Yea $6k is unreasonable and thats just lowballing it, its actually more. Unfortunately I live in Maine and **** doesnt come cheap here. I went into it thinking the same as you but after 9 months Ive been laid off from Superior Carriers. Maybe Im being stubborn and unrealistic but Im not spending 2 months away from home at a pop with a **** company that doesnt give two ****s about me just to do my time.

Trucking was a hard way of life, now its just a ****. Im trying to get a job in a dump truck where Id be home every night and happy as hell.

I can understand it would be a PITA in Maine. I too could have opted for a more expensive proposition for driving school - but I chose to go for a longer duration, at a local county school (were residence makes a difference in tuition), so I could live at home and not take a "forced placement". If I were forced to take a $6K hot for school, I may have reconsidered. Again, it sucks to start a new career, financially in the hold.

South Florida is also a BAD PLACE to try and score an OTR gig from - hence, my having an Atlanta address I can use to apply from.

Some peoples situations are different. Mine is similar to matcat - I won't (and don't) desire to have a "home" (that I'll never be in) to maintain, have no "family" to want/need to get home to - and the OTR lifestyle is one that fits my lifestyle/attitude quite well.

As mat said - it is NOT FOR EVERYBODY - but just because it doesn't happen to be FOR YOU - doesn't make it BAD - just not for YOU.

I find it highly unlikely that I'll be "flipping burgers", or doing ANYTHING that keeps me in one place for too long - that's WHY I've been self-employed for the last 20+ years. I probably COULD land a 40-60K a year gig, doing IT work - but I HATE IT. If I have to deal with ONE MORE LYING END USER (I don't know HOW that virus got onto my computer), I'll SLAP THEM IN THE F-IN FACE.

I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to just pulling the damn plug, and getting out there where the only people that are WHINING, are ones I can ELIMINATE by just turning the damn CB off.

One of the guys at the TWIC application station, told me to get in touch with him when I'm near to graduation - he has leads for a number of LOCAL GIGS for newbies. I'm not even sure I would CONSIDER THEM, as the object for me, is to GET OUT ON THE ROAD. Not stay here in SoFla...

Rick

You actually think you are hurting someone's feelings? Boy do you have warped opinion of your self importance.

You and the other Mr. Low Expectations should become a team operation.

The "love" ofyour truck indicates to me that it must be nicer than your single wide at the Lazy Dayz Trailer Park.

A point by point rebuttal tells me you are again waiting somewhere and are whiling away your time. Must be one of them shippers or receivers that are so happy to see you that they don't want you to leave.

I still haven't decided if I should pity you, or be happy for you. In any event, it seems you found your life's calling - BREAKER ONE NINE!

Good luck dude. I can go months without turning my CB on. Something always intrudes on my endless trucking vacation that reminds it is a low-paying, thankless job. FWIW, I work for one of the better companies.

Don't get me wrong, there are good days. They are mainly Saturdays and Sundays. Our offices are closed, the truck stops are thinned out, and there aren't as many low IQ truckers on the road. After a while you will realize the biggest jerks on the road are your fellow truckers.

I don't have low expectations, quite the contrary. I came into the industry with the same thoughts and ideas everyone else has when they come on here asking questions. However I listened to what everyone said, and I set realistic expectations, I didn't set myself up for false hopes, and guess what? I did better then my own lowered expectations even with the largest and evilest of all carriers in North America! Also if you had ever read any of my other posts, you would find that I think one can make good money in the first couple years of this industry, however you have to play your cards right. But you will never know how to play them if you are too stubborn to listen to those that do it every day, day in and day out.

Also if you ever bothered to read any of my other posts, including the post just before yours, you would of gotten the clue that I DO NOT MAINTAIN A HOME! My truck is my home, I use a relatives address for my license, but I certainly don't live there. And what is wrong with double wide trailers, you like to stereotype people for the type of home they do live in?

Also if you had followed one of my threads, you would know I am in a 'transition' right now. Actually I need to post an update there... but basically I go back OTR next week, I am doing some local work for someone right now while I wait for the small 3 truck company I am going to be driving for get's his 4th truck, and even then, I don't go crazy trying to burn myself out doing 3000+ miles a week because I get paid .26cpm and can't afford to live unless the truck is moving 11 hours a day, no, I drive for companies that actually pay me what I am worth and treat me like a human being, and I drive smarter not harder.

