This Forum Is A Breath Of "fresh Air"

Hi everyone!....Let me just say that this is the most POSITIVE yet truthful trucking forum I have seen...I have about 21 yrs of trucking experience...Over 7 with Schneider, around 7 years hauling gasoline for a local company (Tanker Trucks) and most recently I spent just under 7 yrs working for Toys R Us...Toys R us was a great company to work for (Heme every day)...I would still be there today except that they decided to sell their transportation division last June to JB Hunt...After thinking long and hard, I declined JB's offer to work for them and decided to try selling Real Estate instead....(at that time I felt like I needed a change)

Now we fast forward almost a year later and I find I miss driving and do not like being in an office environment as much as I thought I would, so... what to do and where to go???...I have never had a ticket and had one accident (non-preventable) in my 21 yrs of driving so I feel as though I could qualify most anywhere....I could use some advice....My inclination is to rejoin Schneider but am wondering if being away from driving over the last 11 months will hurt me pay wise, etc......I also have "local" options, but here in Virginia Beach, most local companies are relatively low paying and also involve port work...I did port work for 2 years with Toys r Us and was not fond of it...Would much rather run miles even if it means being gone from home..The kids are grown and my wife is very understanding....I have about 6 yrs till retirement..Any ideas or suggestions would be welcome??...Thx..Mike in Va Beach

Id call and ask around with companies ya may have to take a refresher course

Stormlover, theres a guy on here who is from your neck of the woods. He was a LEO, until he retired. He went thru training and now drives for Prime...and he loves em. I'll have to admit, Prime offers a great package, Theres a link on here about companies, so check it out. You being away from trucking for a year will matter with some, but may not matter with others. So if it meant a little "recharge" by going to a few safety meetings, and getting yourself up to speed on the newest DOT law, then I'd pick the company that I like the best, and muddle thru whatever they wanted me to do....The recharge may only last a week or two, but if you go with a company that doesn't make ya do it, and you end up hatin' the company, the here ya are, with the same problem "again"...and a seat jumper besides...Go with the best company in your opinion...

Just want to comment that it's cool to see someone from VB in here. I moved to Charlotte, NC last summer, but before that, I lived in Va Beach for 7 years. I hope you find a company that works well for you and pays you well for your experience. Even though you'ver been off the road for 11 months, it seems to me that your 21 years of experience will mean a lot more to a company than that measly little 11 month break. Best of luck to you. :)

Really the biggest things that will help you decide is how much home time do you want and what type of freight do you want to haul? That's really gonna narrow it down quite a bit.

Now with all the experience you have, maybe you're looking for something new and interesting? I drove food grade tanker at one point and that was a really cool job. The company was tiny and went bankrupt years ago, but we competed against companies like Opies, Indian River, and Carry.

Food grade tanker is a pretty cool job. You don't have to worry about axle weights. With most trucks you don't have to worry about low bridges. Scaling you at the weigh stations is tough because the liquid sloshes so much and inspecting cargo is pretty much out of the question. You obviously don't have to worry about dangerous chemicals and chemical plants like regular chemical tanker companies do. And you don't have to worry about dealing with lumpers and grocery warehouses. And the crosswinds goes around a tanker a lot nicer than a box.

The biggest concern of course is the sloshing liquid. It's tricky to shift, and it can be dangerous getting slowed down and maneuvering around curves.

But I thought it was a really cool job. Very interesting. Paid well too. That's something to consider if you haven't tried it before.

Stormlover,

I live in Chesapeake, and I drive for Prime. They have reefer , flatbed and tanker fleets.

I went through their training program and have been with them since Oct 2011. I have been treated well so far (with 1 or 2 exceptions). Been very pleased with how they treat the drivers.

Any questions, let me know.

Ernie

Stormlover,

I live in Chesapeake, and I drive for Prime. They have reefer , flatbed and tanker fleets.

I went through their training program and have been with them since Oct 2011. I have been treated well so far (with 1 or 2 exceptions). Been very pleased with how they treat the drivers.

Any questions, let me know.

Ernie

God Ernie has it really been that long already? Does not seem that long ago that you just showed up one day. Man time flies.

Stormlover,

I live in Chesapeake, and I drive for Prime. They have reefer , flatbed and tanker fleets.

I went through their training program and have been with them since Oct 2011. I have been treated well so far (with 1 or 2 exceptions). Been very pleased with how they treat the drivers.

Any questions, let me know.

Ernie

God Ernie has it really been that long already? Does not seem that long ago that you just showed up one day. Man time flies.

So true Guy, it does seems like it was just the other day I started on this adventure we call trucking.