Unpaid Internships In Trucking?

[Fiddler]

Here's my situation. I graduated from Sage Driving School in June of 2005 with a Class-A with all endorsements except HazMat. Started with a flatbed company but ran into trouble when tarping loads in the summer sun. Got headaches, mini fainting spells, and some sort of heat exhaustion attacks. I guess I just can't work out in the summertime sun. I got fired, and shortly thereafter got a job driving tri-axle dump trucks in our local construction industry. Did that for a year and greatly enjoyed it.
Then, in September 2006, I unexpectedly came into a large inheritance. The house I inherited was an old fixer-upper and I quit my driving job to stay home to work on it and keep an eye on all the contractors I had hired.
This took several months, and by the time I was ready to start driving again, the local "construction boom" had ended. Most of the dump truck companies were out of business, and those that survived stopped hiring.
Since I had also inherited a considerable amount of money, this turn of events didn't present a hardship for me. I've been coasting along, unemployed, for several years.
However, now I'm going stir-crazy. I'd like to be back behind the wheel again.
My biggest problem is the lack of an over-the-road resume.
I have an idea I'd like to bounce off of you guys. Would it be possible to become an unpaid co-driver just to accumulate OTR experience? Would this result in a useable resume I could present to trucking companies sometime in the future?
This might seem like a crazy idea, but I have enough money in the bank to where I can afford to work for free for awhile. The only thing I'd ask is that my employer/co-driver feed me while I'm on the road with him. I don't want this enterprise to actually COST me anything, even if I am working for free.
Is this idea even feasible? Any opinions and advice would be appreciated.

[GMAN]

You make an interesting proposal. If you have kept your CDL during this off time then you might find a smaller company or independent who might give you an opportunity. Most major carriers will want to see some experience during the last 3 years. It has more to do with liability and whether you would be able to get covered by their insurance company. You might check with some of the training carriers such as Swift, Millis or Roehl. I don't think Schneider is currently hiring inexperienced drivers. For most carriers you will be considered as not having any experience. If you want to start driving and have the resources you could buy your own truck and trailer and get your authority. If you have a clean MVR and kept your CDL up then you could likely get insurance.

[Fiddler]

Gman, what do you mean by "keeping up" my CDL? Mine doesn't expire until 2011. However, I just looked in my wallet and discovered that my DOT Medical Card expired a month ago. Since I haven't been driving for a living in the last couple of years, I didn't think it mattered. Was I mistaken? If it looks like someone is interested in hiring me, I can just go to the doctor and get another medical card, right?
By the way, I'd rather not buy my own truck because I have absolutely NO experience in the "business" side of the trucking business. I'd rather just work for someone else.

[GMAN]

What I meant by "keeping up your CDL" is that you have kept the CDL without allowing it to expire. Since insurance companies usually look at the length of time you have had a CDL you could actually appear to them to have had more experience than you actually have had. For instance, if you received your CDL in 2006 then you could appear to them as having had 3 years experience. If you plan on pursuing a career in trucking you should continue to get a physical before it expires. Most carriers will ask for a copy of the long form and/or wallet card to be sent with your application. Other paperwork they may ask for is a copy of your CDL and Social Security Card. Some will not even start the approval process until they have these documents along with the completed application.

I don't recommend getting your authority without having current driving experience, I mentioned it as an option. I don't think it is a good idea for most people to get a CDL and immediately go out and get a truck and their authority. Most who do this without any experience do not make it. I don't recall any who are on the forum who have done this and are still in business. This is a tough business, even when the economy is doing well. It is much more difficult to deal with when we are in a depressed economy. Even those of us with many years experience are having difficulty. The failure rate is high, but some do make it.

