Profile For Andy

Thanks PJ!

I'm not totally against tanker. The team of fuel tankers I managed were fantastic. I guess it's just about what my personal driving experience is. I love the variety in dry van and reefer. I'm also not the biggest fan of slinging hoses lol! For the right opportunity its something I would look at though.

Thanks for the welcome Anne! I actually moved back to Colorado almost 4 years ago.

I absolutely love otr so I'm definitely heading in that direction. I've never tried flatbedding but I'm a bit of a clean freak so... yeah. I ran dry van for the first 3 years I drove and then reefer the last 4.

The most important things for me are the rider program so my wife can come with me. When I was otr before it was such a major downer to be separated. I loved the job but the separation was a killer. Now it's just us so it's finally time that she can come with me. She's totally prepared for and a perfect fit for the lifestyle. ( one of her nicknames is "Gypsy Lil" after all lol ). Also, pet policy that allows cats. We've had two cats for many years but we lost our siamese "Mr. Boo" earlier this year. He was 12 years old and had diabetes that he struggled with for the last 3 years and we had to give him insulin shots twice daily. His kidneys failed in mid Jan. RIP. Ms. Gracie is our 6 year old kitty that is still with us and ready to roll! Yes, we're those weird people that treat our cats like our children!

Miles... I know how it works and understand up weeks and down weeks. I'll be looking to average 2500+ per week. If I can get a 3500+ week then heck yeah I'll take it! I'll also understand if there's a poor week mixed in there.

Home time/ days off... For the most part we'll be taking days off wherever we're at. We have family in both Ohio and Colorado so there could be the occasionall request to be off there but the majority will be wherever we are.

So, rider, cat, reasonable miles per week average, reefer or dry van preferred (could consider tanker), otr.

Thanks for the advice, Andy

Greetings all! First post...woooo

Alright then, it's time for me to get back on the road. I got my CDL in 2006 at USTDS in the Colorado Springs area. Right after graduation I went to work for a "starter" company and unlike many that like to complain and whine about every little thing I had a great experience.

I spent 3 years driving as an OTR driver and racked up about 350k safe driving miles while driving in every state in the lower 48 as well as all the lower provinces of Canada.

I did become a trainer after only 6 months as a professional driver and trained many outstanding students to be true professionals. I know I know... Everyone thinks "omg! Training with only 6 months experience yourself? Thats crazy!" aaaand I tend to agree with you but it's something that in my case worked out really well for myself and my students.

I then decided to bring it home for awhile and moved into a local driving position for about a year.

After that, my wife and I moved across country to Ohio and I joined a regional Wal-Mart account with Schneider out of Washington Courthouse where I stayed for another 3 years.

After that I moved into a management position with Best Buy to manage their home delivery drivers and stayed there for 4 years before joining Groen**** as a Driver Manager where I spent the last 3 years.

Whew!

I stopped driving originally because I wanted to be home with my family and move more into the management roles. I've really enjoyed every moment of my career in the transportation industry and now it's time to roll again!

My wife and I have finally reached the point that we can do this together so we are currently packing up the house and getting everything into storage. I expect to get everything done and ready to roll within the next 6 months. Iknow that seems like a long timeline but we have alot of stuff haha! Also my little wife had shoulder surgery and has to complete her physical therapy and recovery before we hit the road.

So, I have really stayed up to date with the industry and regulations etc. I would occasionally move trucks around the yard but haven't actually driven for about 7 years now. I feel like it's like I have really maintained my skills though and if anything I'm just a bit older and wiser. We all know you never stop learning in this industry of course.

So... I have to say I'm leaning heavily towards Prime and running otr reefers. With my situation I'll be bringing the wife along permanently as well as our awesome cat Miss Gracie. @ Driving along with Kearsey you have been a huuuge part of us leaning towards Prime. We spent about 12 hours just over the last 2 days watching your youtube channel with much more watching to come. Wow... What an awesome spokesperson you are for them while also not holding back on the reality of the lifestyle.

That's not to say I'm not open to other possibilities so if you all have any other companies you want to recommend then by all means throw it at me!

We hope to see you all out on the road soon! Until then keep it between the lines and be safe!

Andy