Advice Wanted: Married Couple Looking At Trucking As A Future Career.

Howdy! My wife and I are looking towards the future and one thing we both said was that when we were younger we thought it would be neat to drive big rigs. My grandfather (whom I really don't know that well) was a trucker for years and years... I think he was an owner operator , and his wife rode shotgun with him. I remember being a wee young lad sitting in the cab while he was at the terminal waiting for a load. I remember very little about it, but it was exciting! :D

Anyway, we both have... um... a fair amount of debt to knock off, and not enough income to knock it off with, it seems. Our budget is pretty tight as it is, and it would be nice if we could be free to go places (no where in particular, we just like going on road trips), make decent money, and not be separated from each other. Long term, we would like to be debt free (huzzah!), and have money set aside to buy some land, build a home, and raise kids. And get Wifey back in school to finish her education degree. (She rocks with kids, but debt prevents us from her finishing... she was already cherry picked for a sweet education job, but lack of degree stopped it. :/) So we aren't looking for doing this for the rest of our lives. It's a hopefully enjoyable means to an end.

That said, I know little to nothing about trucking. I have been perusing the site for a few days now. The intro book was really awesome. I felt like I had an idea of what we could be looking at.

What I would like some input on:

- Job plan, five-ish years out. I am thinking that before we even start we would need about 8k in the bank just for classes for the both of us, PLUS 3-6 months "emergency fund" to pay the bills for the apt/electric/mobiles/car insurance/etc in case we have bad weeks. We aren't looking to dump all that since we don't know if this will work out. Plus, it would fit better with the 5 year plan... Here is why. I am thinking we should do year one as Regional drivers. Reasons: we still want to have SOME connection to home. Our church family is important to us. We don't need to be there every week, but we would talk to our dispatcher and explain that every other week or so we would like to be at church. Leave right after church for the road or just get off right before church, fine... but about twice a month would be what we want. Also, Texas is a big-ass state, but one we are fairly familiar with, and we live smack in the middle of it, almost. I think it would help the learning curve. Years 2-5 we would want to explore our options of regional Vs. OTR. I, personally, would like OTR. I think so would she. But leaving our church family is kinda hard. We would have to judge what would work for us. - Training. I am thinking a private school, so that we aren't "slaves" or indebted to a given company. I can see why have them pay for us to learn can be good, but I am in debt to too many others to really be okay with the idea. - Actual time together. How much time would we actually get to be with each other and not be sleeping while the other is driving? - Actual... close time together? Would this only work during 34 hr resets?

.... That's all I can think of right now, and I gotta run. Thanks for any input. Eric.

Eric, glad you asked all of these questions!

And to be honest, because someone has to tell you, I recommend you completely ditch your 5- year plan.

- Job plan, five-ish years out. I am thinking that before we even start we would need about 8k in the bank just for classes for the both of us, PLUS 3-6 months "emergency fund" to pay the bills for the apt/electric/mobiles/car insurance/etc in case we have bad weeks. We aren't looking to dump all that since we don't know if this will work out. Plus, it would fit better with the 5 year plan...

Truck Driving Schools and Company-Sponsored Training Programs both get you where you need to be. The biggest thing to consider is whether or not you have the money to pay for a private school. If you don't, then you must go to a Company Sponsored School. Why get into even more debt?

If I were you, I would go to a Company Sponsored School 110%. It'll save you so much money, which is exactly what you need. Not every Company Sponsored School even charges you for the schooling and if they do, its fractions to what you'll pay at a Private School. When I started, my company didn't charge me a dime. My only expense was food and that's it. I spent 0$ for my CDL. In your case, go this route only.

With a company, you'll get to training very quickly and start making a paycheck. Why waste weeks spending money instead of making money?

I am thinking we should do year one as Regional drivers. Reasons: we still want to have SOME connection to home.

Eh, I really recommend you start as OTR. Most companies won't even hire you for regional without some experience.

