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Just a little 411 for all you new drivers,the best money isn't in big fleets or owning your own stuff but in the private fleets i.e food distribution and you're home ALOT more. Just thought i'd throw that in after reading about trying to get jobs at all those million truck fleets.

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and you only need to have 2 years otr to get the job
YOU CAN SLEEP AFTER YOU DELIVER THE LOAD

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drives for SYSCO. He makes good money, and he's been there about three years.
He has no back or knees left, and is looking into going OTR.

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can handle all the in town driving on a daily basis, having to kiss the customer's rear ends in a major way, having to unload and sometimes load your trailer all the time, and all the other good stuff that comes with local LTL deliveries more power to them.
I for one don't care for that segment of the industry and would much rather stick with regional or OTR type work. If I had wanted to work the docks and unload trailers all day long I would have went to work at some factory or warehouse and not spent the time and money getting my CDL.
The best thing about the trucking industry is that there are a lot of different types of trucking available.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
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Hey Cessna, how may hours a week does your friend work? Im on the waiting list at Sysco.Already passed the background check,physical,strenth test,drive test. Unfortunatly im gonna have to go on the road for a little bit, because they wont start hiring guys till after the 1st of the year. They start the guys here in Los angeles @ 17.50 an hr. And Im sure im gonna earn every penny.

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With all this loading & unloading of wagons, I consider myself fortunate to only drag containers & rail trailers. It's a rare instance when I have to unload, as 99% is all drop & hook.

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is what your after, your in the wrong business.
You should work as a lumper. When I last pulled boxes they charged an average of $60 to unload a truck and I've paid as much as $220. If you only worked 10 trucks a day 5 days a week that's 3k a week! You can't clear that kind of money on the road, week in and week out.

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Working for one of those local food service places with a small class-b fleet. If you think the big bucks are there, you are sadly mistaken!
Up at 3, on the road by 4, in by 2pm, load your own truck for the next day (if you're lucky you're out by 6pm) If you draw the short route, you can come in early and bust your @zz unloading and putting away freight in the freezers.
Going back OTR just as fast as I can...

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I've been working for a supplier of Fuel Oil and Gasoline/Diesel for going on 3 months now. I make more than twice as much as I did driving New England Regional. I work half as many hours and I am home every night and never work the week-ends. I got my "A" ticket the beginning of August, and got lucky enough to get a cushy job early in my career. It is really an easy job yanking a fuel tanker. You hook up a couple hoses and throw a couple levers and product comes off, same with loading. We are a Company that has trucks, not a trucking company and that seems to make a BIG difference. I work Monday thru Thursday on 10 hour shifts, but choose to work Monday thru Friday, and usually work 12 hours. Sometimes I work longer, but if I feel tired I call it a day after 10. Winter and summer, over-time flows like water. Spring and fall we hold to 4-10 hour days as the norm.
Easy money and great folks to work for. My mother died a couple weeks before christmas, and I was already home. I just hopped in my pick-up and headed for Georgia. I didn't have to worry about being strapped to a load or getting my truck to a terminal (only to have it reassigned to someone else). It's a normal life, great bennies, and the drivers all chat on the company radio so you aren't always stuck listening to all that CB "Kung-Foo".
I would seriously consider checking into the availablility of these types of jobs in your area. I am enjoying it very much. I plan to stay with this company as long as I decide to continue to drive a truck.
Another good point. . .My trailer Parking brakes wouldn't release the other night at the Bulk plant. By the time a service truck came out and found the problem and fixed it (stuck safety valve that works in conjunction with the trailer "Crash Bar") I had made an extra 3 hours of over-time pay. It was weird considering how many times I was broke down or delayed while over-the-road and didn't get paid anything, infact, I lost money because I lost time.
Just some things to consider.
Between the seasonal demands and available hours of work and my pay, not including my profit sharing, I should make between 32 to 36K for my first year of driving. Not to shabby for someone fresh out of school with two miserable months of OTR experience.
Best of luck, whatever you choose.

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Money isn't the whole thing. It depends on which you want to be: A truck driver who drives local delivery and goes home, or a trucker who lives in his truck for extended periods and navigates parge portions of the country?
They both involve operating controls on a air-brake commercial vehicle....but that's about all they have in common. I'm with uturn. I actually LIKE living on the road and working mostly on my own for weeks at a time. My best times are putting down 600 miles and a couple states each day going somewhere far away...

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You're right Shuffler.
Especially for those who have not had a chance to travel much, you will get to see a lot. I grew up traveling, been to all 50 and 5 foreign countries, so I'm happy being a homebody. You gotta' find your niche. What works for you. You have to examine your priorities in life. Do I have a family? Do I like them? Do I want to watch my children grow (of which I thankfully have none ) How strong is my marriage, can it handle the stress, is it worth applying that stress? Am I a lone wolf/free bird personality with the desire to roam? You can be real content out there or down right miserable. No one can make that decision for you and you gotta follow your heart. Keep in mind, it is only a job. Tell yourself, Heck, I was looking for a job when I found this one! It's no big deal. Try it and see if you like it. If not move on. Just try to limit the times you do this. One entry level OTR company is not that much different from the next. If things aren't going well, it could be, you don't really belong in that lifestyle.
Some things to think about. . .
Dodge Makes It, Cummins' Shakes It!
www.TurboDieselRegister.com
Tanker Yanker


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One last thing, Sysco is a strong company. But they do work their arsses off. I don't like to work that hard. But hey, these guys help keep my stock strong, so my hat is off to them. An I thank you very much!
Dodge Makes It, Cummins' Shakes It!
www.TurboDieselRegister.com
Tanker Yanker


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does a minimum 12-14 hr day.
A lot of places he delivers to will make him wait when their afternoon/lunch rush is on. One place in particular makes him wait at least an hour and a half each time. Unfortunately because of their location he can only get to them at certain times.
You hear horror stories from every job, but he can have his.
There is another food service place in south Florida that has a huge billboard looking for class A drivers. Always hiring, and the sign has been there for a year....not a good sign if you ask me. If their drivers were happy, there wouldn't be so many vacancies.
I'll stick to my job. The closest I get to touching anything is opening the doors!

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Speaking of places making the driver wait for the rush to be over. I have some stores that only allow one delivery at a time. You either sit out in the parking lot waiting for the other driver to get done, or you go on to the next stops and check back later. Hopeing no one will be delivery there when you go back. This can be a real pain. Top it off these stores don't accept deliveries after 3:30.

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I never thought I could make it to retirement in one piece from a deal like that. Not many do.
I've worked a few of these.
I don't have a gambling problem, just bad luck