[jeff1981]

I'm sort of an accidental driver. I went to work for a towing company, and the CDL drivers both up and quit. So I got my Class A, and worked there for about a year after, and then ended up quitting to take a job in my field (agriculture). 5 years later a friend of mine bought a truck, and asked me to team with him. I got a new medical card, and having been out of the truck for 5 years (and no tractor trailer experience at all) drove for a few months team, then for a couple years solo, and now we're doing some more team stuff. I've pulled flatbed, dry van, and reefer, all for the same o/o, sometimes all 3 in a week.

I seem to be in the minority however, as I didn't go to school, didn't work for a big otr outfit, and am a "part time" otr driver. (I go out for two weeks or so, then home for 2-4 weeks, then another 2 weeks on the road. Typically for about half the year. The rest of the time I have a consulting business in another field)

I'm curious about how others got started, and how this industry has worked for you. Though I don't do it full time, I can honestly say that trucking has allowed me a much higher standard of living than I would have had otherwise, and I'm grateful for the opportunity.

[Musicman]

Since nobody else seems interested, I guess I'll take a stab at this since I'm home without my truck or trailer and am bored out of my skull.

I had a little experience with larger vehicles growing up. My father had a friend at one time who owned a towing company among other things, and sometimes I’d get the drive the 10k lb flatbed (I was maybe ten years old) through the pasture when we’d go pick up sod for the boss’s new home. Then I got to play with larger vehicles on occasion when I was in the military. I went to truck driving school in 1997, but found they lied when they said they could get me a job with 21 points on my license. I did other work for a couple years until one day, just after being laid off, my wife and I broke down in the parking lot of a strip mall. A couple guys came over to help and it turned out that one was the owner of a small trucking company. Not only did the guy and his buddies put a new distributor in my car for free, but he also gave me a job. Even though he knew I had exactly zero experience in a truck beyond CDL school, he put me in a 90mph Freightliner and sent me to Miami to pick up plants and then New Orleans and Jackson, MS to deliver them. It was insane. I didn’t even know about axle weight (not so important hauling plants, but is much more important when hauling Masonite doors I soon learned) and hadn’t sat in a big truck for two years, and here I was doing a regional solo run in a 90 mph truck. It’s amazing that I didn’t kill myself or anybody else those first few weeks. I learned about axle weight and how to slide my tandems from a nice old man working at a MS weigh station and found out what an IFTA sticker was from a DOT man in a Maryland scale house, but never got a ticket. Nearly two million miles later, I’ve never had an at fault accident and have had a clean MVR for almost that entire time.

[Double R]

I was eating a box of Cracker-Jack one day and the prize was a Class A CDL. So I went down to the nearest trucking company and applied and was hired on the spot. The rest is history......

and if you believe that, then I have a bridge that I would like to sell you

[golfhobo]

ha ha. lost my entire post again. But, this time I saved MOST of it! I'll get back to it after I get thru fuming over this!

I didn't touch a single key! I'm using Mozilla! I didn't just lose the post.... my "browser" redirected me to the forum thread list page! ... Not EVEN to the "last page" or the "thread page."

The reply box keeps "scrolling" up and down while I'm typing. Then.... POOF! my whole post disappears and I am "re-directed" to a page not even related to the thread I was responding to.

Ya gotta just chuckle.

[repete]

Originally Posted by Musicman

Since nobody else seems interested, I guess I'll take a stab at this since I'm home without my truck or trailer and am bored out of my skull.

I had a little experience with larger vehicles growing up. My father had a friend at one time who owned a towing company among other things, and sometimes I’d get the drive the 10k lb flatbed (I was maybe ten years old) through the pasture when we’d go pick up sod for the boss’s new home. Then I got to play with larger vehicles on occasion when I was in the military. I went to truck driving school in 1997, but found they lied when they said they could get me a job with 21 points on my license. I did other work for a couple years until one day, just after being laid off, my wife and I broke down in the parking lot of a strip mall. A couple guys came over to help and it turned out that one was the owner of a small trucking company. Not only did the guy and his buddies put a new distributor in my car for free, but he also gave me a job. Even though he knew I had exactly zero experience in a truck beyond CDL school, he put me in a 90mph Freightliner and sent me to Miami to pick up plants and then New Orleans and Jackson, MS to deliver them. It was insane. I didn’t even know about axle weight (not so important hauling plants, but is much more important when hauling Masonite doors I soon learned) and hadn’t sat in a big truck for two years, and here I was doing a regional solo run in a 90 mph truck. It’s amazing that I didn’t kill myself or anybody else those first few weeks. I learned about axle weight and how to slide my tandems from a nice old man working at a MS weigh station and found out what an IFTA sticker was from a DOT man in a Maryland scale house, but never got a ticket. Nearly two million miles later, I’ve never had an at fault accident and have had a clean MVR for almost that entire time.

Man that is SCARY!
I started out pumping fuel and washing trucks in the 70s and worked up to inside work (very importent in NY!) and started doing PMs and light repairs. About then I heard Uncle Sam calling me so I put trucking on hold for awhile. That turned out to be about 30 years. When the kids gone and things getting real old working the jobs I had been I decided to get back to trucking, and its all been coasting down hill since.

[KateL]

I wish I had your job. I am new, and an artist, and I would love to work for 2 weeks, and be off for 2 weeks. I could really do that lifestyle. (Sorry, just a comment from the peanut gallery).

[jeff1981]

I've had that problem with Mozilla since they updated it.... i've been using Google Chrome more and more. Seems to work fairly well..

[jeff1981]

KateL- comment all you like. It's a great job, and because we run team a lot of the time we still get coast to coast runs fairly often, which is nice. The tradeoff that makes it work is that we run older equipment (tractor is a 95 w900l, trailer on 02) and keep it VERY well maintained. This wouldn't work if there were big payments on the equipment.
I also do some local stuff in the spring and early fall, and take the entire summer off to run a hay farm. All in all, it's a pretty good lifestyle!

[jeff1981]

Originally Posted by golfhobo

ha ha. lost my entire post again. But, this time I saved MOST of it! I'll get back to it after I get thru fuming over this!

I didn't touch a single key! I'm using Mozilla! I didn't just lose the post.... my "browser" redirected me to the forum thread list page! ... Not EVEN to the "last page" or the "thread page."

The reply box keeps "scrolling" up and down while I'm typing. Then.... POOF! my whole post disappears and I am "re-directed" to a page not even related to the thread I was responding to.

Ya gotta just chuckle.

Hope you'll redo it- i'm sure you've got an interesting story.

[GMAN]

I drove a straight truck for about a year and then moved up to 18 wheelers, or semi's as we called them back then. I went around the block with another driver who was about 65 years old. He showed me how to double clutch and where the air brakes were and after the drive around the block, I have been driving 18 wheelers ever since. My dad always had trucks so I grew up around them. There were no driving schools back when I started. We learned on the job by doing.