Retired Trucker Looking For Advice

Hey Old School and PJ, thank you so very much for that advice. This is why Boards like TruckingTruth are so valuable. It’s not like I had been selling crack on a street corner for the last 9 years. Primarily my goal here is to see the Nation. Something I did not get to do as a regional driver. Secondly, I thought at the same time I could help out moving freight and maybe pass along some things I’ve learned about driving and this business to new drivers starting out. I would think that recruiters would be eager to fill seats with qualified drivers, albeit rusty, but the two I spoke with sounded like they were reading a script and didn’t like their jobs. I guess everybody can have a bad day but I always tried to leave my bad day at the gate and focus on the task at hand. Thanks again to you folks. I do appreciate you.

I’m so sorry about your husband. I cared for my wife for over a year. Nothing compared to your experience but I do understand the emotional toll that takes on a person. I understand that when the time comes I will have to drive with a trainer for a period of time to show the company I can do the job. If your brother is a trainer let me know where so I can avoid him😂😂. I’m pretty easy going and can get along with most folks but it’s very difficult for me to tolerate an unsafe, unprofessional driver. BTW, I live in Washington now but I’m a Butte boy at heart born in Helena.

My situation was a little bit different in the fact that I drove for 5 years and then was off 22 years, 18 of which I was taking care of my Traumatic Brain Injured husband. The company that hired me talked to their insurance company and because I had driven previously, even after all that time, I had to give 10 years of work history.

My husband was being cared for by Montana's Workman's Comp and they put him on domiciliary care. That basically was me caring for him. I did that for 6 years as a paid caregiver. However, my name wasn't in the domiciliary letter. So I did use the domiciliary letter that he needed care, but I had to have three friends vouch that I had been caring for him for 18 years. Once I got those notarized statements, I was hired on to drive. The only thing that irked me, was lack of recent experience, so I had to drive with my brother for 6 months. Fortunately, after 2.5 months I was able to get off the truck from driving with him....he's a scary, aggressive driver 😝

Laura

Old School and PJ. Let me run this letter draft by you and get your thoughts:

I _________having known _________ can and do attest to the fact that _______has been retired since October of 2015. Also I know that it is ___________intent to re-enter the workforce.

I would provide space for signatures, Notary Stamp and Notary Signature.

Your thoughts…..

I would add how long they have known you, and they have personal knowledge since retiring you have lived within the USA.

I would not go to a local CDL school. If a company wont hire you due to no recent work history . It wont matter if yiu have a CDL. They still wont hire you

Feb 8 2022, the training requirements changed by law.

No, prime will not reduce your miles. However, hit something and you may do more miles.

If yiu truly do well, then treming can have you rack up the miles quickly.

OK! Thank-you!

I would add how long they have known you, and they have personal knowledge since retiring you have lived within the USA.

Thanks for the advice.

I would not go to a local CDL school. If a company wont hire you due to no recent work history . It wont matter if yiu have a CDL. They still wont hire you

Feb 8 2022, the training requirements changed by law.

No, prime will not reduce your miles. However, hit something and you may do more miles.

If yiu truly do well, then treming can have you rack up the miles quickly.

Dave, did you try Schneider National recruiting? If you did, what was the response?

I heard that there was a change at Schneider recently. They are not currently hiring outside drivers, only those that go through their CDL school. If that is true, it might work to your advantage. Plus they are old guy friendly. Not sure if what I was told is accurate but if you haven’t tried Schneider, it would be worth a shot.

No, Schneider was not one I contacted. I have looked at them as a potential carrier but I haven’t seen that they have a “in house” school like a Swift or Prime. They do have a relationship with private CDL schools near me. I will definitely take a second look. Thank-you.

Dave, did you try Schneider National recruiting? If you did, what was the response?

I heard that there was a change at Schneider recently. They are not currently hiring outside drivers, only those that go through their CDL school. If that is true, it might work to your advantage. Plus they are old guy friendly. Not sure if what I was told is accurate but if you haven’t tried Schneider, it would be worth a shot.

Dave, Schneider does have an in-house training program. Not all their operating centers have the school but the bigger ones do. They had the school system and then discontinued it but then started it up again. So last I heard it was still up and running. You would just need to call their recruiting dept. to see what they would have available for you.

Also, my email address is in my TT bio. If you want to shoot me an email with your phone number, we could talk on the phone about your situation. We could brainstorm some ideas for you to get you back on the road.