It would be much wiser for someone new to this business or those with limited experience who have been away from it for several years, to either take a refresher course as a means to get back into the business, or find a carrier who is willing to put you with a trainer for a few weeks or months until they feel you are qualified to run solo. There are some carriers who will train those who already possess a CDL. I have no idea what their policy might be for those who have their CDL but no practical experience for several years. The best thing to do is make some phone calls to their recruiting offices and see what they say. I would not go out and take a refresher if I could get started without the expense. I would suggest finding a carrier who will put you with someone with several years experience. There are those who will make a trainer out of someone with as little as 6 months experience. Someone with so little experience doesn't have enough experience to offer much in the way of training.

[avc]

Working for free is kind of stupid to be honest.

Why not get a job driving a dump truck or something local again ?

[Fiddler]

Working for free is kind of stupid to be honest.

Why not get a job driving a dump truck or something local again ?

Stupid? Maybe. Desperate? DEFINITELY!
If any local company was hiring dump truck drivers these days, I'd have been working long ago. I've been pestering everybody for the last two years. I'd much rather work locally than on the road. Nobody is hiring around here.

[avc]

Home Depot, Lowes, and many other companies hire CDL drivers, just keep putting in applications, you will pick up with someone.

Have you thought of moving to a more booming area, like Texas ?

[Jumbo]

If Swift and England thought there was a market to get unpaid interns they would take it. You are in a positive situation since you dont need the money to live on. Try posting an ad on Craigslist, What is the worst that can happen?

[avc]

Sounds like another Republican plot that is working, get folks so down and desperate that they will work for food and a park bench, all while Bush Senior and Cheney steal trillions for themselves and their oil company clients !!!

[Orangetxguy]

Sounds like another Republican plot that is working, get folks so down and desperate that they will work for food and a park bench, all while Bush Senior and Cheney steal trillions for themselves and their oil company clients !!!

NEWS FLASH!! NEWS FLASH!!!

A democrat is now sitting in that chair!!! He is learning quick though!!!

[GMAN]

Funny you should mention Bush and Cheney. Fox had a few news clips of Obama this morning talking about all the billions of dollars he is spending and in one he said we are OUT OF MONEY!!! Helllloooo.......It is too bad that he has never had a real job so that he could understand that you cannot spend money if you are BROKE??!!! Perhaps we should just impeach him now while we can still pay the interest on all this nutty spending he is doing.

[Bigmon]

Sounds like another Republican plot that is working, get folks so down and desperate that they will work for food and a park bench, all while Bush Senior and Cheney steal trillions for themselves and their oil company clients !!!

If the oil clients weren't there how do you plan on fueling your truck?

[avc]

Funny you should mention Bush and Cheney. Fox had a few news clips of Obama this morning talking about all the billions of dollars he is spending and in one he said we are OUT OF MONEY!!! Helllloooo.......It is too bad that he has never had a real job so that he could understand that you cannot spend money if you are BROKE??!!! Perhaps we should just impeach him now while we can still pay the interest on all this nutty spending he is doing.

Why are we out of money ?

Who started a fraudulent war that drove up oil to world records and fueled Exxon's record profits for any corporation ever while GM and Chrysler are bankrupt costing millions of jobs ?

If the oil clients weren't there how do you plan on fueling your truck?

You mean Kissinger's and Cheney's Enron scam, the Cheney Energy Task Force that planned the Iraq war scam that moved your fuel to $6.00 a gallon ?

Face it guys, Bush Senior stole two elections, then stole trillions on war and oil fraud that destroyed the entire banking system and the world economy.

Do you still wonder why you guys can't make a decent living to this very day ?

It's not Obama's fault, he is the only one that stood against that clown Cheney and still is to this day, I hope he approves the congressional investigations pending against Cheney and "W".

[Bigmon]

I made a lot more under Bush than I did under Clinton.

[YerDaddy]

Why are we out of money ?

Who started a fraudulent war that drove up oil to world records and fueled Exxon's record profits for any corporation ever while GM and Chrysler are bankrupt costing millions of jobs ?




You mean Kissinger's and Cheney's Enron scam, the Cheney Energy Task Force that planned the Iraq war scam that moved your fuel to $6.00 a gallon ?

