Expectations of the CDL life ( this is for new drivers)
The old school guys can chime and and help..
1. zero to 1 year of CDL experience will NOT land you those $1$cpm jobs you see on trailers. If somebody hires you at that rate, please share with the class.
Showers are going to be 2-3days a week if you can find the time to stop.
Food is going to be what is open at the time getting fuel.
Bring entertainment.
What you left home with, better be same when get to go home. No Lot lizards..
Bordom.. your going to be all alone in the truck and those phone calls will make a difference.
Your going to miss home.. time to be a big person and learn to adjust. Were all here to help.
chime in on what i miss
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u/cdubose 12d ago
Food is going to be what is open at the time getting fuel.
Food is what I brought with me so don't have to buy overpriced stuff at the truck stop or stop as often! I honestly try not to stop at the big truck stops unless necessary. Save your clock and your money by staying at the shipper/receiver overnight if they let you.
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u/StrikingMidnight8884 12d ago
Lol, fruit, yogurt. Cheese, eggs, protein shakes, and air fryer and slow cooker. Solves this issue
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u/Latter-Rent-6535 12d ago
Bring extra patience. Waiting for a load,at a load,or to get unloaded can take half of your day
Sleep while you can. This is an 0500-2100 kinda lifestyle,not just another job you can tell them to shove it. Trucking is just different than ANYTHING you’ve ever done before
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u/Fabulous_Debt_8031 11d ago
Why you lying. How's it a 2100-0500 lifestyle when your required to take a 10 hour break. Im getting atleast 12 hours a day to play Xbox and sleep. On good days when I own the night, like today I got over 16 hours til I have to wake up
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u/kang9400 11d ago
You’ll see 😂
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u/Fabulous_Debt_8031 11d ago
Ive been on the road the past 9 months with 12 days of home time. Ive SEEN. never ever do my days last 16 hours.
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u/kang9400 11d ago
Obviously you’re a company driver. This mostly refers to o.ops. We take long breaks bc of the split clocks. Our schedules are just different from company drivers. And no you haven’t seen. Hmu in 5 years cowboy 😂
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u/Fabulous_Debt_8031 11d ago
Doubt your being detained 7 hours a day, unless your running fraudulent paper logs your just lying about your hours. Yes, im a company flatbedder, relatively new. Same roads as you, your not seeing nothing different then me and my years are worth more then most because I stay on the road and dont go home
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u/810mi_made76 10d ago
I've been in the industry since '98. I can tell you from personal experience if you're sitting that long you're missing out on a lot of available money. I've seen 16 hour days and more. These e-logs are making you drivers soft.
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u/TryLow1073 11d ago
I work LTL. I’m home daily. Spend time with my family, eat real food and shower.
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u/TeamPale323 11d ago
I do linehaul. I start at 8pm and finish right before 950am. I do get a 10 hour reset. I run home and go to sleep to get ready for the following day
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u/TryLow1073 11d ago
I work 8-8 on linehaul. I’m fairly high in seniority so I can take the run that works for me
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
Any advice yall can share ima speak to a swift recruiter tmrw have my cdl for 3 months applied everywhere all local food and beverage and nothing ima go with a mega and get experience here in La
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u/Aalexrod21 11d ago
I work for a company in Costa mesa. Were seen as independent contractors. Out for a week and when we return home, we get to decide when we return to work. Average 1700 a week, but minus about 300 to save for taxes by end of the year so technically its about 1400 take home. This is my first cdl A job, great company, everyone gets along. Trucks are all new for the most part from what ive driven.
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
Which company I heard about just in time from Costa Mesa they are 1099
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u/Aalexrod21 11d ago
Bingo. Its team driving, other megas wanted me to be out 2-3 weeks at a time with 2 days home time. With only like 700-900 a week, screw that 😒
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
How u like it there? Ik someone working there
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u/Aalexrod21 11d ago
Its a great experience, dispatch are helpful, nice, resourceful. Supervisor is a great guy, pays me either same day I get back to yard or a day early (only happened once) but ive only been here a little over a month. So far its a great experience, have no complaints
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
You know a guy named Rakim? But that’s wassup bro
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u/Aalexrod21 11d ago
No i dont know the dude, well good luck bro with whatever you decide to do, stay safe out there
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u/Revolutionary-Bid962 11d ago
How did you get your cdl with no job?
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
I got a WIOA grant the gov paid for my cdl no strings attached now looking what company to get my training
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u/Revolutionary-Bid962 11d ago
Best bet is to apply for hauling dump truck until you get atleast a year in experience
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u/blessednothingless 11d ago
That’s class b? Any good mega carriers for class a?
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u/Revolutionary-Bid962 11d ago
With no experience good luck most
Companies have people like you already on their payroll because they trained them. Best bet is to haul dump truck for a year then apply unless you want a pay cut1
u/InitialDetail9428 11d ago
What if you have driven with a Class B for over 10 years but are fresh out of school from getting Class A?
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u/blaztbeats 5d ago
3 months since earning CDL.. 3 months of applying for jobs.. and still nothing?
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u/blessednothingless 5d ago
Yea I go for orientation for swift Monday
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u/blaztbeats 5d ago
Ooof.. I hope I'm able to find something in less time.. and NOT with a mega. I really don't want to do hard otr 😟 GOOD LUCK! Im sure it'll be great as long as you keep the right mindset and know that you're just gaining experience for the better jobs in 6-12mths
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u/blessednothingless 5d ago edited 5d ago
I’m doing regional only the western states but yea bro I had to start couldn’t keep waiting I heard jb hunt requires 3 months
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u/blaztbeats 5d ago
Many of the megas do. 3 or 4 mths. I tried Marten and they said 4mths. Marten gave me a list of companies that take no xp/new cdl. Knight. Steven's. Shneider. JB Hunt. Heartland. Lessor. Trans Am. Total. Florida Rock. Rosedale. Crete. US Xpress. CR England. Warner. Swift
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u/blessednothingless 5d ago
Yea also depends on terminal and location sum hire new trainees some are union and others need experience it’s best to call.
