13 Months Driving OTR Is Over!!!

Terry, was wondering how things are still going for you. Not sure if you still come around as your working pretty long hours. After having done this for a couple months have you gotten more used to it, and is it still worth it for you? I'm currently working in Warehouse at Sysco in FL and looking into being a driver, only downside is I'd likely be taking a pay cut to drive ( due to incentive pays), yet still do the physical aspect of it . I've wanted to drive for a couple years but hate the idea of being away from home with a baby on the way

Terry, was wondering how things are still going for you. Not sure if you still come around as your working pretty long hours. After having done this for a couple months have you gotten more used to it, and is it still worth it for you? I'm currently working in Warehouse at Sysco in FL and looking into being a driver, only downside is I'd likely be taking a pay cut to drive ( due to incentive pays), yet still do the physical aspect of it . I've wanted to drive for a couple years but hate the idea of being away from home with a baby on the way

Hello there Rob and yes I do still come around. Since you asked I'll talk about how things are going for me with my local job. As I stated earlier I wasn't able to get hired on directly with US Foods in Port Orange as the Operations manager was reluctant to hire an OTR driver into such a physically demanding job. So I hired with a temp agency in nearby Lake Mary FL called Moments Notice Truck Driver Leasing. They in turn staff for US Foods (along with many other companies in Florida). In order for me to get hired full time at USF I must work a minimum of 500 hours with the them as a "temp" driver. As of last Friday I have 471 hours so this week I should have the minimum required hours to apply as a full time driver.

Here's the little SNAFU happening with that ATM. As you know working for Sysco this is kind of a slow time in Florida in the food industry. But here in the next couple of weeks the snow birds will be migrating from their frozen hell in the north down here for the winter. The restaurants will be getting double the amount of business as they are right now with the arrival of the snow birds. That's when USF should be hiring on a couple full time drivers for the route position I'm seeking there.

So far I've done everything I can to make a good name for myself. I'm with different drivers and different routes most every day. However I've managed to impress a couple of full time drivers enough to talk to the manager to request me to go on their routes with them when they need help that a temp will fill. That bodes excellent in my favor. It's the best way of getting hired on full time. If the full time drivers think you can make it, the manager takes their word seriously and thus makes getting hired much easier. I knew if I had a chance to prove my work ethic that I'd have a great shot at getting hired full time and I've done what I can so far. Now I'm just waiting on positions to open.

I've also done some shuttle routes (pulling loaded trailers to drop yards around Florida and bringing back empties) and a few backhauls (taking empty trailers to clients like Florida's Natural and cooling houses and picking up loads coming back to the distribution center in Port Orange. I've done a little of everything and so far have done those to the best of my ability.

It surprises me to hear you say you'd take a "pay cut" moving over to the driver position from the wherehouse. Well I'll give you a couple of things to think about. Now I'm not up to speed on the inner workings of Sysco but I"ve been in the industry long enough to know how things tend to work. If you move to driver it may be a bit of a cut but eventually you'll move up the ladder to better routes and better money. It's been my experience that the harder you work, the more you'll get noticed and the faster you'll get promoted. Attitude is everything. If you sit back and have the "eight and skate" mentality (doing as little as possible and going home) you'll show like a shadow of someone that is out there busting ass. It's a trade off though. Down here in Florida you'll work longer hours in delivery than you would in the wherehouse however as a CDL driver you'll have many more options for jobs in other areas of the state or country. The country is in need of drivers everywhere. Wherehouse workers are much easier to come by. But the flipside of that is I think it's easier to move into supervising and managing working the wherehouse because you're seen by management every day. Also I think Florida is THE TOUGHEST place to find driving jobs than any other state in the US. This state is saturated with drivers and many of them with years of experience, getting a jump on early retirement. But you've got an inside track working for a distribution company that many others don't.

You've should have a great shot at getting a local job right there with Sysco and not have to worry about doing the OTR thing. It's how I got my CDL over 20 years ago. I worked wherehouse and asked how I could get in as a driver and was told if I got my permit I'd get time behind the wheel and they'd let me use a company truck to take the test. I never did trucking school I picked up the California CDL handbook, studied it, got practice with drivers and got my CDL. It is IMHO a the best way to get a CDL as it only costs you the price of the exam ($85.00 in Florida) and doesn't require a year commitment driving OTR.

Anything else you'd like to know feel free to ask! Good luck in your endeavors Rob!!

