Wrangler

Wrangler,
I'm looking to get started too. I have done a lot of research and asked a lot of questions. I think I got a lot of good answers too. My suggestion is go to Allen Smith's website; truthabouttrucking.com and spend a few bucks to download his ebook. It is as informative as you will find.

Let me introduce myself. I am 50 years old, married, kids all grown, and have a high school education. I've been self employed for going on 13 years now. My wife and I own a small chemical mfg. business. I am an inventor with 35 patents around the world
and I am broke. I have spent everything I have getting those patents to issue, and so I need to get a job, but what I do usually requires a College degree, so nobody will hire me. I am totally self taught. So here I am very carefully entering the trucking industry.
I already know I will like it because I spent several years driving about 100,ooo miles a year in a 4 wheeler as a Tech Rep for a printing industry mfr. The internet killed that industry.

My question is.... are you ready to drive life? Are you sure? because you are going in the hole here for some major bucks. Are you young with a family? If so, how does the wife feel about it? My new Son-in-Law drove OTR for 3 years for Werner and then went to work regional for Sygma delivering restaurant food in a reefer. He rolled his truck 5 months ago and f....'d himself up pretty good. He just got healed up from that and now has found out that he is pretty much blackballed from the industry for at least 5 years. He has nothing to fall back on because he has never done anything else and like me.... only has a high school education. He and my youngest daughter had to move in with My wife and I. He is hosed!

I guess what I am trying to say is that it's a really tough biz. If you have your heart set on it, I am going to recommend to you what I have decided is the best route for a newbie. Apply with Schneider, go to their school, stay with them for at least 18 months, and they will cover your nut for the school. I am told they are one of a very few companies that will actually do what they say they will. They start at .28/mile not bad and you will get an average 1400 mile length of haul. Go team if you can find a partner you feel comfortable with, and you will get five cents/mile more in a good truck governed at 65 mph. That is about as good as you will find out there. I have researched it to death, and that is what I found to be the best starter deal.

By the way, what part of the country do you live in? I will probably start school mid-month at the Dallas terminal.

Happy hunting man!