im gonna take the C.D.L. drive test tomorrow....(semi-truckin')

[patrick t. cakes]

and become an over the road trucker.
any D.U. trucksters out there with advice.

cant wait for all the art bell ill
get to listen to.:thumbsup:

[greendog]

1. Good luck...

...I drove OTR for 4 years. I might do it again someday.

Where's your home terminal?

[patrick t. cakes]

2. thanks!

home terminal? iowa.
i dont know anything about truckin though.
i just seems like working by myself
is the way to go right now.
i guess theres a shortage of drivers out there.

did ya like it?

[greendog]

3. I liked it well enough...

...but after a while I got really tired of the Northeast. A shortage of truck parking makes that part of the country kind of challenging.

I drove out of Indy. By my 4rth year I was getting sent that way (east) 2 or 3 times a month.

From Iowa you'll probably get a little more variety. I'll bet it's a pretty good base to work from. You'll see a lot of Chicago though. The trick is patience. And try to plan your trips to avoid rush hour. 3AM is perfect.

I may get back into it in a year or two. If I do, I'll be driving out of Montana and run the 11 western states. Less traffic and longer length of haul.

Which company are you starting out with?

[patrick t. cakes]

4. havent applied with a company yet

but i see advertisments all the time.
i hope to drive west.
i like the idea of less traffic.
chicago does not sound fun and will try
to avoid if possible.

whats good about iowa is its central location.
i road trip alot in general so its nice.

cheap too, for that matter.

[BensMom]

5. good luck

An Office with a view!

[patrick t. cakes]

8. exactly

:hi:

[jarab]

6. Odds are, you'll be assigned a trainer for some

number of weeks.
Brace yourself! You'll be real lucky if s/he's a lib. Why? Truckers (drivers) have been inundated with RW radio for the last decade at least. Hear enough of it and you believe it. For so many years there was nothing but that as far as talk radio was concerned.
Stick it out until you have control of the dial thingy.
I've been there.

...O...

[patrick t. cakes]

7. right on

i expect the worst but
who knows could be good for a laugh.

and a learning experience.
know thy enemy.