Comments By David D.

As my research continues, I am developing a view of the entrance portal to "Truck Driver Land'. It seems that there are companies that will train and hire you right out of their school. There are companies that want a minimum 6 months experience to hire you. There are not quite so many companies looking to hire right out of a community college type of training school. I'm m still checking the companies who support the course I will be taking but even they seem to have some higher standards. What do y'all think?

I'm not very good at backing. I'm in training and I haven't backed nearly as much as I wish I would have yet. While I'm happy with my ability as far as all of the other aspects of driving a truck, the backing is below average at best.

So I'm at a TA today, a really tight and small one, trying to back into a truck stop hole for the third time I've ever tried to do that and I'm really struggling. My trainer is stressing me out by trying to over-instruct me instead of letting me feel it out, there's trucks waiting to get by as I'm blocking the aisle, there's guys sitting in their cabs laughing at me... all of the normal things that add to the stress level in that situation.

But then I notice something more. There's a guy in a Trans Am truck directly in front of me recording me on his phone while laughing. I am now mad as a snake. I finally do get into the hole and I get out of my truck and go over to his and lose my mind.

I know that wasn't the right reaction and actually a very dangerous one and if I took five minutes to cool down I probably would have reacted differently.

Video taping someone who is clearly new to backing as they struggle trying to back though? Seriously? You have to be quite an inconsiderate jerkoff to do that. But it's not just that guy, it's all of the other guys sitting there laughing at me too. Watching someone who is new to something go through the very frustrating struggles as they try to learn is apparently entertainment. I wonder what could be so wrong in someone's life that another person's demise makes them happy.

Enough ranting, but for anyone who likes to laugh at new drivers while they're practicing, just remember they're trying their best, you're not helping, and you're probably bringing bad karma your way.

Speaking as someone who has been laughed at, ridiculed, mocked, and criticized most of my life, let me just point out that we all are entering a fraternity of brothers and sisters that has very low entrance requirements but once we get in, we have to pay our dues. Not just to the companies that don't pay us as wel as the experienced guys, but to the brothers themselves who are bound to see us in a nostalgic and funny way, remembering their early days. I think it is fair to expect a little hazing. It really helps to develop an attitude that can look at your troubles from another perspective. Don't take yourself so seriously. You will last a lot longer and be happier if you can see the humor in your own foibles. Thicken up your skin, suck it up and learn some humility. It's hard not to be prideful but, face it, you barely know your ass from a 10-oz steak at this point. You are funny to watch sometimes! Laugh along with them. I think the dramatic bow suggested by somebody else here would have given that guy's video an nice finishing touch. You might have even ended up a little famous! Best wishes and good luck to you. It only gets easier from here!

Well! That was enlightening!

It is time I deal with the one issue that has the potential to keep me out of a trucker’s job. And if I don’t let it keep me out, it might end up throwing me out of the seat at some company’s displeasure. The issue is sleep. You folks might have a hard time believing this or some of you might know exactly what I am talking about. I have a condition called Hypersomnia or “Long Sleeper Syndrome” that I have battled with all my life. There is no treatment yet. Stimulants don’t help. Coffee has no effect on me. I drink it for something warm at bedtime. If I am left to sleep without an alarm, I routinely sleep ten hours, maybe twelve. On occasion my body will take 15 hours just ‘cause it likes to sleep. I have gone 18 straight hours as a record. With an alarm, I can do much better and limit myself to about any period I want....unless...my body decides otherwise. It hasn’t happened in quite a while but I have been known to sleep straight through a clock radio alarm for two hours. Did you know that is how long a Sony clock radio will ring before it automatically shuts off? I do. Because I’ve done it. If I run sleep deprived, all bets are off. It is normal for me to go through my days with a mild fatigue. Its normal and I live with it. If I try to get by on 6 hours or less, my concentration starts to fray around the edges. Oh, I also have ADD diagnosed when I was 45 that gives me concentration and memory problems to begin with. If I go full-out, round-the-clock minimum sleep at all times, I don’t know if I can function at all. And there is something about seeing 6AM on my clock radio display that just literally ruins my whole day. Now, I have been driving all my life in my work. It has always been my own vehicle but I have always been very comfortable behind the wheel for hours at a time. I have driven non-stop 800 miles, 14 hours from central PA to SE Iowa. No problem. That particular trip began at 6am too. So I’m wondering where the line is. Just how alert does a truck driver have to be? Just how angry does a company get if you oversleep on occasion? What happens if you get unbearbly, falling-asleep drowsy on a run with a drop deadline and no time to spare? Now the good news about all this is I can fall asleep anytime I need to and a half hour will usually refresh me. The first hurdle I’ll have to clear is my CDL class which runs 6am-4pm Mon-Fri. I’m not sure how well I’ll be able to read and study at the end of each day. What do you think folks? Am I creating trouble for myself that I might not be able to handle? Looking for opinions.

Philip, I am not driving yet, but I read that when someone has a job that requires that they travel, while they are away from home, 50% of all food expenses can be deducted from Federal Income Tax. It will take some time to recoup it, possibly a full 12 months, but I'm sure it can help to offset some of the high prices truckers pay, while eating on the road.

