Profile For Timmy Trucker

Thanks to everyone for your responses. I really appreciate it.

Hey guys. I’m considering applying for CFI soon, and I am just curious about taking the truck home during home time. I live in Knoxville, TN and I have a place to park the tractor, but not the trailer. I’ve heard that they have you take the truck and trailer home, but that wouldn’t work for me. As far as using a truck stop, it would be hard for me to arrange transportation to and from the truck stop each time, so I’d like to take the tractor home if possible and leave the trailer at a drop yard somewhere if that’s possible. Can anyone tell me how CFI handles that or what their policy is regarding taking your truck home?

Thanks for everyone’s responses. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to have the opinions of experienced truckers to help guide those of us looking to embark on a career.

I’ve been using the CDL Prep app to study for the permit. I’m able to successfully pass all four sections that Prime requires (General Knowledge, Combination Vehicles, Air Brakes, Tankers) and I’m also starting to study the material available on this site. I know I have plenty of time and don’t necessarily need to be studying yet, but as I come across things I’ve never heard of, like slack adjusters, I look it up and learn as much as I can about what it is and what it does. So hopefully by the time I’m ready to take that step and apply, I’ll be as prepared as possible. Does anyone have any other suggestions as far as study materials?

One other thing that is on my mind, and I’m sure most people who decide to go into trucking from another career experience this, is the fear of the unknown. I don’t really like change too much, even when I know it’s for the best. I’ve been at my job for 15 years and I have really good benefits. It’s scary to give that up without even knowing whether or not I’ll be successful in trucking, although I think that’s just my insecurities and fear, which is normal when one is considering such a change. I’m a really hard worker, and I follow through with my commitments. I think those are qualities that will help ensure my success as a trucker. I’m starting to think ahead to my future, and I really feel like trucking will take me in the direction I need to go.

Okay, I guess I just needed to get that out. I’ve only told a couple of friends that I’m seriously considering trucking, and neither seems to think it’s a good idea. But they’re really great friends and very supportive, so they’ll definitely support me whether they like it or not. Lol. Anyway, thanks for listening to my rambling.

Hi everyone! I’m Tim. I’m new here, and hoping to start a trucking career, so I thought this might be a good place to start getting information so that I can get a good start on this journey. I’ll try to briefly tell you about myself and my situation.

I’m 48 years old. I’m originally from Knoxville, TN but I’ve lived in New York City for the past 15 years. I love New York, but it’s very expensive here. I make decent money, but my rent is ridiculously high, and home ownership is definitely not a possibility for me here. It’s just not financially possible. For that reason, I’m considering moving back to Tennessee and pursuing a trucking career.

From everything I’ve researched so far, Prime seems like a really good option for training as well as a great company to work for. I like the idea of being with a trainer for 50,000 miles, as I feel that would sufficiently prepare me to be out on my own when the time comes. I also understand that I’ll face a lot of challenges during the first year or so that no amount of training can necessarily prepare me to face. I’m sure I’ll learn a lot by getting out there and experiencing the everyday situations that occur in trucking. But Prime seems like a great place to get off to a good start and be as prepared as one can be.

Here’s some of my thoughts/concerns:

1) I’m overweight at the moment and working on losing weight. I’m currently about 310 pounds (6ft 2in tall) and I’m trying to get down to about 200. I know Prime does the sleep study on people who are overweight so I’d really like to avoid dealing with that if possible by being as close to my ideal weight as possible when I show up for training. I know I don’t have sleep apnea, but I feel being overweight will definitely get me diagnosed with it whether I have it or not. Honestly, I know Prime is probably just being cautious and safe, but I have a hard time believing so many of their drivers would have sleep apnea. It seems like anyone overweight gets diagnosed with it. Anyway, I know I could be completely wrong about that and welcome any information or advice you might be able to give. But as of now, I’m thinking of using the next 8 months to a year to lose weight and get myself into good physical shape. Also, I have some debt I’d like to get paid off during that time so I can come to Prime and not have that hanging over my head. I’ve already been studying the CDL Prep app and am going to start using the materials on this site as well. I want to know the pretrip inspection very well by the time I’m ready to go to Prime. Has anyone else started preparing so far ahead of time? I just feel like the more I know before I even get started, the better off I’ll be once in there.

2) Once I’m out on the road, I’m planning to live in my truck and not keep a place anywhere. I’ll visit my family during my home time. I’d like to do that for a few years while I save up to buy a house when I’m ready. Does that sound like a feasible plan? Has anyone else gone about it that way?

3) And finally, I’m gay. Why even bring that up? Well, I only bring it up because I know I’ll be in someone’s truck (which is pretty much their home on the road) for quite a while and I wouldn’t want to get out there with someone and then have them be upset if the subject ever came up. I know there are probably plenty of trainers who wouldn’t care about that, so I think it’d be a good idea to just tell any prospective trainer that I’m gay and that I just want him/her to know in case that’s something they might not be comfortable with. No big deal if it is...I can just move on to the next one until there’s a good match. Does this sound like the right way to approach it?

Sorry, I haven’t been as brief as I’d hoped to be. I do appreciate any advice you all can give me. I’ve thought about a trucking career for a while now and the more I research it, the more convinced I am that it’s the right move for me.