Background-Drove local in Los Angeles, Ca 1990-1997 (off n on between children) Drove team for 1.5 yrs from west to east coast 1997-1998
Moved to Alaska and drove local in summers 1998-2011, drove in Prudoe Bay in winters 1999-2008 and have about 200hrs of haul road time 2010-2011.
Driven mixer trucks, dump trucks, belly dump, side dump, maxi -hauls, doubles, box van, car haulers, tanks, and step decks.

After 14 yrs in Alaska, Im tired of the cold here 8-9 months of the year. Currently wanting to relocate to lower 48 and drive long haul 11 western states. But extremely nervous of taking the plunge. We dont use log books here unless on the occassion driving to Valdez or Anchorage or the haul road. We dont have satelites on trucks, gps, or any of the technology trucking uses in the lower 48.
We also dont have the big city traffic and different rules etc in different states to deal with.

Im experienced safe driver who is always willing to learn something new and I take pride in my proffession.
Looking for advise about possible companies with good refresher courses, teaching about the technology uses in truck, etc.
What do I need to do or change with my current AK CDL / med card?
Are there companies who will relocate you? haha, had to ask

I guess Im just nervous. Im a single female truck driver and will have to fly to the lower 48 for interviews, driving tests, etc and dont want to waste any time or money doing so. Place to live isnt my concern, its my duffle bag & me!If possible a terrier dog riding with me. Willing to start asap of arriving in the states and prefer 11 western states. Im also not worried about home time.

Thanks for the listen

Hello AKTrucknGal .... here's a web site that has companys on the West coast ..

Western U.S. Trucking Jobs | USA Trucking Job | FindingATruckingJob

It seems you can pull just about anything and knowledgable in areas that alot of us haven't had the chance to try. Working in AK is completely different from here - I agree ! I would suggest you call several of these companys and speak to them personally. They will be able to enlighten you on how - and - if you need to change your CDL. And the med card - - any company you hire on with here - will send you to their doctor to get a med card. ... If the company wants it done else where, they will also guide you on that. Any Big company that you work for will have a 2 +plus day orientation, they'll teach you how to use their satelite, log book and etc .. I may be wrong, but I think if you want a gps - you will have to buy it yourself. At some point thou you'll need to get a P.O.Box in one of the lower states to call home. Do you by chance have any family or friends you trust down here - to use their physical address as home? ................ Just make sure that you don't forget to tell the new company about 'all' tickets no matter how small ... I've seen drivers sent home during orientation because they didn't answer all the questions honestly. The bigger companys will also send you out with a Trainer for a couple of weeks, even thou your an experienced driver -that's just to make sure you understand everything . The insurance companys over these Trucking companys - keep a tight hand on who they can hire.
As for you dog ........ you'll find some companys may let you bring your dog on board once you assiged your own tractor, but may have a HIGH depost for it........ Several companys just flat refuse.

Good luck.

thanks so very much!! I appreciate your information and will deffinately look into the website. I just didnt have a clue as to where to start or how to go about things. Dont want to sound like an idiot when calling a company LOL I will keep you posted on how things turn out
Thanks again

A friend of mine just went to work for Giltner. They mostly run the western states. About the only thing that I know about them is that they pull reefers. I believe their website is www.giltner.com.

You can always hit the oil patch if the OTR doesn't pan out. Better money in the patch, ND and TX are doing allot of hiring right now, just saying...