New Hot Shot Trucker With Boyfriend Wanting Any Advise!

My boyfriend and I are diving head first into hot shot trucking. We are starting out camper pulling until we get our own authority. We are both 24 and wanted to try this out before we decide to have kids. I just want to know what advice you could give me as I have never been over the road. He is from a family of big rig drivers and has experienced it before. So my top questions would be 1. How hard is it to be a woman on the road? What's the hardest part? 2. What items do u suggest are the most important to carry in your rig/truck? 3. Best ways to stay active and healthy on the road.

Any suggestions or advice are much appreciated!

I realize a hot shot requires a cdl but I don't think they're really comparable, in my opinion, anyway. Shorter trailers, no sleeper in many/most, etc.

sure they keep logs, are regulated, and pull a trailer, but its much shorter. Many drivers get irritated with them for taking up parking spaces a 70' vehicle requires especially if they're pulling a short trailer.

Female drivers.. plenty of them and I personally haven't run into ani issues just because I'm a female driver.

Things to take? Well that depends on your needs and how often you ll be going home. I have a wide range of clothing for different weather and temperature, my hair dryer is a must for me too.. electric cooler or fridge because truck stops can be so expensive. I guess you'd have more options driving a smaller vehicle.

Have you thought about driving team for a major dry van/reefer carrier? I ask because hotshotting isn't really conducive to teaming. Unless your pickup has a sleeper you will be staying in a lot of hotels and/or sleeping in the campers you pull (and some companies don't allow this). Not pulling for 10 hours out of 24 is going to effectively cut your earning potential in half. You'll also be eating out a lot, which further cuts into the money you're bringing in. Plus, when you team for a tractor trailer carrier you'll get paid for deadhead miles.

I'm not trying to discourage you if this is what you want, but it's just something to consider. To answer your questions:

1. It's not particularly hard being the fairer sex out here, but it's a hard job in general especially as a rookie. Hardest part? No bathroom fifteen feet away at all times.

2. Powerful flashlight, thick leather work gloves, sledgehammer, shoes with decent traction, wd-40, hand wipes, audiobooks and music you enjoy, lots of patience and a sense of humor.

3. Walk around on your break. If you eat while bored get sunflower seeds to occupy you, they're not high calorie in comparison to the time it takes to eat them and they're good for you. Skip the truck stop salads and fruit if you can, they're usually unripe/wilted and always overpriced. Stop at Walmart instead. Buy gallon jugs of water and lift those instead of weights; they weigh seven pounds each and don't waste space. If you're into soda go for diet or buy water flavoring. Pilot/Flying J's have zero calorie lemonade on their fountain, mix it with unsweetened tea for a pretty good Arnold Palmer.

Have you thought about driving team for a major dry van/reefer carrier? I ask because hotshotting isn't really conducive to teaming. Unless your pickup has a sleeper you will be staying in a lot of hotels and/or sleeping in the campers you pull (and some companies don't allow this). Not pulling for 10 hours out of 24 is going to effectively cut your earning potential in half. You'll also be eating out a lot, which further cuts into the money you're bringing in. Plus, when you team for a tractor trailer carrier you'll get paid for deadhead miles.

I'm not trying to discourage you if this is what you want, but it's just something to consider. To answer your questions:

1. It's not particularly hard being the fairer sex out here, but it's a hard job in general especially as a rookie. Hardest part? No bathroom fifteen feet away at all times.

2. Powerful flashlight, thick leather work gloves, sledgehammer, shoes with decent traction, wd-40, hand wipes, audiobooks and music you enjoy, lots of patience and a sense of humor.

3. Walk around on your break. If you eat while bored get sunflower seeds to occupy you, they're not high calorie in comparison to the time it takes to eat them and they're good for you. Skip the truck stop salads and fruit if you can, they're usually unripe/wilted and always overpriced. Stop at Walmart instead. Buy gallon jugs of water and lift those instead of weights; they weigh seven pounds each and don't waste space. If you're into soda go for diet or buy water flavoring. Pilot/Flying J's have zero calorie lemonade on their fountain, mix it with unsweetened tea for a pretty good Arnold Palmer.

We only knew about the hot shot driving because his parents do some of it but I would be interested to look at other options especially that would allow us to team! Thanks for the info I'll have to share it with Chuck for sure! Do u know of the companies that do this so I can do some more research?

Have you thought about driving team for a major dry van/reefer carrier? I ask because hotshotting isn't really conducive to teaming. Unless your pickup has a sleeper you will be staying in a lot of hotels and/or sleeping in the campers you pull (and some companies don't allow this). Not pulling for 10 hours out of 24 is going to effectively cut your earning potential in half. You'll also be eating out a lot, which further cuts into the money you're bringing in. Plus, when you team for a tractor trailer carrier you'll get paid for deadhead miles.

