Question:
I was wonder if I could get some onpinons on the thought of getting out of the military and getting into trucking? I have thought alot about driving truck and it seems to be something that would intrest me a great deal. I know that driving truck is not going to be easy just as being in the military with a wife and two children. At least with driving truck I know that I will be home at least every two to three weeks, unlike not knowing when I will return home. Even worse going to Korea for twelve months like I will be doing next month.
Please any opinions pro or con would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Ranger1
Admit nothing
Deny everthing
When all else fails make counter accusations.
RLTW

Answer:
hey ranger i just completed my second month driving and it takes a very disciplined person to be able not only to keep a reign on your spending but not having constant supervision as well and to properly manage your time and to follow and carry out orders {sound familiar} i was never in the military but raised by my dad who was retired army . i think you might enjoy it and your family is already prepped for the sepration issues. so why not give it a shot you might find it rewarding and be like having your cake and eating it too.
Kevin

Answer:
Defineatly the kind of advice i was looking for thank you for the reply. I know i am used to doing things unsupervised. That is a good point about the family being preped only they know i wont be going overseas.

Answer:
Atleast with the Military you have a Roof over your head,Medical coverage and most important the opportunity to further your Education for a job with a future. Seeing or being involved with your Family while Trucking will be less than you think.
I Salute your Service and sacrifices,Thank You.
Mike
Answer:
Its seems everyone in other countrys dont appreciate what americans do. Screw those ungrateful countrys .Come home drive a big rig, be with the family, and drink beer on the weekends. Hey thats the American way. Besides I bet you'll make a hell of alot more money than in the service. Thats my opinion anyways.

Answer:
take it as you will.
1. No pay for the first 4-8 weeks while you get your CDL through a driving school/program.
2. Pay of $350 to $400 per week for the 6-8 weeks you are learning the job with the first company you hire on with. Expect to be gone the entire time.
3. $25,000-$30,000 average earnings gross pay your first year after you complete your OTJ training.
4. Home time every 2-3 weeks on average. SOme companies though hometime is every 5-6 weeks. Basically you get one day off for every week you work.
5. For the most part you are on your own. You don't have a supervisor looking over your shoulder 24/7. You get your load assingments and do your job and you will basically get left alone.
6. Doing 48 state OTR you can see, in passing, some great areas of the country.
7. Truck drivers are a critical part of the American economy, though they are not paid in accordance to their importance nor to the level of skill and knowledge they must have to get the job done safely and legally.
8. You get to juggle the needs of the customer, the wants of your company, with laws that can change every few hundred miles.
9. Truck drivers get to live in a walk in closet for 2 or more weeks at a time.
10. There are days when you can not imagine doing anything else for a living and other days learning how to politely ask if you want fries with that sounds good.
11. Many trucking company health insurance benifits are lousy.
12. Depending on how often you eat in a truck stop or other type of resteraunt you can expect to spend $50-$150 per week for food and drinks while out on the road. More if you let things get away from you. (You will average $10 per meal in a truck stop including tip)
If you are looking to make big bucks and have that $500,000 home complete with 3 new cars, a swimming pool etc. then trucking is not for you.
If you are looking for a job that provides a certain level of freedom, you are the type who hates being chained to a desk, you like working all sorts of crazy hours, don't mind getting dirty, greasy, rained on, snowed on, and can adapt to all sorts of craziness then maybe truck driving is for you.
I hope this helps you some. If you have any specific questions then please feel free to ask. Also by utilizing the search function you may be able to find answers and opinions to your questions, but none-the-less you are free to ask away on anything.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
Originally posted by uturn2001:
4. Home time every 2-3 weeks on average. SOme companies though hometime is every 5-6 weeks. Basically you get one day off for every week you work.
Make sure your idea of home time and the company's is the same. Otherwise, you may be headed home expecting a nice day off, and the company expects you to be ready to go again in 6 hours or so.
5. For the most part you are on your own. You don't have a supervisor looking over your shoulder 24/7. You get your load assingments and do your job and you will basically get left alone.
And getting left alone is the key. Some company's are trying a "hands on" or "involved" approach to dispatching, which basically means you have to tell them every time you take a crap, and update your hours of service accordingly
6. Doing 48 state OTR you can see, in passing, some great areas of the country.
And more often some places you wish would get wiped off of the map...
8. You get to juggle the needs of the customer, the wants of your company, with laws that can change every few hundred miles.
And remember that Murphy's Law is one you cannot break.
9. Truck drivers get to live in a walk in closet for 2 or more weeks at a time.
That is if you are assigned a condo truck. Some companies still use 48" flat top sleepers, affectionately referred to as "coffins".
10. There are days when you can not imagine doing anything else for a living and other days learning how to politely ask if you want fries with that sounds good.
And some days where the only thing saving your dispatcher from an untimely death by strangulation is the fact that you are 800 miles away from the terminal
11. Many trucking company health insurance benifits are lousy.
The big companies have at least halfway decent insurance, but don't fret-they tend to change their insurance several times a year as well.
12. Depending on how often you eat in a truck stop or other type of resteraunt you can expect to spend $50-$150 per week for food and drinks while out on the road. More if you let things get away from you. (You will average $10 per meal in a truck stop including tip)
But truckstop food will kill you literally and fiscally. I rarely eat at truckstops, instead I bring some food from home, and I also take advantage of the rising popularity of Chinese buffet places often located in a mall where I can park my truck. Oftentimes they are cheaper than truckstop buffets, and better too.
If you are looking to make big bucks and have that $500,000 home complete with 3 new cars, a swimming pool etc. then trucking is not for you.
If you are looking for a job that provides a certain level of freedom, you are the type who hates being chained to a desk, you like working all sorts of crazy hours, don't mind getting dirty, greasy, rained on, snowed on, and can adapt to all sorts of craziness then maybe truck driving is for you.
Yup.
@#*!%$^@!
Answer:
I wish I could truly understand why a person with a family wants a job that takes them away from them. Your coming from the military where you say you are away from family alo. As I am sure you are. Why in the world when you get out would you want a simular type job. Unless you don't want to be around your family?
Married men and women just getting into trucking have a way of rationalizing home time. The fact is you can forget about what you think it will be like. Your home and family will be a secdond thought in the mind of your company. Actually farther down the list than that. Driving is not an answer to family problems whether financial or emotional. It will only make things worse. Both parties often come to an agreement on what is acceptable to them. Things like home time, how often and for how long. But you'll soon learn it doesn't work the same way it's spelled out in company literature.
Married people need to give it some very serious thought. Unless of course you don't want to be around them.
"Caution: Door May Open"

