Lack of Experience

[sodbuster]

Need some advice on what to do because of my lack of experience driving a truck. I am starting to wonder if I should go ahead and lease to someone because I have no experience. I have only be driving since March I been hauling sod only. I can’t stay as busy has I need to just hauling sod. I have a operating authority for Tx only. And my tags are farm use only. I can change my insurance and my tags for about $2k. But I have restrictions on a 200-mile radius of Crcokett Tx. but they say I can go anywhere in Tx if this happens only 25% of the time.
Questions
1. What type of equipment do I need to trap and tie down loads.
2. How and where is there information about the right way to secure loads
3. I just looked on truckstop.com and searched a 200 mile radius of Crocktt, Tx it came up with 3385 flatbed loads within this radius, some I only looked at the first two pages which were 75 miles of Crockett. Most were loads that stayed in tx. Some went out of state. My question is this for real info are they just putting up BS on the demo to get drivers to subscribe to the service.?
4. I have a fixed fithwheel on my truck should I plan on changing this?
5. If I lease to a company what will they cover as for tags and insurance.

My trailer is 45x102 and has a head board, sliding axle all steel and weighs in at 12200# fixed winches on both side of trailer and setup to haul forklift.
My truck is 2002 KW T800 with no headache rack and fixed fithwheel and weighs 16900#

I admit I am a little nervous about running on my own. But I have to get this rig on the road more and pretty soon. Please post comments I know there’s lots of experience out there in fact after reading some of the post I am thinking that maybe I should lease out for a while to get some experience.
Thanks

[Ironturkey]

Have you given any thought to the oilfields, theres always a use for a slick truck, or you could have a pump put on and pull a a water tank.

[K9]

Wow dude ... sounds like you dived into the deep in before having your first swimming lessons.

But I have a suggestion for you if you can spare a week to gain some much needed FREE training...

Apply at Arrow Trucking in Tulsa. (It's all flatbed.) Tell them about your experience, but maybe you shouldn't tell them that you own a truck (nor trailer).

They'll send you a bus ticket or reimburse your gas for the trip. Sit through the week long orientation week, get the materials and find out much of the information you need. Leave at the end of the week with books and information.

No need to feel anything about it ... Arrow is a good company, but they recruit a large number of guys each week and most of them gets sent home. They can write off the expense.

[sodbuster]

K9 your right about jumping in the deepend. The plan was to stay busy hauling sod. but the weather has not been good, and for other reason I am not sure of. but thank for the advice.

[GMAN]

K9, that is bad advice. It isn't right. You don't go with a company just to get free training and leave. Carriers spend a lot of money training and recruiting drivers. I think they should get some return for their investment if they are going to spend their time and money training. All you learn during these orientations is the basics. Your major learning will come from on the job experience. The training during orientation is a big jump start.

[K9]

Uh ... thanks for the "High Horse" lecture ... but I beg to differ.

Companies actually MAKE money bringing in tons of new prospective recruits each week. Just ask some of the experienced guys who've been forced to go through orientation and training despite years of experience and good driving.

Yes, there are those few experienced drivers who either are stuck in bad driving practices or are unskilled in the differnt type of trucking they are applying for that they still need to go through training and orientation ... but what about the guy who drove for company X for one year, quit for two months, re-applied, got re-hired, and still had to go back through orientation and training??

It's a write off. Some drivers say they've gotten down to the fine science of actually making money by their training.

Perhaps you're tounge in cheek ... just pulling my leg with that "better than thou" scolding, aren't ya?

[chuck3507]

Uh ... Just ask some of the experienced guys who've been forced to go through orientation and training despite years of experience and good driving.

?

A guy could have 50yrs of driving and I would still make him show me in a road and skills test that knows what he is doing, before I trust them with a $100,000 worth of equipment, my companies reputation, and most importantly the lives of the family next to them. It could be your wife and kid or mom and dad next to them. Don't you want to know that they have been examined in depth and won't kill your family. And last, no matter who it is it's not right to steal from anybody, which in my mind is basically what you suggested.