Thinking of truck driving parttime/casual
 

I would like to get some input on getting my CDL A with all endorsements and driving parttime/casual.

I recently retired from my career. I have a decent pension to live off. I am however only in my mid 40's and after having worked my entire life am going a little stir crazy not working at all.

I am considering going to school to get my license. The catch is I am not really looking for a full time job that I have to be at everyday. I would like to be able to make my own hours.

Is it feasible to find this type of work in the industry? Do companies hire extra help when they are busy?

I would not require benefits as I am covered from my last career. It would be nice to be able to make a little extra money when I wanted or needed to.

I am in Wyoming and considering going to Sage Driving School.
I spoke to a Sage Rep. and was told no problem there would be plenty of work for me in the parttime capacity.

I would however be a new driver with no experience. I think, after reading some of the other posts on this site, that companies tend to shy away from new and inexperienced drivers.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Part time/Casual
 

There are plenty of companies out there that offer part time positions, around the bigger towns/cities. I don't know what the area is like up in the Wyoming area where you are located. I have been driving part time for a a couple of different companies for 10yrs now. The company I am currently with is VERY easy to work for. I drive as much or as little as I want to and as hard or easy as I want to. I make great money when I'm doing it and I drive great equipment. I usually only go out for 4 or 5 days at a time and may go a month or two before I go out again, or I may go a couple of weeks and go again, and I love it. My runs usually go to either California and back to OKC, or Charlotte, NC and back or Upper Michigan to Dallas and back. You just have to check around. I got my original training with Schnieder back in '91 and drove full time for about a year and quit driving for about 4yrs and had to go back to a driving school for some remedial training after hours and got my CDL and have been driving ever since. Just let me know if you have any questions, I will do my best to help.

Welcome to the board Silverdragon.

Which Sage school will you be attending Casper or Cheyenne? I went through Cheyenne back in 2000. Lots of videos and classroom work, and a good amount of driving. The part I liked about the school was that there was only one student per instructor in the truck, and everyone was pretty laid back.

One big problem that you may encounter, is that the school only prepares you to pass the state tests to get you license. You actually learn to drive once you get a job. Seems like a lot of class A jobs require a doubles endorsement and they run 100-120k pounds, so most companies want some experience.

See if the school will give you the name of some potential employers call them and see what they say. As far as I know, it seems like most driving jobs in WY are all or nothing, meaning 50-70 hrs a week or zip. It might be worth it to look into seeing what kind of work you could land before you spend your time and money, just to end up with a Class A and nothing to do with it.

If you have any questions, I will do my best to help you out.

Re: Part time/Casual
 

robertt, what companies do you work for? I am in exactly the same boat as the OP, with the exception that I am about ten years older than he is. I've thought about going into trucking and reading the CAD boards for more than two years now. I am leaning against going into trucking because, retired from another career and in my 50s, I do not want to do trucking--or any other job for that matter--full-time, and it appears that there are no part-time/casual truck driving jobs. Like the OP, I think I would love to do trucking on a part-time/casual basis, whenever I want to.

As you can see from my handle, I live in Nevada. I'm about 70 miles out of Las Vegas. Anybody know of any such part-time/casual truck driving jobs in this area?

I drive for a company in OKC called Western Flyer Xpress. They hual alot of stuff for GM and Black and Decker. Everything I have ever hauled for them is dedicated and drop and hook. It's a piece of cake. The only reason I don't go full time is that I have a good Gov't job with the Air Force, (job security), and I have a son and wife that I don't want to be away from. The other company I drove for was back east when I was at another AFB, and they hauled chicken for Perdue to NYC and surrounding areas. I just love driving a truck but don't want to put up with the BS full time and this has worked out perfect for me. I got really lucky.

Thinking of truck driving parttime/casual
 

Thank you for the information. I am in the Cheyenne area so I would go to the Cheyenne school.

There is no way I want to work 50 to 70 hours a week. I would not have retired if I wanted to work that much.

The information I received when I spoke to the school rep was very positive and the school seemed professional.

I like the idea of getting company information from the school and contacting the companies about casual employment.

The school claims to have lifetime job placement.

Again thank you for your information.

Anytime, Good luck and let me know if I can help in anyway.