I'm not trying to discourage you if this is what you want, but it's just something to consider. To answer your questions:

1. It's not particularly hard being the fairer sex out here, but it's a hard job in general especially as a rookie. Hardest part? No bathroom fifteen feet away at all times.

2. Powerful flashlight, thick leather work gloves, sledgehammer, shoes with decent traction, wd-40, hand wipes, audiobooks and music you enjoy, lots of patience and a sense of humor.

3. Walk around on your break. If you eat while bored get sunflower seeds to occupy you, they're not high calorie in comparison to the time it takes to eat them and they're good for you. Skip the truck stop salads and fruit if you can, they're usually unripe/wilted and always overpriced. Stop at Walmart instead. Buy gallon jugs of water and lift those instead of weights; they weigh seven pounds each and don't waste space. If you're into soda go for diet or buy water flavoring. Pilot/Flying J's have zero calorie lemonade on their fountain, mix it with unsweetened tea for a pretty good Arnold Palmer.

We only knew about the hot shot driving because his parents do some of it but I would be interested to look at other options especially that would allow us to team! Thanks for the info I'll have to share it with Chuck for sure! Do u know of the companies that do this so I can do some more research?

What are some good companies I should say been hearing some horror stories about some companies.

And we were looking good into the hot shot since we already have the 1ton truck.

What are some good companies I should say been hearing some horror stories about some companies.

You can ignore most of the horror stories. This industry is incredibly unforgiving when you're first starting out, and there are a lot of people who can't hack it. Nothing bad against them as it's a tough job, but chances are the people who are saying "X company is horrible" wouldn't have cut it anywhere. I'd guess maybe one in twenty complaints is legitimate, and that's being pretty generous.

Good companies? Well, I'd say mine is pretty good. I drive team for Celadon with my fiancé. We make 50 cpm after a recent raise, with bonuses you can make up to 60 cpm. Celadon provides team trucks with an installed fridge and 1800w inverter. The inverter is crucial in my opinion, mostly for running a microwave. Some companies don't allow them, but it is very nice to have the ability to make hot food on demand in the truck. Remember that as a team when you're on a JIT load the truck only stops for fuel, 30 min. break, and shift change. Eating canned soup and sandwiches day after day gets old in a hurry. With a microwave, crockpot and electric kettle you can make nearly any hot food you please.

The main thing is to look for companies that are "team oriented" or in other words companies that offer teams a little extra incentive to get onboard. Of course most every company is going to welcome team drivers, but since teaming comes with it's own set of challenges it only seems reasonable to try to make your life in the truck as comfortable as possible. I believe Sue D. works for West Side Transport and is planning on teaming there, you might ask her some details about them. I know CR England has started issuing their teams Western Stars (very nice trucks), although last time I checked their pay package left a little something to be desired. I've also heard good things from teams about Prime, Schneider, and Covenant. Do some research and look into companies that hire in your region. A good place to start is with these articles:

• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

.

What are some good companies I should say been hearing some horror stories about some companies.

You can ignore most of the horror stories. This industry is incredibly unforgiving when you're first starting out, and there are a lot of people who can't hack it. Nothing bad against them as it's a tough job, but chances are the people who are saying "X company is horrible" wouldn't have cut it anywhere. I'd guess maybe one in twenty complaints is legitimate, and that's being pretty generous.

Good companies? Well, I'd say mine is pretty good. I drive team for Celadon with my fiancé. We make 50 cpm after a recent raise, with bonuses you can make up to 60 cpm. Celadon provides team trucks with an installed fridge and 1800w inverter. The inverter is crucial in my opinion, mostly for running a microwave. Some companies don't allow them, but it is very nice to have the ability to make hot food on demand in the truck. Remember that as a team when you're on a JIT load the truck only stops for fuel, 30 min. break, and shift change. Eating canned soup and sandwiches day after day gets old in a hurry. With a microwave, crockpot and electric kettle you can make nearly any hot food you please.

The main thing is to look for companies that are "team oriented" or in other words companies that offer teams a little extra incentive to get onboard. Of course most every company is going to welcome team drivers, but since teaming comes with it's own set of challenges it only seems reasonable to try to make your life in the truck as comfortable as possible. I believe Sue D. works for West Side Transport and is planning on teaming there, you might ask her some details about them. I know CR England has started issuing their teams Western Stars (very nice trucks), although last time I checked their pay package left a little something to be desired. I've also heard good things from teams about Prime, Schneider, and Covenant. Do some research and look into companies that hire in your region. A good place to start is with these articles:

• Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
• Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
• Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"

.

Thank u so much for the info!

Thank u so much for the info!

No problem! If you have any more questions feel free to ask.