Picking My First Trucking Job
Topic 31408 | Page 2
Short answer is to take care of the home life before you go any farther. Like others have said this isn't a normal job and even if you get a local job there's no guarantee that you will see her any more than if you hadn'tgotten a local one.
I was OTR and was able to be home every other weekend with my first company. My ex wanted me home more so I got a local job. I had to work nights, so I was leaving before she got home from work and was getting home as she was leaving for work. So we still didn't see each other except for the weekend and most of those I still had to work 1 day of the weekend. So coming home for a local job was actually a negative thing.
Good to see you around, Jake Brake! Have to ask, though...
....and you did all this ...... for an EX ?!?!?
Well she wasn't an ex at the time lol.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I'll agree with the others
1) Make SURE your family is onboard with this move. whether local or OTR , there WILL be significant lifestyle changes. A 14-16 hour day driving local is no joke. And I'm sure there will be time away from home during your training and orientation.
2) I would strongly recommend a few months OTR before going local. The opportunities for career ending mistakes on a local run are endless, between city traffic, crazy tight docks, blindside backing, tight turns with pedestrians and other obstacles. It's can really cause some "pucker up' moments. It's really good to have some time OTR to understand how your truck and trailer are going to behave in various situations. I bump more docks in a day than I did in any week of OTR. I would have been an absolute mess going directly to a local job without the OTR time.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Wild Bill wrote:
Point #2 is spot-on accurate. Please do not underestimate the difficulty factor with local driving. Very few can handle it right out of the gate.
I'll agree with the others
2) I would strongly recommend a few months OTR before going local. The opportunities for career ending mistakes on a local run are endless, between city traffic, crazy tight docks, blindside backing, tight turns with pedestrians and other obstacles. It's can really cause some "pucker up' moments. It's really good to have some time OTR to understand how your truck and trailer are going to behave in various situations. I bump more docks in a day than I did in any week of OTR. I would have been an absolute mess going directly to a local job without the OTR time.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Hay, Kraken !!
Have you looked into LTL?
Here's a thread that almost, if not, ALL of our LTL guys have contributed to. This may be something the wife could approve!
Running Doubles / LTL & Linehaul
I'd normally tag more links/threads, but I'm coming out of a bad winter cold.. ^^ That's a start! The main guys are in there.
Best wishes!
~ Anne ~
Yeah I've been looking into LTL, I've got some friends that do that and work a 4 day week which would be ideal. I've got doubles and triples, tankers and hazmat endorsements I just don't have any experience so I need a place that's going to train me some.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.Doubles:
Refers to pulling two trailers at the same time, otherwise known as "pups" or "pup trailers" because they're only about 28 feet long. However there are some states that allow doubles that are each 48 feet in length.
Have you made her aware that doing OTR or regional for a year will most likely open up a lot more local options for you? Sacrificing a difficult year now could be more worthwhile in the long run.
That's what I've been telling her and she is starting to come around. She wants me home at least on the weekends so reginal is probably going to be the way I go unless I just find a gem of a local place, but that's looking unlikely.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Have you spoken to companies such as Averitt? They have a "dock to driver" program that's pretty much what it sounds like, working on their docks and training with one of their trainers. Depending upon the terminal , you might have line haul options. I know this because I spoke with one of their recruiters last week. Looks like they have a terminal near Tupelo? I think several of the LTL carriers have training programs, but I don't know that for a fact. Maybe some others here will chime in.
Keep in mind the experienced pros here typically do NOT recommend you start in city P&D , and I agree with them. Having done some driving years ago, I know that P&D can involve getting in and out of a lot of tight places, and increases your odds of a fender bender (or worse) considerably. That's why I suggested asking about the line haul option.
I have been looking to Averitt, the depot here has a lot of regional opportunities and they have a night shift shuttle run that just runs to Alabama and back to bring trailers for the OTR runs. But I feel like the night shift would be just like being away because I wont see them hardly anyways.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
P&D:
Pickup & Delivery
Local drivers that stay around their area, usually within 100 mile radius of a terminal, picking up and delivering loads.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers for instance will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Line Haul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Thank you everyone for all the advice. After talking about it some more she is open to the reality that I may have to work away for a while to get the experience needed for some of the local opportunities around near home. We live 5 mins for an Ashley Furniture distribution center and a Toyota manufacturing plant that both have local shuttle runs but require at least 9 months of experience. I'm looking into an intermodal place call IMCG that runs out of Memphis that I home daily but if that fall through I'm going with one of the regional jobs until I get enough experience for the shuttle run places.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
Thank you everyone for all the advice. After talking about it some more she is open to the reality that I may have to work away for a while to get the experience needed for some of the local opportunities around near home. We live 5 mins for an Ashley Furniture distribution center and a Toyota manufacturing plant that both have local shuttle runs but require at least 9 months of experience. I'm looking into an intermodal place call IMCG that runs out of Memphis that I home daily but if that fall through I'm going with one of the regional jobs until I get enough experience for the shuttle run places.
Howdy, Kraken!
Good to see you back, man.
Have you ever looked into Wilson Logistics? Did you apply here ?!?!? Apply For Paid CDL Training.
They've recently been acquired by . . . . ASHLEY FURNITURE! Still operating separately as Wilson, however. It's intricate, but you can read it in the following link, how it works. It would be in your GREAT interest to apply above, with your app going to Wilson, with you ... perhaps getting on with them to drive Ashley, dedicated!
Wilson Logistics Assets Acquired by Ashley Furniture.
That may, indeed, be a gem!
Also, read Banks' diary, how he got into FedEx ; he linked to it in a previous thread.
Wish you the best, good sir!
~ Anne ~
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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Good to see you around, Jake Brake! Have to ask, though...
....and you did all this ...... for an EX ?!?!?
Best wishes to the OP. Here's this for ya:
It takes as MUCH commitment from the wife as it does the driver..for this PROFESSION to even, ever work. I'm proof positive... and so is IDMtnGal (Ms. Laura.)
Read Old School's Blogspot; the link is in his profile. Another example of the 'familia necessito' mindset, all in or all out.
~ Anne ~
ps: LOOK LOCALLY for dump/waste management jobs; they pay well (at least here, in Ohio.) Bus drivers are in HIGH demand; many states offering sign on bonuses up to 10K. (Yes, $10K.) You might have to get the WIOA grant to pay for the 160 certificate; but it's a start!
pps: Read Shantiwa's threads; she's in a similar boat; hers is 'children' however; not a clingy spouse. I carried our youngest, who turned 18 TODAY, whilst Tom was OTR. It's all in what priorities are. He was finally local (ish) for the formative years, thank God. Still is; happily.
Links: Shantiwa's Threads
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
WIOA:
WIOA - Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act (aka WIA)
Formerly known as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the WIOA was established in 1998 to prepare youth, adults and dislocated workers for entry and reentry into the workforce. WIOA training funds are designed to serve laid-off individuals, older youth and adults who are in need of training to enter or reenter the labor market. A lot of truck drivers get funding for their CDL training through WIOA.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.