I live in a very agricultural area and I was curious if anyone can give me some information on grain and livestock hauling. This is one area of truck I've been interested in but my main worry is what are they going to have me during the slow season? With me being 17 well almost 18 I feel farming is really gonna be the only way to get my foot in the door. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated. I don't know if this will help any of you or not but I registered for Co-op, I'm gonna ask my co-op teacher if he knows someone in the farming business to hopefully get my foot in the door but I want insight on the farming business from the drivers.

 

the best way is to contact your dmv station to ask them about it in my state their is alot of restrictions being 18 for a cmv license and farming again is different they can get seasonal licenses for drivers and i think they can only go a certain amount of miles from the farm and only class b i think and your driving record has to be spotless for a certain amount of years still the best way is to contact your license place and talk real slow and ask them excactly what you want to do.good luck

 

My driving and criminal record is spotless! As far as I know I can get my Class A but I can't get any endorsements like hazmat, or doubles/triples. The certain amount of miles applies to whether or not you need a CDL, according to the CDL book it says you don't need a CDL if you run within a 150 air miles of the farm or if it's farm to market operations. But if it's a for hire company than a CDL is required. That is the way I understood it! Like I said I'm gonna talk to my co-op teacher and maybe he can help. My couselor had a family member who use to do grain/cattle hauling but he doesn't drive anymore from what she told me but I don't know.

 

I started hauling grain when I was 18 right out of high school. This was my first driving job. I am in Georgia so the rules may be a little different. In 1989 I could drive only in the state and could not cross state lines. I drove for my grandfather hauling grain, rye,wheat ,soybeans you name it we hauled it. When grain slowed we pulled fertilizer and some other stuff to stay busy. I worked long hours sometimes 10-12 hours a day 6 days a week. It depends on who you drive for and what they haul in order to stay busy; like I said we hauled different things when it got slow. Alot of this stuff is paid by the load, bushel, and how many stops you can make from elevator to elevator. The more stops means more money. I hoped this is helpful.

 

I knew that about staying instate. Anyway with the co-op program I'll go to school from 8am to like 11am and then I can work the rest of the day from 11am to whatever, so that'll benefit me there.

 

Don't know about IL, but in WI you can get a CDL at 18, however it is only valid for intrastate hauling until you become 21.

A few years ago I hired a 19 year old farm kid to drive one of my dump trucks. He had gotten his CDL as soon as he turned 18.

This kid had been driving trucks and tractors on his family's farm since he was old enough to reach the pedals.

My insurance company accepted his verifiable farm driving experience and OK'd him for hire.

When I closed my business he went to work for another dump trucking contractor near here.

He's about 23 now, and I still see him around driving dump truck, he's a good driver.

 

It's the same way here can get the CDL at 18 but can't run across state lines until 21. But my problem is I won't have a truck to go take the road test in so I'll just only have the permit.

 

Ok this is what I do when I'm not pullin a skateboard IL deal is @ 18 you cant leave the state until 21. You can not travel over 100 AIR MILES IN A CIRCLE from the farm unless u run a logbook but no madder what u can not CROSS STATE LINES until yer 21 I've been doing this type of work since I was 18 now im 27 IF that helps

 

I live in South Roxana, Illinois if that helps any.

 

That is the trick. If you can rent a truck you might want to go that right or try and found someone with a tractor trailer and see if they would give you a try or train you in their spare time and let you test with their epuipment. I dought it but who knows; insurance companies control these trucks. You might want to think about going to school and getting your CDL because you might change your mind down the road and want to do over the road. Some companies will not take you without recent OTR or recent gradute from a school. Some OTR will not accept local experience. I drove local for 5 years 18 yrs old to 23. I went with SWIFT after I turned 23 and my experience did not count. I just had to go with a trainer for 4 weeks but I did 2 and half weeks because I already knew how to upshift, downshift, alley dock and blind side back so thats why I didn't need the full 4 weeks just had to learn trip planning and the other things that comes with OTR.