just graduated have ?s

[briar rabbit]

My wife and I just graduated school and now have our CDL now for the next step. If I purchase my own truck and use the loadboards do I have to have my own trailer ? Could I lease a trailer through ryder untill I could buy one? What is the cheapest way to get started making some real money?

[Graintrain]

I don't want to steal any of the old timers' thunder but here we go. : 1) this has all been covered and covered again several times, try the search function and read away.
2) There are alot of costs involved in truck ownership, you can't just buy a tractor and start hauling. There are many costs: Tags, IFTA, DOT #, Authority or lease on?, Insurance. All these items take time, $, or both.
3) Loadboard freight is usually priced to benefit the broker not the driver, so hauling freight only from loadboards could be a tough living
4)The cheapest way to get started is to sign on as company team drivers, go out and get some miles in, make sure this lifestyle is for you, figure out which part of the industry is your niche, save money and pay cash for your first truck, or at least a major down payment. I don't want to sound like a negative creep but we must be realistic.

Did I forget anything?

[briar rabbit]

Thanks graintrain my wife and I have been talking about just that we looking at usxpress and a few others. Got any sugestions on companies out there that will hire us.

[Sealord]

More old answers. You should've known who you were going to work for before you ever set foot in a driving school. You're way behind the power curve. BOL

[strawberryrhubarbpie]

You might have to put in some time to find the right company. First you have to find a company that hire team drivers (not all do), and will hire you out of your area, and will hire you as a trainee since you don't have any experience. Hope you have unlimited minutes on your cell phone and a lot of patience because it will take some effort on your part! Here's a website to try: careersingear.com.

Most people won't hire you even if you own your own truck if you don't have experience. So the best thing to do is to be a company driver for a while, to get some experience under your belt at least. I would say to do that for at least one year and then decide if you want to buy your own truck.

[Orangetxguy]

You might have to put in some time to find the right company. First you have to find a company that hire team drivers (not all do), and will hire you out of your area, and will hire you as a trainee since you don't have any experience. Hope you have unlimited minutes on your cell phone and a lot of patience because it will take some effort on your part! Here's a website to try: careersingear.com.

Most people won't hire you even if you own your own truck if you don't have experience. So the best thing to do is to be a company driver for a while, to get some experience under your belt at least. I would say to do that for at least one year and then decide if you want to buy your own truck.

Hey now! This chick knows how to use good advise!!

[GMAN]

Thanks graintrain my wife and I have been talking about just that we looking at usxpress and a few others. Got any sugestions on companies out there that will hire us.

Check the company listings on the top of this forum. It lists most of the major carriers with requirements. It would be a good start.

[Fozzy]

The primary difference in companies that hire newbies is the color the trucks are painted. At this stage you need to find the best deal for tuition reimbursement, location of the company with the nearest terminal to you. You better KNOW that the training experience will mean that you will almost surely be trained separately from your wife in different trucks with different trainers in different parts of the country for the next 3 months or so before you even get close to being in a truck together.

[strawberryrhubarbpie]

Hey now! This chick knows how to use good advise!!

Here I talk like I have all this experience but I don't have any at all! I just know that after spending hours on the phone it takes a while to find the right company.

[snoopyandpuppy]

Can someone here explain "authority"? Trying to figure it out....but not having any luck. (not trying to hi-jack thread)

[Orangetxguy]

Can someone here explain "authority"? Trying to figure it out....but not having any luck. (not trying to hi-jack thread)

"Authority" is the "numbers" you get from the USDOT, so that you can legally operate a truck on US highways for commercial purposes, ie......You want to compete with SWIFT or JB.. You also need a USDOT number if you are operating trucks to haul your own product.

[snoopyandpuppy]

OK....so just another way for the government to make money off of big companies and independants. And what is the cost associated with this?