I must agree with Terry

If you have the opportunity to practice in a truck with little or no cost to yourself this would be the way I would recommend to get a cdl

Now others will say you need the certificate the school gives you to get hired on at a company like prime or Werner but I've been behind the wheel of 10,000lbs trucks to 50ton wreckers since I was 21. I know this isn't tractor trailer driving but the experience I have had on the road helped me master my tractor trailer in a short amount of time.

Now like most of us newer drivers out here 4yrs experience or less I have been experiencing the challenge of finding a company that will have the miles available for me to make the living I.E. Income my family requires.

I recently left Jacobson transport/XPO logistics to try my luck with K&B transportation. Everything I've seen and read online bout the company both good and bad reviews has lead me to the opinion that we will be an excellent fit. Most of the "whining" I read was bout the long hours night driving and deliveries and "all the miles they are expected to run". Now I don't know bout u but that sounds like a job I'd kill to have.

Now others will say you need the certificate the school gives you to get hired on at a company like prime or Werner

Yes indeed, "others" will say you need that certificate. The "others" being the people who do actually do the hiring at these major companies. Now if Paul was doing all the hiring and he said you didn't need that certificate then you wouldn't need it. But I'm pretty sure Paul isn't in charge of hiring, therefore the prudent thing to do if you'd like to get a job in this industry is to go through a legitimate truck driving school.

It's one thing to be self taught at quilting blankets or folding paper airplanes. But driving an 80,000 pound rig in heavy traffic and terrible weather surrounded by SUV's full of children all the time? I'd say it's a good idea to get the proper schooling.

It surprises me to hear you say you'd take a "pay cut" moving over to the driver position from the wherehouse

Reason i say i'd take a paycut is because our DC is incentive pay (warehouse is base rate of roughly 16 an hr, but based on your production you can make anywhere from 25 to 35 an hr. I'm not entirely sure on how the driver incentive pay is set up, but we've had a few drivers move to the WH due to making more in WH. Before they re-did the incentive pay, we had guys making over 100k a year (were paid per case at that time) so obviously they had to make some changes because thats ridiculous. The drivers i've talked to are making a couple hundred dollars more a week than me, but theyre also putting in alot more hours than i am(im only putting in 40-42 hrs). Even though its possibly a paycut i feel like this would definitely be best for me and my family. I'm 25 so the physical work wont kill me, but i dont want to remain in it longer than absolutely necessary.

WOW! That is dedication! I have not heard of someone going through 13 months just to get into a position for a better job in a long time. Way to hang in there and kudos to the wife and kids. You are a great husband and father and they should be proud of you. It is good to know that there are some people out there who will work hard for what they want and not just sit by and wait for someone to give it to them.

Now others will say you need the certificate the school gives you to get hired on at a company like prime or Werner

Yes indeed, "others" will say you need that certificate. The "others" being the people who do actually do the hiring at these major companies. Now if Paul was doing all the hiring and he said you didn't need that certificate then you wouldn't need it. But I'm pretty sure Paul isn't in charge of hiring, therefore the prudent thing to do if you'd like to get a job in this industry is to go through a legitimate truck driving school.

It's one thing to be self taught at quilting blankets or folding paper airplanes. But driving an 80,000 pound rig in heavy traffic and terrible weather surrounded by SUV's full of children all the time? I'd say it's a good idea to get the proper schooling.

Hey there Brett, I"m curious. So you know even if you get a CDL permit you must have the required hours behind the wheel before you get the full CDL. Since I know they're trying to standardize the requirements nationwide but until that happens I think the hours behind the wheel may very somewhat from state to state. If someone were to receive a permit and then get "on the job" training at a company like Sysco, US Foods etc.. that that driver may be a hazard on the road? Either way if they get their permit and get "on the job" training or attend a $6,000 trucking school, they are being trained to safely handle their equipment. Seeing the way some of these schools push students through, it is my belief that on the job training is actually the better way to go if the choice was a school pushing through students or on the job training with a seasoned driver.

I'm not trying to argue here, I just want to see where you're coming from is all. :) I mean I'd like to think I was thought something right having never attended a truck driving school to get my CDL. I've worked accident free driving CMV's for over 20 years now. I didn't attend a driving school until last year when I needed a "refresher" course as it had been some years driving strait trucks and not pulling trailers.

The way I understand it, it's the carriers insurance company that is requiring the 160 hour certificate, I was told without it, no one would hire you because they couldn't insure the drivers