18 Years Driving But None Recent, Want To Get Back To It, HELP??

Hi all, hope this is the right place to ask this. So, I retired from this current company and really don't have to work but can't sit home doing nothing and have always thought of driving again. I keep my CDL current and have tanker and double/triples endorsements still on it, although I never pulled a tanker or doubles/triples. I had Hazmat but when I when to renew I said I wasn't currently driving and they would not let me keep the hazmat. Every two years I been keeping up my Dot physical card. The one I have expires 7/21. I'm sure when a company ask for the long form what that is but I have a card or piece of paper mentioning section 391.41 signed by a doctor approving me to drive. It was a DOT physical but never got any kind of long form.

That's all well and good but the problem is I don't have any recent experience. Also, need to throw this into the mix, I have some money and currently looking to buy a good used truck outright no financing and a mac flatbed trailer and lease it out somewhere, maybe Mercer or CRST Malone, or somewhere. Any Ideas? Regardless, I am back to no recent experience. I have 18 years of driving experience, 1977 - 1995, and a million and a half miles and I am probably under estimating that number. I was hoping I could test out, do a drivers road test at the company etc..., but stick around for the ELD and Securing a load training. So my question to my past and future trucking compadres, what do I do? I really can't afford my own authority and all the insurance that goes with it. Maybe later but I would just like to either lease my truck and trailer to be, or at least just the truck to start. I not going out there tomorrow and buy the truck and trailer until I get a clear picture and know things will work out. I might even wait until after the Christmas holiday to be home with my wife and kid and avoid the holiday down time. Maybe the covid thing might be in better shape by then as well. You know I can't go buy all this stuff and no one hires me, which would really suck. If anyone has any ideas please post. I will keep looking for your comments. Thanks Guys. One more thing, wtf happen? There are automatic transmissions now??? I understand all the avoidance stuff but automatic transmission? Companies could find people who could not drive a stick? lol. I was so flabbergasted I had to google it to find the history on this. Sorry this kind of went a little longer than I meant it to go. Anyways, If you’re interested in my driving history you can read the rest of the book below.

Let me give you a brief history of my past first. Dad was a logger in upstate NY, way up state. He would cut them down, I skidding them out and loading them using a crane with tongs on to my own 10 wheeler International truck. Dad retired, I move to Richmond Va. and found a job with lumber company. Drove day truck (18 wheeler) pulling a flatbed doing local deliveries for a couple of years. Guy across street from lumber yard asked me to drive for him hauling livestock. We either went west across route 60 into Charleston WV to Ohio and Indiana or south to the Carolina's and picked up pigs, 230 or so on a triple decker, and delivered to Smithfield packing. Highway 60 was and probably still is one of the most dangerous roads in the country. We crossed it during the winter with a foot or more of fresh snow and curves where you could see the back of your trailer out the passenger window. You could look out the driver's window and see over the guardrail and never see the bottom of the drop off. Thinking back on those days it's a wonder nothing ever happen. Most freight companies would not allow their drivers on this road. They made them go around through PA turnpike to go west into Ohio etc.... Once loaded we could only stop for a few minutes for fuel and food to go. Anyone who ever pull a livestock trailer knows what I am talking about. I was proud to be a bullhauler but there was little sleeping time. Good thing ELD were not around, probably would have gotten a life sentence if caught. Later move on to Mullinax Refrigerated freight hauling Ice Cream out of Cincinnati to Kroger food's warehouse in Roanoke Va. and soda pop back out of Bluefield WV. Not too long after I was hire I was assigned a beautiful 15 Speed, two sticks a 5 x 4, AutoCar with a 3406 cat all decked out in chrome. Real head turner. I could hit 80 or higher and never make it to high gear. When that job kinda petered out, a guy in Knoxville with a few trucks leased to different companies hired me. I was leased for a while to Cheyenne Express and drove all 48 states. Think I been on every main highway in the United States. Stayed there for many years until my sister convinced me to come off the road and move in with her in Fort Lauderdale until I could find my own place. That's the last time I drove a semi. All in all about 18 years, 1977 - 1995, and a million and a half miles and I am probably under estimating that. BTW, I never had an accident, a couple of speeding tickets but no accidents. If you wondering what happen after that, I ended up getting a bachelors degree in Computer Science and worked for 24 years for a local college in Fort Lauderdale, the last 10 years of those years or so as Assistance Director of Technology. I have no interest in working in that field anymore. Need to get back to my roots, lol. That's it, need to get back on the road again.

You'll have trouble getting hired at many companies, they'll want you to take at a minimum a refresher course because you've been out of a truck for 25 years. As bad as it sounds you'll be looked at the same way as a driver fresh out the academy. With that being said with all your experience you should be able to breeze through a refresher or any training they may require due to understanding how the trailer reacts.

Don't buy or lease a truck. Especially with your experience being so outdated your rates will be astronomical (even more so than most are paying) if you can even get someone to insure you. Insurance companies now play a large role in who can be hired. Most company trucks are indeed automatic now. It's much easier to get people that may have been intimidated by learning how, but also the fuel savings. Even if these automatics are saving a fraction of a gallon of fuel if you spread that out across the mega carriers it's huge savings. Old Dominion is the only large company I'm aware of that have no intentions of going auto.

