Any Spare Change?
Topic 21557 | Page 1
Good luck with your endeavor. Enjoy the sights now. Little bit harder to take in once you are focused on driving.
Colleen, there are many people in trucking that got burned out in a career they otherwise enjoy. (I was a school teacher till 2015 then bailed, myself.) Now they hold a steering wheel and watch the USA out the front window. Best of luck in your decision.
Yes, it's a big change. You may be interested in the Trucking Truth starter kit:
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road CDL Training Program
- CDL Practice Tests
My sister-in-law rode with her husband for 17 years before she decided to get her CDL. In those 17 years her hubby showed her a thing or three about truck driving. Needless to say she blew the doors off her CDL school last fall.
Take advantage of your ride along experience. Get your CDL permit before you go, if you can. (Check out the link to the High Road CDL Training Program to get ready for the written test.) I'm not saying you could maybe take the wheel sometimes - that's probably against company policy.
Enjoy your new ride!
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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And by change I don't mean that of the monetary kind, but in the direction of my life and career.
So here I currently sit in the shot gun seat of my boyfriends truck, southbound en route to las Cruces, NM. A year ago would I have thought that I'd be sitting here with the intention of learning truck driving myself? No. But a lot changes in a year. I've chosen to take a hiatus from my current field of work (nursing), and take a swing at truck driving. My first class is January 16. Fortunately, it worked out that I could take some time off work to ride with my boyfriend and get a little bonus time learning/experiencing the life of a trucker.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't harbor any anxiety about this change of careers. But I also hold a lot of excitement and anticipation. Healthcare has burnt me out, and I've never been one to settle with anything that I'm unhappy or tired with. My history of against the grain decisions is proof of that.
So in short, I'm hoping to document my experiences on the road while I'm riding with my boyfriend this week, for some (if any) person's entertainment and/or critique, and to hopefully get a better idea of what I've signed myself up for. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Cheers!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.