I would like some Experenced Advice

[ls57racer]

I am moving this post here in hopes that our member can help this person with some sound advice...Thanks in advance.

I am a 56 Yr old widow. I drove both solo and team with my husband for years, and haven't set foot inside a truck since 1998. I drive a school bus and also pull a 20' trailer with a bus during the summer for a rafting company, but I haven't had a CDL-A since 2000. Your story is exactly WHY I haven't gone back over the road. HOWEVER, money is getting tighter and tighter, and it's time to consider this possibility to make the money I need to survive alone. My kids are all on their own, and I am finally free to be on the road without need to get home constantly (not that I don't WANT to get home every month or so, but it isn't crucial like it was when the kids were KIDS.)
I have held off for all these years (eleven) because I just knew that recertifying for a CDL A would involve teaming up with some guy and I really am not into wrestling matches. On the other hand, I can't imagine being trapped in a truck cab with anyone for long. (It is different when you are married to your partner). SO, I need to find a company where I can get some refresher stuff, AND where I can expect to be rolling most of the time, AND where I can trust that any team assignment will be only at my agreement. I have no problem running team with a man, but I do have a problem with being treated like a bunk warmer. I am a driver, and I am damned good at driving. A partner can sleep behind me without worry of being crashed, and slung around in the bunk. I need a job with a small O/O who will help me get recertified, or with a large company where single women are not expected to just take whatever crap they get from their "lead driver". Any ideas? I would enjoy being friends with my partner, and working together. once, YEARS ago, I signed on with a big meat hauling company in Colorado and the driver they assigned me to was a nasty older man who chewed Copenhagen all the time and spit in and on everything. The first shift that I drove, was icy and snowing, and when I got to bed, I was dead for sleep. I woke up about an hour after I fell asleep with hands all over me and the smell of something nasty and dead in my face. Guess who? That was a long time ago, and I am not that fetching little twenty something any longer, but I still feel nauseated by the very memory.
If anyone has ideas or advice as to how to surmount this dilemma and find a decent OTR job, please speak up? I really need to make about $1000/mo more than I can here at home. I need to be back over the road and getting some road time accumulated. Friends call me Pooh

[brigpilgrim]

I guess the basic issue here is how to get your CDL back and get back on the road. I don't know your state so I can only answer for Wisc.

There are third party testers who for a fee provide the vehicle. I did a search for my state and third party testers and got a whole list of them and their fees. It's like riding a bicycle, the testers are on your side because they want the money. They will let you get your legs under as you test.

Then you have to find a company to take you on. You are not a rookie starting from scratch. Few companies are taking on people with no experience so this should work in your favor right now. Smaller companies will just give you a check ride and set you off on your road to big trucks and big bucks. The big OTR's might have you ride a short time with a trainer but I would bet they would just run you through orientation to make sure you know the way they do business. I would go with the small companies, the money isn't going to be that great but it gives you a better position to shop for a better outfit.

The biggest problem I see is that you will be competing with the regular churn of drivers who just quit their last company because things are slow and they think the next company will make them rich. If you make yourself look more dependable than the truckstop cowboys out shopping for jobs, it should make up for your break from the road. Trucking isn't rocket science, if you are dependable and safe, you are in the top of your class.

One other issue is money. The money in OTR and local work is not that great because there is a large pool of drivers and not a lot of work. I am union, LTL and this is the only place I see anyone making any money right now. And right now we get most of our drivers off the docks, or from a large pile of internet applications. But if you are working for a small outfit, you are able to talk to other drivers to find out where the jobs are.

Good Luck to you,