New Members - Introduce Yourself

[macdoogle]

I'm Mac here in Knoxville.

Worked at UT for 21 years, laid off, did my own biz for awhile, that wound down, and just resigned a "good" job with a small non-profit that looked perfect (but obviously wasn't).
All these years doing phototography, 'puter graphics, AV production, web stuff, tech writing, page layout, etc....

So....56, and looks like gonna jump back in a rig looks like for first time in 30 years -- I was a bedbugger yea those many years ago, total live-on-the road gypsy for a couple of years there. Matter of fact, bedbugging is an interesting way to go, and I'd do it again, except just couldn't physically lump it out like I could back then. Thing about that profession is, you don't just grind out the miles each day to make your nut. You can often make $200-300 a day without even rolling the wheels! Lots of time to hang out, waiting to load or drop, and the different way movers are paid makes it worth it. But you DO have to hump the merchandise, can't get around that unless you hire it out, and then there goes your profit margin.

Anyway, hitting school just north of here Nov 1, will probably have to do OTR for awhile like most everyone else, we'll see. Looking forward to the relative clarity of the endeavor, single, no kids, so don't mind being "out there", at least for a year or so to see if that's it, or look for a different niche.

I can honestly say that things are more like they are now than they've ever been before

The Old Newbie (or is that New Oldie),
Mac

[knight]

Seeing as I seem to be the newby around here I'll introduce myself.

I am 54 new to trucking, passed both tests( class 2 and class1 ) this year and started my first driving job four and a half months ago. Married to Sharron with two kids daughter 26 son 33 also truck driver. Decided to start driving after 28 years working in Fibreglass factorys. Fed up of looking at a factory wall.
Interests include Motorcycles, internet, reading, favourite author Dean Koontz.
would be interested in learning more about trucking in the US of A. Learnt a bit reading through the various posts on this site.
Some where on here I should have pointed out that I live in Yorkshire, England.

[Catfishdon]

hi everyone,
my name is Don.i live in near charleston,wv(but am planning on moving to SC next year.i am married and have 3 children(2 here and a 17 yr old that lives in az with the wicked witch of the west)my kids age are 11(my stepson),my little princess is 2.i have been married 3 years(anniversary was 10/27).i have been driving a big truck 3yrs(drive for Crete).drove a 6wheeler 25yrs.
my hobbies are ,fishing(my fav pastime), hunting,watching football,baseball and some basketball(love the ncaa tourney)

[4roses]

Hello to all ... i'm new to the group here.... enjoyed reading alot of the postings... a dear friend of mine told me about this site.. he said i would enjoy it here... he was right .. as usuall he knew what he was talking about ...i'm an x-driver .... drove cross country and canada for a few years.... and i Loved everyday of it... even thou some days where rather tasking to say the least ... but a 9-5:00 job can be the same... :?: if any of you driver's were around in Utah .. Jan of 95' on hwy 15.. just outside of Scipio - north bound... and remember a 3 truck pile up ! early hours of the morning .... and a female driver laid in the snow and ice for 2 hours till the ambulance could get to her.... that was Me... i drove with my then fiance ( he has pasted away- 3 yrs ago) i've been home everysince, but the love for the road has never left me :sad: .. sitting on my front porch late at night - i can hear the big trucks running down the road ... i just want to run as fast as i can and holler at one of them to plz take me with you... :wink: i am So Proud of the hard work that all the drivers do... i haven't returned because i drove single for a while and then with partners.... i don't mind being by myself on short runs.. but it can be alot more full filling to be on the long road with someone you have something in common with.. i never did like teaming with a female that didn't value their job the same as me or have the same Respect for their self as i did .... I do hope the day will come that i'll be back out their running with the Big Dogs again.... when i was running the hwy my handle was ..... 4 roses .... if any of you remember that name ... by all means... give me a holler..... i made alot of neat friends when i was out there .... miss all of them..

[damnyankee1987]

Hi Iam sanchez498's wife. And he signed me up so I can keep an eye on him while he is out on the road.

[Doctor Who]

OH WOW, That is going to be a MAJOR undertaking.... Stock up on plenty of Advil!!!

[ronnieman49]

Hello damnyankee1987!!! That man of yours is a mess!! I really feel sorry for ya! :sad: (Just kidding) sanchez is really liked hear Please keep up posted.