Thanks for the reply and advice.

I been thinking the refresher course is probably the easiest way to get back into it, therefore I agree with you wholeheartedly. Maybe after a few months of driving otr and talking to other drivers I might find a company to take me on as an owner operator. Also, since things have changed so much, ELD's, automatics, cameras etc, this will give me the opportunity to experience what it is like on the road compared to when I left. Maybe I will find it sooo different I may not want to continue on this path. On another note, I have an appointment with DMV to take the Hazmat test on the 8th and an appointment with TSA on the 12th to get my TWIC card. So this will give me CDL with Hazmat, if passed, Tanker, doubles/triples, and Passenger and a pass to enter the port here in Fort Lauderdale or Miami or for that matter any port in the US I think. I am hoping this will give me a leg up with some companies.

Again, thanks Rob for the advice and will update the forum as things change.

Welcome Brian. Rob laid it out straight. Another issue you will have is living in Fl as far as the number of companies willing to bring you on. I know Cypress is down there, flatbed outfit. You may look into them. Most tanker companies are going to want you to have a recent 1 year exp. Once that is on the books you will have many more options.

You will find the industry probably doesn’t even resemble what you experienced. It has really changed that much. It still is very rewarding and well worth being involved with.

Keep us posted on how it goes in your search

Thanks for that last reply and I have a little more news to report. Today took the hazmat test for Florida. I used the hazmat practice test I found on line to study from, read all of section 9 in Florida's CDL handbook, and passed quite easily. While there I filled out the TSA form and got finger printed for the background check. When I asked how long it will take for the background check to get processed, the DMV guy said he doesn't normally see the requesters after they leave the DMV but from what he is hearing I should get a notice of pass or failure in approximately 45 day or less. If passed, a new license updated with the endorsement will accompany the letter. So cool, my endorsement current reads, ntp and the new should read XTP. Monday, I have an appointment to get a TWIC card. If shouldn't be a problem especially if the background check for the hazmat is approved. It's the same TSA check. Anyways, I was a little nervous but all went well.

More to report as it happens. Stay safe!!

HELP, no recent experience in 20+ years and living in South Florida, (Ft. Lauderdale) is getting me down. I'm willing to take a refresher course, ride with a trainer, and stay out 2 or 3 week at a time, I'll pull any type of trailer any place it needs to go. It doesn't matter to me as long as I can get some OTR experience. If you haven't read the previous post, I have driven 1.5 million miles or more of driving over all 48 states and never had an accident. I have a current CDL A with XTP endorsements, a current Twic card, current DOT physical and a valid passport and only one minor speeding ticket in any vehicle in the past 10 years. actually longer than that. I filled an application out with Cypress Express and they replied via email they do not hire any further south than West Palm Beach. That sounded a little fishy to me considering I only 50 south of there. Another company said i would need to go to school and redo my cdl all over again. I spoke to a recruiter with Knight Transportation. He seemed genuinely nice. He said if I could get 3 months of clean OTR experience to call him back. I feel like I am so close but just can't just find the right company to give me a shot.

To whom ever may be reading this, if you know any company that may consider me for a job, please reply to this post. Yesterday was Thanksgiving and I am going to make a few more calls next week. Hope something turns up. Thank you all for reading this and if you happen to reply, thanks again.

Unfortunately, it's not going to matter if you drove five million miles. The fact is you have not driven for more than a decade, your license is stale with no recent experience, and an insurance company will view you as an extreme liabilty.

It stinks, but these are the facts. You will need to go out with a trainer for an unknown period.

Thanks for the reply Pack Rat, I don't consider myself a primadonna, just the opposite. I would welcome going out with a trainer for how ever long it takes. But that is where I am having trouble, finding a company that will give me that opportunity. I will need training with ELD's and probably will not be lucky enough to get a standard transmission so I will need training on the automatics. Also, I am sure load planning is a high priority now. Back then most of the drivers I knew, including myself, kept multiple log books so we could be where ever we needed to be without worrying about hos. Companies I worked for never even asked for the logs. Driving a truck down the highway should basically be the same but everything else I will need to re-learn. I am actually looking forward to running legal. One last thing, for those that may be reading this, I really like to pull a flatbed. I don't have much experience, just one year and that was my first driving job. But right now, I willing to pull anything if given the opportunity. I would be glad to leave my email address but not sure if it proper to do so here. Maybe the moderator will let me know if it is allowed. If so, I will leave it on the next post. I enjoy reading your replies and hope I may get a couple of good references with your help. I will post my progress in my quest to getting back in the driver's seat. Thanks for reading!

Willingness to re-learn means a lot.

We do not have any instant message function on the TT site, and generally wish to keep things out in the open so others can learn and absorb the information exchanged. You can add an email address or cell number on your bio page if you wish.

I would suggest looking up all the flatbed companies and applying to all. See what kind of response you have then go from there.

I updated my bio with an email address and phone number. If anyone knows a company that might consider me for an OTR job, (see qualification in previous replies) and would not otherwise want to reply to this blog, please look up my bio and feel free to email or call. Any leads will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Brian