Gotta watch those "I heard" items. Your info is pretty wide of the mark...in fact, it is very wrong. Tax deductions for meals only come into play if you are having a meal for business/client entertainment purposes. Not exactly in the trucker's tax return. Personal meals are never deductible whether you eat at home or on the road.

My wife just now heard something on a national radio talk show aabout some changes that are supposedly coming in rules for truckers at the first of the year. That's about as much as she could give me. Anybody know what might be up?

I'm in a financial bind and I'm hoping to find a company that will train me and put me to work soon. I have some experience with tractor trailers as I drove them in the Army. While it was not my MOS, my unit had only 2 truck drivers (88M) assigned to us that we ended up losing. We had a fleet of vans and flatbeds with 5 ton, automatic transmission tractors. I was quite proficient driving (back in the early 90's). So I welcome some actual big rig training. However, I don't have the funds to shell out for a school so I'm hoping to find a company that will train or pay for my schooling. I could probably handle a hundred or so dollars for fees/permits, etc.

Does any company actually pay you while you train? I'm not in the position to go without a paycheck for long.

I'm hoping to get with a company that will keep me busy OTR, but want to see home at least every 3 weeks or so.

Am I hoping for too much or does such a company exist?

If I am duplicating this, please excuse me but I can't see my earlier post in the thread.

Check to see if your state offers tuition grants. In Iowa (and some other states, I'm told) we have a program coordinated between the Workforce Development office (Umemployment Admin) and the state's community colleges to provide Certificate training courses for low-to-moderate income people to get job training. Our state pays for a whole list if skills-building training in health care, trucking, welding, even private piloting (airplanes). Check what your state might have.

David, I'm not sure what "linehaul website" you're referring to. (TO CLARIFY - I'M TALKING ABOUT LTL TRUCKING. OTHERS HERE HAVE CALLED IT LINEHAUL) Linehaul traditionally means having runs from one set point (usually a terminal) to another set point (usually another terminal). THere's no dealing with customers, and typically no variety unless you run a 'wild' schedule or are on the 'extraboard.' You're basically running company freight from point A to point B, every night (linehaul is also usually nightshift work).

A linehaul driver is employed by an LTL company, although some truckload companies have what they refer to as linehaul runs (TMC would be one example), which can be confusing. In the truckload world, having a dedicated account would be closest to having a linehaul run, although like I said, in linehaul you don't deal with customers, and you don't touch the freight. A linehaul driver in the LTL world moves freight for the company from one terminal to another, so that the docks can break down the freight to give to the P&D (pickup and delivery) drivers to deliver to the customer.

Now, my company has team drivers that are still considered linehaul drivers, but they do run coast to coast. As a norm, usually linehaul drivers are not running such long runs. Normally, linehaul drivers run anywhere from 300-600 miles per shift, and can work longer hours than OTR drivers.

What I described above can vary slightly from one LTL company to another. Also, note that I'm making a distinction between truckload and LTL companies. You can research these subjects on your own, but generally when referring to truckload companies that's when you're thinking about OTR jobs, much like this website forum is focused on. There's only a few of us LTL guys on here that are linehaul drivers.

Historically, you couldn't get a LTL job, whether as a linehaul driver or P&D driver, until you had a couple years of OTR experience. That's changing now. If you want more info on LTL trucking, linehaul, and P&D jobs, you can check out my thread on the subject:

LTL Trucking - My Linehaul Job

I chose linehaul because I get home every day and I earn top tier pay in the trucking industry. If you're focused on making the most amount of money you can in the trucking industry, and you live in an area where there are LTL company terminals, then I'd suggest looking into seeing if they're hiring linehaul drivers.

oK....I HAVE LEARNED SEVERAL THINGS HERE AND DEVELOPED a couple questions. First of all, I HATE the location of the CapsLock key on the keyboard (LOL)! Second, LTL is both a style of moving freight AND the name of a trucking company. And LTL trucking does exclusively linehaul freight hauling. Linehauling is a subcategory of OTR. Good, I got that. bUT WHY SOOO MUCH MORE money? Arguably the work is easier, right? Do you run longer with less time home? Well, in any case, I don't think I have any ltl terminals around me so the point is moot.

Well, don't I just feel like a giant ass.

No, not at all. Like Chris and Sean mentioned, it happens all the time. The questions can be really tricky.

At least you handled yourself well even when you thought our system had a problem. You should see some of the private emails I get when people think our system is wrong. Man, they'll blast me from top to bottom about how we've wasted their time and we don't know what we're doing and all kinds of stuff. They'll skip right past the niceties and just start going off. Won't even bother to say hello and introduce themselves first. They just hit the ground with both guns blazing.

I don't see why they would do that...this is all free and even if its wrong once in awhile (you know human error) who cares its free and by far better then reading the cdl manual

People in online forums can be very rude. I can tell by the difference between this one and other furums I belong to that Brett and the gang do some very aggressive moderating. Good job guys! But I don't envy you having to read thru all those flamers!