[RENBREN]

I've been viewing these posts for that past few weeks, decided to join so here it goes:

My name is Brenda I'm 38 yrs old, I have 3 boys 18, 17, and 13 and one grandchild due in March. Born and raised in Washington State currently live in Covington. My boyfriend turned me on to the truck driving field as he had his own towing business (he had a 20 ft flatbed) when I met him, I did some tows and a run down to Redding CA he drove down empty and I drive it back loaded through dense fog and did great, he also has taught me alot about OTR as he did it for a while. I can shift w/o the clutch (for which I'm very proud about)and will be testing for my cdl permit next week. I'm scheduled to start with Schneider's Training program Jan 3 2005. Currently I have worked as a Medical Biller for 8 years. I have the oppurtunity to go OTR so I'm taking it by the horns and running with it. We plan on driving teams with Schneider (as i will have a 1 yr commitment) after I finish my training. So for now he teaches me more about the trucks and what to expect with the new lifestyle we are about to embark on and I'm very excited and ready for it.

Brenda

[ronnieman49]

Welcome renbren! you are lucky that you have someone to teach you a thing or two about trucking before you start classes. you will have a jump on some people. Good luck

[Rob_0126]

Wow, haven't been to this side of the boards yet.

Guess I might as well introduce myself.

My name is Robert Frei. I was born in Portsmouth, VA on the naval base. I currently live in South GA and have lived here for the majority of my life. I lived in Middleburg, FL for about 7 years and graduated high school there. Florida is REALLY HOT!

I am 28 years old and single with no kids or women. I dont get out much but some would say thats a good thing.

I am a christian and was saved a few years ago. I have one whooper of a testimony if anyone ever wants to read it, pm me.

Believe it or not, going into truck driving, it is having a profound effect on me, because Ive always been close to my family. I guess I have been a Toys R Us kid for too long

I went to school for Computer Programming and hold a certification from Val Tech as a Microcomputer Specialist. I have toyed with computers for most of my life, yet I still know a small bit about these pesky machines. :x

I am a video game junky. I am old school back to the days of the Atari 2600. My favorite game of all time is 'The Legend of Zelda'.

I have had many driver type jobs in my life. I think the Lord has been preparing me for truck driving for a long time, now that I look back.

If all goes well, I will be starting with Wiley Sanders Trucking out of Troy, AL. I have been no where in my whole life(GA, FL), so this will be an experience for me. I will miss the folks I went to trucking school with and the instructors; it was fun.

This board has been and continues to be very helpful for me and others I have referred here. When I get on the road, I wont be posting much, until I have home time & after training. I wont be able to afford wireless internet & it doesn't help that I have no laptop.

When it all comes down to the basics, I decided I needed to finally settle down in a career that I will enjoy. What better than to sit on my butt and drive the country.

[wanderingson]

Hi all!
I've been "lurking" on this site for a few days,and decided to join. I've read many of the posts,and think this is a great site for us drivers. I especially liked reading Rob 0126 experiences in driving school. Hope it all works out for you Rob! I've never heard anything bad about Wiley Sanders,but any driver will tell you,that most trucking companies are the same,you just have to find one that fits your needs.

Lady18,Doctor Who,and all the other mods here,I think you are doing a great job!

A little about me.....I'm a local driver and trainer for my company. I used to do some OTR. Been in trucking over 6 yrs now,and just love it! I've been with the same carrier since I started,and they treat me well. I run WI and IL mostly(the windy city is no fun!) I pull dry vans,but we also do flatbed.
I'm a single dad with custody,so therefore I can no longer go OTR. I miss the big road! Someday again! Thanks for the great site,we drivers need to stick together!

[Rob_0126]

....we drivers need to stick together!

Yes we do!

[lexmark]

Hello all. I'm a 28 y.o. American living in Canada. After I got out of the navy last year, I moved up here to be with my wife and step-kids. Haven't worked in that time as I've been waiting to get approved for perm. residence so that I can work legally. I hope to get my commercial license at some point and drive a truck whether it be local or otr.

I started reading this site in the past week or so and am glad there is "another" forum with tons of information.

Keep it between the ditches and get home safe, driver.

[letstruck]

Hi Ya'll!My name is Pam and I am living and working out of south Alabama.I am a o/o rookie who has been driving for almost 5 years now and still love the "job".They actually pay you to do this...wow!what a concept!I team with my trainer who I started out working for and now he workes with me.I am leased to a company here in lower Alabama and have a dedicated route to south Texas.I have 2 cats(Bubbie and Persia)that ride along with us and keep us streight.If you see an old werner truck with a big orange and white cat sitting on the dash...thats me!I have just found this site and so far I love it.Nobody wants to talk about trucking around my house unless its payday.A lot of info that I need bad is right here at my finger tips.

Stay safe and for pete's sake ...smile!

