If you want the trucking life, nows the time.

[debit.servus]

If Now is the time to become a trucker if you need a job that pays a living wage. C.R. England has a good trucking school offering training with no money down (you have to work for them for 8 months or pay the remaining balance back if you quit early). 

I'm working to become a trucker and know I'll be in the last generation of truckers if they get the autonomous big rigs on the road in the next ten years. So my plan is to get in, get ahead and springboard to a career that can't be automated. 

The barrier to entry to become a trucker is small, it's not like becoming a doctor or train engineer where you basically have to make it a lifelong career to make it. 

Using their modest projections and timescales of past technological advance, it's safe to say in the next 25 years driving truck will be a historical job next to elevator operator. 

If you dream of the trucker life nows the time to get in!

 

[tx2sturgis]

I'll be in the last generation of truckers if they get the autonomous big rigs on the road in the next ten years. So my plan is to get in, get ahead and springboard to a career that can't be automated. 

{snip}

Using their modest projections and timescales of past technological advance, it's safe to say in the next 25 years driving truck will be a historical job next to elevator operator. 

Nope.

Despite what is on the engineers computers and in the media, there will ALWAYS be a need for drivers. At least for our lifetimes.

The 'first mile' and the 'last mile' cannot be automated. Not yet, and not in 20 years.

In other words, a computer navigating a 75 foot long rig thru an uncontrolled traffic environment cannot be done, not now, and not for any foreseeable future, until and unless the OTHER vehicles, texting drivers, distracted pedestrians, kids on bicycles, workers in construction zones, etc, can be eliminated from the mix, which they cant.

V2V and V2I will need a 100% complete build-out before a large automated semi-truck-tractor can safely navigate thru heavy inner city traffic. Not to mention that physically hooking and unhooking trailers and close quarters maneuvering at shippers and receivers docks has to be done by humans. Then you also have local routes and city deliveries that take a human to do. Is a robot gonna hand you the packages?

There are 5 levels of automation in commercial trucking, (zero being none, 1-5 are the levels of actual automation). I drove levels 0 thru 2. There is a HUGE jump to levels 4 and 5.

I will venture to say it will be a LONG time before soccer moms and everyone else is comfortable with an 80,000 pound driver-less rig beside them on the public highways.

What can be done now and in the near future is a form of 'intelligent automated cruise', on mostly flat, open, un-crowded highways, and the goal of this is to let the driver go 'off duty' during that phase and save his or her hours.

But the legal system and the trucking regulations are gonna need a major re-write to deal with all of this, and that might even take longer, knowing how they both move at a snail's pace.

 

[user 423]

One thing is for sure if you drive a truck is that you'll work a lot more than 4 hours per week...

 

[Wabbit]

Fully automated Semi-Trucks, ROFLMAO. Its like humans are purposely silly! Hasn't everyone already watched "Maximum Overdrive", starring the second best actor ever, Emilio Estevez? I say second best because, you all know, Keanu Reeves is not only immortal, but the numero uno, bestest ever, don't even try to out act him, actor ever in all of history. Even the history that has yet to be written.

Anyone who disagrees, well, I don't even want to go there. Art does not imitate life, life imitates art! And "Maximum Overdrive" is art in its purest form. Check and mate.

To the nerds and geeks trying to fully automate the trucking industry, please stop. You'll kill us all!

 

[OutdoorFT]

Truckers don't have to worry about their jobs...unless youre with certain companies going bankrupt. then you can just apply at another

 

[Kmmech]

They couldn't pay me enough to get back in a truck. 30 years ago it was a fun job. Drivers used to actually look out for each other. Now its all about the mighty dollar. I quit driving 4 years ago, never looked back,  and started wrenching on them for a living. Retired now. Sure glad I never whined like the ones I had to deal with on a daily basis. At least I hope I didn't!

As for automated, log books yes, very soon, December this year if I remember right. But I dont think the trucks will be in our lifetime, not on the road with the public anyways.

 

[Reducto]

Long haul automation is coming soon. First it will be to allow the rig to run 24/7 with a standby operator in the cab, then it will be city to city with drivers handling the first and last mile. There will still be trucking jobs for a while, but the numbers will go down as will the length of the drives.

 

[SoulRaven]

Hey,  don't scoff, cause I  seen this movie,  with THE best actor in the world, called "I, Robot " and they had not only self-driving cars AND trucks,  but robots too!

So there.  

 

[debit.servus]

Long haul automation is coming soon. First it will be to allow the rig to run 24/7 with a standby operator in the cab, then it will be city to city with drivers handling the first and last mile. There will still be trucking jobs for a while, but the numbers will go down as will the length of the drives.