Answer:
I can understand how you wouldn't comprehend how I would want to do such a thing. However there is a differnce in going and driving a truck for 3-4 weeks and coming home than going over seas and not coming home for over 10 months. Maybe this will help you understand.
To all that have said thanks and apperciate the military serivice I will say that you are few and far between and thank you.
Uturn once again thank you
Admit nothing
Deny everthing
When all else fails make couter accusations
RLTW

Answer:
ranger1,
Your military experience will give you a large advantage over the regular driver. Separation from family and lack of home time is the biggest culprit in driver turnover.
There are some very good posts here. I can only add that being a trucker is like having an itch that only driving a truck can scratch. Speaking for myself, I am not a truck driver because I drive a truck. I drive a truck because I am a truck driver.
Check it out and see if trucking is for you. It is far more than a job or career. You will either love it and cannot imagine doing anything else, or you will hate it and not stay with it for long.
With your military background, you should be able to get into a community college or some other driving school and get financial assistance. I would not recommend the company schools, as they tend to only be interested in "butts in the seats".
I have two sons in the military (Air Force). I, too, salute you. Thank you for keeping us free.
"We have met the enemy, and he is us." pogo

Answer:
My best advice to you, Ranger, is that you take advantage of the military benefits to get an education in something else marketable in the workplace. Possibly consider staying in the military until you can collect a retirement, or train for a new career through the military, or both. I would say explore these options now, before you do something you wish you hadn't. Trucking is a job you can always do, but you might consider your family and the fact you will want to see them in more than just pictures. Not to mention giving yourself a chance at a better-paying civilian industry job with better employee benefits.
Trucking companies of recent years, especially large ones, do not have much respect overall for drivers or the difficult jobs they do. And one accident can get you fired and your record ruined, leaving you unable to find work at all. Also, the income of most drivers falls far short of the figures the companies give you in the brochures. Having a family, you must think of all the expenses you currently have, as well as the cost of future retirement, children's educations, etc. Just some things to think about before you make that leap. Good luck to you.

Answer:
Your recent military service puts you closer to the top of everyone's list of job candidates. You may have a better shot at a good local driving job. Those jobs delivering for Home Depot or construction company (example) or cement truck, dirt hauler, all sorts of driving jobs that can pay pretty good, let you drive, and put you home. Point is -- your military service automatically makes you a stronger candidate than a civilian, so you might not have to take the OTR job to eventually get a good local job. Just a thought.
I also know many military and trucker families work best when there is some separation. It wouldn't be what I want, but I'm not worried about you not knowing what you're getting in to -- as long as you know you're getting into spending just a handful of days with yours every month. If that's not a problem now, maybe it wouldn't be in the future....

Answer:
Originally posted by ranger1:
However there is a differnce in going and driving a truck for 3-4 weeks and coming home than going over seas and not coming home for over 10 months.
There is also a difference in staying gone for 3 weeks and being home every night at 6 and all weekend long. Why would you deny yourself even more hometime with family.
I once thought as you did, and it occured to me that once my kids are grown, I will never have the chance to see them grow again. Once my wife is old, I will never have the chance to have her young again. Once I am old, I will never be able to do thethings I should have done when I was young. You never get that lost time back, so why would you willingly keep youself away from your family any more than necessary?
Unless of course you can't stand your family (and beleive me, there are many truckers who have been married 20 years who wouldn't have stayed married 20 days had they been home), in which case, trucking is the job for you!
To all that have said thanks and apperciate the military serivice I will say that you are few and far between and thank you.
Uturn once again thank you
Admit nothing
Deny everthing
When all else fails make couter accusations
RLTW
@#*!%$^@!
[This message was edited by highwayman on August 17, 2003 at 2:25.]
Answer:
Originally posted by highwayman:
Originally posted by ranger1:
However there is a differnce in going and driving a truck for 3-4 weeks and coming home than going over seas and not coming home for over 10 months.
There is also a difference in staying gone for 3 weeks and being home every night at 6 and all weekend long. Why would you deny yourself even more hometime with family.
I once thought as you did, and it occured to me that once my kids are grown, I will never have the chance to see them grow again. Once my wife is old, I will never have the chance to have her young again. Once I am old, I will never be able to do thethings I should have done when I was young. You never get that lost time back, so why would you willingly keep youself away from your family any more than necessary?
Unless of course you can't stand your family (and beleive me, there are many truckers who have been married 20 years who wouldn't have stayed married 20 days had they been home), in which case, trucking is the job for you!
Forgot to delete the last part of the post-not my words.
Why isn't there an edit feature as most other message boards have??????
OK, I can add text but not delete it...
@#*!%$^@!
[This message was edited by highwayman on August 17, 2003 at 2:21.]
Answer:
Did you mean to delete the last sentence of the paragraph?
Anyway. I do see your point but adimt that anythig is better than what I have now..