New Driving Looking Local Home Daily. Options?

My question is are there any local companies out there who will take a recent grad?

Yeah, that's the other problem. You're not considered a recent grad, having graduated in 3/17. With virtually no experience and nothing in the past 18 months or so it's going to be really tough to find anything local, and even tougher for you to handle it because you really don't have the skillset you need to handle local work.

I have four little ones at home between 6 months and 9 years old......[but] I want to get back into trucking because I want something new and exciting

That's a tall order I'd say. I would suggest you consider getting a regional job that gets you home on the weekends for a while to build up your skills and qualifications for a decent local job. In retrospect, if you would have stayed OTR long enough to build those skills and that experience you'd likely have an awesome local job at this point. So something is probably going to have to give. Either you're going to have to stay where you're at or the family is going to have to learn to do things without you for maybe 6 months while you build your skills for local work.

The problem is that a lot of people who take local work too soon wind up getting into a couple of little fender benders or backing accidents and get fired. Now your record looks really bad and finding a good job is going to be nearly impossible for quite a while.

You might also consider local work like propane and heating oil delivery, dump trucks, or hauling dumpsters to landfills. But regardless of the job you choose you would be better off getting maybe 6 months of OTR under your belt to develop your skills first. It might seem like a lot to ask but if you want to establish your career the right way and give yourself the best chance at success it's the right way to go.

Normally we suggest staying with your first company for one full year running OTR but you already have a little experience and a big family, so shortening the time to about 6 months is reasonable in your case.

Joe, the advice above from the mod's on the thread is very sound. I started OTR - Midwest Regional , five full days out, sometimes six, with a 34 off, then back at it. I liked it, but it was tough being away from my family. I thought local, home pillow would be ideal for me, so gave it over a year and found an outfit that would hire me for local work.

When you read comments about the days being long, I can say for certainty that if the company you hire on with is vibrant and has good sales people, you will be on duty for 14 hours most days, sometimes you'll pull into the 16 hour exemption. You will spend that time, more than likely, in a day cab. You will be expected to have a standardized start time, and if you work a 14, your ten hours of off duty time is split between getting all of the tasks done that you need to do. Laundry, eating, driving to and from the terminal , oh, ya... and sleeping... Ten hours is shortened pretty dramatically when you factor that in. I loved local. My wife and son were happy that I was home each night. But it wore me out.

After three years on the local routes, I jumped back into a sleeper cab to go Regional OTR with my current outfit. I still run up against my 11 or 14 most days, and I get through my local terminal occasionally during the week. If the loads permit, I'll sometimes take my ten at home with the family. FOR ME that is the best deal around. You will find what works best for you. Just know that when you sign on for local work, you're likely signing on for solid 14's most every day. Rob T's thread is a great reference to a day in the life of a local driver.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions everyone. Amish country stated about Donmoyer on here. As luck would have it, I received a phone call from Silfies and Donmoyer out of Nazareth PA this afternoon, a dry bulk pneumatic operation. They would like me to come in for a road test this weekend. As long as do okay on the roadtest, they will put me with a trainer for about 4 weeks and then I'll be sent out on my own. As many said, it'll be a 12 hour day. M-F one week, M-Sat the next. Start time will be between 2-5am. (I'm okay with getting up early.) Looking forward to it! I'll report back after the road test this weekend and let ya'll know how everything went. 👍 - Joe

I believe Nazareth does a lot of cement. Either way I'm more than happy to help you out with anything, just let me know. If it works out we can exchange info so you have my direct line.

Joe R:

As a 'Rookie's driver with less than 4 months experience driving a local position with FAB Express, here are my thoughts related to the job and FAB as a company.

Pro's *Equipment has been good with fast repairs by mechanic in the yard when needed. *I am home nightly and weekends. *I go to the same consignees who we deal with on a frequent basis. Most loads are drop and hook , and the live loads/unloads have been quick with minimal sitting and waiting. *I deal with the same dispatcher and office personnel at my yard who I see on a daily basis *FAB has been very cooperative in keeping me moving. *Great accessorial flat rate pay.

Cons: *Hours can be long (about 12 hours daily) if you want to work that long. Saying that, FAB Express hasn't penalized drivers who prefer to work shorter hours. Just cannot whine about smaller paychecks. The more we work, the better the paychecks. *Some docks have been challenging, but I have gotten a sense of satisfaction after "getting it in the hole". *Going to the same customer daily - or multiple times daily - may get monotonous, but that is up to each individual driver and how they feel. Personally, I prefer dealing with the same (customers) personnel. *Weekend drivers may grab your truck if it is needed, so I would have to take my CB, gps and any other personal items out of the truck every Friday if I was/am worried about their "disappearing. Stating that, I would know who used my truck over the weekend.

So far, I am more than happy driving locally, both for personal and professional reasons. I have no complaints about the company also.

Not all local jobs will require long hours. If you were to apply to freight companies like ABF, Old Dominion, LGO, etc. they would probably offer a dock to driver position. These freight companies are notorious for keeping you as close to 8 hours a day as possible because they hate to pay "overtime". This is for their local P & D operations and not Linehaul runs which usually are taken by drivers with higher seniority.

I run linehaul for OD if you want to make more money I would recommend paying for that at your local terminal but those runs are over night so your home time isnt kid friendly. P&D would give you more of a 9 to 5 feel and they usually work 8-10 hours a day sometimes less if it is slow. Say would start at $25 per hour or if you want linehaul 57 cpm.

The biggest reason local work isn't advised straight out of school isnt because of the hours its because of the tight quarter maneuvering, difficult backs several times a day and alot more urban driving on a daily basis that many of those jobs entail. We had a member here that was let go from OD for having a backing incident in his probationary period. He had atleast a year of experience. Now imagine being a rookie with little to no experience and having it on your employment record of having only a month or 2 of experience and being terminated for an accident. From what ive seen carriers are more willing to hire someone fresh out of school than a driver with only a month of experience.

This forum isnt necessarily against local driving, they have your best interest in mind. I didnt take the recommended route into this career but everyone has still been willing to support or help me although they didnt particularily agree with my decision. Ultimately everyone makes their own decision but many people are here to offer support and give you their opinion based on their experiences on the road. Its up to you to decide what you do with the advice.

Sir like you I have a few young kids at home and went local straight out of school. I wasn't about to sacrifice my time with them. And getting to sit down to dinner with them every night makes things completely worth it. However there are a Couple things. First yes it's hard work. The backing can be intense. The hours can be long. The labor can get tough. I had my own problems when I started and one that cost me a job with OD. However I pushed through and still drive locally. As far as the experience thing goes. Here's what I've noticed, at least in my area. Companies are so short on drivers that most have cut back their requirements and some are even willing to train now. This is a drivers market and a lot of companies just want guys willing to drive.

I stand by my decision to go local. It's not the recommended way to start a career in trucking and could have easily failed. However I wouldn't have changed my mind if I had a second chance. In the end you need to do what you feel is best for not only your career but your family as well. Best of luck sir. if