Truck Driving Jobs

all18wheels · #11 02-17-2008, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Windwalker

Quote:

Originally Posted by all18wheels

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Eagle

Open trailers are the only way to go. I started with a 40 foot flat about 40 years ago and have only pulled a reefer maybe twice. Graduated from a short flat thru all kinds of length and combinations to where the big money is in trucking, a 3/4/3 LB

Have fun wwith it and just don't take tarp loades, like me ( I don't even carry any)

well, at this point, i dont have much choice. if i get dispatched a tarp load, i have to take it. im too new to be picky. i agree, they suck. especially in the snow and rain. hopefully i can get picky after a year or two.
gotta take the bad with the good.
no matter what happens, anything beats pulling a van for 27 cents a mile.
this company isnt going to hang me up for days somewhere waiting for a load or leave me in the east coast. thats why i like this place so much.
if i gotta put up with some bad weather and a tarp a season or two, so be it

1. Don't expect to get "picky" after the first one or two years. There are other guys that have been around much longer than that, and THEY are the ones that have "PAID THEIR DUES". Don't expect to get "PICKY" until you can stand alongside them with years of service.

2. Get yourself a good pair of coveralls... Brown Duck are good, with zippers down the side of the pantlegs so you don't have to take your boots off to put them on or take them off. About three pairs of warm, lined gloves, and a pair of warm boots... Sorrels are good, and I think La Crosse makes a pair that are even better. A FLANNEL SKI MASK and cap that covers the ears are great for working out in -20 degree weather.

3. You'll meet a much better class of people at the docks, both at the shippers and receivers. But, if you're going to a construction site and have to "MEET THE CRANE", DON'T BE LATE, or they are not afraid to charge your company with "CRANE TIME" which can run into THOUSANDS of dollars an hour.

Enjoy yourself. It's a good way to go.

thanks for the tips windwalker.

all18wheels · #12 03-01-2008, 12:35 AM

update..

after two weeks of rolling with a trainer, dispatch called and said im ready to go out on my own.
i went back to the yard, dumoped off the trainer and hooked up a double drop with a military armoured truck to it going from fontana , ca to portsmouth, VA. the trainer was going too, but in his own truck. i would follow him.
then, just when i think there are no more suprises, they call me and tell me that i was going to ditch the trainer and pick up a wide load from VA and take it to maryland. no trainer to follow, never chained down a load without super vision, never had a wide load by my self. and 2800 miles from home.
talk about on the job training. well, i made it. wheww.

i am spending the weekend here in maryland, then i pick up a back haul going back to sacramento.

i cant wait to get home.

flatbedding is hard work. but the pay is well worth it.

Walking Eagle · #13 03-01-2008, 01:37 AM

You wana make $$$$ All18 stick with the big loads :-) I'll sit for 3, 4, or 5 days till one comes up. Just pulled a $28,000 load from Ca. to Ok., deadheading about 1000 miles to pick up one paying 41,000 from Houston to Pa. Monday. Only way to go, haul good paying freight and take a month off to fish at a time

Walking Eagle · #14 03-01-2008, 01:41 AM

03/13/2008 0800
03/17/2008 0800 HOUSTON, TX
FAIRLESS HLS, PA 226
LB13 T $41,000.00 1,530 $26.80 135,000

all18wheels · #15 03-01-2008, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Eagle

You wana make $$$$ All18 stick with the big loads :-) I'll sit for 3, 4, or 5 days till one comes up. Just pulled a $28,000 load from Ca. to Ok., deadheading about 1000 miles to pick up one paying 41,000 from Houston to Pa. Monday. Only way to go, haul good paying freight and take a month off to fish at a time

WOW!! and i thought i did good.
yeah, i think the big money specialized loads are the only way to go.
it feels good to be more than just a steering wheel holder.
i work. and i have to deal with alot of stuff doing oversize, dealing with military bases and ports

Walking Eagle · #16 03-01-2008, 01:52 AM

Just keep at it and working ya way up in trailer size. The bigger you get, with a trailer, the more you will make (and the better you will be) Most of my loades are never poster or logged on any board. An agent knows I have the equiptment to move it and will call me direct. If they call and I am home in Florida and the rate is right I will go to Ca. or Az. to pick it up ! My rig dosn't move unless it is making $24 a mile loaded and empty

all18wheels · #17 03-01-2008, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Eagle

Just keep at it and working ya way up in trailer size. The bigger you get, with a trailer, the more you will make (and the better you will be) Most of my loades are never poster or logged on any board. An agent knows I have the equiptment to move it and will call me direct. If they call and I am home in Florida and the rate is right I will go to Ca. or Az. to pick it up ! My rig dosn't move unless it is making $24 a mile loaded and empty

i got my eye on you, walking eagle. right now, im a company driver and the biggest flatbed we have is a 45, i think.
do you pull 9 axle heavy haul?

Walking Eagle · #18 03-01-2008, 02:04 AM

Gota keep growing in size (of trailer, not the buffet) Most of my loads anymore never appear on any board, the agent that has them will call direct to see if I would want it. I will deadehead from home, Florida, to Ca. or Ar. for a "good" paying load.

all18wheels · #19 03-01-2008, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walking Eagle

Gota keep growing in size (of trailer, not the buffet) Most of my loads anymore never appear on any board, the agent that has them will call direct to see if I would want it. I will deadehead from home, Florida, to Ca. or Ar. for a "good" paying load.

LOL on the buffet. sometimes, its my only real meal of the day.
i make sure one of the plates is a salad

Walking Eagle · #20 03-01-2008, 02:14 AM

I just got, a month ago, a 13 axle, traded in a 9 axle. It can be a pain at times, pilot cars, police escorts, curfue etc. but If I decide to go home I can for a few weeks or a month cuz I made enough $$$$ and when I come back out I will make more.
Just going home can be a hassle

the trailer is 9 foot wide and wheise 100,000 lbs so is permits all the way :sad: