Help..need advice on where to go!!

coolmom42 wrote:
Look at East Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area. Beautiful area, growing economy, lots of jobs. Four-season climate, low cost of living. Lots of places to put a RV. As someone said, check out Craigslist for jobs.

I would agree with the above. We spent a month last fall in Clarksville. Temps were much milder than up in Illinois.

I would stay away from Arizona and California. The cost of living can be higher and wages aren't. Friends of ours moved to Arizona last fall but came back this spring due to low wages.

thanks for advice..god bless!!

you are correct.. When i was OTR driver I drove for Thurston Motor Lines and American Farm Lines as a company driver so we did not really "wait" on loads.

Thurston ML was an LTL carrier based on the east coast, HQ's Charlotte NC. We ran south to Jacksonville FL, North to Baltimore, West to Memphis TN and the top of MS and AL.

American Farm Lines we ran 48 state mainly east with runs west at times. We hauled a lot of Military stuff, like torpedos from Camp Pendleton to the sub base in Bremerton Washington..

Never wanted to do the independent trucker thing. Too many sleazy brokers and such. But for the guy that have been out there for a while it still a hard way to make a living for sure and I respect them.

SUNDROP is king.. :)

Terryallan wrote:

carl2591 wrote:
so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

The man is a truck driver. Drivers know the inside details. Like how to contact a broker. And FYI. When I rolled up to get my load. they didn't know me from Adam either. Not important that they know you. Only that they know you are coming. and that ws just one suggestion as he is looking to make some spendy cash.

seems you know little of the life of a Independent driver. It ain't all riding, and guiding. Often it's sleeping in the truck waiting in line to load. I have known drivers to live for a month at a time at a truck stop waiting on a load. We never did. But then we bribed the brokers with SunDrop. They didn't have SunDrop in Texas. We made friends. they took care of us, and us them.

I remember once we pulled onto the lot at the McAllen Petro. Parked beside a truck. He said he had been there for 3 weeks waiting to load. We walked toward the restaurant, lounge, and broker house. Our broker met us in the parking lot. Saw the big truck go by. Handed us the address, and loading orders, and said we had an hour to get there. Poor neighbor wanted to know where we were going so soon. Not wanting to upset him. Told him we were going to wash out the trailer in case we got a load. we got to the produce house, got in line, and 12 hours later we were coming out of the valley on the way home with 40,000lb of celery, and 2000lb of top ice. Pays to make friends

Texas is being hit with the low oil prices and a lot of lay-offs. A lot of the oil field related jobs are drying up. SO make sure you have a job before heading to Texas.

Ken

carl2591 wrote:
so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

The man is a truck driver. Drivers know the inside details. Like how to contact a broker. And FYI. When I rolled up to get my load. they didn't know me from Adam either. Not important that they know you. Only that they know you are coming. and that ws just one suggestion as he is looking to make some spendy cash.

seems you know little of the life of a Independent driver. It ain't all riding, and guiding. Often it's sleeping in the truck waiting in line to load. I have known drivers to live for a month at a time at a truck stop waiting on a load. We never did. But then we bribed the brokers with SunDrop. They didn't have SunDrop in Texas. We made friends. they took care of us, and us them.

I remember once we pulled onto the lot at the McAllen Petro. Parked beside a truck. He said he had been there for 3 weeks waiting to load. We walked toward the restaurant, lounge, and broker house. Our broker met us in the parking lot. Saw the big truck go by. Handed us the address, and loading orders, and said we had an hour to get there. Poor neighbor wanted to know where we were going so soon. Not wanting to upset him. Told him we were going to wash out the trailer in case we got a load. we got to the produce house, got in line, and 12 hours later we were coming out of the valley on the way home with 40,000lb of celery, and 2000lb of top ice. Pays to make friends

so whats the whole deal.. you drive to the oyster house and they fill bags with oysters and put them in your truck, not knowing you from adam.. where do you take them, how do you get paid,, etc etc etc

sounds sorta like you are not including a bunch of important points.

nice to see the whole picture not one small corner.

Terryallan wrote:
Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

Port Arthur also has a huge Oyster house that ships them all over the US. You just pull up beside the Gulf. they go out, and get oysters and dock beside your truck. Fill bags with oysters, and run them into your truck. Can't get fresher than that

Dick_B wrote:
Tired of making $$$? Agree to stay where you are or head for North Dakota for more oil money.

Hold on there... don't go driving to ND until you've got something lined up.

The last I read... they are laying off in ND. Fracking is way down. Price per barrel is too cheap.

Try the Pacific Northwest. Washington has both and a good stepping stone if you decide you want to do Alaska.

Look at East Tennessee, in the Chattanooga area. Beautiful area, growing economy, lots of jobs. Four-season climate, low cost of living. Lots of places to put a RV. As someone said, check out Craigslist for jobs.