Unemployed? Tired of your job? Want a change of lifestyle?
If so, you may have noticed the ads for truck drivers. Advertisements for truck drivers are everywhere.
"Experienced drivers needed."
"New graduates hired."
You see them in newspapers, on billboards, even 800 numbers on the back of trucks. And, along with employment ads for drivers are advertisements for trucking schools.
So, for the person with no experience driving a truck, what does it take to get trained and get a job in the industry? And once you have that job, what's the day-to-day life of a working truck driver like?
And, of course, the very important question – how much money can you make?
This article answers the above questions. However, this article targets persons who want to drive Class A equipment. Class A equipment consists of a tractor and one or more trailers attached to it, which can be hooked and unhooked. Class A does not include school busses, dump trucks, and other unibody trucks.
In order to drive Class A equipment commercially, you are required to obtain a Class A driver's license, from your state of residence. This is also called a Class A Commercial Drivers License, abbreviated CDL.
Nearly everyone who gets a Class A CDL attends some sort of a driving school. There are various options for driving school. Many state community colleges have CDL Training Programs. There are also independent CDL driving Schools, which will compress your training into an intensive 3 or 4 week period of time. Also, several of the larger trucking companies (Swift Transportation for example) operate their own CDL Driving Schools, in order to train drivers for employment.
Normally, the companies that operate their own training programs will loan you the cost of your training, and they will pay off the loan, provided you work for them for some period of time after graduating – generally 12 to 24 months.
Because of the desperate need for new truck drivers, similar arrangements for tuition reimbursement can often be worked out with independent driving schools, and the trucking companies that recruit new drivers from their graduate pools. Be careful, because if you don't complete your CDL course, or don't pass your state CDL test, you will still be responsible for tuition fees.
Most commercial driving schools break their training down into three areas – classroom training, range training, and road training.
Typically, classroom training is designed to help students pass the written part of their state CDL test. It is broken down into the areas of "General Knowledge", "Air Brakes", "Combination Vehicles", and (optionally) "Hazardous Materials". Most states publish a CDL Training Manual and the information is almost identical from state to state, except for certain state specific information, such as speeding laws. Most states also publish CDL training material on the internet.
During classroom training, the student also gets an introduction to logging. Logging is discussed later in this article.
The purpose of Range Training is to teach you to maneuver a 53 foot trailer in a parking lot. Types of maneuvers generally taught are straight backups, backing up starting from a 45 degree angle, lane changing while backing up, and parallel parking.
Some students initially find backing up to be challenging, because the steering wheel movements to turn a trailer are opposite those in a car, but with enough practice, everyone eventually masters the maneuvers.
Road training teaches the following skills – gear shifting, turns, lane changes, highway driving, and dealing with road hazards and unexpected situations.
Shifting gears in a tractor is similar to shifting gears in a car with a standard transmission, except that most manual shift automobiles have a feature called "synchro mesh", which trucks do not have. The upshot of this is that truck engine RPM needs to be matched closely to road speed for each time you shift to a new gear.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but engine RPM speed needs to decrease when shifting from a lower gear to a higher gear, and increase when shifting from a higher gear to a lower gear.
Turning a tractor trailer takes practice, because the trailer portion of the tractor trailer combination does not turn when the tractor turns. Instead the trailer turns because the front of the trailer is pulled in some direction by the tractor, and the rear trailer wheels (called "tandems") follow the front of the trailer.
Once you have completed classroom, range, and road training, and passed the driving school's tests, it is time to take the state CDL test. Typically, if possible, you would like to take the state CDL test on the same equipment you have been practicing on in driving school. Driving school policies vary on this, so it is a good idea to ask before selecting a driving school.
Once you get your CDL, you can start driving a truck and making money, right? Well, sort of.
Most companies who hire driving school graduates will not simply put a fresh graduate on the road alone in a truck. New graduates who hire on with a trucking company must complete a mentorship period, typically three to six weeks.
Under the supervision of the mentor, the new truck diver (trainee) gets an opportunity to improve his/her road skills in the real world; as well as learning how to handle shipper and receiver paperwork, and to operate on board computerized communications in his truck. During mentorship, the trainee will typically drive all over the United States under varying weather conditions and night driving conditions; gradually working his way up to 11 hour driving shifts.
During the mentorship period, the trainee learns the real world aspects of time management. All driving time, sleeper time, on duty time, and off-duty time must be logged in the logbook. The Federal Government imposes a number of limits on driving time, including the 11 hour driving rule, the 14 hour workday rule, and the 70 hour workweek rule. The trainee must learn to comply with these rules, yet still meet his delivery commitments.
Now, the big question – how much money can you make?
Trainees are paid a weekly salary during their mentorship period; but are paid by the mile, once they complete the mentorship period and have their own truck. Trainee weekly salaries vary from as low as $100.00/wk to as high as $500/wk, often increasing as the trainee progresses in his mentorship.
New truck operators can make from twenty-five to thirty cents per mile, depending on the company. The average truck driver can run from 2500 to 3500 miles per week. Salary raises of a few cents per mile come quickly the first year; typically after six months, and again after the first year. Experienced drivers (those with 3 to 5 years, or more of driving), can earn between forty to forty-five cents per mile.
Another category of driver is the "Owner/Operator". The Owner/Operator makes a considerably higher rater per mile, than the company driver, but he also has greater expenses, because he must own (or lease)his own equipment, pay his own maintenance and upkeep costs, and pay for his own benefits such as medical insurance. There are various categories of owner/operator; some of whom operate under exclusive agreements with specific Trucking Companies, and those who operate completely independently, carrying so-called "brokered" loads.
In summary, if you are interested in becoming a truck driver, you should evaluate whether you will like the lifestyle, evaluate your salary requirements versus what companies are offering, then make inquiries of schools and trucking companies to find a good match. Happy trucking.
copyright 2006 Sam Mela
Sam Mela is a former trucker who now writes articles, and tutors math and computer languages. He loves to get news tips from working truckers. He operates a Google User Group at http://groups.google.com/group/TruckSafety His web site is http://www.SamMela.com.
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