+2 Truckers are being paid out the wazoo right now and demand is so high because if (when) self driving becomes a reality, it's going to crush the industry. No future = less people interested = higher demand for current truckers than supply That will flip flop shortly (within the next 10-15 years), and the speed at which that changes will be damn near instantaneous. All just my humble opinion, of course.
Thanks Toof! IMO self driving trucks will never become a reality. I'm not saying the technology will never progress to the point where it's possible, but the road presents an almost endless set of ever changing variables. Look at the reaction to that guy that lost his brakes. Self driving trucks are one large catastrophe away from being regulated out of existence. I could be completely wrong though, but I hope I'm not. I'd rather have skilled and qualified people making a decent wage sitting in those seats beside me on the highway.
The One! Big factor with self driving trucks,that no one is mentioned,is cost.My experience with driving locally is companies aren't interested in spending money on tractors that stay local,and hit docks all day. My current company would never spend the money on that shit! When I drove for Coke,we still had Ford tractors,and our newest tractors were bought during the 96 Olympics! Otr trucks maybe,but I don't believe unless running hub to hub the self driving tractor is still way out .Just my 2 cent's
The biggest, most profitable trucking companies in the United States use big trucks .... use that info wisely . The depreciation and wear on a dually will catch up with you fast . Running a little truck is hard on the wallet , back , and time . If you’re driving the miles anyways, haul as much as you can and buy as much as you can afford . Sadly , I’m a big believer in luck when a lot of these companies start out. If you can get a clean 3 months running under your belt without a major repair you’re home free in most cases . That goes for little trucks and big trucks . It took me 2 years to go from dually to big trucks - but only about 4-6 months to multiply big trucks once we were rolling.
enclosed car transport - although I’m in havasu now and Mexico for vacay til the end of month Back to work early March
Appreciate all the feedback. He is interested in the small truck deal because of low entry cost, big trucks because of the companies advertising $2500 weekly after expenses. He still has a 7 months left in the Army (infantry) and is on the fence doing another 3 years. Trying to push him towards the trades (electrician/welder/machinist) if he does get out. He is considering trucking, surveying, or staying in.
11c, infantry/mortar. He has high scores, eligible for a few Cyber and Intelligence jobs but wants to stay infantry for one more term if he reups.
Re-up, without a doubt. Cross-train as much as possible, with an eye toward another MOS. Or, if he loves the Army, pursue education toward becoming a warrant officer or officer. Or, look at enlisting into another branch offering better long-term survival and health. I wish I would’ve pursued this option.
Here is the best way to get your CDL. Go apply at Estes Express and enter their dock-to-driver program. Then, you can get in either at a P&D level or Linehaul. This way your son can get his CDL, see if trucking is for him and work for a stable company with great benefits. Have your son check out @FreightHauler87 on YT. Everything that guy talks about is 100% legit. I've met him as well he runs to Memphis every night. P&D guys work days are off weekend, get paid hourly and make $70-85K. Linehaul guys work night, you start out "extra board" over the road and work at night running mostly your general region. You live out of hotel rooms and are back home for 48hr. Once you get a bidrun you'll be able to be home every day but still run at night. Linehaul guys can make north of $110K. A real $110K, not trucking industry smoke and mirrors $110K. When I was there I had a Tuesday start which means you'd start Monday night, I would usually be home Saturday night/early Sunday. LTL is where it's at if you're not too far set in your OTR ways and can deal with having a regular job anymore. Lastly, I'm not going to get into a debate here but there is worse ways to make a living. Some guys hate it because they're not cut out for it and realistically they've realized it's going to be very hard to do something else and make the same money this quickly. It'll be pretty hard for a plumber or electrician to make $60-$80K their first year...
When people think of trucking they think of what they see on the highway. Guy rolling down the road keeping it between the lines for miles on end. Which is not the skillful part of the job. Getting that truck down to and from some of the shitholes around the country is. And doing this differently will require a complete infrastructure rework. Don't get me started on self driving trucks and weather. There is so many facets of the industry the self driving trucks are just not going to touch. P&D, car haulers, tanker drivers. Most people don't know anything about the industry and these tech companies and media are more than happy to sell you the dream. And they're clueless too. By the time we have this technology where we can completely replace a driver, we are all fucked and they're coming for your job next. This will never be anything more than supplemental technology to "help" the driver. Just like the glitchy bullshit my truck has on it now where it screams at you to stop because it "saw" a overhead bridge you apparently have to stop for.