Starting At 60 Years Young Am I Crazy.
Topic 13018 | Page 3
Trucking minimum age:30 Why not? People tend to start growing up around that age.
Ha!
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I guess I'm really late to the party for this thread, but I'm doing the same thing. I'm a school teacher right now and have been for the past seven years, but I'm ready to do something else and get out and see the country. School lets out on May 27th and I turn sixty on the 28th. I start CDL school in Keenesburg, CO on June 6th for Stevens Transport. Already passed all my written tests at the DMV for Class A, and endorsements for Hazmat and Tanker. Have an appointment for the TSA fingerprint and background check on the 17th of this month in Cheyenne, WY. That thing's not cheap!! However, it is highly recommended by everyone on this forum so I'm getting it. Like another person said, I have been single for many years and am not worried about being on the road for long periods or getting home regularly. As a matter of fact, I'm just keeping my P.O. box as my permanent address and planning to live out of my truck for a while after road training is complete. Until then, I will probably spend the odd night here and there in cheap motel rooms. My complete focus will be on getting this started right. As a matter of fact, I have been blogging with a couple of guys who started out leasing with Stevens right out of the box and it's working great for them. I know that it is highly discouraged on here, but I have nothing to keep me from rolling all of the legal time I will have and I drove OTR about thirty years ago and always wanted a really nice truck of my own. Aiways got stuck driving crappy, old equipment, which I hated, and Stevens has some of the best equipment out there! Really looking forward to that! Can't wait to get started!! Makes these last three weeks of school hard to endure! LOL
As for the OP being crazy, well, so am I!! In fact, my on-line name on a couple of forums has been "DSTURBD" for many years now, ha ha. Sorry this got so long
Mike M.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
I would work for awhile with Stevens before going w lease.
Living out of your truck is a good idea working for them. They will run you and you want to run they will run you harder.
I was w them in 2005 and the I talked a lease drivers and there opinion was 50/50. Several loved it but all stated "you better plan on never seeing home".
Also you run by there safety rules and they will shut you down if not compliant.
But they do have nice trucks and will keep them in good condition for you.
I would work for awhile with Stevens before going w lease. Living out of your truck is a good idea working for them. They will run you and you want to run they will run you harder. I was w them in 2005 and the I talked a lease drivers and there opinion was 50/50. Several loved it but all stated "you better plan on never seeing home". Also you run by there safety rules and they will shut you down if not compliant. But they do have nice trucks and will keep them in good condition for you.
First of all, thanks much for the reply! Yeah, everything at this point is research, consideration, and rollin' things around in my head as to different possibilities. But like I said before, I don't have anything tying me to home for any reason. As a matter of fact, I have lived in Colorado since 1974, but am originally from Texas and have been missing it for a number of years now. As I won't have an apartment or anything for the first few months, I would theoretically be able to pick about any place I wanted to live, I would think. I realize that I would have to check out some technicalities with my license if I decided to change states of legal residency, but don't have to worry about it now. Will wait until I have seen a bunch of the country to make that decision, I definitely know that I've had enough snow to last me a lifetime!! LOL And yes, I know I will run into a lot of it doing this job!
As to leasing, yeah, I probably will wait until I get things figured out (trip planning) and my weekly mileages are up where they need to be after going solo before I take the plunge. Also, one of the reasons I want to start training right away is that I will still have three months of full paychecks coming from the school district for June, July, and August while I'm getting my feet wet with CDL school and Stevens Transport's on-road training. Makes the small training paychecks not so much of a factor. I have wanted my own, really nice truck for a very long time though, so I am sure that I will do a lease at some point. And man is that KW T680 beautiful, or what?!?!?
Oh, a question for ChickieMonster. When you got your T680, did you get to choose the interior grade so that you got the fridge and stuff? I will definitely need that and a microwave and TV if I'm gonna live out of my truck.
Thanks again everyone, DSTURBD
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Yup, me too. I'm 60 and ready to come back after 25 years of turning wrenches.
I'm 55, been a machinist / manufacturing engineer most of my life. I'm supposed to start CDL truck driving school tomorrow. Yikes!!! LOL!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dsturbd. Was looking at Craigslist. Check out John Christner trucking and their lease program.
As a matter of fact, I'm just keeping my P.O. box as my permanent address and planning to live out of my truck for a while after road training is complete.
Mike M.
It may actually be worthwhile for you to keep a permanent address, even if it's just a cheap rental. There is a pretty generous per diem tax deduction you can take for every day you are away from your home. I am not a tax expert, so obviously take this with a bucket of salt, but I believe you cannot take this deduction if you have no permanent home address. Maybe you can use a friend or relative's address? Further, maybe someone more familiar with taxes can chime in and clear things up. Good luck!
Per Diem:
Getting paid per diem means getting a portion of your salary paid to you without taxes taken out. It's technically classified as a meal and expense reimbursement.
Truck drivers and others who travel for a living get large tax deductions for meal expenses. The Government set up per diem pay as a way to reimburse some of the taxes you pay with each paycheck instead of making you wait until tax filing season.
Getting per diem pay means a driver will get a larger paycheck each week but a smaller tax return at tax time.
We have a ton of information on our wiki page on per diem pay
I believe you cannot take this deduction if you have no permanent home address.
You have to have an address somewhere. "World Traveler" or "Wanderer" will not suffice I'm afraid. You can use a relative's or friend's address but something has to go on your CDL and whatever your license says is what will be considered your home address.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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Yes, they'll let you children play on the trucks. I'm 64, started driving last year, January.