[letstruck]

hey Rob!!bless your heart i see you made it on to the hwy!we are neighbors almost you being with wiley and all.I am with a competitor of their's 8) followed all your posts while you were going thru school and loved everything you wrote.Made me feel like i was in school again.You were lucky...I went thru school in Indy and the course was covered in about 3 inches of ice.I didn't know what it felt like to drive on dry pavement till I started going out after training!Keep up your dreams and I look forward to seeing your posts again,Pam(letstruck)

[Bounce847]

Hmmmmm. Well I've been posting here for a little while, but I've always been in the New Drivers section. I never knew there was an introduction area until tonight lol. So I figured I should introduce myself.
My name is Julie, and my screen name BOUNCE is a reflection of my personality: be happy and and bounce with joy (like Tigger). I'm 43, and have a grown son who is mildly handicapped but does fine on his own for the most part.
I always said when my son grew up I was going to hit the road in an 18 wheeler. In August I finally went to school and got my Class A, a bit ahead of my sweetie (we had originally planned to go to school together but I got impatient :wink: ). Now I'm waiting for him to catch up and once again, I'm getting impatient! I probably would have been gone by now, but my sister is having a baby soon and I really want to be here when my little niece arrives.
I've always wanted to drive around the country. Being born and raised in CA, I haven't much experience with wild weather, and I'm nervous about driving in it, and the thought of cliffs absolutely terrify me!-- but not enough for me to let go of this dream. It's something I HAVE to do... a lifelong dream.
For now I drive locally (Class C) while I help my boyfriend study his pre-trip to take the test. Then we plan to drive for an expediter.
May I say I have enjoyed looking over this site for the last several months and it's been a great help for me in deciding which path I should take. Thank you CAD!
And don't forget to... BOUCE!!!!!

[Bounce847]

I can't believe I misspelled BOUNCE at the end of my last post! SHAME ON ME!

Hmmmmm. Well I've been posting here for a little while, but I've always been in the New Drivers section. I never knew there was an introduction area until tonight lol. So I figured I should introduce myself.
My name is Julie, and my screen name BOUNCE is a reflection of my personality: be happy and and bounce with joy (like Tigger). I'm 43, and have a grown son who is mildly handicapped but does fine on his own for the most part.
I always said when my son grew up I was going to hit the road in an 18 wheeler. In August I finally went to school and got my Class A, a bit ahead of my sweetie (we had originally planned to go to school together but I got impatient :wink: ). Now I'm waiting for him to catch up and once again, I'm getting impatient! I probably would have been gone by now, but my sister is having a baby soon and I really want to be here when my little niece arrives.
I've always wanted to drive around the country. Being born and raised in CA, I haven't much experience with wild weather, and I'm nervous about driving in it, and the thought of cliffs absolutely terrify me!-- but not enough for me to let go of this dream. It's something I HAVE to do... a lifelong dream.
For now I drive locally (Class C) while I help my boyfriend study his pre-trip to take the test. Then we plan to drive for an expediter.
May I say I have enjoyed looking over this site for the last several months and it's been a great help for me in deciding which path I should take. Thank you CAD!
And don't forget to... BOUCE!!!!!

I was wondering what BOUCE meant?????

And don't forget to... BOUCE!!!!! [/quote]
Also I was wondering how to work the cut and paste.

[bikerk]

My name is Curtis Krouse. I am a first time post here and I'm starting school with National on Dec. 6th. I'm an accomplished software engineer who worked with Hewlett Packard and subsequently Agilent Technologies. I'm a displaced worker in mid to late career path who can't seem to get hired anymore...so I'm changing career fields. I was getting tired of cubicle life anyway. I qualified for TAA benifits for displaced workers...for those of you who don't know what that is. My job went to Singapore to some schmuck who will only get paid around $900 a month to do what I did for just under $6k a month. When you hear of the 3 million jobs that went overseas....that's my job and a lot of other jobs in high tech. So...that career path is dried up for the most part. So...my school, and all fees plus living expenses are paid for during school.

I already have a job offer from Swift, but am seriously looking at GTI. I'll do long haul for a couple years and then consider a regional route which hopefully will put me home more often. But, being a single rambin' kind of guy...I might just stay OTR.

I've got a question.....I've been riding motorcycles for near on to 30 years. I've heard it rumored that some bikers have been able to take their ride on the road with them. Does anyone know if that's possible? Does that only apply to O.O. or can company guys do that also? It would go a long ways for me to be able to putt around on my layovers.

Anyway...I've been reading your'alls posts for a week or so and this is a GREAT site!! Thanks