Husband New to trucking .....Help me understand please!!

[Lydiae]

Hello, everyone,
I have an update, my husband is doing well on the Job. He has a new truck and he loves it he doesn’t have to idol the truck it has a heater onboard. He has a TV/DVD player now, so instead of waking me up to talk on the phone he can now watch local TV depending on his location or watch a DVD. He still doesn’t get home much he missed both Christmas and New Year but he did get home the first week of the year for a couple of days. He gets frustrated and keeps wanting me to help him find new work I always say the same thing I’m looking but there’s nothing, (I don’t always look) I truly believe whatever company he goes to he won’t be totally happy. I read a lot of stuff online about trucking companies and those all have their issues. We still have not found a way for him to heat up food so he sticks to his tuna, canned meat, sandwich meat and fruit cups. He has been stuck in the snow several times but has safely gotten out of it. That’s why he couldn’t make it home for Christmas, the funny part of it all his company sent a Christmas card to the house… I think that is funny I’m sure they knew he was on the road, because one of the cards came from his dispatcher. I am learning much about trucking more than I wanted but it comes with the job of wife…lol. I also found out that I’m in charge of supply (shopping for that occasional stop at home, noodles, fruit cups, cookies, bottle water, sodas, etc) transferring money to the pre-paid credit card/debit card…(he must not have access to the house hold bill account) Will spend it on DVD’s and DVD Players /TV’s….(I’m glad he has it but it wasn’t in the budget at a time). Any who, that’s all for now, I’m looking forward to the end of the month he took time off and got approved were going on a weekend vacation for our anniversary. Talk to you all soon!!!

[Steel Horse Cowboy]

Not sure where you live, but Schneider would be a good company for him to look at going over to after he gets 6mos on the job. They have regional and dedicated lanes that would get him home quite often and their pay is prob as good if not better than WE. Just my .02......... I was a lease driver for SNI and the drivers seemed happy and some had dedicated stuff that got them home daily or every weekend.

[geeshock]

you are right to some extent, there is always going to be some issue. the job is only what you make of it. Probably the best thing to do is list the main things you are looking for. If it's hometime, then look in that direction, if it's pay, you look for companies of that type, etc. No one company can cover everything but if you have an idea of what you want you stand a beter chance of finding a company he will stick with. For the time I'd sugest he stick it out till he has a year in. Just my advise. Most companies are more willing to hire if they see you will put in more than a few months before you run

[Lydiae]

Ok I will look into schneider!! Thanks SHC!!!

[Lydiae]

ok, thanks Geeshock!!

[Lydiae]

Greetings All,
Hey it’s been awhile since I last posted 19 Jan to be exact. Well my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Well that’s when all the trouble started my husband I went to the company’s website found the email address to various members of the company to include the CEO. The reason I had to email them is because the dispatcher promised to let my husband off for our anniversary if he worked through the holidays my husband agreed. Well the dispatcher failed to keep his end of the bargain and we had reservations that were in jeopardy so I got fed up and email the chain of command. Well after my email the company was able to “find” a load in the direction of home, so my husband was able to get home in time. The CEO actually said “Thank you for taking time out to bring this to our attention”. So far we have not seen any repercussions from the events but; I don’t care I don’t work for them.

[repete]

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! It's amazing how loads can just all of a sudden just appear. I'm not condeming what you did BUT there may be some repercussions, my wife did the same thing just I was in the army and she called the 2 star generals wife and bent her ear, it worked but I paid for it!
As far as heating food use the microwave at truck stops and but a Burton stove it looks like a lubch box and is 12 volt just plug it in a 1/2 hr (or so) before you want to eat.

[bentstrider]

I've been utilizing a 6-cup rice cooker hooked to my 400W inverter.
2 cups of Zatarain, some drops of Tapatio and a can of mushroom soup is some good eatin'!!!

Then a bike ride after!!!

[crb]

Great News, Husband got out of training truck decided not to do flatbed, went back to TN, got another road test? (I’m confused about that) anyway, they just gave him his own truck today; they said he’s good and doesn’t need to do anymore training. His dispatcher will be contacting him soon to give him his first Load!!!! (I’m more excited then he, I’m sure he is very nervous, but he will never let me know) He is currently having his truck (an older truck of course) serviced. I am sooo proud of him right now...I could give him a kiss, but instead he has to settle for phone s...I’m mean a good job text message...lol. I am looking forward to buying cool things for his truck.. I even saw a crock pot that uses the 12volt plug in the truck...(he didn’t like that idea because he would have clean it, I guess this will have to wait until I get to ride with him)...lol Thanks everyone, and thank you "Steel horse Cowboy" for the compliment!!! PS, I still will need more advice once he start going...oh yeah just thought about something can anyone recommend a good "commercial truck driver GPS" (That’s not super expensive, and where can I buy it from) Thanks!!!

Crockpots are great wife and I used one when we ran OTR just buy oven bags and use those simple easy cleanup. Stay away from thermoelectric coolers and go with a fridge. My wife and I spent about $750 for a 12 volt cooler style fridge /freeze it has w compressor. The absolute best money we spent I'm not sure if western express allows inverters if they do great. We had a microwave, crockpot, George foreman, and toaster and ate great on the truck. Cooking on the truck saves you money on truckstop food and anti diarrhea pills lol plus its healthier.

[Lydiae]

Greetings, everyone, it’s been since Jan or Feb since I last posted, and so much has gone on, Husband left W/E and now he’s working for a smaller company that is local. I'm going to school to become a Freight Broker; I have done some research and decided to get into something I can do from home. I will use it as back up when just in case I get tired of commuting back and forth from work.

[Windwalker]

Greetings, everyone, it’s been since Jan or Feb since I last posted, and so much has gone on, Husband left W/E and now he’s working for a smaller company that is local. I'm going to school to become a Freight Broker; I have done some research and decided to get into something I can do from home. I will use it as back up when just in case I get tired of commuting back and forth from work.

I'm thinking that the smartest people aren't waiting to get tired of commuting. They're looking at the cost of commuting, gas prices, insurance premiums, registration, and maintenance, and they're opting for a situation that they can earn a comfortable income right behind their front doors.

Met a guy a couple of weeks ago that has worked for a company in Seattle for the last 15 years. He lives here in FL, and works from home as a technical writer.

Brokers can also be thousands of miles from the office. But, there you may be doing some driving to meet customers in person. But, you'll have to get the accounts in competition with other brokers, and keep the prices up high enough so that you do not cut the throats of the truckers, or you won't be able to get a truck to haul the load. I hope you can find a good balance there, or offer the customer support and service they can't refuse.