Old(er) Future New Driver...

Hello drivers,

Nice forum you have in here. I've read Turtle's Walmart new driver diary. It was very informative. I still have a few questions in regards to that. But maybe those questions are for another time. I read his thread (and other's threads) because I'm interested in driving for Walmart. I like everything I've read about it. The daily grind, being busy all day, the way they operate their fleet. The only drawback I can think of is, it would be nice to do some long distance cross-country type stuff ... but I'd rather do it the way Walmart has it set up, versus always being on a long haul.

However, the intention of this thread is to ask: What advice would you give me? Based on the below.

I am not a professional CDL driver. I am a design engineer. I'm 52 years old and have been doing engineering design for almost 30 years now. I'm wanting a change. I'm coming to a point in my life I can make a jump to something different. In a couple years, my house will pay off, my oldest son is about to go into the Navy. My middle son will be finishing his college. And my youngest son, well, he's not costing me anything, and doesn't seem to be going to go to college.

Meaning, I have a couple years to plan this out, to make a change that is well thought out. To something I will enjoy for the next 10+ years. I'll be honest, I'm sick and tired of coming up with ingenious ideas for the man, and getting nothing rewarding from it ... only getting beat on if it doesn't come together inline with schedules built on perfection ... no room for error. And I'm tired of sitting at a desk all day. I want to get out. Be out and about. Be hustling from here to there. Staying busy. When Turtle mentioned that his days go by quickly because he stays so busy, that's what convinces me that I want to do the same.

So ... what advice would you give me? Should I go the usual route, go to truck driving school? Drive for any company for (what is it) 2.5 years and then apply at Walmart? Is there another path? I should also mention, that while in college, I drove a switch tractor for a trucking company. Where I backed 33 foot trailers into the dock all day and into storage, probably 50 to 100 times a day. I can back a 33 foot trailer no problem. But believe it or not, a 33 foot trailer is a lot easier than a 53' trailer. Had to move quite a few of those as well. But 99.75% of the trailers I backed were 33 footers.

Thanks for any advice given!

Cleetus Skullcrusher

Cleetus, your best course of action to accomplish your goals would be to apply for company sponsored training and then work for that company until you could qualify for Walmart. Walmart cherry picks the best drivers so you need to get the best training. Prime always comes to my mind when I think of a company that offers very thorough training. But there are others that do a good job.

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

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Apply For Paid CDL TrainingApply For Paid CDL TrainingApply For Paid CDL Training

Welcome to Trucking Truth!

You will need some time to get experience and it's best to do it over the road for at least one year with company sponsored training. Most companies obligate you to a one year contract, while some are 10 months and some are 1.5 years.

I didn't read Turtles Walmart Post because I'm not interested in driving for Walmart. I just came off of containers that went to the Port of Oakland every week. Last week I started with a dry van company and we run all over the place...altho the company tries their hardest to send you where you want to drive.

At 52 you are still a youngster. BK and I are the oldest in this group I believe. Both of us are in our 70s 😁 I don't know how many miles BK gets, but last year I ran over 130,000 miles from January to the day before Thanksgiving. Not bad for being old(er).

Laura

I wish I could start right now. But ... bills. I owe so very little on my house, less than 10% of its (estimated) value. But the mortgage company won't let me take a 6 month break on the payments!

Welcome Sir!!

Many of us started in our 50’s. I was 53. We came from other proffessions just like you. So yes it is very doable.

I have never been interested in walmart either, but sounds like a good gig for those who are.

Congrats on your oldest going in the Navy. I’m a Navy vet and my oldest grandson is now serving.

Spend time preparing and when the time comes you should have everything in order for your new journey.

Welcome Sir!!

Many of us started in our 50’s. I was 53. We came from other proffessions just like you. So yes it is very doable.

I have never been interested in walmart either, but sounds like a good gig for those who are.

Congrats on your oldest going in the Navy. I’m a Navy vet and my oldest grandson is now serving.

Spend time preparing and when the time comes you should have everything in order for your new journey.

PJ - Thanks. Yeah, I'm 52 now. If I had my house paid for, and if my sons were just a touch more secure, I would make the jump now. But to make the jump right now is very scary. Too much going on in life right now. I was thinking the perfect way to make this transition is to (try to) start at GP Transport, then transition to Walmart.

In years past, my current company had MULAs and VULAs. Mandatory Unpaid Leave of Absence and Voluntary Unpaid Leave of Absence. But in the last 3 or 4 years, our bidness has been booming. So none of that. At one point I was planning on combining a MULA and some vacation time and going ahead and getting my CDL. But with no MULAs, I can't take that much time off at 1 time.

There's also weekend training. I may be able to work that out, I want to get that CDL under my belt, and maybe see what companies might be trying to recruit from the school, and what they may be able to offer.

You need to be careful getting it too soon. Basically a 90 day window of going full time in trucking. Otherwise most companies will look at as stale and you’ll be going through training twice.