So, you want to be a truck driver

Welcome to Trucking 101, which is a basic informational course about trucks and truck driving for prospective drivers.  I’m your instructor, Truckie-D.

First, let’s start with some basics:

Why do you want to be a truck driver?

Driving a truck is NOT for everyone.   In my years as an instructor, I’ve found a few common characteristics that bode well for success in the trucking industry.

• You’ve got to like to drive.

While this may sound pretty basic, it really is an essential requirement.   If you get bored driving to the store, or need to stop every 30 minutes, then you might want to look at other careers.

• You need a lot of patience.

There’s a lot of sitting around and waiting involved — in loading docks, traffic, truckstops, etc. Lack of patience can cause serious problems.

• You need to be *extremely* safety oriented.

Trucks are NOT just oversized cars.  They’re heavy equipment, and can quite easily kill you or someone else.  Even small things can turn around and bite you.

• You have to be comfortable being alone for long periods.

This may sound simple — but many people just can’t stand being alone.  I once had a student who  teamed up with another driver and did quite well for some months.  When his team partner quit, he picked up a load, ran it a few miles, then turned around and came back to the yard with it.  He just couldn’t stand being alone in a truck.

• You have to be a self-starter with a good work ethic.

Out on the road, there’s no boss standing over you with a stick.  You’ve got to get up and move the freight down the road under your own power.  Hours can be very long — 12 to 14 hour workdays are common.

• You need to be in reasonable physical condition.

You don’t need to be a bodybuilder, weightlifter, or any kind of jock.  Average physical ability is enough.  You’ll be climbing around the equipment, moving freight, coupling and uncoupling trailers.  One young lady I had as a student probably didn’t weigh 90 pounds soaking wet – and she did just fine. (in fact, she was one of the best students I ever had).

• You need to be drug and alcohol free.

You’ll be taking pre-employment, and thereafter random drug and alcohol tests.  If you’re involved in a crash (even if it’s not your fault) you’ll also be tested.  A positive test, or refusal to test, is the absolute kiss of death in the industry. A little known fact is the reduced alcohol limit for CDL holders.  If you have a CDL, the legal alcohol limit is .04 — half of what it is for everyone else.  Yes, even in a car.  Also, any detectable trace of alcohol (even below the .04 limit) will get you a 24 hour out-of-service order — which is also the kiss of death.

If you don’t meet *all* of the criteria above, then do yourself a favor and look elsewhere for employment.  You may be able to get someone to hire and train you, but it’s a waste of time, since you won’t last.  You’ll either quit, or get fired.

• You need a clean driving record.

Any crash involving a truck is *really* expensive. Trucking companies want to reduce their liability exposure as much as possible.  If you have a lot of tickets, you’re going to have a tough time getting a job.  Certain offenses are the absolute kiss of death — any dui, evasion, or felony, and you can forget it.  Other moving violations, it depends on the type and number, and how recent they are, and the insurance provider for the company you’re applying to.

Other considerations

What’s your home situation like?  Spouse? Kids?  Trucking is *very* hard on families and relationships.  The divorce rate among truck drivers is astronomical.  Remember, you’re going to be gone most of the time. An employment ad for one trucking company bragged that “we get our drivers home almost every month”.  That’s right, there are *months* that you might not get home.  Depending on the company, you can plan on being gone a minimum of a week at at time — possibly up to 6 weeks or more.  It partly depends on the company, and partly on where you live.  If you live along any of the major freight lanes, you’ll get home more often.  If not, you’ll be gone a lot more — if they’ll even hire you.

If your spouse/significant other can’t manage things without you around, you might want to rethink trucking as a career.  It took my wife quite a while to adjust.  She did, and now can accomplish quite a few more things without me around.  Took a while though.

Trucking is also tough on kids — especially if they’re young. They’ll really miss you.  A driver I know recently quit.  I was talking to him about it.  He said he was getting ready to leave and his kids begged him not to go.  For him, that was it — he quit, and found work locally.  Even though he took a substantial pay cut, his kids were a lot happier.

Don’t underestimate the importance of family issues.  While economic circumstances might be pushing you into a trucking career, if you don’t have a family when you come home, then what’s the point?

Ok, if you’ve made it this far, and still want to be a truck driver, then read on.

Getting into the industry

The first thing you’re going to need is a CDL — Commercial Driver’s License.  Without a CDL just about all you’re going to be able to deliver is pizza.

There are a number of companies that will train you, and give you a job after you successfully complete training.  Some of these companies have excellent programs, and are good companies to work for.  Some are horrendously bad programs, and lousy to work for.  So, how do you know what to do?

First, go by most any larger truckstop and look for the hiring magazine rack.  There are a lot of these (free) publications.  Some specialize in particular types of drivers, or owner operators.  Pick up one of everything and take them home.  Read every one, cover to cover.  After you’ve read them all, you’ll be able to pick out the possible companies.  Most will have their hiring and operating areas shown on a little map in the ad.  Make sure you live in their hiring area, and their operating area is where you want to run.

Regional vs. National carriers

Some carriers run 48 states and Canada.  Others restrict their operations to a regional area, or sometimes even to a single state.  Local and regional will get you home more often, but national fleets generally pay better, and have more freight.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to a group of companies, the next thing to do is get some information about them.  The best way to do this, is go back to the truckstop where you got the magazines, and hang out, looking for drivers from the companies you’re interested in.  The best time is in the evening when most drivers are stopping for the night.  If you’re afraid of talking to them, don’t be.  Most drivers will happily talk your ears off.  If a driver says he doesn’t have time to talk, don’t be offended — there are lots of loads with tight schedules.  Just thank him, and move on.  A good opening line is:  “Hi..is (company) any good to work for?”  Especially if you tell him you’re looking to get into the industry, most will happily give you advice. It’s helpful to have a small notebook and a pen with you.  Many companies pay their drivers a referral bonus for new hires.  If you talk to a driver, and his information leads you to a job with that company, then it’s only fair that he collect the bonus, since you’ve taken up his time.  You may need to write down his name or truck number, or some other information.  Some may give you a card with the required information on it.

