Looking Into Trucking And Wanted Some Opinions On My Idea For Starting In The Industry...

Hell, I'm crazy as it is, and by week 10 of solid running OTR running recaps, and only accidental 34s under load, I'm sick of myself, sick of my truck, short tempered, and quick to voice my opinion loudly, and colorfully.

You haven't even driven a circle in a truck yet. You don't have enough information to determine if that long or a hitch is even an option for your own mental health needs.

Mega carriers usually have a system set up to be able to have specific mail held for a driver in their terminal. I pay just over $1 a week to have a mailbox at the main terminal. It's way easier to swing through there, than trying to get "home" to either Montana, or where I "live" in North Carolina.

You must have Prime Inc confused with Amazon Prime. Prime Inc has awesome trucks and trailers. We just talked about how we even have custom decals themes like transformers and datr wars... at cost of course. Amazon Prime is a lot of owner ops.with older equipment.

If you read what i said about turning the truck in... you would see i said it isnt possible every home time. It takes a lot of time and man power to clean and reassign trucks. But for instance.. my mom died. So i took a month off and traded my truck in.

When it comes to your medicine... are u saying u need a doctor visit or u need to go home or what? Prime has a doctors office in the terminal. And most companies have a mail room u can get things shipped to u. I am not trying to get personal... but why fo u need 2 weeks off for meds? The company legally has to get u home for a doctor. But not 2 weeks.

Honestly... u are trying to make plans in an industry you know nothing about. 3 months OTR is exhausting... even for experienced drivers. I know people who came in here saying "me and my wife are going to run 7000 miles a week doing all drop and hook , and im gonna get my CDl by 9/15, finish training by 11/15 then be running with my wife by 11/16. Didnt happened. No where near it.

Well you see that's why I'm asking and getting information about it. I don't mind the being out for long periods of time and I like to work given I don't have someone constantly harassing and attacking me at every turn like at most jobs, that's why I liked the IT thing I was doing for a long while there but the work itself just got insanely stale... I figured 2 weeks home to be able to manage my appointments and such, I'm not sure how it is with the company doctor or even doctors that are associated with the trucking industry but my doctor I currently have I have to schedule an appointment nearly a month in advance to see them. It's not that I don't mind divulging the information but it just seems weird to be so open with strangers about my ailments, let's just say it's an 'infectious disease' that requires constant medication. I don't NEED a constant 2 weeks off but I typically go in for bloodwork, then get another appointment the following week to see the results in person with the doctor, though my current doctor has been willing to do tele-health calls to give me the information which has been nice. Realistically the 2 weeks off at a time was a bit of a stretch but that is what my father was doing, he was O/O but contracted with multiple companies so I was just going off what I knew from what he did, I know the O/O plays part in it but I didn't realize he had THAT much control over his own off time. The guidance is appreciated from you thus far! I don't play on doing 7k miles a week, hell I'd be lucky to find myself doing 3,500 to start just to ensure I'm easing into it and not rushing or being unsafe. If the powersports mechanic position taught me anything is that rushing leads to injuries, A LOT of injuries. They were small ones granted, but having little cuts and gashes in my hands from say a wrench slipping off an axel nut and I bash my knuckles into a dirt bike sprocket did not feel the greatest for 3 weeks......

Since you did have interest in going to Swift, another company you may want to look into is Knight Transportation. Knight and Swift are basically the same company but with somewhat different options. Knight does have some slip seat positions where time out and home time are quite flexible. Below is an excerpt from a posting I see for the Lakeland Florida terminal. I'm not sure if other terminals offer the same or similar options, but it couldn't hurt to look into it to see if they have what you are looking for.

Maxwell said:

hell I'd be lucky to find myself doing 3,500 to start just to ensure I'm easing into it and not rushing or being unsafe.

3500 miles a week for a solo is not going to happen. Not in this economy. Not in governed trucks. What i said before was to try to point out the unrealistic expectations new drivers have. And you have them. Clear your mind from expectations and just go with the flow and be flexible. Blood tests could be done anywhere, then get u home for the doctor visit.

I don't want to know what your condition is.. not our business. But are you sure you can get a DOT medical card? Be aware that certain meds may be banned by some companies and accepted by others

I would just go home for the blood tests and do the tele med thing for the results

Happy Easter. Read through the CDL diaries section. There are many from various carriers in there. It may give you a more realistic view of it. Also of the reality that most of them aren't here, much less trucking at all.

Basically, if you have a medical condition that is severe or requires certain medication and or has certain symptoms such as seizures, strokes, etc, it may limit you from obtaining a med card and thus CDL. That needs to be addressed first. Check with the FMCSA to see if you're even eligible to get a CDL.

Next, I'd concentrate on the path to getting your license and training accomplished, then worry about the other stuff. You're assuming that you get through getting your CDL and training. Most people don't. There are a ton assumptions that this is an easy lifestyle and entry-level candidates are often baffled and confused months later as to why they washed out.

Different companies have slightly different takes on their policies, but as stated, most will require you to turn in the truck if off for extended periods, especially in the beginning.

A new driver doesn't bring much to the table expect potential liability. It takes a year or so to begin to develop efficiency and a reputation for delivering on time and safely. It takes a while to establish a relationship with your office that you can be trusted and are easy to work with. Once you do, however, if you're a reliable high performing driver that is safe and easy to work with, you may find added perks such as bending some of the policies. My terminal manager makes it a point to keep me in my truck and I've taken 3 weeks off at a time.

Worrying about how many miles and how long you can stay out on the road when you've never even driven a cmv is putting the cart before the horse. You'll be lucky to complete 2000 to 2500 miles a week for a while in the beginning, until you develop an understanding of your clocks, managing your time, flow at shippers and recievers and your dispatch trusts you enough to hand you miles. It's a process we all went through.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder , You don't want your wife around 24/7 in a rolling closet on the road .Seems great but yea not the best move .