Profile For Steve L.

Wow! We probably know of a Writer who cringes at the thought; I guess anyone CAN be a writer. 😎

There’s a lot of freight between JAX and Savannah ports. I would think there’d be lots of driving jobs in the area.

I live in the panhandle and hired on to Schneider straight out of school. You might need to redefine what you consider “good companies.”

There’s a school near you. I don’t know the name, but I’ve passed it a bunch of times. Maybe talk to them and find out who hires out of their school. You don’t have to sign up, just maybe see if there’s any partnership between them and reputable companies.

Where in Florida are you?

Have you asked to go solo? If you need to make money and they can’t find a team driver, why not solo?

My daughter turns 12 tomorrow. I got into this five years ago.

I spent the first two years doing OTR “48 states” and home twice monthly. During that time my company got me home for Son’s wedding, Wife’s surgery and other major events. I drove for Schneider National, dry van.

Three years ago I came to a southeast regional company/job. I get home weekly, often multiple times a week. My current company has gotten me home for my Daughter’s dance recitals and even for the Daddy/Daughter rehearsals each week. I guess I have it better than I sometimes think.

My relationship with my family has grown stronger in the past five years.

Time away was a little easier for me because I spent ten years in the Navy, much of it on ships.

When you make your decision, whatever that may be, stand tall and proud. Celebrate whatever the next chapter brings.

I hope this helps.

Even if you only average 2,500 miles per week, that’s $36k to start with NO experience. And that’s not good enough?

Everyone told me expecting $36k or more, first year, was expecting too much. So I went and did $40k. I was once told nobody would give me a loan to start the business I wanted to start. I got the first unsecured startup loan in franchise history. They said first year sales wouldn’t top $90k, I did $103,000. They said nobody would buy my service business; after ten successful years, I sold it.

If you want this, do it. Your two “best” jobs are your last one and your next one. Get after it! Be successful and THEN you can start...WAIT A MINUTE...didn’t you know the pay when you signed up? 🤔

Go make it happen. If it’s in your heart, it’ll show up in your paycheck.😎

Sorry for your loss. And sorry to hear of all the other stuff you’re dealing with. It just goes to show, even superheroes like you, are human. 😊

Btw: superhero comment is a compliment. I just realized some may take it as sarcasm.

Let me get back to digging that hole. 😊

Sorry for your loss. And sorry to hear of all the other stuff you’re dealing with. It just goes to show, even superheroes like you, are human. 😊

Thanks Anne A.

Speaking of numbers. I'd be curious to see some total dispatched miles from some of you that are OTR drivers.

I ran 130,000 miles this year. Honestly, I didn't push as hard as I have in some years. I made good money, and I never felt like I was pushing too hard. I'm curious how that compares with others. Any feedback is appreciated.

I did 123,000 in Southeast regional and home at least once a week. Many weeks I was home more than once. It also included two weeks off for vacation.

My hat’s off to all of you. You’ve given great advice, shared experiences and even provided some entertainment over my five years here and trucking.

I especially respect all of you who’ve overcome difficult odds and proven what perseverance can do; you inspire me to do better.

And a big thanks to Old School! You gave me some very good advice a few weeks back. I’m staying put. As much as we sometimes don’t like things, starting over somewhere else has it’s own challenges.

To all who are driving for “second chance” companies, keep at it. When I see your trucks I know you’re on a journey most people couldn’t handle. I also know you’re heading toward a brighter future.

Thank you Brett!

Happy New Year all and may 2020 be your best yet!

This is WISDOM! Thanks Old School!

“ Courage isn't born overnight. It comes from fighting the fight that's before us. You've shown considerable courage in this battle. Keep up the fight. The courage to finish what you started is growing in you. There are future battles ahead. Getting a CDL is not the ultimate goal. There are many more conflicts beyond that point. As you conquer the steps ahead of you courage grows and solidifies itself in your psyche. You have already gained considerable courage and confidence. Draw strength from your victories. Don't allow a few missteps to get the best of your confidence.

Hang in there. You can do this. Fight with courage. You're not a coward. You're a soldier. Get in there and conquer those things that are resistant to your efforts. It won't be easy. Courage never comes easy. It's born in conflict. Conflict in itself is not necessarily bad. Cowering to it produces cowardice. Facing the giants ahead of us allows courage to develop.

My life experiences tell me that you are doing much more than becoming a truck driver. You are genuinely developing as a person. Keep pressing on. There's a brighter future ahead of you.”

Why not consider the biggies? Schneider, Swift or the others. Schneider keeps trying to recruit me back at 42+cpm and I live in the Florida panhandle.

I’m curious. Would this be local hauling milk or OTR, general freight?

If it’s local milk hauling, who would be your competition and is it likely they are big enough to keep you down? There’s always somebody who can beat you on price.

Even if you wanna pursue it, you need to remember it is a small business startup with ALL of the baggage that comes with. E.g. taxes, expenses (they’ll all be your responsibility) and covering your living expenses when your truck isn’t making $.

If you still wanna pursue it, read The E-Myth Revisited...along with many other books.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

1. Time Management - if you’ve done it before, you’ll do it here. It’s just different tasks.

2. Mountain Driving - you can go down too slow a gazillion times; you’ll only go down too fast ONE time.

3. City driving - you’ll get trained on some of it, but it’ll take some getting used to.

It’s much like flying a plane in that, cruising down the road is easy. It’s the take-off & landing that are tricky.

I use Truckerpath (the free version) quite a bit. While it’s pretty good, some of the routes it gives as options are not always truck friendly. Maybe the subscriber version is better, but I don’t know.

Good luck.

You’re RIGHT!

I started with Schneider and only left for better home time, same pay. Great company as are many of the other biggies.

I hope teaming is all you want it to be. More importantly, I hope your surgery goes well and recovery is swift. 😊

Take your positive attitude with you and do what they tell you. You are interviewing for the job EVERY day, from here on.

Read as much as possible HERE. The Moderators here are THE BEST and they are free to you.

This job is much like the military; hurry up and wait, you need a thick skin, expect people to be hard on you, but keep a positive attitude and enjoy the simple pleasures.

Remember the school is only training you to pass the test. The real tests will come when you get into a truck and are getting paid to haul freight.

Do all your pre-hires at school so you’ll have a job when you pass the test.

I hope this helps.

1. Where I’d park my truck. Living in a neighborhood where I couldn’t, this was very important to me.

2. How quickly I could start earning top $. And being a solo driver. Ten years in the Navy left me with no desire to share a bunk.

3. Company stability/size. I wanted a company large enough to let me change function (if I wanted) and/or to relocate (if I wanted). I also wanted it to be a company strong enough to weather financial downturns.

4. Home time. I knew I wouldn’t be making $ if I was sitting at home, but regularly scheduled home time was helpful.

While a corporate relationship wasn’t a concern, I am grateful Schneider has that, since it was a big part of my background.

Thanks and I hope this helps.