Profile For Gary W.

Well the day has come,and as of monday the 22nd,i start my orientation with may trucking. Am excited,but there just that little tinge of nervousness. I know i will be ok. They told me to pack enough cloths for 7-10 days,and to be prepared to be on the road for 30 days.This will be a new chapter in my life. Now i get to find out what all you long time mentors are talking about. I am really geared up for this literally! Hope my trainer is cool. Will find out. Now my second thought for the day was,do truck drivers park and sleep in their trucks,or do they rent hotel or motel for the night? Just curious. Not that big of a issue for me. Anyway's,will keep all informed on this next chapter in my life for my new career. Will talk soon,Gary

As we come to the end of the year,and what a year,especially for myself,starting out in a new career that i thought was never possible. I wish brett and mike all the best now and in the new year ahead! I also wish all the people that have joined TT and have been actively involved in the forum's,thank you,god bless you all, and thank you for all your input,advice,help!! You all are true mentors!! The more i read articles on the trucking industry,the more it tells me that we have to stick together as a whole. We need to support,guide,help one another through the good and the bad. And as i have read many a articles, i do not always believe everything i read or hear. So, with that and the rest of my message,here we end another year,and start a fresh new year,which i can only guess will be real interesting!! Thanks again to one and all!!! Take care of yourself's,your family's,friends!!! I always say,you do not know what you got till it's gone!!! Merry christmas & Happy New Year! Gary

Just needed to get some feed back from everyone on when on the road for weeks on end,in this day and age,do drivers do bill pay or if they are single,have the post office hold the mail till they get home? I know of people that have used bill pay for years,and others say they prefer to do it the old way,mail it. So, i just had to ask. Something that i was curious about and just wanted to see. Thanks,Gary

Regarding the industry going total auto transmission's is ok. I am old school,all i have ever known,is everything from 3 on the tree,to 10,13,18 speed trannys. When the ultra shift,and the auto shift starting coming out in the last few years,my thought was you got to be kidding! They will never last or hold up. But as i have read, many pro's and con's about them,and has been said in the TT forum,that it seems like the wave of the future. It's kind of like what we grew up with,and were taught is now going by the wayside. Kind of like everything else that changes. I do not mind change,as long as it is good change,and benefits the industry and the drivers. So we go on!!!!!!! One day at a time!!!! Gary

Ok,i have a question,and it's kind of eating at me,after reading some of the general discussions from the guys on the forum about starting at a trucking company. Now that i have passed,and got my cdl, what kind of procedure do the trucking companies put you through,and is it the same that i learned at trucking school, more or less? Will there be any money that has to be put down for anything? I know every company is different, but always like to be prepared! Thanks much,Gary

After 4 weeks of cdl school, and failed backup and road test, 3 weeks later i passed everything. It took me a day to vent,and realize i made it. Now,trying to decide who i want to go to work for. Have been looking for the last 4 days,and put in some apps online to gordon trucking,may trucking,werner trucking, and will put one more in. Now i know ya can't be a nit pick when your starting out,but i would like to do 11 western states if possible. If not,then i go for OTR to where ever. This is going to be a little wearing to see who call's and offers what. I know that in the end,and after reading several forums,that things will work out one way or another. After all, i am aware you have to start from the bottom and go up. So with that,any input or suggestions would be great!

I'd say it depends on the type of freight you want to haul. But definitely pick a state with no state income tax lol.

Oregon has no state sales tax. That's why i moved out of California after living there all my life, it just got terrible. Before i moved to oregon, i looked at oklahoma. Oklahoma is a possible down the road.

Just wanted to thank everyone on the site for the support and encouragement. Was supposed to start at Prime on 2/2, but found out today that because I have a defibrillator I cannot get a CDL. Thanks for the great site Brett.

Sorry to hear about this. But, remember,do not give up,pick up the pieces and carry on!!!!!! Life does not end because of something like this,and like i always say, life is to short for any reason. Hang in there,and good luck!!!!!

It certainly does raise the spirit when your company recognizes your hard work. Congrats!

That is really great!!!! It really gives a person that boost of confidence in what they are doing day by day. Like i have seen many of times in my years, there are good loving people in this world,and then there are some, well you try to figure out why,and then just don't even bother trying. I always say thank god for our trucker brothers and sisters,and family's that we have to talk to and turn to in our every day lives driving truck.

The best of luck to you when you get back to the usa!! Thank you for your service to our country!!!!! Good luck and hang in there!!!!