Comments By Moose Holland

Obviously company policy trumps everything. Even if it's legal in your state, your company may disallow it. With Prime, getting caught with a gun on board is one of the quickest ways to be out of a job. They literally fire you on the spot without letting you drive the truck to a terminal.

Does Prime or others do a shakedown, surprise search, of your personal gear/sleeper area at times just to see if you happen to be carrying heat? Some drivers might rather gamble losing the job than be an unarmed victim of a violent attack. I figure the only way the company would even know about a gun is if the gun would ever have to be used, God forbid, in any scary situation. As far as the various state/local laws go, having the gun in a locked case with no ammunition inside the same case in your sleeper area (the key word here is personal abode) should pretty much keep you clear of trouble with the man. When you are asleep in your rig is when you need the heat mostly. There are all the scary stories I have heard about of rigs getting broken into and sleeping drivers attacked inside in unsavory places to park at night. Being a pro-Second-A advocate and a life member of Gun Owners of America, I favor more pro-gun legislation especially at the federal level which would severely limit the power of companies, the several states and various local jurisdictions therein with regard to imposing firearms restrictions on those traveling and working away from home and wishing to be armed for personal security. I fully support national concealed carry legislation. Driving often involves engaging in interstate commerce. A dog, German Shepherd or otherwise, might be too much of a burden for some to pack along out on the road. I would not want the poor animal cooped up in a truck most of the time. I'm frankly surprised New York City's draconian anti-gun laws haven't been overturned by SCOTUS yet. Heller was a big boon to the right of Americans to keep and bear arms. I understand that companies worry about firearms liability. A good solution might be to allow the driver to carry on duty under the condition he/she supply his/her own personal firearms liability insurance.

I’m a recent CDL grad and I got terminated for “violating company policy” by TMC. During training on my home time I had beer in my hotel room and TMC fired me for violating company policy. Because their company policy states you can’t have beer when they’re paying for your hotel stay. Which I wasn’t aware of. I was only with TMC for a week... They even gave me a “reasonable suspicion” test for Alcohol — which I passed. I blew .000... What can I do now???

How the devil did your company even know you had beer in that hotel room in the first place? Are there spy cameras? Did you tell them you had a beer in the hotel room?

Read the OP's response again.

Oh, I see now. The OP had a beer in his hand going through the door to his room in plain sight. That makes sense. I would probably have beer hidden in a paper bag or my cooler but I don't drink myself so I don't have to worry about alcohol.

Welcome to the forum Moose. Thank you for your service sir!!

The trucking industry is one very complex animal. There are many different aspects of it. You find the aspect that fits you the best and you can make it a very rewarding career. Starting out we highly recommend getting your schooling through a big company. They provide great training and hire you on graduation. They are fast paced. Also it is very little money out of pocket up front.

If you like to travel being single you can hit the road and take your off time where ever you want as long as the company has freight going there. Your first year you can expect to make 35-45k. Afterward it can and will go up. This is a totally performance based industry.

Look around and read the threads. We have tons of info here.

Best wishes in your endeavours sir!!

Thank you, PJ. When I said that people say the lifestyle was hard to beat I should have mentioned that I was talking about the military lifestyle. I have the feeling that trucking might be hard to beat, all things considered, in the civilian job sector. No spouse and no kids is definitely a good thing for a travelling job.

I’m a recent CDL grad and I got terminated for “violating company policy” by TMC. During training on my home time I had beer in my hotel room and TMC fired me for violating company policy. Because their company policy states you can’t have beer when they’re paying for your hotel stay. Which I wasn’t aware of. I was only with TMC for a week... They even gave me a “reasonable suspicion” test for Alcohol — which I passed. I blew .000... What can I do now???

How the devil did your company even know you had beer in that hotel room in the first place? Are there spy cameras? Did you tell them you had a beer in the hotel room?

I'm short in the army at Fort Hood and I'm looking at the possibility of driving as a civilian when I get out. Many people in the service say that lifestyle is hard to beat considering the pay and the relatively little out-of-pocket living expenses. No rent, no electric bills, no doctors bills, no dental bills and three squares a day on top of a basic paycheck which is mostly money to squander away on a nice car, a new Harley-Davidson or whatever. Is driving a Big Rig for a "Big Wig" carrier really a lifestyle that's really tough to beat for a bachelor with no spouse or children when one considers what it potentially pays and how much sweat and knuckle-busting is involved in the employment? One also has to consider how tough the job market really is.