Best States To Be A Truck Driver

When i moved to Florida from Minnesota, i had to see what what is so great about waffle house. Maybe it was just the location i went to but I was not impressed at all.

It's interesting because they're missing a whole lot of things you would expect from a Southern diner like biscuits and gravy, pancakes, french fries, and all kinds of stuff. But the stuff they do have, especially their hashbrowns all covered in goodies, are pretty awesome.

There are alternatives like Huddle House which are pretty awesome too but they tend to have a much larger menu.

My plan is to drive for a couple years and figure out which state i want to live in. Maybe northern California, Oregon , or West Virginia the part thats close to w maryland as the rolling hills are beautiful.

Also consider that certain states do not have state income tax. I wouldn't say that should be a deciding factor by any means, but it's a little more money you get to keep just for living in certain states.

TN doesn't have income tax. Depends on where you live there is 24, 65, and 40. If you live near Nashville; all 3 of those intersect. Plus you have 75 going running thru Knoxville

plus the Waffle House.

Haha! Yes, you definitely want to choose a state to live in that has a Waffle house nearby your domicile.

When i moved to Florida from Minnesota, i had to see what what is so great about waffle house. Maybe it was just the location i went to but I was not impressed at all.

Waffle House is best at 2am after an evening of drunken debauchery!! Nothing like grease and starch to settle a stomach upset from alcohol.

Are there better states than others to be a truck driver in terms of getting good miles? I saw a video on youtube recently with a truck driver talking about living near good running lanes being important so you can get good miles right away instead of taking several days to work into the company's good running areas when first heading out and then conversely losing out on good miles if you have to be taken out of good running lanes to get back home. I was wondering if you had the flexibility to move anywhere, what location would you want to live in and be a trucker, in terms of having the best chance to get good miles? or does it matter?

I just wanted to point something else out here. What company makes a big difference, but sometimes the specific department you're in at a company makes a difference too.

I live near Denver and work for Swift Transportation. I ran reefer with them for about six months and never had too much of a problem getting home on time, but I noticed it affected my mileage negatively quite a bit because we just didn't have that much reefer freight going into/through Denver from the areas I typically drove in.

Then I got on Swift's Miller Coors dedicated fleet and it made a huge difference. Our main brewery is in Golden, CO, so I get to Denver multiple times a week sometimes and I can be home within a few days of asking. It hardly affects my mileage either. We have dedicated planners on this account who work with us personally to maximize our miles, so they'll usually try to get me home exactly on time.

Then again, Denver is generally a good place to be as a trucker anyway. At the intersections of I70, I76, and I25, and close by to I80, there is a lot of freight moving into and through Denver.

Since Alaska was mentioned for not having state income tax :P

CDL jobs are in short supply right now up here. Simply because of politics. :( We faired alright this construction season but a lot of people sat. Some of the dirt guys have switched to freight. Even looked into it. You can make money at it but if you don't have the right rig or you don't have a lot of experience you can lose out fast. Also have to have some dough already in the bank for the insurance they want you to have...quite spendy. As far as being a driver for a company in Alaska right now? it's slim pickins. We are still getting influxes of out of state guys every year, we felt bad for the ones that tried to come up this year.

I'm just praying this year we actually have a winter to haul snow.

I'm just praying this year we actually have a winter to haul snow.

Wow, how often do you have to pray for snow in Alaska? That's like having to pray for a lousy NFL team where I'm at in Buffalo!

I too had many drunken 2am breakfasts at Waffle House. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

plus the Waffle House.

Haha! Yes, you definitely want to choose a state to live in that has a Waffle house nearby your domicile.

When i moved to Florida from Minnesota, i had to see what what is so great about waffle house. Maybe it was just the location i went to but I was not impressed at all.

Waffle House is best at 2am after an evening of drunken debauchery!! Nothing like grease and starch to settle a stomach upset from alcohol.

Wow, how often do you have to pray for snow in Alaska? T

We usually don't....the past two winters have been real duds...on a normal snow haul I'd say the average amount of shifts per season is somewhere around 85. Three years ago we did 111 shifts......the last two years.....each winter season we did a total of 9.....this included 2 "special events hauls" which are only 4 hours each. The pay isn't fantastic but we kind of rely on it to float us through the winter so we don't dig deep into our summer savings/profits, which we usually keep for start up next summer or if we want to update equipment etc. On a good winter we can actually make some money too. Last couple winters...you can bet we were getting a lil' cabin feverish with each other hahahaha. Trying to not go anywhere or spend money.

Yeah we hardly had any snow here last winter either. The winter before we had a couple of storms that deposited around seven feet of snow each - no exaggeration. I had just purchased like the best snowblower on the market two weeks before the first storm hit. It's the kind with the tracks on it like a tank and everything. I knew we'd either get blasted or get nothing. That's how it always goes when you buy something big like that. Turns out we got blasted but I had it made.

Planning on going for my CDL next year - currently live in Orlando but going to be moving to my family's house in Jackson, MS - I would think that would be a bit easier than trying to get back to FL from what I have read.

I see alot of companies that advertise in Jackson so I am hoping that it is a decent place for different employers - am I wrong in this thinking?