Looking For Advice From Real Truckers

Thanks a lot for the info old school. I think you and Brett are pointing me in the right direction and I really appreciate it. I've known friends and relatives that made their careers as truck driver's so have a little idea of what it's like already. And I'm not afraid of working hard to make a living. I'm so glad I found this site. With all the info here I'm getting a lot of the questions I have answered.

Thanks again

Hello Jon!

I'm still a Rookie butt not a disgruntled one and made my year anniversary on january 17

Brett and Old school covered pretty much everything. One other thing that you may want to consider is going with a company that has a terminal near your home base. In my limited trucking experience this makes getting home a little easier. You can always drop a load at the terminal and have another driver take the load for you. I work for Stevens Transport and when I go to the terminal for my mandatory 90 day review and truck clearance I'm usually there for a day or two and for the drivers that live near by they use this as an extra opportunity to get by the house.

$600 a week will be quite easy once you get in rhythm and understand how to run your hours of service.

John is looking for answers:

I am currently looking to start a trucking career. I will need to find a company that pays for cdl training. My problem is picking the right company. .... need a decent home time schedule but my biggest concern is pay ... that I can be sure to make around $600 per week. Any advice would be helpful. Thanks

John, I've driven for Swift for just over a year. I'll answer your money question first. My weekly paychecks run between $700-$900 gross, not take-home. Sometimes I've made less, occasionally got $1000. Remember you've got to do the work, without too much questioning.

What's the best school for beginners? Look at it this way: First, if some company has their own school (Swift, Prime, Celadon come to mind), they are by definition prepared for newbies. Second, if a company hires Recent Grads, maybe they have a school or not but they will teach you what you need to know.

You don't need to worry about paying for your school. The deal will be something like "We send you to school, you work for us for a year, and we'll call it even."

Finally most home schedules work out to be one day home per one week driving. And you should plan on being gone for two weeks minimum, four weeks is better.

Good luck, John! Stick around and learn stuff.

John, I went to school at C1, and got placement with PAM. I was able to average gross pay of $600 a week, and take home around $450 as a single male each week. If you have dependents, your taxes will be somewhat less.

Keep in mind that I rarely purchased anything from a truck stop, and did most of my shopping at Walmart when I went home for home time. Stocking your truck with supplies when the opportunity presents itself, can go a long way towards keeping your money in your pocket, and getting you through that first year when pay is relatively low.

Sorry for Hudsonhawk if you read his previous posts you'll have a clearer understanding of why he hasn't been successful in the trucking industry. I can attest to everything that's been said already. Your goals can absolutely be made in this industry. I just couldn't help but calling HH to the carpet. His track record speaks for itself ladies and gentlemen.

Man I really appreciate all the information. It sounds like as long as I'm willing to work hard. Any reputable company would work for me. Now I just need to figure out which one offers what I'm looking for.

Thanks again Gentlemen

Thanks Brett

I'm really trying to find out the best companies out there for new drivers I know I want to be a driver. Just trying to set myself up to start a good career by picking the right company. If you could give me some ideas about good companies to work for I would really appreciate it.

I've been driving for Schneider for just over a year. First year pay was right at $40,000 and I get five days off each month. I usually take them split up and get home twice per month.

Most importantly, they kept every promise made.

When I started, they didn't do CDL training, but I've heard some locations are offering it.

If you want more details I'm happy to help. You can private message me if you want.