Newbie Truck driving questions
#1
Rookie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 2
Newbie Truck driving questions
How many hours per day do truckers drive? Do truck companies tell the driver how many miles they want him or her to drive in a day? Does the company tell drives what time they must start driving and what time they must stop driving?
Why did you become a trucker? Trucking seems like a good job for me because I will be fully covered financially, it is not very social and I can advance my career. What truck company is the best company for a beginner to work for? Do most truck companies' trucks offer the same amenities? Do their trucks have a bed. refridgerator, microwave, heater, air conditioner, etc? Are newer trucks more comfortable to drive than older trucks? Suppose I am in Iowa and the outside temperature is -10 degrees farenheit. Will the sleeping area of the truck be cold? What if I am in Arizona and the outside temperature is 110 degrees farenheit. Will the sleeping area of the truck be warm? In Camden, NJ, I work as a security officer. Three years ago, at 9pm, I was sitting in my guard shack and a trucker parked his 18wheeler truck alongside a curb. The truck was parked directly accross the street from my shack. I saw the trucker get out and check the tires. After that, I think he went to sleep. The building next to the truck has a barb wire, fenced in parking lot. The building has bars and fences on the windows too.... The trucker slept in the most dangerous city in the country. Do truck companies allow their truckers to sleep anywhere? Are truck stops safe? Is truck stop food and a shower astronomically priced? How much food can a truck hold for one driver? Are truck stops good places to take a brisk one hour walk? Suppose I am in the middle of delivering a load to business xyz. One of my family members dies and I must attend services. Will any truck company allow me to stop driving and see my family? I want to be an regional, dedicated or over the road trucker for four to five years. After that, I want to get a local truck driving job. Do local truck driving jobs pay the samething as over the road truck driving jobs? I heard that I will need at least one year of truck driving experience to get a local truck driving job. What is the best trucking school to enroll in? After I graduate from trucking school, I will become an OVR, right? Do I have to graduate from a particular trucking school to work for truck company xyz? Any help would be appreciated.
#2
11 hours on, 10 hours off.
Do truck companies tell the driver how many miles they want him or her to drive in a day?
Does the company tell drives what time they must start driving and what time they must stop driving?
What truck company is the best company for a beginner to work for?
Do most truck companies' trucks offer the same amenities? Do their trucks have a bed. refridgerator, microwave, heater, air conditioner, etc?
Are newer trucks more comfortable to drive than older trucks?
Suppose I am in Iowa and the outside temperature is -10 degrees farenheit. Will the sleeping area of the truck be cold? What if I am in Arizona and the outside temperature is 110 degrees farenheit. Will the sleeping area of the truck be warm?
Do truck companies allow their truckers to sleep anywhere?
Are truck stops safe?
Is truck stop food and a shower astronomically priced?
How much food can a truck hold for one driver?
Are truck stops good places to take a brisk one hour walk?
Suppose I am in the middle of delivering a load to business xyz. One of my family members dies and I must attend services. Will any truck company allow me to stop driving and see my family?
I want to be an regional, dedicated or over the road trucker for four to five years. After that, I want to get a local truck driving job. Do local truck driving jobs pay the samething as over the road truck driving jobs?
I heard that I will need at least one year of truck driving experience to get a local truck driving job.
What is the best trucking school to enroll in?
After I graduate from trucking school, I will become an OVR, right? Do I have to graduate from a particular trucking school to work for truck company xyz?
The trucking company you choose will be able to answer that question for you.
#4
Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Longview, Washington
Posts: 146
Drivers...
You are "ruled" by the DOT and the log book. Learn to manage your time/log book well or the DOT will get you.
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Bad weather gets bad drivers off the road...one way or another! Fourcats
#5
Senior Board Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Florida
Posts: 1,882
What is the best trucking school to enroll in? Community College, normally least expensive. Some private/commercial schools call themselves "technical college". After I graduate from trucking school, I will become an OTR, right? Not necessarily if you want to deliver beer or soda. Do I have to graduate from a particular trucking school to work for truck company xyz? Some companies want driving school grads to be from PTDI certified schools. One of my family members dies and I must attend services. Will any truck company allow me to stop driving and see my family? The company you drive for will not see it as a "must attend" on your part. The only slack may be if it's immediate family, mom, dad, brother or sister. The family better allow plenty of time for you to get there for services. BOL
Last edited by Sealord; 11-03-2008 at 02:17 PM.
#6
BANNED
Rookie
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: planet earth
Posts: 3
i think what he means to say is the DOT regulates your hours "by law" - technically you are not supposed to drive a class A vehicle more than 60 hours per week and i believe there is a daily hour limit also (maybe no more than 12 hours in one day?). also, if you do not have a few thousand to spend on a training school. i would consider the community college route. you can prob get grants / student loans to do it. good luck.
#7
You can be on duty 70 hours in an 8 day period for a carrier that runs 7 days a week before you can't drive anymore, and there is absolutely no regulation that limits the amount of hours you can drive per day. You aren't a truck driver, are you?
#8
BANNED
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Long gone from here
Posts: 0
i think what he means to say is the DOT regulates your hours "by law" - technically you are not supposed to drive a class A vehicle more than 60 hours per week and i believe there is a daily hour limit also (maybe no more than 12 hours in one day?).
also, if you do not have a few thousand to spend on a training school. i would consider the community college route. you can prob get grants / student loans to do it. good luck. :rofl::rofl::rofl: The blind leading the blind.....
#9
you can't drive more than 14.45 hours in a day. day starts at 12 midnight with you driving. drive until 11 am (11 hours) log post trip (15 min). break from 11:15 till 9:15 leaves you 3 hours 45 min to drive.( assuming you don't leave the sleeper and go to rest room) :wink: that's 14.45 hours in one day. I could be wrong but I think that's pretty much the limit.
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#10
you can't drive more than 14.45 hours in a day. day starts at 12 midnight with you driving. drive until 11 am (11 hours) log post trip (15 min). break from 11:15 till 9:15 leaves you 3 hours 45 min to drive.( assuming you don't leave the sleeper and go to rest room) :wink: that's 14.45 hours in one day. I could be wrong but I think that's pretty much the limit.
But my statement still stands - there is no FMCSA regulation that states you can only drive a certain number of hours per day. |
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