Face it guys, Bush Senior stole two elections, then stole trillions on war and oil fraud that destroyed the entire banking system and the world economy.

Do you still wonder why you guys can't make a decent living to this very day ?

It's not Obama's fault, he is the only one that stood against that clown Cheney and still is to this day, I hope he approves the congressional investigations pending against Cheney and "W".

How does your foot taste? Oh, I'm sorry, I guess when you are talking out your azz the taste of that brown stuff overpowers the foot taste. My mistake.

[GMAN]

I did well under Bush as well, Bigmon.

Why are we out of money ?

Since you asked I will be glad to explain it to you. We are out of money because Obama and his fellow Marxists have blown all of our tax money. They have decided to bail out these mismanaged companies and continue to run them into the ground which will take more of our tax money. Some of these mismanaged companies are responsible in part for our high energy costs. Don't worry. Obama has a whole list of new higher taxes to help pay for it all. But first, he will likely crank up the printing presses so that he can print more money. You see, we are not really out of money as long as we have paper and ink. Now when that happens you will likely see the highest rate of inflation since Jimmy Carter. Basically, we are out of money because Obama and the democrats have spent it all. Remember the stimulus tax? They are wasting trillions of dollars on pet programs that will do little or nothing to stimulate the economy but will result in every American receiving a huge tax bill. This is also money we cannot afford to spend. Just wait until you get your new energy tax bill. Some pundits say it will result in a $3,100 per year tax on every household.

Who started a fraudulent war that drove up oil to world records and fueled Exxon's record profits for any corporation ever while GM and Chrysler are bankrupt costing millions of jobs ?

I am not sure what fraudulent war you are referring. It wasn't a war that drove oil prices through the roof. It was speculators and OPEC. By the way, you may not know it but it is in the government's best interest for this country to have high fuel costs. You see, much of the cost of our fuel is taxes at various levels of government. Some of these taxes are a percentage of the cost. The higher the cost the more taxes are paid. I am not sure what correlation you are making between Exxon's profits and two mismanaged auto companies. I am also not sure where you come up with millions of jobs being lost if GM and Chrysler go bankrupt. Bankruptcy doesn't necessarily mean out of business. With the government running them they could easily go out.

You mean Kissinger's and Cheney's Enron scam, the Cheney Energy Task Force that planned the Iraq war scam that moved your fuel to $6.00 a gallon ?

I haven't heard Kissinger's name come up in some time. I don't know what he or Cheney has to do with Enron and the price of fuel. I never paid $6/gallon for fuel or gas. Perhaps you could enlighten us on any proof you have about this connection?

Face it guys, Bush Senior stole two elections, then stole trillions on war and oil fraud that destroyed the entire banking system and the world economy.

Do you still wonder why you guys can't make a decent living to this very day ?

It's not Obama's fault, he is the only one that stood against that clown Cheney and still is to this day, I hope he approves the congressional investigations pending against Cheney and "W".

I believe the banking system was seemingly doing well during Bush senior's tenure. There names are slightly different so neither are seniors. I believe you are a bit confused. He was in office before Clinton. Obama never took a stand or voted on anything controversial. He even abstained on the vote to go to war. If he were a man of conviction and believed going to war was not in our national interests then he would have voted against going to war. Perhaps we should begin impeachment proceeding against Obama. He has committed fraud against the American people by giving our tax money to these mismanaged corporations. He has mismanaged the public trust. He has taken over much of the American banking system and is in the process of taking over most of the U.S. auto industry. And speaking of stealing elections. Should we count dead people who vote? Just curious. There seemed to be a lot of very devoted democrats who came back from the dead to vote for Obama. Obama has associated himself with known terrorists. That should be sufficient to start impeachment proceedings.

