking at their reviews in various forums, they don't seem to be the cream of the crop. I don't know if this even matters to the carriers, as they realistically need to see your license in order to meet hiring criteria, and "maybe" could care less about where you received your training. If the training is held in Alaska, and I find that funding is available due to my cash crunch situation, I will go.

The perfect mixture, would be to attend a course where there funding is made available through the state, federal, or Veteran affiliated programs, and then be hired by a carrier that meets my criteria (pay and ability to return home).

3. CARRIER CPM ......As with all of you, money does matter. I have seen and heard so many depressing stories whereas the drivers are not earning their worth, and the carriers, brokers, etc., all have their hands in the pie, and the driver gets what is left over. To be honest, I cannot earn less than $50K annually. If you know of any carriers that would pay this, AND afford the opportunity to return to my home in Franklin, NC, this would be helpful to know.

4. CARRIER LOCATIONS.....I live in Franklin, NC. I need to be home like anyone else. Are there any carriers that fit my criteria, and are within a 50-75 mile radius of Franklin, NC?? Is there a way to find terminals in my area? I can either drive bobtail home, or drop off the rig at a terminal , and get in my truck and drive home from there. I see a couple of carriers in the Asheville, NC area, but have yet to research their pay scale. I wouldn't care if the carrier is 5 states away, just as long as I know I can get home periodically.

5. TEAMING.....I don't like the idea of Teaming. I get along very well with any walk of life, and after being a Marine, Correctional Officer, Business owner, over 20 years in management, over 4 years in the Middle East, and 3 years in Colombia, S.A., I have the ability to turn off nonsense from others when need be. It's just that I would much rather enjoy managing my mission alone. So if there are any carriers that allow you to go solo (after training), that would be my first choice. I just feel that if I am about to embark on a career in this industry, as a driver to start with, I believe I can master moving freight and managing my time on my own. No disrespect to other drivers out there.

6. PET POLICY....I am sorry, but this Marine has a heart. :) I have a cat, and this cat has helped me overcome what the VA calls PTSD. I never wanted to believe that I even had a headache, but apparently they were right. This isn't a deal breaker, but I find it difficult to leave something that helped me. It would be preferable to know that I can carry this pet with me, from training to the road.

THANK YOU!!

Welcome Dan. I would start by reviewing and reading the links listed below. Once you have completed that, I think most of your questions will be answered and you will have a very good base of knowledge for building your schooling and career path. Check back with questions or additional inquiries and someone will respond. Good luck.

Brett's Book

Truck Driver's Career Guide

How To Choose A School

Truck Driving Schools

Company-Sponsored Training

Trucking Companies How To Choose A Company

High Road Training Program

I'm attending Trans Tech here in Asheville. Its a good school for the most part. Its down at the Goodwill on Patton ave behind the DMV. The total cost out the door was $2500.00, I only had to come up with $2000.00 and goodwill gave me a grant of the last $500.00. Alliance Tractor Trailer center in Arden costs $6000.00 and have many financing options at interest rates that are ridiculous. Classes start every 2 weeks and only have 4 students per class. Thanks to the High Road Training program I was able to get my permit before I started class so while the others are working hard to get their permit, I have been going over the pre-trip inspection. As for financing I would check with the VA. You probably wont find any definite answers but they may get you pointed in the right direction. You could always talk to the school of your choice. Most admin offices have funding resources that you may qualify for.

As far as funding goes we have a page that lists some information for military personnel and you can find it here:

Trucking Companies, GI Bill, And Military Veterans

It's difficult to get student loans for truck driving school because the courses are too short according to the Federal standards for backing these loans. You can check with the schools of course to see what they offer but loans for trucking school right now are tough to come by.

As far as choosing a school, the carriers do indeed care about where you go to school and they will not hire from just any school. So before attending a school make sure you ask for a list of major companies that hire from that school and call a few of them yourself from home to verify this. If the major companies will hire from a school then you know they're up for consideration.

Making $50,000 is going to be a tall order for the first year or two at least. We have a few members that landed LTL jobs straight out of school and they're making great money and getting home every night. But most people make closer to $35,000 their first year, $40,000-$45,000 their second year, and can manage to get up to the $50,000 range somewhere between years 3 and 5. Those are pretty average numbers.

You don't have to worry about carrier locations. All you have to worry about is that they hire from your area. If a carrier will hire from your area that means they're confident they have the freight to get you home on a regular schedule. So you can work for any carrier that hires from your area. We have an excellent listing of truck driving jobs and you'll find a ton of great opportunities there:

Truck Driving Jobs

As far as running solo after training, that will be no problem at most carriers. There are some like CRST that run teams almost exclusively so you wouldn't want to go there. But the overwhelming majority of carriers will send you out on the road to run team with a mentor in the beginning for anywhere from a couple of weeks to a few months and then you'll run solo after that.

