After loading up some drywall that had to be tarped on a rainy day in a muddy mess of a parking lot I began to question whether or not becoming a truck driving was a mistake.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, First Solo Months On The Road, Great Stories, Stories of the Road.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, First Solo Months On The Road, hard lessons learned, life on the road, Stories of the Road
After exploring the operation of a big rig and taking a drive, it’s time to take the CDL exam and wrap up this series with some thoughts about the process of getting your CDL.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Intro To Trucking, Passing The CDL Test, Truck Driving School Day-By-Day.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, Intro To Trucking, truck driver training, truck driving school, trucking school
In Part I of my intro to big trucks and truck driving school I talked about signing up for truck driving school at North Cross Commercial Driving School and covered a bit about the anatomy of a typical big rig. Now in part 2 I’ll talk a little bit more about the mechanical aspects of big rigs and we’ll take one for a drive!
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Intro To Trucking.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, Intro To Trucking, truck driver training
Recently, I was contacted by an individual who is interested in becoming a truck driver. He asked me several questions about the trucking industry and about my job. I thought they were excellent questions and decided it would be great to share on my blog for any of you interested in becoming a truck driver. I hope this helps answer some of the questions you might have!
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, being a truck driver, driver responsibilities, getting your CDL, life on the road, truck driving career, truck driving lifestyle
The first couple of weeks on the road driving flatbed were hard, because my body was not conditioned to this pace, this type of work, or these long hours. I lost most of the feeling in the tips of my fingers, and I had aches in places where I would have sworn I didn’t have muscles.
Filed under Becoming A Truck Driver, Great Stories, On The Road In Training, Stories of the Road, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, hard lessons learned, life on the road, On The Road In Training, Stories of the Road, truck driver training, truck driving lifestyle, truck driving stories
If driving a truck has ever crossed your mind, or you just like the looks of that Kenworth, Freightliner, or Peterbilt going by, maybe you would enjoy reading a little more about the trucks and driver training experience, so here goes…
My first time out on the road in training I had a patient, entertaining, and unique character for a trainer – Ringo – an imposing, grizzly bear of a man with a beard like Dan Haggerty. His patience and entertaining stories made for a very unique experience. Since we were running southeast regional, we would get to go home on weekends, but the “trucker’s weekend” was not something I’d been prepared for.
Finally, the time to take the road test arrived. We would go, in small groups, to the testing facility in Hartselle, Alabama over the next five days. I would test on the second day, and Alan would test on the fourth. Everyone was nervous, and most of us failed the first attempt.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Great Stories, Passing The CDL Test, Week 3.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, Taking the CDL exam, truck driver training
Almost everyone is abysmal at 45° angle backing to start with, and I was no exception. However, I was not the only one having difficulty. Alan even resorted to mathematical solutions to crack this puzzle, but it didn’t seem to help either of us. But a couple of great instructors stepped in and helped get us going in the right direction.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Great Stories, Week 2.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, attending truck driving school, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL training, getting your CDL, truck driver training, truck driving school, trucking school
Alan and I were both nervous, yet excited about the new challenge before us. We’d be spending the first couple of days in the yard, learning straight-line backing and 45° angle backing. Here we go – my first attempt at backing up a truck.
Priceville, Alabama was where my trucking adventure began. A Super 8 motel room would be my home for the next three weeks while I attended CDL school. I did not know what to expect on the first day, but I met a wide range of personalities in the other students. It was incredible to see the diversity.
I was probably one of the most unlikely candidates to become a truck driver that the world has ever seen. I had spent the past 20 years of my life working in television broadcasting in various roles. While it had been exciting and challenging at first, the years had eroded my role into a thankless and suffocating rut. I seriously needed a change…a new experience. This is the beginning of my story – the life of an American Trucker.
Hello readers. My name is Cathy Rubens. My husband Steve and I started our trucking adventure in October of 2008. These writing will be done in the form of flashbacks, with some things from the past and some things from the present. Steve and I will be writing about the events and happening from our respective points of view. The flashbacks will be stories of happenings and musings from events as remembered by us.
Posted by
Guyjax on
25 February 2010, 10:23 am
Would you drive a truck if the trucking company you worked for only paid you enough to cover your bills at home and your meals, but nothing more after that? For me the answer would be yes. I love driving and I would do it for free. Trucking is in my blood. Do you love driving a truck? Really love it? If so, then trucking is in your blood. To me, there is a difference between liking your job and loving it. Liking your job means you enjoy going to work, you enjoy the people you work with, you enjoy doing your job. Loving your job means you would do it for free! For me, trucking fits the bill.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, truck driving lifestyle.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, driver responsibilities, Knights Of The Road, life on the road, truck driving career
When you attend truck driving school, even a company sponsored CDL school, you’ll have to decide which endorsements to get when taking your CDL test. We’ll talk about which CDL endorsements are available, how you get these endorsements, what it takes to keep them, and why they are important.
Filed under Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, Career Help, Tips, Advice, Passing The CDL Test.
Tagged Advice and Opinions, Becoming A Truck Driver, CDL endorsements, CDL training, getting your CDL, hard lessons learned, truck driving career
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