And you know what, I drove for SWIFT for 6 months OTR, I had a preventable, was put out of the game for almost a year, and managed to get back in with an O/O, drove for him for the last 3 months. He couldn't afford to run the truck anymore so he leased it out to someone. The person he leased it too is an agent for a larger company, that was not able to qualify me because of my preventable, so I am doing some local work for him under HIS authority until this other guy gets the truck ready for me so I can go back OTR. That right there is 9 months verifable OTR experience. When I had that preventable, everyone on here told me I was screwed, it would be years before I would be able to drive for anyone again, most of the small companies want 2+ years experince, etc etc etc. But I worked my arse off to get back into the business, took me a year, but I did it. I say all this because I want to show people that it is not impossible to advance and suceed in this industry because of a mistake or lack of time put in. It certainly isn't easy, and quite honestly I am one of the few to beat some of the odds. But I will tell you this, I learned more in the last few months then I would of ever learned driving for a mega carrier.

NOW with ALL of that said... There are people popping in ALL of the time on this forum with no knowaldge or understanding of this industry, and all they have are preconcieved notions that it pays good, and have this wierd idea that it is some amazing, enchanted job to have. Those of us with any experience will try to explain to them the realities of it, and see a picture painted so different then what they thought, and it makes it look so negative, then you get those that have been in the industry, and get screwed usually because of their own mistakes, and try to paint and even more negative picture. Hey, I had an accident, it was my own damn fault, I learned from it, got back on the horse and now when I ride I am a hell of a lot more careful.

I love what I do, but IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!!! Plain and simple.

Now I will get off of my soap box

Perhaps you should socialize with them more often in PERSON. I keep my CB on 100% of the time, I NEVER turn it off. Yeah I like to mess around on the radio, get all up in any conversation that goes on, have a few CB fights, BS, but I also am the first to get on there and offer any help I can when someone asks. How many other trucks have you stepped up to and just talked with the driver? Even better, how many have you ever actually gotten into and hung out? How many drivers have you invited into your truck to hang out? I find myself doing this at least once a week. I have made a few good friends from drivers I just casually met at the T/S.

The CB is a LOT like an internet forum, people get all silly on it, behind the anonymity of it, but actually talk to them in person, and you will find they are just like you.

There are idiots and jerks everywhere, it is a part of life. Last time I was at the I80 T/S, I got a flat drive, I was over at the air hose trying to get it re-inflated, but the bead was broken, so I couldn't get it to inflate. Now the O/O I was driving for did not have the money to get it fixed, and I had to drive it all the way to NC to deliver it to where he was leasing it to. I got on the CB, explained my prob, and another driver came over to try to help. First he tried to use some either to blow it back on, but it was pointless, so he ended up actually PAYING to get the shop to fix it, I didn't want him to and protested, but he insisted. So I faxed the invoice to my boss with his # and address so he would get paid back. Just that same morning there at the I80, another driver got on the radio because he couldn't get his truck started, his batteries died. I happened to have jumpers, so I dropped my trailer, and went over there and jumped it for him, and we got it started.

Sorry but I don't agree with you, yeah there are some morons out there, but get to know your fellow drivers, you will find they are a lot more like you then you think.

You keep making me get on my soap box :P

MATCAT: I apologize for getting snippy. I am glad this is working out for you. Live frugally on the road and you should be able to build-up a bit of nest egg/bankroll. You are sacrificing a lot, and in a position to build up some savings.

Peace/truce.

Hey Cavi, I've thought quite a bit about this post since viewing it yesterday. Ya know, you sure have been quite insistent upon pointing out how full of **** I am in the past year or so about trucking in general and particularly the hardships faced by the OTR community.

Nope, this is not an "I told you so" post. Consider it more of a wake up call. Your first trucking job lays you off. So you are throwing in the towel?

Typical defeatist/apologist/'woe is me' thinking on your part. I'm sad to see that you have been overtaken so easily. You should have just let that training company pick your pocket and be done with it.

I gave some thought last night as to what I would do if I were faced with your particular situation. There really are a lot of positives on your side. You can't see any of these positives because you don't want to. I won't waste your time with any of my suggestions, as I don't know ****.

People just won't learn... Everybody want's the perfect job right out of school! No one can be patient and wait for brighter things, sad, just sad..

And once again, you decide to have the know-it-all attitude. Who says Im throwing in the towel? You obviously have YOUR opinions of what I am thinking, but theyre YOUR opinions and they are wrong.

Im far from defeated and that was not a feel bad for me post. I was simply stating what has happened to me. Also I didnt go to a training company, it was a school. And I fully intend on using my CDL, but im not signing my life away to a bull**** company just to use it.

And I dont know where all your "i dont know ****" comments are coming from?! I have never ONCE said that to you. Also its been months and months since you and I have even had any kind of spats... Time to let it go big boy.