Comments By Mark A.

Thanks for the info Eckoh.

How but inverters? Since no APU's do the trucks have smart idle or whatever it's called?

Does swift have APU's and or inverters in their tractors now?

Thanks for the info Evanston. I appreciate the tip.

I don't know what to do! I live in San Diego and am planning on starting my CDL sponsored training someplace (tbd). I plan on selling my house soon and bank the funds. I want to just find a company I could hire on with. I have no experience with living in a truck but in my mind I just want to be on the road for a year or so. If forced I could get a hotel for a couple of days or so.

Will these big trucking companies hire you under the pretense you choose to move in the hiring area.?

My real goal was to move to Florida someday. But why rent an apartment or buy a house to stay only 5 days a month. Right now my am in a point I have no ties to anyplace and I don't need to go home.

There appears to be a few that would hire out of California but not many

I'm in the same boat as you Mark. I talked to Knight Transportation and explained that I was retiring from the military and plan to move from Vegas to Iowa...but just temporary. They told me I would not be in the hiring zone in Iowa, since they don't have much freight going that way for my hometime. I explained to the recruiter Iowa wouldn't be my permanent home and my wife was going to tag along with me. Since that was my plan, they wouldn't let me come to their Squire program...I won't have a permanent address after leaving the service and the recruiter told me once I get settled somewhere in their hiring area, to give them a call. I can understand they need a physical address for verification purposes.

EvanstonMark that's a good idea. I'll have to look into that. My goal was to do OTR for a few years and settle down in Colorado after we saved more money for a nice down payment for a house. Then look for some local gig in Denver/Aurora area.

Decided which company sponsored program to attend and looks like Stevens. I was hoping for Knight but looks like after I retire from the military, they don't hire out of Iowa, which will be my "temporary" home state. I got pre-hired by Stevens, they just need a copy of my discharge paperwork. They sent me an email regarding information about the company/drivers. In it, it states they have the longest haul per load (1400-1500 mi) and could possible make 2800-3000 miles per week...at .26 cpm. The pay is low compared to other companies, but if the miles are there to run, then it almost evens out.

Was wondering if anybody here at TT is currently driving for them that can confirm the above numbers? Do they run 9-10 speeds, auto's? They do have nice trucks, from what I've seen on the roads here in Vegas and they also have APU's. My plan is to have the wife ride along once I go solo after the probation period.

I've been studying the high-road material here, and plan on getting my permit within the next few weeks. Thanks for any info you may have.

As Josh stated, Jason did get his cdl through the school. Also, in Jason's other 80000 pound thread I asked him how the school and instructors were...as my plan is to attend the school at the beginning of the year. From looks of it, its almost a copy and paste thread...to start a new thread to highlight that particular school. I hope all these posts haven't run Jason off, as with any thread made will be useful for me in the future.

Congrats Jason! How was AIT? I'm planning to attend that school at the beginning of the year. I'm sure I past you a few times as I always saw the AIT truck driving down Craig road, or near Nellis. How were the instructors?

Since I'm a soon to be driver here's my thinking. I would run the 63 miles and get the trailer washed out. The recap from today and tomorrow will make up for lost time running to get the trailer washed out. Maybe I'm just a stickler to be honest.

Jason, thanks for the update on AIT. I'm kinda new to TT, but I've been doing alot of studying also on here. I'm also planning to attend AIT in Vegas. Looking forward to hear your updates