And so will the pay, especially getting into the end stages  first & last mile they want.  They're going to automate the "easy" parts of OTR first, and work their way up. Now is the time to get in before they get to roll out interstate autopilot. 

You can go to a trucking school and be driving revenue miles in as little as 2 months from today, a very low barrier to entry for a potential career that pays a living wage. If you've thought of becoming a trucker like I did 2 years ago go for it ASAP, yes the Baltic dry index is down (this is what turned me off 2 years ago), but there's about a decade before OTR Trucking in its current form is historical. 

I believe the majority of the loads hauled by the autonomous trucks will be to the top 10%, as the economy for the rest of us will be practically collapsed. As the biggest category of jobs in America are the driving jobs, once they get to automate all driving income inequality today will look like the roaring 20s compared to where things are going (think it's bad now?). 

They also want to ban cars, so think about how easy it would be to use the autonomous trucks to close off the open road. So nows the time to travel North America, become independent of their monetary and oil system, and most importantly acquire hydraulic crushers as that's the only way I've seen to stop a Terminator (unleashing terminator tech on humanity is their endgame). 

For the near future though, if you like driving and want more than minimum wage nows the time to seriously look at becoming a trucker.

 

[debit.servus]

Tesla unveils electric Semi

Tesla has just unveiled their Electric Semi which they plan to start production on to customers who order now in 2019. Tesla claims their Electric Semi has 20% lower lifetime cost of ownership vs a diesel truck in worst case scenario (tesla didn't say if their diesel truck numbers were also worst case scenario).

Elon also showed off its convoy capability, two driverless trucks following a driven truck, which they claim beats shipping by rail economically.

Expect trucking companies looking to get an edge on their competitors with higher profit margins or lower freight prices to gobble up Teslas electric Semi and lay off drivers if the Tesla Semi lives up to it's promises.

For those on the fence and have no money to put down, I heard CR England has a good trucking school, and CR England is the only trucking company with the authority to issue drivers licenses in-house. I heard they are pretty lax with their license issuance so if you want to start making money ASAP while learning to drive the truck.

Of course if you go to a company sponsored trucking school you'll have to pay them back by driving for them upto a year after graduating but most let you pay them off with cash and you're free to drive for any trucking company who will hire you. this is one thing where extensive internet research can save you years of toil and hardship by avoiding bad trucking companies, so do DUE DILLIGANCE . It's always best if you have the money to pay for trucking school upfront and seek out tuition reimbursement, that way you're free to drive for any trucking company who will hire you right after earning your CDL.

 

[debit.servus]

I've heard company sponsored schools are even worse than I thought:

-Please do through and extensive research (online AND offline!) when it comes to picking a company sponsored trucking school!

-Please do through and extensive research (online AND offline!) when it comes to picking a company sponsored trucking school!

-Please do through and extensive research (online AND offline!) when it comes to picking a company sponsored trucking school!

Don't earn your CDL only to be locked into a bottom feeding trucking company where you can't even pay back your tuition in cash to end your contract, and your only option is to slave for them at considerably less than minimum wage for several months to a year! Instead of researching how and where to get the lowest price for ___, spend that time to research the company sponsored trucking school with the best contractual terms for YOU!

 

[tx2sturgis]

My advice: 

1- Don't drink the Telsa truck koolaid. Tesla is in trouble as we speak. And the truck itself will not be practical in normal OTR use.

2- Don't get 'suckered in' to company sponsored driver-training schools. They have very poor records and predatory practices. Recruiters LIE.

 

[velojym]

Heed debit's words. CREngland and others make it so easy to get in, then you end up struggling to keep up with fuel and maintenance, as well as extremely high lease payments... and they still act like the truck isn't really yours. It's a way for them to offset ownership costs, basically dumping them on the "owner/driver" in addition to selling you a truck for way more than it's worth.

These companies run what I call "CDL mills", just giving you enough education to pass a test, then acting like the 'service' was worth a bloody fortune when it comes time to 'pay back', usually in sticking with them for a given time. This is only a thing because they can't seem to hang on to drivers long enough honestly. These CDL mills are one of the reasons so many steering-wheel-holders out there are jacking up traffic, trying to figure out how to find the next gear, not knowing how to take an unusual intersection, or any number of difficulties springing from not having had full training on the trucking art.


Who knows... it might have gotten better since I was a trucker, but I think a lot of research should go into this. Once you're in, it can be hell getting out without a huge debt load on your head.

