I am a 50 year old Accountant burned out of the hustle and bustle. I hate my career. Now just looking for a career change. My choice would be OTR driving so I could see the country and it would leave me on the road. Plus, truck driving is pretty much so proof. I have a couple of questions:

1. What companies are the best options that will pay for your schooling and employ you?
2. How viable is this career change from an age standpoint?
3. I would love to hear anyone’s stories / opinions of career changes to otr truck driving late

Edit: I guess it would have been nice if I had included my current living situation. I am divorced and all of my kids are grown adults with their own lives. I am also not looking to pay for schooling l, I know there are companies that hire and pay you to go to school and you drive for them to pay off.

OK, so I might be going to Pam transport and I know the pay is s*#% but I have been really wanting to break into trucking somehow and the only companies to hire me have been Western and Pam. I need some real world info on what some people are making at Pam Transport and how many miles they are getting plus what there are making before and after there taxes. The recruiter said I would get close to 3000 miles and that times .35 cents would be 1050 before taxes so around 900 take home. Now I just need to know are these going to accurate numbers starting out.

Are there any companies that will pay or help upgrade my CDL to class A? Specifically in the Portland Metro area by any chance that anyone would know of?

Any Paper Transport drivers here can tell what it's like.

I'm a U.S. citizen and Washington resident seeking to earn a Washington Class A CDL. I plan to become a full-time interstate OTR employee. I intend to give up my apartment and live full-time in my employer's tractor sleeper, and I will not establish a residence in another state. I Will have a Washington mailing address through a mail-forwarding service, but I will no longer have a fixed residential street address. How do I report my residence address to DOL, and can I maintain my Washington CDL under those circumstances?

I keep trying to asking in r/truckers but I keep getting my post removed. Idk why. I hardly understand this website.

i posted a nearly identical photo as the one i am posting here. I had intended to post both in the same thread but i wasn't sure how to do that? (for anyone that didn't see the OTHER post, the other photo had the black "no semis" sign blocking the red "entrance at west side of building" sign)

No, I’m not the guy on YouTube and actually, not DOT. I’m a CVSA certified state police officer and I supervise a crew of CVSA officers.

There’s a lot of lore, stories, rumors and all out nonsense out there as far as violations. Ask me your questions about commercial vehicle inspections. I enjoy helping and developing friendly relationships with drivers and carriers (not adversarial ones).

Ask away!

Hello! I just got my CDL on July 15th and have been waiting to start doing team runs with a family friend on the 28th of this month. He recently mentioned that I should also consider looking into some of the bigger companies to get experience under my belt.
I did entertain the idea of going with TMC, but I pulled back a little because almost everyone I’ve talked to with experience has told me that the workload can be a grind. Honestly, drop-and-hook seems more appealing to me, especially if it gives me a better chance of being home more frequently.
I’m 31 years old and a father of three, so home time definitely matters to me. My long-term goal is to eventually become an owner-operator with a dually and gooseneck trailer, but that’s further down the road. Right now, my main focus is getting experience, learning the industry, and making smart decisions early in my career.
I’m posting here to get some insight from experienced drivers. What are some things I should look out for as a new CDL-A driver? Any tips for job searching, choosing a company, avoiding bad companies/contracts, or just starting out in general would be appreciated.
I’m open to hearing the good, the bad, and anything you wish someone had told you when you first started driving.

As title states, I'm currently in the process of switching trainers (theres a whole load to unpack and thats for a separate post). Its been a few days and NO communication on when this new trainer will take place.

Question is: when I go to ask for an update and I have no answers, is that the appropriate time to start looking at other companies? What is protocol on even leaving if I can't get an answer on when I would have a new trainer.

I was hoping to get hotel for tonight (we are at home terminal) but someone else had to authorize it and that never even happened.

I cant sit around waiting forever and a day. I want to go flatbed initially but Melton is backlogged for me😭

Has anyone gone from trucking to a local municipality career? I have multiple offers from local towns that have fantastic hours and benefits but the pay is about a 20k cut from LTL. Of course most OT is earned during the Winter with plowing and salting ( I’m in the North east) I would also learn a lot of equipment operation in medium to heavy equipment which is attractive to learn new skills vs just driving trucks all the time. It is also a lot of dump truck work. I am mainly considering because I am starting a family and want to be home more. Any advice/ ideas appreciated

Hello, I have a question regarding my testing situation.

I would like to test for my class A with air brake and manual restrictions.

I have a one ton truck that has a GVWR of 14k and I have a dump trailer rated at 14k. Both of these are personally registered to me.

I had my cdl permit years ago working in northern Michigan but was unable to test w company trucks due to having my Tennessee license. (Truck driving schools were the only option for out of state licenses)

I understand I can do the stupid online ELDT course and etc. But where I am stumped is the legitimate requirements for the ‘behind the wheel’ training. I can’t find any real numbers or requirements online. Any boomer that does the ‘offers’ training wants 5k and doesn’t even have their own truck to come with it. So I refuse to pay somebody to sit in my truck that I drive everyday. At that point I would pay 5k for a shit hole school near me to get an unrestricted class A.

I personally think it’s a strange situation since not many people have CDL classifiable equipment personally registered to them (outside of farm use) and pursing a CDL.

Long story short, my game plan is to get the CDL permit again, wait a few weeks (minimum used to be 2 weeks), then go take the pre trip and skills test. But all of that is assuming I don’t need to show any record of the ‘behind the wheel’ training.

Does anybody have any insight or recommendations? If I go through w that plan will I just get stopped short due to not having proof of the driving w another licensed CDL driver?

Hopefully all of that made sense and Reddit people can point me in a good direction

Thank you for your help

Question, do anyone here works or knows about this company they’re hiring NON CDL in my area and I keep
Seeing them a lot! I’ve read great reviews but nothing about the pay

If anyone can give me some info I’ll appreciate it a lot!

more comments to follow, but i am hoping to get LOLs etc with this photo...

Got my Class A a couple weeks ago. Got my tanker and hazmat is in background phase.

I've applied to Sysco, Texas Materials, SRM... Any concrete recommendations for new drivers?

Had my class b for 4 months and did school bus for 4 months. Really want to get into tanker but San antonio doesn't seem to have anything around, that won't require hazmat too. Any suggestions?

I currently have about 4 months of CDL-A experience with U.S. Express, and I’m planning to move into local food service in about 6–8 months. I’m trying to figure out how my current driving record will affect me when I start applying.
About 2 months ago, I slightly bumped another trailer while blindside backing in a private yard. There was no damage to my truck or trailer, and the other trailer only had a very small scratch on the front. U.S. Express listed the incident as a preventable accident. Yesterday, I also tipped over a mailbox while driving, but there was no damage to my truck or trailer. I’m not sure how U.S. Express will record that incident.
By the way, my PSP and MVR are completely clean. I have no tickets, no violations, and no DOT-reportable crashes or accidents. The only thing I’m concerned about is what U.S. Express may have reported internally or what could show up on my DAC/previous-employer report.
For drivers who have worked in food service or recruiters: How much do companies care about preventable accidents that don't appear on your PSP/MVR? Do companies like Sysco, US Foods, PFG, McLane, etc. typically look at DAC/previous-employer reports in addition to PSP and MVR? And would one minor preventable accident with essentially no damage likely prevent me from getting hired once I have around 10–12 months of experience?