Comments By Kieran L.

Hi Jordan and welcome! :)

I'd suggest you start investigating companies in this list first: List Of Trucking Companies That Allow Pets Do keep in mind companies are changing their policies all the time so the information may not always be 100% up to date. Always contact the companies directly for the latest info and answers to your questions on their policies.

Also you'll want to investigate this list of companies that hire new/inexperienced drivers: Trucking Companies That Hire Inexperienced Drivers its by no means a complete and exhaustive list of every company out there that would hire you, but it covers most of the major companies and gives you a good number of places to start talking to.

Thankfully there are quite a few options, you'll have to decide for yourself which companies are the best fit for you personally, but these links also may help:

How To Choose A Company

Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

Understanding Pre-Hires

Good luck and keep us updated!

Hugs to you! I really do love hugs, I'm a total hug****. I'll hug just about anyone who wants one lol!

The reason the company wants everyone to go lease (and why you "appear" to make more money leasing), is that you're taking all the risk upon yourself and your credit financially. The companies love this as it means less expenses and more profit for them.

You must make the payment on the truck, which is a very sizeable portion of your income usually. When the truck needs maintenance or something breaks on a company truck, the company pays to get it fixed to get you rolling again. When its YOUR truck (leased or owned) then the bill falls on YOU to get it paid out of your pocket, which can be very expensive. If its your truck then you're paying for the fuel, oil, tires, and whatever else it needs (you may get a fuel surcharge from your company but it typically won't cover 100% of your fuel expenses), and also with your truck you run it as your business and so you have a lot more responsibility and liability. You must buy insurance, pay your taxes, etc.

Furthermore, if a company truck isn't moving, its costing them money. But if YOUR truck isn't moving, it costs YOU money, but the company doesn't suffer because its not their truck and they aren't having to pay for it. When you factor in all the expenses and liability of leasing or buying your own truck, the difference in pay goes away. You really don't make much IF ANY more than a company driver in the end, and you COULD end up broke instead.

I suggest reading this if you haven't already: So You're Thinking About Becoming An Owner-Operator?

And also: Lease-purchase: Sounds like a good deal, right?

That said, I believe there are certain reasons why some people might wish to purchase a truck, which have little or nothing to do with the money, but I do NOT think it is right for everyone or even for the majority of truckers, and CERTAINLY not for anyone without at least several years of significant trucking experience already in the industry.

From a driver's perspective the job market does feel like we're in huge demand but the paycheck begs to differ.

I do agree but also gotta say honestly $35-65k/yr for a job that doesn't require a college degree is still pretty damn good in today's market. I will say having worked a long string of mostly entry level jobs in my lifetime that did not require a college degree, even first year OTR drivers make more in a year than I have ever made before. Granted, the hours and demands are also significantly more than most entry level jobs, but I still think the pay in trucking is a decent liveable wage for most people (just not as great as it maybe could or should be for what the job requires).

Any winter blend or "de-icer" blend windshield washer fluid generally contains methanol or ethanol alcohol as well as ethylene glycol, which should be enough to dissolve ice on the windshield in all but the coldest of conditions.

This post was much easier to read, thanks Jerry. I'd like to reply from my own viewpoint, but I recognize yours may be different and also admittedly I'm still a newbie to the trucking world so I don't have your experience.

1.) Things sure seemed so much more simple and innocent back in the day. For me, the 1970s. I remember Truckers as good, honest, helpful, humble people. Like the TV series, " MOVEN' ON". Where has that image of Truckers gone?

I think this still exists today, as most truckers I've met are good, honest, helpful people. The humble part depends on the person, and of course trucking tends to attract a lot of type A personalities, which aren't always the humblest of people. Some are though, and I think in general from what I hear from most people, truckers today are still mostly friendly, helpful people when you get to know them.

2.) Where has our national pride went. I have no problem being an outspoken patriot. While I served in the US Navy, I had the chance to visit many different countries. I love the United States of America and our way of life. We American citizens should try to remember, we may be black, white, brown, male, female, young, old, blond, or brunette, "BUT" we are all Americans.

I still see plenty of national pride as well, I myself love the USA as a nation, I wouldn't wish to live anywhere else. Most truck stops I've been inside have a number of patriotic items and generally an assortment of american flags, and I know a lot of truckers today are ex-military. Many of my friends are former military, I'm wondering what makes you ask where our national pride went? I still see it every day.

3.) When a man or woman chooses to become a Professional Trucker, there are resposibilities that come with the job. We are the Pros and these are our roads. We must step up and be the modern day, "Knights Templar", protecting the safety of those that travel our roads. If you are not up to the challenge, go flip burgers.

I agree protecting the safety of everyone on the road should be the top priority of every trucker out there. I was taught this from day one when I started studying for the CDL test.

4.) Truck Driver Acadameys, please don't forget to teach some of the nuts and bolts of being a Professional Trucker. Each Professional Trucker should know, at least, the basics of how and why his truck works the way it does.

I think pretty much all of the academies TRY to do this, now whether the student takes it to heart and applies it is up to them. As the old saying goes, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink."

5.) Last, but most important of all, "PEOPLE MATTER MORE THAN FREIGHT". I have never considered the company policy when it comes to the safety of another human being. Any company, dispatcher , or driver manager , that puts FREIGHT FIRST, would have to stand by and watch as my behind fades into the sunset for the last time.

Absolutely people matter more than freight. Safety is always the top concern when driving a class A CMV. Now do understand though, that safety is also the reason for some of the rules and laws we have now that didn't used to exist in the trucking world, such as running e-logs instead of paper (Because running 16+ hours a day just because you can cheat your paper logs and get away with it is NOT a safe driving practice. Tired driving has been proven to be even more dangerous than drunk driving.), and the rules about only approved riders and no picking up hitchhikers. The approved riders only rules are all about safety, because many truckers have been robbed, trucks stolen, or lost their lives due to taking someone unknown onboard, not to mention if you get in an accident with an unapproved rider onboard you and your company could be sued for millions if they are injured or killed.

Now I would still stop and help someone if I think they need help and I can help.

Have you had any recent experiences that lead you to believe that things are worse than they used to be? Overall from what I know I think they are as good or better now than they used to be in the old outlaw trucking days, except for maybe the pay.

Most company sponsored CDL training programs will pay you while you're in training (on the road with trainer) but I don't know too many that will pay you while you're still in school. Some I think may allow you to take a small cash advance that you will have to pay back later, I'm not sure which ones right off the top of my head though. Still, it may be a faster way to get rolling since the company sponsored schools are streamlined and they try to get you in and out quick so you can start making money for the company (and yourself). If you haven't done so already, check out the list of Company-Sponsored Training here on the site and investigate further by contacting each company you're interested in and asking questions.

Good luck! :)

Much respect to you sir, but I can't figure out what your point is in this post... are you saying truckers are no longer helpful or friendly? I'm not sure what to make of everything you said, it seems to go in a lot of different unrelated directions.

You people in the know correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC I think most no-idle states have exemptions to the law if the temperature is beyond a certain range either way (extreme cold or heat). So if its crazy cold I think you can still idle in most places.

I certainly won't start any flame wars over that, everyone's entitled to believe what they wish. I would like to point out though, that the bible (if that is what you believe) outrightly condemns the use of violence and killing many times, that's where the whole "turn the other cheek" thing came from that Jesus was quoted as saying. If your enemy strikes you, as a christian you are supposed to "turn the other cheek" i.e. remain non-violent and non-combatant. Most other non-christian religions of the world also preach non-violence as well, with a handful of exceptions for certain situations.