Why is it so hard...

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 01/29/2019 at 17:26 • Filed to: None

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25

To find an over-the-road driving job that doesn’ t require a CDL and isn’ t a moving company? I’ll drive anything from a van to a straight truck, just as long as I get to get paid to see the country. And no,   I’m not getting a CDL. Don’t ask why, but it’s just not an option right now.

The only job I see like this is * almost* perfect, except I’d need to be 25 ( I’m 24) and the schedule is two weeks on, two DAYS off. I’d rather be home a little more than that, although working two weeks at a time is fine as long as there are reasonable small breaks throughout.

I dunno. I’m just getting sick of my current job now and all I want to do is travel, even if it’s not just for fun.

ttyymmnn > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 17:36

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Some sort of car ferrying company? Then again, Walmart is offering close to $90k to drive a truck for them. Truckers are getting scarce.

aquila121 > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 17:37

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I can offer no help, but best of luck to you.

lone_liberal > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 17:50

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Because it’s more cost effective when shipping things a long distance to do a lot of it at the same time? I know it sucks from your perspective. Over the road is a tough gig, though, so not many people stick with it so something might pop up. 

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 17:51

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Have you checked with a “ hot-shot” company? I know almost nothing about them, but o ur company occasionally pays for the service.  My understanding is the whole service is you need a thing to get from A to B, so you pay a huge sum of money to have a employee of this company hand delivery said thing ASAP.

and 100 more > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 17:54

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You may have to become an independent contractor.

Of course, the job requirements could be pretty rough...

Brickman > ttyymmnn 01/29/2019 at 17:57

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Im thinking about becoming a trucker, even a new truck driving school opened up not to far from me.

ttyymmnn > Brickman 01/29/2019 at 17:59

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I love driving, but I can see how it could become monotonous over time. And I don’t fancy the idea of taking showers in truck stops. But if you dig it, the money is very, very good right now.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/29/2019 at 18:16

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This. Become a contract hot shot driver for the oil companies and make bank while driving 100,000 miles a year. Probably still requires some type of commercial license, though. 

That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 18:30

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Because if you’re going to send something a long distance it makes sense from a cost standpoint to send a lot of that something over the distance.

The nearest thing I can think of is FedEx does like a special overnight service with a class B CDL truck with a sleeper cab...that’s the smallest OTR vehicle I can ever remember seeing.

That said, I’ve seen some car shippers who are using like  a dually pickup with a three car trailer, you might not need a CDL for that.

Captain of the Enterprise > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 18:31

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Have you tried looking into automotive testing companies?  I used to know a guy who did that for Roush and sometimes would be paid to drive a car for testing to other states.

Chariotoflove > and 100 more 01/29/2019 at 18:35

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Dammit, I was about the post this one.

Khalbali > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 18:43

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Ive seen some ads for sprinter vans with sleepers for otr here in the Chicago area, or some class C stuff if that's an option for you. I have a class c, but am thinking about getting a class A in the next year or two.

Khalbali > Khalbali 01/29/2019 at 18:46

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To answer your question literally though, it's more cost effective generally to move lots of stuff in one big truck than lots of little trucks.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 18:55

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The age 25 thing is a function of insurance. Commercial liability insurance for a driver under the age of 25 is ludicrously expensive. The non-CDL part really limits jobs. The line between delivering something for a company that does something else and happens to need it moved (and it is small enough to not otherwise require a CDL), and hauling things for hire (CDL required) gets pretty hazy pretty quick. The only legit non-CDL type driving jobs I know of are delivery couriers (like important documents, hand delivered somewhere local, today, along with UPS/Fedex ), parts runners for auto/other industrial parts suppliers and drivers for medical labs.

Once you’ re hauling anything for hire, it usually become as CDL situation. In an earlier life when I was between career fields, I spent a couple of months pretending to be a hot shot hauler without a CDL doing some auto hauling work. I had time and a one ton-dually, and a friend of mine had a 52 foot goose-neck car hauler and contacts that tended to   need cars moved somewhere under special circumstances (classic cars, or others things that needed some careful handling , or racecars that needed to be somewhere halfway across the county yesterday). I considered actually getting a CDL and setting up a legitimate business doing hot-shot hauling and specialized auto transport, but the costs of a commercial liability policy for my then under 25 year old self was stupid expensive. Add to that the payments on a new F-450 or Dodge 4500 and trailer (my gas powered 1-ton dually was not in any was a sensible proposition for actually doing that work for a living long-term)   , and I came to the conclusion that I would’ve had to stay really busy pretty much all the time to have any chance at actually making a profit.

tromoly > Rainbow 01/29/2019 at 19:15

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Get a job in Motorsports, the travel is one reason I greatly enjoy working in the industry.

random001 > tromoly 01/29/2019 at 19:55

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What do you do and how can I get into it?

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > Rainbow 01/30/2019 at 00:01

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Do a spot of research into local/regio nal expediters. They drive Sprinter/Ram/Transit vans with priority cargo. They are everywhere here in Louisville. No cdl needed but be prepared to live in the van for WEEKS to MONTHS on end. When I worked on Sprinter’s got to know a lot of them, takes a special kind of person to do it. The stories they told...

and 100 more > Chariotoflove 01/30/2019 at 00:37

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Great minds, friend! 

Rainbow > lone_liberal 01/30/2019 at 07:16

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Right, but then there are the situations where one thing needs to be somewhere in ten hours and there isn’t time to wait for a full load to build up.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rainbow 01/30/2019 at 09:29

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Akio’s suggestion is a good one:

https://ezfreightfactoring.com/blog/how-to-become-a-hot-shot-trucker

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/30/2019 at 09:30

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Looks like CDL not required unless load is over a certain weight.

https://ezfreightfactoring.com/blog/how-to-become-a-hot-shot-trucker

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rainbow 01/30/2019 at 09:31

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Ask this lady if she’s ready  to retire:

Dru > Rainbow 01/30/2019 at 09:49

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Check out Panther Logistics and Tiger Critical.  Both big cat names, I don’t know why, but they do a lot of “hot shot” freight, Sprinter vans and the like.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/30/2019 at 16:41

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Awesome! I always thought that'd be a fun job if you like to drive.  Basically get paid to play hero all the time.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 01/30/2019 at 16:46

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I’m guessing the driver/employee doesn’t actually make much that much , so you’d want to be an owner/operator in this business.