Thinking Of Cdl, Missing Trucks

Hi, I've poked around a few forums and thought I'd join here and see if y'all will accept my weirdness haha. I'm 28 and currently a food service manager. I've been a server, thought I wanted to be a vet for the last 22yrs of my life but can't seem to get in a financial place where I don't have to work 40hrs a week. Every time I might, my roots have grown too much and I burn bridges and flee. My dad was a trucker and a lot of the unrest I'm feeling seems to lead to this as a possible solution. Even if it isn't, I grew up in a truck and I need to talk to some truck people again. It's really been too long.

My mom went with him until she was too pregnant and then we were back in once I was 6mos old. When I was 6 years old, I was allowed to start going with him by myself during school breaks. And that was the next 10yrs. This whole beautiful country feels like home, and in trying to plan some time off work with my bf I'm realizing that flying and rental cars sound totally unsatisfying- the roads are home, too. And one trip to one place won't suffice. I'd take time off and just go with dad, I know he'd still be doing it even though he'd be coming up on 68, but since that's not an option and I'm so comfortable in a truck I think maybe I need to take the other option and do it myself.
It sounds like I could perhaps get into it without being stuffed in there with a stranger at first. My dad had his cdl for decades and still needed a codriver for probationary periods at new companies, but that was over 20yrs ago. He had some real gems and it's always been the one negative that was a deal breaker for me. The other negatives are whatever, every job has down sides. My dad used to cheat his log book and it sounds like that's all electronic now. I'm not trying to do it forever or support a family, just hoard some money without going stir crazy for a few years so I think with technology I could easily handle the long down times each day. My dad would drive about 18-21hrs and while I would like that ability to hustle it's honestly kind of a relief that it's so hard to cheat that I wouldn't automatically be the slowest driver out there without doing it >_> Serving KILLS my wrists but the more plates I run and the heavier I load those trays the fatter the tips... I was home every night with curled up claw hands for $25/hr lol, like maybe I need limits.

I guess I'm just looking for some other stories. What made other women decide to do this. If there's a thread here for it then point me to it :D

Also, how is it physically nowadays? I know some docks do it for you and others you gotta get in there. My dad would get in there anyway as long as they let him since he didn't have time for their shenanigans. I helped as a kid as long as we were at places who were cool about it (listen to me, that stuff was so illegal lol) but I do worry a bit as a 5'2 squeaky mouse person. Can you still hire people off the street corner in certain areas lol? What if my 130lbs isn't enough to pull some straps tight enough and my load falls, I mean I can throw my weight around all I want but it doesn't change what it is. Any experiences here? I'm still going to poke around and I apologize if my questions are answered elsewhere, I just had too much going on in my head and had to stop and register lol.

I have to really decide now because I need to make some specific choices for the next 6mos or so before starting the process. My brain is on a hamster wheel of anxiety and I think just hearing some other opinions/stories/advice/whatever will help a lot. Thanks for reading my noob novel <3

I don't touch any freight with the one exception of knocking out the wood bracing used to secure forklifts in a dry van when I deliver them to various forklift dealers from the manufacturer.

If lumpers are ever required as a company driver, your company foots the bill for that and they must generally be licensed and have a tax ID number.. at least with my company anyway.

I personally love driving over the road. I love the adventure and get antsy being in one place too long.

I grew up around trucks also and retired from healthcare to drive OTR and satisfy my "itch".

Sarah, in addition to Susan D's excellent reply, there are a number of active woman in the forum, each with their own unique and interesting story. As a suggestion, use the search bar in the upper left hand-corner of the webpage and type any of the following names and press enter:

Susan D Rainy D Miss Miyoshi ChickieMonster

Those are four of the most active, interesting, and successful woman we have on the TT forum. Reading their back stories, diaries, and general forum entries hopefully will provide a higher level of confidence and motivation.

If you haven't already, not a bad idea to also review the contents of these threads, especially the Highroad Training link:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road Training Program

Good luck to you...!