I Am Considering A Career Change To Truck Driving, But I Can't Make Up My Mind.

Funny Brett, we started our career at the same time in our lives. I'm like a young clone of you haha

Kylan...your first mistake was talking to an OWNER OPERATOR !!! We did that for 15 years...and it would ruin anyone on trucking. The profit margin now is so thin, a O/O is lucky if he can keep himself on the road, running, let alone, make enough to get to go home. Being a company driver is a totally different deal...no truck payment, no trailer payment, no insurance payment, no IFTA tax payment, no quarterly tax payment, no repair costs, no fuel costs,..the list goes on and on...So you have just talked to the wrong guy !! Go to a truck stop..speak with a few drivers while they are fueling their truck, or sitting in their truck in the lot. Put it to them honestly, tell them you are considering driving...You will get all kinds of different responses, but atleast you will get them from a cross section of drivers. GOOD LUCK !!

Alright, can someone explain layover and detention pay? And should it be a big concern to me? And what about per diem and non? What's the difference! One company I am looking at offers it! Thanks!

Alright, can someone explain layover and detention pay? And should it be a big concern to me? And what about per diem and non? What's the difference! One company I am looking at offers it! Thanks!

Layover pay is when your truck breaks down and you're sitting in a hotel for days. The company pays you. At central it's 40$ per day.

Detention pay is when a shipper or receiver takes over two hours with you. Then you start getting detention pay. If 3pm is my appointment time and I leave at 7pm then I get 2 hours of detention pay. Those first two hours aren't paid - that's the time the location has to load or unload you. But after that second hour is when you start getting paid. The average is usually about 10-15$ per hour. So if my appointment time is at 3pm and I leave at 4pm I don't get anything. If my appointment time is at 3pm and I leave at 5:30pm then I get 30 minutes of detention pay. I hope that makes sense.

And per diem is kind of tricky. It has to do with taxes. You can choose to get a few extra hundred dollars per paycheck and get a small tax return or you can choose to not get an extra few hundred a week and get it all on your tax return. Most large companies don't give you a choice. At your stage I wouldn't worry about it because there's a million other things that should be on your mind. It's just not worth to think about in your position yet.

Thanks Daniel, It did make sense! Another question is what dictates how long to stay out? I know the average is 14 to 21 days. Are some trips 14 and others 21 days? How does that work? Thank you sir!

Thanks Daniel, It did make sense! Another question is what dictates how long to stay out? I know the average is 14 to 21 days. Are some trips 14 and others 21 days? How does that work? Thank you sir!

Really depends on the company. Most major carriers go by the policy of 1 day off per 1 week of work. So if I stay 4 weeks I get 4 days off. Most major carriers require you to stay on the road 3-4 weeks before being eligible for hometime and you must request hometime two weeks in advance. Some companies, like Roehl, have their own policy. They have several different hometime options such as 7 days work/ 7 days off. 14 days work/7 days off. So it really depends on the company. But if you're not going to Roehl then I would plan to stay about a month before going home. You don't make any money sitting at home so it really messes with your income.

Personally I work a month and take 4 days off. I don't want to work too much and I don't want to be gone from family toooo long. But it boils down to when you want to go home. If you want to go home every two months its up to you.

Ok, What is your typical day or night like?

Your day or night just might end up being your night and day...There will be times that you will have to drive all night to make an appointment. Now this will only happen if you have the hours, but ask any trucker...cuz it happens..ALOT. A typical day SHOULD be...wake up, do your morning constitutionals, pre trip your truck and trailer, head down the road. You are gonna drive atleast 10 hours, so get to it. take a break if needed. Make a delivery or pickup, fuel when needed..and at the end of your allotted hours available to drive, you park, eat whatever suits you, and go to bed...For as long as your going to get to sleep, depending on your load, delivery/pickup time...etc. Its never the same, it always changes, but in a way, after you have been out there awhile, its kinda the same. But its NEVER boring...But truthfully, to give you a run down on a typical day....doesn't happen.

A typical day in trucking doesn't exist. As strangely as that sounds.

Sometimes you drive at night, if you're lucky you drive in the morning. Sometimes you drive all day and don't talk to anyone. Other days you'll be having to deal with a shipper or receiver or maybe both. Somedays you won't have a trailer washout nearby so you'll have to sweep the 53' trailer. You're never in the same place. The backing is never the same. The people are always different. Some days you'll be annoyed of the constant Qualcomm messages and some days you'll be left alone. Some days you'll feel extremely lonely from being away from the family.

I think you get the point. There is no actual schedule. You work around your appointments.

But a good day in trucking for me would be to get up at 6am. Shower and eat and pretrip and start driving at 7am. Drive for as long as I want but end the day with at least 500 miles. A perfect day for me is to start driving at 7am and have my hot tea with me and not have to deal with any shippers or receivers and end my day at 8pm. But those are not typical days.

I too am considering driving as my new career after being laid off for a year and a half from 15 years in customer service in the mortgage industry. I am overwhelmed by all the opinionated reviews about the different companies to obtain training. Currently I am looking into Driver Solutions to get me started since I am broke. I was wondering if there are any unbiased opinions about them. All I can find is old negative reviews. How hard is it to get approval to train and then get the contracted employment? Oh I have so many questions and can't seem to find a strait upfront answer anywhere. I looked on here and got a generic overview of the company. Any one able to help with this?