And unfortunately, you're honestly going to have to choose between trucking or home. Regional runs consist of loads usually under 1000 miles. I know two people who do regional runs and their average load is about 500 miles. Especially as a team, doing regional will cripple you financially. Teams are awesome and make great money because they can do cross country runs in no time at all. You want long runs as a team, that means less wait times at customers and much more money. You're losing more money than you can shake a stick at if you do decide to do regional.

Our church family is important to us. We don't need to be there every week, but we would talk to our dispatcher and explain that every other week or so we would like to be at church. Leave right after church for the road or just get off right before church, fine... but about twice a month would be what we want.

Man, and believe me I completely understand, but its very tough to make these requests as a rookie. Most companies policy is a minimum of three weeks before hometime and your DM might not want to bend the rules for you - especially for a rookie. Also, a good team usually runs hard and simply doesn't have the time to stop and attend church. Your appointment probably won't have that much extra time on it too. I mean, if the load goes through the house then by all means go ahead, but the chances are of everything working out is extremely slim.

Training. I am thinking a private school, so that we aren't "slaves" or indebted to a given company. I can see why have them pay for us to learn can be good, but I am in debt to too many others to really be okay with the idea.

So you're in debt to too many others but you want to spend another 8 grand and become even more in debt? Eric, like I said earlier. Ditch this private school idea. Company Sponsored Schools usually only have you sign a 1 year contract, that's nothing in the grand scheme of things. Besides, you want to work at least a year with your first company to establish a good work history for any future companies.

Actual time together. How much time would we actually get to be with each other and not be sleeping while the other is driving? - Actual... close time together? Would this only work during 34 hr resets?

Well this depends on how hard you run. If you run really hard you'll make good money, but you will hardly ever have any time together. You'll usually be tired at the end of your shift and will go straight to bed. Team driving is a tough lifestyle, but you can make some seriously good money doing it. But don't expect paradise.

Hope I've steered you in the right direction.

On mobile, so sorry if there are formatting issues. Thanks for replying! I really appreciate it.

One think confuses me about your response, though. How does us saving up cash in hand to pay for school equal getting into more debt? Getting into more debt would be if we get student loans... I'm not following your logic on this.

On the rest ... Drat. I was not aware that the mileage would not be as good. Or at least that it would be so much smaller than I was thinking. Sigh. I think this one factor is the biggest ding in the idea of pursuing trucking. Which means its good that we have a lot of time to pray and think about it.

Thanks again for your input! It's got me thinking.

On mobile, so sorry if there are formatting issues. Thanks for replying! I really appreciate it.

One think confuses me about your response, though. How does us saving up cash in hand to pay for school equal getting into more debt? Getting into more debt would be if we get student loans... I'm not following your logic on this.

On the rest ... Drat. I was not aware that the mileage would not be as good. Or at least that it would be so much smaller than I was thinking. Sigh. I think this one factor is the biggest ding in the idea of pursuing trucking. Which means its good that we have a lot of time to pray and think about it.

Thanks again for your input! It's got me thinking.

i was assuming you weren't going to pay for private schooling with cash.

You really could get your licenses for a whole lot cheaper and use that money for better/different things.

Eric, the first thing you're going to have to decide is whether or not you're going to prioritize your financial situation. Do you want to see your friends at church every week or do you want to make some sacrifices to climb out of this? There is no right or wrong answer to this, only what's right or wrong for you.

But keep in mind you'll find plenty of Christians on the road to speak with and pray with. You'll also find plenty of small chapels at truck stops across the country. And of course you can pray to God right from the inside of your truck. I've tried it many times and your prayers will indeed pass straight through the metal roof of the truck no problem. I completely understand wanting to be at church with your Christian family but you're going to severely limit your options for work and your income potential in trucking if you want to be home on the weekends. Some companies can get you home every other weekend like you mentioned but not that often. Most jobs are either home nightly, home on weekends, or home a few days per month.

