WHAT YOU DIDN'T LEARN IN TRUCKING SCHOOL is a refreshingly frank and delightful pocket guide that offers practical advice and etiquette tips for truck drivers. Being a truck driver is not easy. Truckers' challenges include working long hours, being hundreds of miles from home and constantly trying to avoid or prevent hazards on the roadway. The biggest complaint truck drivers have? Other truck drivers! Especially the ones with toilet habits you wouldn't tolerate from kindergartners. Janet Walker shares with readers the opinions, gripes and peeves she has collected from drivers during her 12 years in the trucking industry. To help remedy these problems, she offers solutions that, if implemented, can help make the trucking lifestyle more enjoyable and more respectful for the men and women who are the heroes of our country's highways. This little book of etiquette is a valuable guide for anyone who wants to be a truck driver in America-and who wants to know which habits to avoid as they travel the road to truck-driving success.
From humble beginnings in a Cumbrian farmyard over forty years ago, the Eddie Stobart fleet has found a big parking place in the nation's heart, loved as much for its 2,200 immaculate green and red trucks, each emblazoned with a girl's name on the front, as for its famous army of dedicated Stobart Spotters who try to find each one. Buckle up with the Stobart drivers, and join them on a week in the life of a massive delivery, from paperwork to pallet. Learn what it's like to be sat in the driver seat of a Stobart truck - the noises, visibility, clutch control, gears, steering - and discover the sheer size and power of these machines. Illustrated throughout with amazing photographs, and featuring first-hand stories of incredible journeys from the intrepid truckers, as well as astonishing facts and stats and the history of the fleet, this is truly an irresistible book for Stobart fans of all ages.
“There’s nothing semi about Finn Murphy’s trucking tales of The Long Haul.”—Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair More than thirty years ago, Finn Murphy dropped out of college to become a long-haul trucker. Since then he’s covered more than a million miles as a mover, packing, loading, hauling people’s belongings all over America. In The Long Haul, Murphy recounts with wit, candor, and charm the America he has seen change over the decades and the poignant, funny, and often haunting stories of the people he encounters on the job.
I chose to write this book after seeing so many people wanting to get into hotshot trucking, but not knowing how. When I started I didn't know how either. I see people posting on social media wanting to get into the business and asking the most basic of questions. So many people are starved for information that they suck up all of the bad information with the tiny trickle of good information. These people are not even at the point of asking if they should be a contract carrier or a common carrier (check both boxes, it does not cost extra and some brokers want a contract carrier and others are just fine with a common carrier) they are just asking the most simplest of the simple questions!
Let’s talk about the money, most truck drivers can expect to earn $30,000-$40,000 in their 1st year. I know some drivers who work as Solo drivers and decide to give up their apartments so they can stay in the truck all year long and save money. They still take days off from time to time, and stay with friends, family or rent a hotel for a few days so they can take a break. Once you have 6 months experience you may be able to find a job that pays more money. I’ve seen motivated drivers earning in the $60,000 range in their 1st year. The money is there to earn if you look for it. Too many drivers get complacent and they stay with the same company in the same position making low wages for years and years. Sometimes all you need to do to increase your income is switch positions within the company. If the company you work for doesn’t offer anything that will take you to the next level then find another company that will. I know a Walmart driver who earns $100,000 year and he’s home every night and weekend. Companies pay you in cents per mile (CPM) so the more mileage you drive the more you earn The bottom line is company drivers can make anywhere from $30,000 to around $100,000 per year. Stay away from company lease options, 99% of the time only the company does well with this type of position. They will make their lease program sound perfect, touting how you will be your own boss and make lots of money. Drivers often find themselves making just enough to cover the WEEKLY truck lease payment. If you want to truly be your own boss as a owner operator of your own truck then save up the money to buy a used truck cash or you may be able to find a 3rd party (not company sponsored) lease program. I have seen a couple of decent 3rd party lease programs, these will allow you to contract with any company you want. So if you’re not making enough money with one company then you can easily switch to another. Owner operators can make anywhere from $50,000 - $250,000 per year. About the Expert I have been driving a truck full time for over 4 years at the time of this publishing. I have been a company driver for 3 of those years and an owner/operator for a bit over one. In the 4+ years that I’ve been driving I have spent one year driving most of the lower 48 states. I haven’t made it up to North Carolina, and a few other states in the northeast but all of the others I have. For the last two years I have been truck driving with my team from Los Angeles to the Kansas City area and back. We did that twice a week. After doing that for about a year I was able to get a driving position working nights and being home every day. I did that for almost year. I left there because the company did a pathetic job of maintaining their equipment. I was afraid of getting stopped by law enforcement. So I left them and got my own truck to take care of. Now I am contracted with a carrier to move their freight and it works out a lot better. HowExpert publishes quick 'how to' guides on all topics from A to Z by everyday experts.
Test Prep Book's CDL Study Guide Book: Test Preparation & Training Manual for the Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Exam Developed by Test Prep Books for test takers trying to achieve a passing score on the CDL exam, this comprehensive study guide includes: -Quick Overview -Test-Taking Strategies -Introduction -Driving Safely -Transporting Cargo Safely -Transporting Passengers Safely -Air Brakes -Combination Vehicles -Doubles and Triples -Tank Vehicles -Hazardous Materials -School Buses -Pre-Trip Vehicle Inspection Test -Basic Vehicle Control Skills Test -On-Road Driving -Practice Questions -Detailed Answer Explanations Disclaimer: CDL(R) is a registered trademark of Commercial Drivers License, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product. Each section of the test has a comprehensive review created by Test Prep Books that goes into detail to cover all of the content likely to appear on the CDL test. The Test Prep Books CDL practice test questions are each followed by detailed answer explanations. If you miss a question, it's important that you are able to understand the nature of your mistake and how to avoid making it again in the future. The answer explanations will help you to learn from your mistakes and overcome them. Understanding the latest test-taking strategies is essential to preparing you for what you will expect on the exam. A test taker has to not only understand the material that is being covered on the test, but also must be familiar with the strategies that are necessary to properly utilize the time provided and get through the test without making any avoidable errors. Test Prep Books has drilled down the top test-taking tips for you to know. Anyone planning to take this exam should take advantage of the CDL training review material, practice test questions, and test-taking strategies contained in this Test Prep Books study guide.
A true story of how a middle-aged married couple abandon lucrative white-collar professional careers to become long-haul truck drivers for Schneider National in Green Bay, WI. David Hamel, a mechanical engineer, and Shelley Hamel, past Director of Product Development for the American Girl doll company, decide to ditch their urban life and go to truck-driving school. For David, driving school was a piece of cake. For Shelley, it was murder. Nearly flunking out of truck driving school, Shelley successfully faces her twin demons of double-clutching and ten nasty gears, and with her talented mechanical engineer husband, David, launches a 3-year experiment in alternative living before retirement. For all those people who long to quit their office jobs, team driving offers an escape not unlike full-time RVing, except you get paid to do it. This how-to guide examines life on the open road, the upside as well as the danger, with many day-to-day details of ways to maximize the freedom of exploration in this non-traditional life. Driving a semi with a 52' trailer coast to coast gives you a view of America like no other, and this book brings you right into the sleeper cab with the Hamels to share stories, tips, and firsthand experience.