Also, make sure you talk to more than one driver for any particular company.  One who’s having a bad day might just bitch for an hour, when in actual fact it’s a good company to work for.  An important question to ask is “how long have you worked for (company)?”  If it’s at least two years, that’s a good sign.

Sitting at the counter with drivers is also informative.  Ignore most of the “war stories” and look for demeanor.  Are the drivers for a particular company looking happy or unhappy? Letting the counter crowd know you’re interested in driving will get you *lots* of advice — some of it might even be good.  Best thing to find out is which companies are good, and which are bad.

By now you should have narrowed your list down to a handful of companies.  Now’s the time to start making phone calls.  When you talk to the recruiter, it helps to have a list of questions to ask.

Different companies have different deals for training.  Some give it to you free (not many of those left anymore, if any). Most of them will give you the training in exchange for a committment to work for them for a specified time after successful completion of the training.  A year is the usual amount of time.  Most of them will credit a portion of the training cost per week.  Some don’t give you the weekly credit, so if you quit before your time is up, you’ll have to come up with the full amount.

There are also some that require you to sign an agreement for the full amount of the training, and then give you an amount per week (usual) or per month (less common), and you’ll have to make payments.

Some will provide accomodation and meals during training, and some require you to provide your own.

We’ll talk about CDL training schools a little later on.

Ok, you’re on the phone to the recruiter.  He’s going to ask you about your work history.  Make sure you have your work history going back 10 years — trucking companies are required by law to go back that far.  He’ll need names, addresses, and telephone numbers for *everywhere* that you’ve worked in that period.  If you have periods of unemployment, you’ll likely have to come up with witnesses to prove that you were unemployed, and not in jail.Most will take the word of a neighbor, church pastor, etc.

He’ll also want information on your driving record. You’ll need the state and license number for all driver’s licenses that you’ve held in the last 10 years.  Some companies require you to get DMV printouts of your license history — most will obtain that themselves.

The important thing to remember, is BE HONEST about your work and driving history.  Leaving out jobs will generally instantly disqualify you.  Most trucking companies are ok with having worked a number of jobs (at least as long as it’s not one every other week).

At this point, if the recruiter is happy about your general qualifications, you may be invited to come in to fill out an application, and for an interview, or he’ll send you a package in the mail with an application to fill out.

If you’re invited in for an interview, make sure you look neat and clean.  Some companies have restrictions on hair length, facial hair, and hats.  Make sure you know if these restrictions exist.  Even where they don’t, a haircut and a shave can go a long way toward getting you a job.

If you get a package in the mail, it should contain some information about the company, and their compensation package.  Most companies pay by the mile — some pay on a percentage basis.  Be wary of percentage pay.  With a percentage scheme, empty miles generally aren’t paid.  If you have a lot of deadhead miles, you’ll end up doing a lot of work for free.

For mileage pay, you need to know the rates for loaded and empty miles, and whether they pay HHG (household goods miles) or practical route miles.  Practical route miles are around 8% more than HHG miles, so take that into account when comparing companies.

Ok, now let’s examine what happens if no recruiters want to hire you.

There are a large number of CDL training schools out there.  They run the gamut from very good (such as C1 – I have a lot of experience with their students, and they’re very good) to really bad (no names please). The prices range from reasonable to absolutely outrageous.

A few years ago, I had a student who had gone to one of these schools.  He paid $11,000 (!) for the training.  He proudly showed me the diploma he’d gotten.  The school recruiter had told him that “he could get a job anywhere with one of their diplomas”.  It actually didn’t mean squat.  He was really miffed when he found this out.  He was even more upset when he found out he could have gotten the same training for around $3,000 from another school, or for free from us.

Most CDL training schools have deals with one or more trucking companies to refer students (for which they get a fat fee).  The best way is to go to the companies directly, and get a hiring decision (contingent on you passing the training) from them first.  If you can’t get a positive hiring decision from anybody, then don’t waste your money.

Now, let’s look at the best case – where you’ve gotten a positive hiring decision from a company.

First, you’re going to have to take a physical, and drug and alcohol test.  Then, you’re going to have to get your CDL learner’s permit.

Getting the permit isn’t that hard — it’s just a lot of stuff to remember.  Go to your local DMV branch and get a copy of the CDL manual for your state.  It’s also available online in most states.  Study it. Go and take the written.  If you pass, then you get your permit.  If not, you can ususally take the written every day (usually for free) until you do pass.  The recruiter or school will tell you what sections you need to study for the appropriate license (usually class A) and endorsements (usually HAZMAT).

Congratulations! You’ve now taken the first steps toward becoming a truck driver.

A word of caution:  When you get through the training, and get out on the road, you may decide quite quickly that trucking really isn’t for you.  If you come to that decision, do yourself (and everyone else on the roads) a favor and quit.  Don’t let the fact that you may owe a few thousand bucks for the training make you keep driving.  If it’s really not for you, then just move on to something else.  Even if you think you’re going to have trouble paying the money back, quit anyway.  Why? because people who don’t want to drive tend to not be the safest drivers on the highway.  Do yourself a favor and quit before somebody (maybe even you) gets killed.

Comments and questions are welcome.