Trucking Advice
I wanted to share my CDL journey and get some advice from drivers who’ve been in this industry longer than I have.
About two years ago, I earned my Class A CDL. My original plan was to go over the road, but toward the end of CDL school one of our instructors scared a lot of us about mountain driving. I know he was trying to make sure we respected the mountains, but it honestly made me second-guess OTR.
Another thing that held me back was that our school barely taught us some of the things that actually matter on the job. We never really learned how to slide tandems or deal with scales. Docking was shown to us one time because someone randomly asked about it. The instructor even said companies would teach us backing because it wasn’t really part of the school anymore. Looking back, I think that’s backwards. I’d rather have spent more time learning docking and scales than practicing parallel parking over and over.
Instead of going OTR, I took a mixer truck job with Cemex so I could stay close to home and still make decent money.
That didn’t last long.
They had inward-facing cameras, and it felt like every little thing turned into a write-up. If I moved the truck one house over in a subdivision to wash out, write-up. If I parked the truck after washing it without my seatbelt on, write-up. Between the constant camera monitoring, the stress, and paychecks that were usually around $600, I left after about four months.
I found another mixer job that’s much closer to home. At first, I thought I had found the right place.
Then the favoritism started.
I was given an older truck that already had years of concrete buildup on it. The customers liked me, and I always washed my truck thoroughly after every load, but whenever something was wrong with that truck, management blamed me. I was told I should have been crawling underneath it knocking concrete off areas that had probably been building up long before I got it. It felt like every problem with the truck somehow became my fault.
Then they started bringing in brand-new trucks.
Drivers who were hired after me got them before I did.
Eventually I got a newer truck, but there was a catch. Management basically told me if I didn’t keep it spotless, they could take it away at any time.
About five months later, a woman crossed into my lane and hit me head-on. It wasn’t my fault. I was out recovering while my truck was being repaired.
When the truck was fixed, I figured someone would just drive it until I came back.
Instead, they permanently gave my truck to another department and handed me another rough truck when I returned. The explanation was that they “couldn’t let it sit.”
The part that bothers me is seeing a different standard applied to other drivers. One driver who’s been there a long time recently hit something himself and got hurt. While he’s recovering, they’re simply having someone else drive his truck until he comes back. That’s exactly what I thought they would do with mine.
It just feels inconsistent.
Now the pay has slowed down too. I’m working hard and bringing home around $800 a week most weeks.
The crazy part is the actual job is easy for me. Running a mixer, backing into tight spots, dealing with customers—I honestly enjoy it. My customers like me, and I take pride in keeping my equipment clean. The hardest part is just knowing where each job site is.
But I’m starting to feel like I’m selling myself short.
I have a Class A CDL, almost two years of commercial driving experience now, and I’m wondering if I should finally make the jump to OTR.
The only thing that still makes me nervous is the stuff I never really learned in school—mountains, scales, sliding tandems, and just the fear of the unknown. From what I’ve heard, though, if you choose the right gear before the downgrade, let the Jake brake do its job, and don’t try to outrun the mountain, it’s very manageable.
So I wanted to ask the experienced drivers here:
Was leaving local mixer work for OTR worth it?
Did company training teach you the things CDL school didn’t?
Was mountain driving as intimidating as you expected?
If you were in my shoes, would you stay local making around $800 a week, or would you take the leap and go make the money a Class A CDL can really earn?
I’d appreciate any advice. I’m starting to think it’s finally time to bet on myself.