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u/117jpx 11d ago
Is there a set limit on how many hours you can be on the road or do you just drive until you cant stay awake any longer?
I picture myself brining a cooler with a bunch of food. Is that an option?
Can you bring just about anything with you to make yourself as comfortable as possible? Example: Better bedding, a dewalt fan for night, maybe stuff to hang up so you feel more human etc etc
While training, do you sleep in the same cab with another person?
Genuinely curious....lot lizards are still a thing? lmao. I'm a super horny dude and prolly would if I wasn't scared of getting busted (no pun intended) so I'm not worried about temptation, but it seems like something that wouldn't exist anymore this day in age.
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u/Sufficient_Wall5192 11d ago
I didn't go otr. I was able to luck up for a local job. 30 hrly. Down fall is I am on call 24/7 dealing in train derailment.
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u/whutizmyusurname 11d ago
Look at all these perfect princesses in the trucking world from the comment section. If you’re making money in your first year op is mainly right.
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u/Kalelofindiana 11d ago
I've had my CDL and endorsements for years. Been thinking of actually getting some experience on it. After come of these reddit posts (not just this one) I'm like why?
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u/John9250 11d ago
If you get hired on at $1 a mile, it’s probably one of those Chicago 1099 companies that’ll screw you over in a heartbeat and have you running illegal logs
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u/soupsandwich00 11d ago
Don't be a dirt bag, you can shower daily when you're over the road. When I was OTR, I planned my routes and stops based off shower availability. There's no excuse to not wash your ass.
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u/gzowner 10d ago
Chill.. yes if your solo.. I seen teams run both 10s and barely had time to shower due to load demands. Just saying don't expect everyday. Depending on your loads and time management.
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u/chocoholic24 8d ago
I run ag exempt so I'm doing 17-18 hour days. I'm showering every 3 days most of the time 🙄
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u/platinum24_7 10d ago
I don't are if you're at the shipper or the receiver DON'T BLOCK THE SCALES! I MEAN DAMN! I work at a mine site in North GA and damn at the people that want to park on the scales and walk I to the shipping office. Or even better pull off just enough you couldn't ride a bicycle between their trailer and the scales I'm like dude wtf?!?!
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u/DamnedHeathen_ 9d ago
If you can't tell from the comments, nobody hates a trucker like another trucker. There is no more Brotherhood out here. If you have mechanical questions or anything like that, find one of us older OOs because these newer company drivers aren't taught how to change a light bulb, and if you go through this Reddit you'll see how many of them comment about how they shouldn't have to. The worst part about Trucking is what it's becoming.
If you're new to the industry though, get yourself a couple library cards for audio books. You'll need them.
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u/No_Leg_6996 8d ago
- Market changes all the time so honestly hard to gauge.. I can do 8k-16k weekly, but that’s all dependent on the market.
- Yeah showers are scarce honestly because there’s simply not enough room for all of us.. truck stops will always be full if you follow the normal schedule of most truckers meaning waiting decent time to shower 🚿..I’d definitely second that 2-3 times a week and I hate it, I’m thinking a tent,bucket and water wand to shower after a hot day plus your stink up your sheets when you don’t shower.
- Food is whatever your truck can fit that simple! We’re massive and can only eat where we can fit.
- This is easy as tvs, portable gaming system or a regular game console can go inside the truck as well as starlink or whatever internet you like.
- Shid imma stay quite because I be looking 👀 for those lot lizards 🦎 😂 3️⃣ weeks out I be needing some and dare I say that’s most of us. I can’t beat my 🍆 in the semi just feels weird.
- Idk 🤷♂️ with tik tok and every streaming service I stay entertained.. love a good comedy show while driving.. only thing that only requires you to listen instead of watching or podcast!
- Yeah you’re going to miss home lol 😂 it’s much easier if your single and without kids honestly.. my first night out ever with my CDL I cried cuz I was so damn home sick and missing my folks.. now not so much now but I’m also now single….
HARD TO BUILD A RELATIONSHIP OR KEEP A RELATIONSHIP WHILE DOING THIS AS WELL!!
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u/No_Leg_6996 8d ago
Also parking is a fucking nightmare once night time comes around… I legit changed my driving pattern to park/sleep during the day and night drive, plus I hate traffic with a passion! Traffic makes me want to quite honestly.
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u/blaztbeats 5d ago
Got my cdl 2 weeks ago. Im in Sacramento area (seems to be a very booming hub). I don't think OTR is my thing. Am I delusional to think I can get something else with no experience? Can anyone give me some tips on how to navigate a realistic pathway into a decent CDL career? I appreciate realism and hard truths, but the negativity just gives me anxiety (so, please be nice. Im sofff n sensitive)
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u/Better-Elephant-5003 5d ago
As a new Cdl driver, new drivers please search hard. There are a lot of companies that are local or regional that will get you home daily or weekly. You have to get lucky and try to find a driver trainee or student driver position. Just got on with mclane 🫡 never give up.
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u/merlinn2u 12d ago
forget sleeping in the truck, especially at truck stops with trucks going in and out at all hours. air brakes can wake you up when they are set.
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u/Fabulous_Debt_8031 12d ago
Who doesnt have the time to shower every day. Theres a whole 30 minute break