As far as pets, we have a List of Trucking Companies That Allow Pets so have a look there.

You gentleman are amazing! Thank you all for your input. I know I was long winded in explaining my dilemma, but thank you for taking the time to read.

G-Town, I will look into those links, thank you!

James, also thank you! I might just end up in the same school as you. I was curious, did you try the Workforce Investment Act to help you in funding the course? I don't know all the ins and outs of that program, except that I don't qualify. Never thought of Goodwill, will look into that as well.

Brett, thank you as well! You do a tremendous job in keeping all of us straight! I can't see how you drive and manage this site as well, tough cookie you are. I will investigate all you and others have prescribed, and as for salary, I have seen quite a few that advertise for new drivers, and are in the range of $50k. Maybe I am missing their hidden agenda somewhere along the lines of the advertisements? I have read from various forums where the carrier will promise a rose garden, but end up cheating the driver down the road. I will have to pry further. Overall, thank you, and the others for your rapid and well thought out responses. May see you out there soon! Take care, and Semper Fi!

Welcome Dan and thank you from a fellow service member (Air Force ). You're gonna find that this is the most helpful and straightforward site for anything and everything trucking. Plus, we have fun too.

Big White, if you are a disabled vet you should qualify for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E). This is actually a very good program that will pay for all tuition and fees and pays you a monthly check.

Welcome Dan and thank you from a fellow service member (Air Force ). You're gonna find that this is the most helpful and straightforward site for anything and everything trucking. Plus, we have fun too.

Thanks Robert! Thank you for your service as well sir. I had many friends in the AF, one day I would be loading out from Travis while working with those on that base, and then weeks later I would see the same guys in Naha Okinawa. Short story.......I did an air alert op to Cuba (gitmo) in 86 (our last year of having the old M-151 jeeps, miss those). I did the load plans for that op, and we received message traffic for (11) 130's. The load plan called for 13, so I was in panic mode, as 11 were not going to fit our Marines and Cargo. My Captain was all over my butt, but I told him all was well, and it would be fixed asap. I didn't have the foggiest on how to fix that! The mission was only days away, and it was the whole battalion on this deployment, so I was puckered for sure. The message traffic would always come from FMFLANT, and you had to be an O-5 or above to gain access. The birds were coming from a different airbase, and they said they were out of 130's. Then I remembered Tech Sgt Jones from Travis AFB who controlled the pilot scheduling, etc. Once I called him, he laughed and said "what do you expect me to do, just pull 2 aircraft out of the sky"? So I told him that I would send (10) 50 cube mountout boxes, 8 rolls of concertina, and a signed pair of panties that was given to me in Olongapo by "one" of my butterfly gals. Of course he laughed on the panties, but would take the other items. Then he said that the only way for this to happen, would be for me to call FMFLANT myself, as I didn't want to upset my XO or CO on this issue. After thinking about it, I decided to "act" like a Colonel from not our own unit, but the Division G-4! So I called them up and acted like a DI forcing my anger down their ears. They were so taken by my attitude and directness, they confirmed that they would change the orders to 13 instead of 11-130's, and they took my advice on using Travis to pull these aircraft. Within minutes, we received our new orders, and I confirmed with Tech Sgt Jones. Jones said he would have those birds there on time and pre-configured for my load plans. Then my Sgt Major came to my office within minutes following, and leaned over and put his mug in my face, and said "I don't know how you pulled this off, or who you talked to, but I have been in the Corps for 27 years, and I have seen plenty. But I have NEVER seen any of my NCO's pull something like this off!" Then he quietly said while walking out, "good job Colonel Walden". What??!! OMG, how did he know??!! LOL. I was sitting there with a puckered hole.

Moral of story, I LOVE the Air Force!! Saved my rear more than once, and in more than one country. Take care, and see you out there.

Semper Fi, Dan

PS....Big White comes from high school days. We were in a silly club that we created, called ICCA. Inner City Chewing Association. Yes, it was a group of young cowboys and wannabees. My sister joined, not because she chewed tobacco, but because her boyfriend was in it. My sister had a full head of red hair, and I am blonde. So she became Big Red, and I was Big White. Just had to throw that out there so yall don't think I am a racist or something. :)

Big White, if you are a disabled vet you should qualify for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E). This is actually a very good program that will pay for all tuition and fees and pays you a monthly check.

Thanks Robby! Mighty nice of you. As for disability, I never believed in using that. Now if I had missing limbs, I might have. This is just a human reaction to several experiences that I wasn't accustomed to. When those things happen, you are simply focused on the mission, your training, and nothing more. Then when the high settles, it slowly sneaks up on you. It's all good now, so don't you guys think that I will be hanging an AK out my door going down the road! See you out there soon!