[charged]

I don't recommend getting your authority without having current driving experience, I mentioned it as an option. I don't think it is a good idea for most people to get a CDL and immediately go out and get a truck and their authority. Most who do this without any experience do not make it. I don't recall any who are on the forum who have done this and are still in business. This is a tough business, even when the economy is doing well. It is much more difficult to deal with when we are in a depressed economy. Even those of us with many years experience are having difficulty. The failure rate is high, but some do make it.

My dad got his CDL last year and had no previous experience. He promptly bought a $50,000 truck and trailer and got his authority. He is still in business and has almost made the one year mark. This is in a down economy. The hardest thing was finding an insurance co to cover him. He had progressive and recently found a cheaper company ($6500) for the second year. He can take loads when he wants, he doesn't factor anymore, he found a good load planner so he no longer has to worry about finding loads, he hauls a dedicated load from KY to CT nearly every Monday or Tuesday. He's always been paid for every load. His truck broke down once and needed a new fan clutch. He roasted a few old tires on his trailer when a brake line came off. He's had a few flats. Other than that no problems whatsoever. He's been pulled over for inspection a few times and never had to pay a fine.

If he can do it be home every weekend and make money I'm sure anyone can. Why work for someone else when you can do it yourself and make more money?

[GMAN]

I am glad things have worked out for your dad, charged. Unfortunately, he is the exception. I wish that wasn't the case. Where most people get into trouble is not having enough capital to make a major repair such as a transmission or engine. If you get your authority and everything goes well then that is great. However, things don't always go as planned in life. I have had several former owners over the years who have driven trucks for me. All of them lost their equipment after they had a major breakdown. With most it was related to the engine. Look, I don't want to discourage anyone from getting their authority. Frankly, I think that is the best way to go in this business if you can afford it. If you have no driving experience or have never owned a truck then you will go through a learning curve. If you are lucky and have enough money then you can survive the learning experience. There have been instances where some have started on a shoe string and made it. I just feel that it is better to be honest with those starting out as to what to expect. If you don't plan for the worst then you are one breakdown from being out of business.

[charged]

I am glad things have worked out for your dad, charged. Unfortunately, he is the exception. I wish that wasn't the case. Where most people get into trouble is not having enough capital to make a major repair such as a transmission or engine. If you get your authority and everything goes well then that is great. However, things don't always go as planned in life. I have had several former owners over the years who have driven trucks for me. All of them lost their equipment after they had a major breakdown. With most it was related to the engine. Look, I don't want to discourage anyone from getting their authority. Frankly, I think that is the best way to go in this business if you can afford it. If you have no driving experience or have never owned a truck then you will go through a learning curve. If you are lucky and have enough money then you can survive the learning experience. There have been instances where some have started on a shoe string and made it. I just feel that it is better to be honest with those starting out as to what to expect. If you don't plan for the worst then you are one breakdown from being out of business.

Most can't go out and buy $200000 of equipment and hope to make the payments and pay for breakdowns and take what people are paying for freight right now. If you're reasonable about your equipment, lucky as far as how many breakdowns you have and make a good rate then you're golden. I think dads truck and trailer will be paid for next year. Insurance is cheaper this year and will be cheaper next year.
He drives a 2003 international 9400i eagle automatic with a I think a 430 hp c-15 cat but could be 475hp. His tractor is ugly with steel wheels and no fairings but it has hauled everything he's needed it to. He has a used all aluminum 48' spread axle trailer with one of those air weight things on it (never been overweight).

[Blacksheep]

Funny you should mention Bush and Cheney. Fox had a few news clips of Obama this morning talking about all the billions of dollars he is spending and in one he said we are OUT OF MONEY!!! Helllloooo.......It is too bad that he has never had a real job so that he could understand that you cannot spend money if you are BROKE??!!! Perhaps we should just impeach him now while we can still pay the interest on all this nutty spending he is doing.

Don't you be ungrateful, we the taxpayers now own a stake in government motors, chrysler and the financiall industry, fanny mae and freddy mac and countless other business soon to be nationalized.

You go Barry, soon we can bend over to our new master, the Chicoms.........