Comments By Wilde

I have picked up a lot of knowledge in the short time I've been reading through this site but the main thing I've learned here is just how little I knew about the trucking lifestyle to begin with.

Thanks for the reply guys. Yes I agree its a gamble. It's certainly tempting to get that kind of money every week before I even learn how to get the most out of my HOS. I did the 1099 thing when i was younger working in construction and wound up owing back taxes for years. I'm a lot more responsible now but I'd still rather not deal with all that. I'm waiting to see if his company will even approve my application first. Hopefully something a little less risky will come along. One of the bigger otr companies reviewed my app and wanted to know when I could come to their orientation in Tennessee but I'm leery of letting a recruiter tell me I'm good and driving all that way to get turned down. I'm not ruling anything out yet, just trying to find all the options I can as I know mine are especially limited.

As for traveling on parole it's tricky but doable. My PO says if I give him the two furthest delivery addresses east and west he would issue me a permit for each and I could travel anywhere in between. Problem is they must be renewed every thirty days and I have to pick them up in person. If I'm otr I would have to get home time at some point before they expire and need a couple days to renew for another month. Tricky because I CANNOT be out of Texas after they expire but certainly doable I think.

So I had this one job offer that sounds good, maybe too good, so I'd like some opinions on it. Guy responded to my craigslist ad saying he's an owner/op hauling frac sand offering me a job that demands 3 weeks out and home for 1 week and he will pay me $1800 a week. I say right off that Im still on parole and have no actual tractor trailer experience but I'd like to talk more. He says the contract is in New Mexico, the facility has a shower and his truck is a two bunk sleeper 12 spd automatic. It’s a cash position so I will do my own taxes but his company has benefits to offer if im interested. I'm thinking he's wanting to pay someone contract labor to run teams with him on his own truck but he said no as long as my mvr and application clears through his company, I would do orientation one day and running solo and making money the next. Has anyone here heard of this sort of arrangement? Maybe its an oilfield thing?

Hello everyone. I've been lurking on this site for a couple months now and finally decided to introduce myself. My name is Mike and I'm working on starting my career as a truck driver. I have multiple felonies for drugs and 12 years left on parole. After doing 7 years on my 20 year sentence I was released from Texas prison back in October of 2018. I know its going to be very difficult to get my foot in the door but I am determined to make it happen. It was far from easy, but I managed to become a trusty and get into one of the two truck driving schools that are available to very well behaved Texas inmates. My class C had been suspended for a no insurance ticket right before I went to prison but with help from my family and much prayer I was able to pay fines, surcharges and get it reinstated just in time to test and get my CDL in January of 2017. Being a trusty and having a CDL would have allowed me to get a job as an inmate truck driver and actually get some real training and drive out on the road. Texas doesn't pay inmates at all, for any job, but yes, they actually allow some inmates with a CDL to drive their own truck. We would always be on a route following a TDCJ employee (non inmate) driving the truck ahead of us, but still a huge amount of freedom and responsibility for any inmate. But only days after getting my CDL I received notice from TXDPS that my license would be suspended again unless i provided proof of SR-22 insurance. (Texas requires you to carry SR-22 insurance for six months after being suspended for no insurance.) As bad as i wanted to drive a truck like the handful of my classmates who actually got their CDL (about a third of the 30 student class) it just wasn't practical to have my family purchase the insurance required to keep my license from being suspended. I had to settle for the fact that I at least attained my CDL in spite of the many obstacles I was faced with. Believe me, I still felt truly blessed and fortunate. Since my release I have managed to get my CDL reinstated and even found a job driving a Class A rig for a mobile home delivery and set-up company. Found the job by posting an ad on craigslist. (I recommend craigslist for anyone in my situation, I had several job offers from the one ad I posted.) I've been with that company for nearly 9 months now and even though I'm not making much money, I've gained some experience and even managed to use my bosses truck to retest and get the no manual transmission restriction taken off my license. Setting mobile homes is very labor intensive; believe me. Much more construction type work than actual driving. I have worked really hard for my current employer and he has been good to me in return. But he's known all along this job was a step towards driving full-time and now its time to move on. I cant remember how I stumbled across this forum but I was intrigued from day one. I have found so much information here on TruckingTruth and continue to find more every day. Mr. Aquila, you have done an amazing job here and all the moderators and experienced drivers I see posting over and over again, thank you as well. All of us just starting out are extremely fortunate to have you taking the time to share your experiences and advice with us. This forum is all about facts and straight forward advice and that's exactly what I'm looking for. This has been long winded enough, I'm sure many people moved on before reading it all, so I will stop here and ask what I'd like an opinion on in my next post.