Now you guys are going to have a HUGE advantage because you're a husband/wife team and those are the most coveted drivers in the industry. Every company that runs teams will beg for your services. Now if you were to run for say a refrigerated carrier that runs a lot of coast to coast and you were out three weeks at a time you guys could expect to gross (before taxes) a combined $90k your first year and into the low 6 figures after that. Now as far as your goals:

Long term, we would like to be debt free (huzzah!), and have money set aside to buy some land, build a home, and raise kids. And get Wifey back in school to finish her education degree

If you guys live in the truck, cut all of your living expenses to the bare minimum, and run hard for a few years you'll pay off all of your debts and be in great financial shape for your dream home and family. I know you'll miss your church family in the meantime but God won't have a problem with your plan and your church family will always be there anytime you get a chance to return. Besides, with modern technology it isn't difficult to stay in close contact with people far away.

Now Daniel makes a great point about Company-Sponsored Training . There are a number of companies that would be absolutely ideal for your situation and you'd get your license with basically no money out of pocket. You'd also have to pay back very little, if any, depending upon which company you choose. There are a number of refrigerated carriers with training programs that I would look at if I were you guys. Prime Inc has a ton of miles available all year round, beautiful equipment, a wonderful (but rather long) training program, and about the best starting pay in the industry. But don't stop there. Central Refrigerated, Roehl, Knight, and Stevens are also great companies to consider.

And please do not make the mistake of looking at it as being "enslaved" to a company. I mean, they're investing the time, money, people, and equipment up front that it takes to get your trucking career off the ground. Is it asking too much to have you repay their investment by working there for a year? I think not. In fact, name any other industry that offers such a great opportunity. It's a real blessing.

On top of that, we always recommend you stay with your first company for a year no matter what. So if you're doing things the right way you're not planning on leaving the company anyhow. It takes time to learn how to handle that rig, prove yourself to be trustworthy drivers, and get to know the right people at your company. If you don't stick around for a while you're just going to be the lowest drivers on the totem pole, bottom-feeding for scraps everywhere you go. The best drivers get the best freight and the most miles. It takes time to earn a good reputation and work your way into that group. So it's a huge advantage to stick with a company as long as possible.

Morning Brett.

Thanks for the input. You've nicely divided the two competing interests. It's frustrating I think because I was pretty much told to "look into it" for the future, but bringing it up to wifey right now is a stresser for her, which she doesn't need. Don't want to get into soap opera stuff, but work for her right now is pretty hectic and so adding to her stress level is a bad idea. But it means that I tend to get push-back when ever the topic comes up.

The need for being with our church family is more on her side of things... I am fine listening to sermons on the road etc, and I don't need a lot of people in my life. I really just need someone to be present. So, her sleeping in the back would work fine. If no one else is there though, I can get into a bad place emotionally. I can handle that in a normal home/work situation since I get my dose of contact (like it or not) at work. I would have some concerns while on the road, though. Wifey though really values the relationships and community of church. I think when we do have our sit down talk about things, the conflict of interests (financial freedom/church community) is going to be the crux of the issue.

BTW, Brett, thanks for all the work you have put into this site. Regardless of what our choice is, I have always been interested in the driver side of this industry and it's really neat to see the trucking community from this perspective.

Eric.

I know that if you go though Swift s husband and wife one of you get free training. So the 2 o you get CDLs for 3900

Was looking at the page here for Prime Inc, and holy cow! They have a repair shop in Altus, OK. I spent 8 years there as a kid when dad was USAF. How random is that.

I want you guys to know I really appreciate the time you take here. I am sure you have folks who come in and it seems like they are asking for help and really want validation of their own ideas. I hope that isn't me.

Thanks guys.

I want you guys to know I really appreciate the time you take here. I am sure you have folks who come in and it seems like they are asking for help and really want validation of their own ideas. I hope that isn't me.

From our perspective we really just want to help out any way we can and we enjoy the opportunity. See, this forum gets read by thousands of people every day even though only a couple dozen or so tend to participate at a time. So every conversation will ultimately help a ton of people. Never hesitate to ask any questions you may have and never for a moment think any of this is a burden to us. We enjoy helping out.