OTR Help! Been A Great 2 Days!

It has been a great past 2 day's. I took my written CDL tests Wed. and passed. I took the 3 driving pad CDL tests Thurs. and passed. I'm really excited to get out on the road and hopefully make that $$$$$.

Chuck//NC\\FL

thats cool... be careful out there and good luck .

Thanks lilj !!! Now I just need some helpful hints who to work for or who not to? What/who makes the most money? Any help from anyone would be great. Thanks

Chuck//NC\\FL

With a fresh CDL you're gonna have to work for whoever will hire you, at first. Most of them will want to put you through their own training program too and maybe ride team with an experienced driver. Some seem like they just throw two new guys in the truck and shit 'em out the door..

Something to keep in mind when you listen on the radio and hear someone bitching about this company, bitching about that company, some people just don't like to drive and when they want to put in just the bare minimum amount of miles to make a check and start finding themselves with shitty runs all of a sudden, it's the dispatcher's fault right? Or the company sucks. Nobody ever thinks it might be their own fault. So just like any job it takes all kinds so don't believe everything you hear.

Richard

I would try to stay away from large company's where you are just a number.. i drove for almost 9 years and ended up making more money with mom and pop company's.. be careful cause some small truckin company's dont do thing by the book and it will cost YOU in the long run..

Also a large company isnt going to care about your experience when they need a load hauled far north in the mountains during a blizzard.... Remember your just a number....

Also , I know its harder work but heavy haul(oversize) is where the money is at.. there are a few large company's out there that do heavy haul and will hire fresh drivers, but be prepared to train with someone for a few weeks.......

I used to make $1200 to $1800 a week doing heavy haul... If you need the names of a few companies, just let me know...

Thanks for the info Richard. Who are you driving for? What about owner /operator?

i really appreciate the info Dually502. If you would send me the heavy haul info that would be great ,so I can just check it out and see what it's all about.

Not driving now, I ran for Ozark, my lil bro ran for Weiner, erm, Werner, and my dad last drove O/O for Ozark and a million other companies before them (lifetime trucker finally got off the road.)

Ozark was OK but I had a battle with them after my personal truck got stolen out of their OTR driver parking, with razor wire, bright lights, security cameras, and card-key gate to get in AND out, right across the street from the terminal offices with huge windows 24-7 operation, and they wouldn't help me at all. No security camera tape, nothing. Fuckers cut down the fence and dragged my truck out down the street and nobody saw them. Can you say INSIDE JOB!

And yeah, I was green as could be and they started sending me all over the northeast which is some of the densest highway network, out on all kinds of toll roads before they ever got me an EZ pass, and pushed me to run so much that within a couple weeks I was literally a week ahead of my log book. My old man ran like that, had done it his whole life, so he had it down to where it never even stressed him. For a new guy having to juggle all that scamming math in your head is kind of hard to take at first.

My little bro liked Werner OK but he was on regional so he could get home more often to see his new wife, to me, regional seemed like it would get boring fast if you keep running the same route. Good for learning shortcuts and where trouble spots are but otherwise a snoozer.. but most big companies like that have divisions for OTR, regional, and of course the poor bastards that do the city work to/from the terminal, no fun.

Richard

Thanks again Richard for the info.

Anyone else that can help a brother out with some do's and don't on OTR driving/regional driving would be a big help. Thanks

Chuck //NC\\FL

It was kind of funny hitting the Jersey turnpike for the first time, I think the toll was like $14. I wasn't ready for that and was lucky I had cash in my pocket. I said to the grim-looking old dude at the booth, "You gotta be kidding!" He replies, "Sir, the Jersey Turnpike Authority does not permit me to kid" or something like that, with a straight poker face. I busted out laughing and handed him the money, and he started laughing, too. Was nice to see he wasn't just some grumpy old fart, he was putting me on and I caught it so we both got a good laugh.

Did I have a point to that story? Oh yeah; when you're out on the road ya gotta find your entertainment where ya can.

Richard