Fellow Coloradan? Nice.. I don't seem to run across too many on the net.
But you were correct, it wasn't Adams, it was Arapahoe. Almost wish I could've done Jeffco or Douglas.

$9500 here in Canada for an 8 week course,plus I had to train (team) with the company for 4 weeks no pay.

Hey, RunNgun , welcome,dont mean to be a smart a## but you already are complaining about various things you have to do to get into trucking . 7 to 5:30 , are you kidding? Perhaps you better do a little more research
on what trucking is like. I just finished a week where I left my home each day ( except 1) at around 430,AM and returned anywhere from 8 to 10:30PM. This includes a long commute that most folks dont have to deal with but never the less most drivers are on duty 14 hours a day some local are longer.


runNgun wrote:
"I saw way too many sour posts, and I simply could not believe the majority of them. "

Yep, sometime the truth hits hard, but you better take heed to what these Guys are saying ,

Alright, time to clarify something. First and foremost, get off my ass.

I know there are long hours in trucking. My father was a trucker, and I have four friends in the same line of work, running local. I have worked on the farm, construction, private contracting, HVAC, and so on. I have worked 36 hour shifts on regular basis before.. even with HVAC, I used to work 6 days a week at 6am to 7-12pm, and Sundays 7am to 2-3pm. The length doesn't bother me.

I typed that in reference to getting off at 5:30pm.. with the rush hour and the long drive home in it. I wouldn't give a damn if they wanted to run it 7am to 11pm. I'd still do it.

AL right RunNGun , lets relook at my post. First I welcomed you, Second I said I am not trying to be a smart A##, which I ment . I was merely trying to let you know from my small amount of experience what to expect. Also I was refering to your first post where you said you couldn't believe the amount of sour post . Perhaps I assumed wrong but when I first came on this site , I too questioned the sour or negative post where experienced drivers were telling how difficult is really is out there .
The driving schools are going to welcome you with open arms , all they are concerned with is getting their money. Sure there are some really fine schools out there and some really nice trainers and so forth but the fact is that they do not want to paint a negative image of truck driving. Now , understand that I am not knocking truck drivng as a whole , if it was all bad I doubt this forum would have all of these fine experienced folks on here giving out advise . The truth is it is a career that is quite different from anything I have ever experienced. From reading the post on this site as well as other trucking forums I have come to the conclusion that other newbies have experienced pretty much the same things I have. You know, you see the adds in the local paper or on the net saying " Start a new career, become a truck driver and make $ 50,000 .00 in your first year " . It all sounds too good to be true, you find a driving school , pluck down several thousand dollars and your on your way. After a few days of school you start to see and hear that it is a pretty tough business, you start hearing about things you never expected.
HOS, Layovers, crappy dispatchers, practical mile pay, Little home time , driving in snow and ice, chaining , breakdowns etc..... . You read about all of this and still you think it can't be that bad , and for you perhaps it's not, it may fit you like a glove. But nevertheless there are some valid things to consider before you get into trucking . These forums
are full of post from experienced drivers telling the very same thing I just said and I have come to the conclusion they are not being sour or negative , they are just trying to enlighted us newbies as to what to expect. I wish the very best for you and apologize if I may have come across as being anything but helpful . Good luck and keep posting about your experiences thru-out school and soforth :)

welcome and good luck, expect lots of negetivity as you started complaining about times , money , traffic, hhmmm sounds like your already a driver :lol: You have a good deal with paid training they have the hoops there to weed out the people that aren't serous about school.I paid $4000. (not including interest) for my schooling and listened to a couple of guys that had everthing paid for. they had no intention on going OTR . one dropped out with 1 week to go, the other passed but refused to go OTR. So that's why the hoops! Be glad they haven't LIT them on fire

RunNGun - yeah - such fun. I'm lucky - or something. I live (obviously) north of Denver - and my school is on the north side.. so I'm already better off than I was when working downtown B)

I'm not at all surprised by the number of negative posts - but then, I started on another board that is almost *entirely* negative. So, it's rather obvious that at least some aspects of this job are going to suck, possibly mightily. On the other hand, those seem to be largely company related.. if you research your companies carefully, ghost over to truck stops and talk to drivers, etc the likelihood of surprise is lowered. (For instance, Swift is not on my list of potential employers - not so much because of comments and stories online, but because I know a couple drivers (one who was fired for being in a preventable, even though she was a member of a team and asleep in the sleeper berth at the time of the wreck. That's insane)

On the other hand - while there are hundreds of truckers posting here,and while most of them are negative - there are thousands and thousands of truckers out there. I refuse to believe that these guys (and gals) couldn't get a different job if they REALLY hated trucking. I see it mostly as an unofficial guide to trucking. "Pretty much everything is cool, except for these companies and these situations"

For me, I love to drive. Put me behind the wheel and I'll drive forever (and drive my wife nuts - I don't stop for anything if I can avoid it. I drive essentially non-stop to my parents (15 hours) or to her parents (22 hours)) More importantly, for me, this will not be only/primary source of income. Therefore, high miles are not important to me. I rather think I can work with most dispatchers under those circumstances.

OTR is not an option, either. I don't mind being gone 4-5 days, but I'm not giving up the weekend sporting events with my kids (their events, not the professional teams I could hardly care less about). If my prospective employer won't put me on regional, I'll find another job. I've done it before.

Now that I think on it, perhaps the most important thing - and this is true of any job - is to not feel trapped. You and I have already taken steps that will allow us greater freedom at the end of school than those who have loans from trucking companies.

I see something slightly fishy here... You do not have the money to pay for the schooling, nor good enough credit to be approved for financing for it, yet you are not concerned with the pay as its not your primary income source... those two things really do not add up, to me it sounds like you are disillusioned into thinking this is going to be something that your going to find out it is totally different...

I guess I have to clarify something else. I have no children, I am not married. My expenses are minimal at best. My two vehicles are paid for, and I do no other work. The wage I will recieve will do me just fine.. which is why I never mentioned it. That and the fact that I really don't think I need to go in depth about how much money I will or will not make, or how I am so looking forward to it.. so on.

But, I suppose if you are wanting some fictional bullscheisse, I'll give you some. I'm really a mid-level made man in the Denver mob. I need this job to keep the feds off my back for a while and have legitimate income. Please, oh wise one, don't turn me in for you have figured out my secret...

Grow up

Day one is under my belt with the trucking school. I can honestly say it was beyond dull, but neccessary. Couple long and drawn out videos from the 80s, UA, paperwork, and some "66 questions" deal for the FMCSA. I did get some bad news, that May was on a hiring freeze. No clue how long this will last, but now I have to look for another carrier to work for, for a few months then go where I wanted to go to begin with. That, and for some reason, I have to physically go get the voucher from the WIA office to give to the school. This baffled even them, so who knows what will come from it. From the looks of it though, we get our first crack at the trucks on Friday. I'll post about every other day so as though I don't flood the topic.

And for those that like to know, there's five of us total in the class. All of us are still there after the UA, and I'll be sure to note when someone takes the long walk home.