Fleetline/Dart was bad about 'selling' drivers poorly maintained trucks, without any fuel in the tanks, so you'd start out hundreds in the hole before you even got your first load. They were also bad about claiming a warranty that didn't seem to exist. They, too, "sold" these trucks for 2 or 3 times their actual used value.
This was the one I fell for. I hauled a load in "my" Peterbilt 372 from LA to Denver, losing my turbo climbing the last hill (Eisenhower pass) and had to call to have the load picked up by a local driver and delivered. He got paid for the entire load on delivery, and I got nothing but a $2000 repair bill to replace my turbo. Not to mention the time and fuel I spent.
I put in a request to get the money for my miles, but it got lost in the shuffle and I never got it.

I kept my head above water long enough to get out of the lease, but I would have been far better off finding a cheap truck on my own. Cabovers, at the time, could be had in decent shape for $5-10,000, and I could have done a lot with one. I had the advantage of having gone to trucking school on my own dime, though (student loan anyway), and had a bit more mobility for it.

These days, I'd imagine it's even harder for an 'upstart' independent, as the real victims of over-regulation are the small businesses. The JB Hunts, Werners, and CR Englands have plenty of resources to afford the cost of regulation... it's more profitable for them anyway, as they suck up all the business left by independents giving up on the business.

I loved driving a truck. I didn't care too much about dealing with some of the 'official' aspects, but the trucks, driving, and just seeing the country rocked. Even today, I would recommend it, if only for a year, as a great way to see the country, get to know people from all over, and maybe even use the experience to pick out a nice place to settle. Or... enough experience to know you don't really want to settle in one spot after all.

 

[Grim Beret]

Rasberry

 

[debit.servus]

I've heard the DOT is rasing the standard back up with physical requirements. If you're on the border of being disqualified due to physical ailments, now is the time to get in and try it out.

 

[bigskybob]

Being a truck driver for long haul is going to be gone within 5 years.Automated trucks will rule the roads.Anybody driving a truck now would be advised to find another job.

 

[MrNoodly]

They couldn't pay me enough to get back in a truck. 30 years ago it was a fun job.

Yeah, I'm not a driver but what I've been reading is that it has become a horrible profession.

"In 1980, the average trucker in America was making an annual salary, adjusted for inflation, equal to more than $110,000 today. Twenty-five years later, truckers make on average about $40,000 a year, working harder, longer hours, and with less job security."

http://money.com/money/4325164/trucking-worst-job/

 

[tx2sturgis]

Being a truck driver for long haul is going to be gone within 5 years.Automated trucks will rule the roads.

Sorry but that's not correct.

It will probably happen to some extent, in some situations, but not within 5 years. Brand new, normal human-driven, class 8 trucks that are being bought and put into service today, this week, this month, this year, next year, have a 5-20 year service life, average. They will not be headed for the scrap heap 4 years from now. Won't happen.

The media likes to splash headlines about experiments and trials that happen in controlled situations (with a half dozen vehicles running support for one semi-autonomous experimental class 8 truck), but even the experts who know the ins and outs of this, don't see fully autonomous, driver-less trucks replacing human occupied trucks in 20 to 30 years.

Automation can help lessen the workload and supplement the driver in the most boring stretches of more or less straight, mostly flat, divided highways, but it wont replace the human driver in the foreseeable future. 

Truck driver duties include a wide variety of job-related tasks outside of the vehicle, that a computer installed in the cab simply can't do. Plus there are a huge number of laws, rules, and regulations that will have to be changed to even allow this to happen. The FMCSA and the federal and state DOTs move very slowly in changing the regulations that control the motor carrier industry.

Maybe one day in the distant future we will see a small experimental fleet of fully automated trucks running on controlled highways with programmed stops at roadside terminals, but not within 5 years.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Yeah, I'm not a driver but what I've been reading is that it has become a horrible profession.

I would not call it 'horrible' but it is nowhere near as good as it was when I started. And it used to actually be enjoyable...but most of the enjoyment is also gone.

I'm retired now...but I've had SIX serious and un-solicited job offers from people who want me in one of their trucks. 

I've paid my dues, let the new guys (and gals) deal with it.

:dodgy:

 

[Rabbit]

Another difficult-to-automate scenario is hijacking. It's already somewhere between terribly hard and impossible to program in the correct response to everything that might happen "naturally" on the road; imagine how difficult an engineer's job becomes when equally-intelligent Bad Guys set themselves to invent "unnatural" situations. Automation doesn't have any common sense; all you need to do if you want to stop a driverless truck and pillage the cargo (as of now, with current technology) is set up a flimsy roadblock in the middle of nowhere and wait. Or, maybe repaint the white lines. For that matter, now that I think about it, there are terrorism possibilities in this sort of thing as well. Stop a fuel tanker, slap on a detonator, then let it drive on to its (likely urban) destination.

No, truck drivers aren't going away anytime soon.