Comments By Bee-RAD

TMC is also on my short list. I will be getting my CDL this wednesday, weather permitting. i will be paying close attention to your post. good luck to you and I sure you will do well .this is a fine supporting program for anyone at all stages of the industry. i can not express my gratitude enough for all the people here at trucking truth .

I would definitely get some regular OTR experience first as a company driver before jumping into something like that. If he was a company driver I would say give it a shot. But you absolutely do not want to own or lease a truck, nor do you want to be an independent operator of any sort right off the bat.

Get on with one of the major companies and get some experience first as a company driver and talk around for a year or so. Find out about all of the different opportunities that are out there and really investigate them. After you get a year or so of OTR experience a ton of opportunities will open up to you. Then you can make an informed decision about trying something new if you like.

That's what I needed to hear .In the mist and mire of all this new information. I also have to make the most important decision of where to dedicate the first year of my career. I am grateful for the Truck Driver's Career Guide and all the info in the forum. I have read a big part of them. They ,even the ones that might not have anything to do with my situation, contain answers to questions I may never have asked. thanks to you Brett and all the unselfish contributors to this site. I hope someday to repay the debt with some contributions and insights of my own .Thanks again, to all of you.

I am currently in training in North Carolina. One of my instructors also works for a drive away company as an independent contractor. He likes driving the variety of new vehicles. He has a tow car that he takes with him a spends some nights sleeping in. he has been driving trucks since 1981,working drive away for only a few months. So my question here is do you think this is a safe suitable way for me to start my trucking career or should I get some real world experience with a large company my first year?

I'm not entirely sure. I actually went to Alliance Tractor Trailer School back in '93. They're a chain of truck driving schools with locations in NC, GA, and VA - and possibly others. I'm not aware of any trucking companies named Alliance that have training programs so I would guess at this point that it's the same Alliance school I went to - which was a fantastic program and I'm sure still is.

I am starting Alliance Tractor Trailer training in Flecher NC at 730 in the morning.I have been studying the free course here for about 12 days.I feel very lucky to have found this site.When i talked to my recruiter about this site he said he didn't know of it.He will now ,I would not be prepared at all if it were not for truckingtruth.com. .I will be able to sleep tonight .after reading a couple of blogs on" a trainers viewpoint"

I hope this comes out right. I am new to this site and this thread on the week in the life of a flat bed driver is the first thing i have read .i plan to read all of them but i will not forget this one.I have been driving myself crazy with the free CDL training test here on truckertruth.com,so i took a break (after being halted twice in a row),I turned to this thread for some insight and perspective and i found more than i bargained for. my hats off to you Old School and thanks alot for your time.i have a mentor running oil equipment in Texas.he has told me I would like flat bed trucking because of my construction back ground and need for physical work.I'am starting training two days from now.they told me i will likely be a flat-bed driver. I'am fine with that in fact I'am looking forward to it.your thread has given me more than you know.i hope to see you out there some day.Brett thank you too,this site will be invaluable to many more I know you know that.i wish you both many happy miles.