Question:
Hi all,
Heres my situation. Ive worked for a large manufacturing company for the last 12 years. About two years ago I got my CDL A and took a job with this company spotting and shuttling trailers to our offsite warehouse (about 50 miles/day). Ive liked all the aspects of the job (except the crappy, rundown equipment, thats another story though). A couple days ago I got notice that the company is downsizing and my job has gone away. I have seniority to stay employed with them but I must go back to working on the production line, where I started 12 years ago, for $2/hr less. I really dont want to do that so Im thinking of quitting and driving for a living. My concern with driving is the lack of home time. Over the years Ive gotten used to knowing what time Im getting home every night and having alot of time off. Ive also gotten used to grossing $40000/yr. While the money is important, Im willing to sacrifice up to $5000-$7000/yr for more home time. Im not interested in OTR at all. I would like regional or local so I can be home weekends and most week nights. While Ive worked around the trucking industry (shipping) for the past 7 years and talked to several drivers, Im still not clear about the amount of home time to expect with the different types of jobs. What kind of driving job offers the most home time and still pays $33000+.
I know LTL drivers, as well as local delivery drivers, are generally home every night, but what kind of hours and pay can I expect with those type of jobs? Ive got an employment opportunity with a small trucking company that pulls regional loads. They pay the drivers a % of the load. I also have an opportunity with Cardinal and JB. They are paying .44 and .46/mile + drop pay. So, I would need about 1500+ miles/week to get the money Im looking for. I know thats doable but how much home time will that get me? Are companies generally open to drivers that only want to run hard for 3 or 4 days per week? What about part time gigs?
Sorry this was so long. I hope everyone gets an idea of what Im trying to ask. If anyone could offer suggestions as far as different types of driving jobs that may fit me, feel free to say. Im even open to dump or concrete trucks, tour buses, and so on.
Thanks, Ray

Answer:
In your area, winter isn't too harsh, so if the work is there and the area isn;'t economically depressed, then concrete trucks certainly present and option, and will get you home nightly.
Among your other possibilities, I'd take a close look at the regional hauler and see what their opportunities are. If they get you home a couple of times a week, and the pay is in your ballpark, then that might be your key. I run for a regional hauler and get home a couple of times a week on average, but how that works is dictated by the type of product and where you are running.
Sounds like your experience level would ring no bells with the big carriers, and you wouldn't get the credit due for your experience, but the smaller company would probably be able to look at it and see what's really there. Then, you could either stay with them, or move on to something later that's better for you, with a valid experience that is acceptable to bigger companies. A lot of the recruiters don't really know how to evaluate any experience other than CDL school, or another major carrier. It's a flaw in the industry, and hurts guys that come out of non traditional experience paths.

Answer:
I think Burky has summed it up pretty well...not much to add.....
I will now get out of the way, before someone comes up, with the.."you have to pay your dues first, for at least a year with one of the big 5" type of a comment... LIARS SUKK

Answer:
If you already know of regional opportunites in your neck of the woods, I would suggest spending some time to really check them out. One other outfit to possibly look at is "Knight". I don't know a whole lot about them...but I have spoken to some of their drivers and they seemed to be regionally focused, and overall seemed pretty happy with what they were doing and home every week.
But before you leap on an opportunity...you might want to try and talk to more than just a couple of that companies drivers to find out just how long they are out, and what their hometime amounts to. Does that company want you out 6 days and they considers getting home friday at 9PM and leaving out on saturday at 9PM "home for the weekend". Or do they say they will get you home every weekend, but you find yourself in TX or AZ, OR, or even WA.......and nowhere near WV. Frankly, it happens that way....probably too much.
The hours on local jobs can be really lousy..... I hauled fuel (gas, diesel, jet fuel) and the hours "sucked".....you had to call in by 2AM every morning to find out if they had loads for you, then you had to go in, and you would put in more than a 15 hour day....then by the time you got home... it was suppertime and then right to bed..... this was six or seven days a week, depending on the season......wow, what a life. It was just really "bangup" to be home every night.
I also drove a concrete truck for a short while...the hours thing with them was the exact same thing...and they wanted you 6 days a week....saturdays were usually half days...but any way you looked at it...the day was shot.
I actually got to spend more time with my wife while doing OTR, because she can go with me...or when I'm home, we are together the whole time. My wife even remarked that we got to spend more time together when I was OTR.
So, the bottom line was this: Both of these outfits gave me a $$ figure that I should make.... Nope, wrong, they lied.... so I went right back to OTR. But I'm out 10 days to 3 weeks depending on my needs.
Part time work.....unless it has a fixed schedule, its likely that you would be a "casual" driver...on call, at their beck and call. Not good, cuz you know they'll want you there when you have plans to be somewhere else.
My point is this: Investigate each and every opportunity thoroughly, and then do it some more. I have no idea what the situation in WV is as far as opportunities, I live in FL....and they vary greatly from area to area there.So I like what I do, you don't, too bad, get over it. Get on with your life, I am.

Answer:
A hunting buddy of mine did concrete work in South Florida and loved it. He usually did 10 hour days and worked every 3rd Saturday. He did that for 4-5 years and got his CDL A and started pulling a FB hauling cast products, Pipes etc., for the same company, Rinker materials I believe. It was a fairly good job
If your lucky they will get you home a couple times a week. Most only promise weekends. JB hunt seems to get you every where but near your home. Cardinal I wouldn't know. If you find a company that can promise you what you need for home time it would be far better than running over the road and not seeing home at all for 3 weeks.
Where I work I'm gone one or two nights at a time and home on weekendes. It's either for Saturday/ Sunday or Friday night etc. They have several places where drivers work this schedule but you need 2 years OTR experience. I will say they some times sneak a good driver in with a little less and your experience may be enough.
There is alot of freight moved in your area so I would look hard for the type of job you want. I would if I was you stay completely away from Over The Road driving and do alot of talking to recruiters for regional jobs before taking one if home time is your objective.
OTR company recruiters would probably turn you down because they can't see past the written guidlines their company gave them. Burky is right in that you should check with smaller companies. I'm sure there are a few where you live.

Answer:
Thanks for the input.
Ive got many opportunities where I live (the I-70 / I-81 interchange). Lots of warehousing and industry here. Its really overwelming so the more I know when I go to talk to recruiters, the better.
Its been awhile since I had to look for a job, especially in a brand new career field. 40 years old and starting a new phase in life. My CDL was plan "B" incase something like this happened to my "A" job, so all is well. My new plan "B" will be to reactivate my real estate license that I dropped a few years ago,. Thats why I am considering driving just a couple days a week for a small guarateed income and selling real estate the rest of the week for the real booty. Thats also why hometime important for me.
As far as my experience.
I do have a certificate of completion from the CDL program at the local community college but its not worth the paper its written on, in reality, I attended it for almost a whole week , just long enough to learn what was needed to pass my CDL tests. So Im basically self taught.
As far as trailer handling, Ive got that licked. I spend as much time going backwards as I do forward and tight spaces are second nature. The paperwork, logs, routes and so forth are a different matter. Im totally clueless so I definately need to find a company that will work with me on that stuff.