Need advice

[kia4ever]

Ok this post is for my dad. He's stuck in a factory job he hates and he's been working there for 18 years with them reducing benefits every now and then and reducing employee hours.

He went out and got an AZ license but couldn't find any work because of a lack of experience.

Now he wants to go out and buy a 5 ton and make deliveries within ontario. I'm not sure if this forum is strictly for 18 wheelers and quite frankly I don't know enough about this topic but I need help from experts in this field, such as where to get the contracts and is there even a need for this line of work in the 5 ton range.

If you're wondering why I'm online looking for things for him, it's because he's at work and he's not a savvy person. He is old fashioned and has a stubborn belief that being a hardworker and being honest is all you need. He's also not so great at surfing the internet.


So here I am trying to learn from scratch, I would love any recommendations for where to find such contracts and we were thinking of just leasing a truck for a year to see if it is worthwhile. He is not looking to make an enormous amount of money just a little more than now which isn't much and stability.

Thanks in advance for any advice guys

[Harry]

First at all , this board is for all drivers and I am sure you will get some answers here. Good luck for your dad's new business

[ralph]

Kia, your Dad is frustrated and desperation is setting in. He would be a FOOL to jump in and do such a thing. He has NO IDEA what happens out here so buying a truck is something he should NOT do. (I am trying to be NICE)

Encourage your Dad to find some part time work on weekends to gain some experience. It may be on a dock and then shunting some trailers and then moving to doing some city work. This industry is littered with SHARKS and your father will be taken advantage of in seconds and EVERYTHING he has worked for will be gone.

Baby steps, Baby steps!

[kia4ever]

Thanks for the advice ralph he has already been taken advantage of once. He ended up working 4 weeks with some shady company and they ended up not even paying him. He had to go back to his old job which was pretty humiliating for him considering how much he hates them. The thing is I'm the one that has been tasked in finding him work and such things and I don't even know where to look anymore. The 5 ton is somewhat of a last resort so he can get a better understanding of the business because it has been impossible to find work for him. He makes only about 2 grand a month now so he is willing to take some risks (he is not the sole earner)

[ralph]

Sooo Kia, how are you going to find work? Does anyone know how much weight a truck of that size can legally transport? Will it be a van body or an open deck? What will the fixed costs be? How much insce will be required or purchased? Will we work "exclusively" for ourself OR will we lease to an established carrier and HOPE that they find GOOD work and PAY us?

I'm not trying to be mean spirited but someone's got to face the real facts about this.

[hotshoe36]

To add to that, he will hear lots of stories about all the money to be made by good drivers with a strong work ethic, plenty of freight to be hauled, et cetera. All he has to do is suply the truck (and the driver, the insurance, the fuel, tires, permits, on and on and on) and almost all of what he hears will be bull pucky. Absolutely, DO NOT FIND OUT ABOUT TRUCKING BY ACQUIRING YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT unless he has one large whack of money he can afford to lose.

There are ways to get driving for someone else. That'll show him enough.

[kia4ever]

@ Ralph, you and I both agree on the same thing, but the problem is my father has 0 contacts and I have just about the same and I don't even know where to look for those 18 dollar an hour weekened jobs for him to gain experience. If you know of any such company please tell me since I would be grateful, it doesn't matter if it's low paying he just wants to work. I would much rather him start small than to put our future at risk.

I should have clarified by starting his own business. He was interested in going with these two companies which pretty much say that they will cover all aspects of the business to get a person started. I know they will nickel and dime the hell out of us but as long as he makes some money he is happy.

These are the two companies we were looking at. I will also say that I do not endorse either of these and I am curious as to what the forumers here can tell me about them. I was thinking of posting a new topic on them myself to get more answers from ppl with experiences with them.

http://www.kenserve.ca/

dtgroup.ca

[bikerboy]

if you have zero contacts to even get him a company job, how are you gonna find him any work with his own truck.

he could lease onto a carrier, and sure they will make it sound like a great deal, but in reality if its such a great deal, why don't they just run more of their own company trucks and make the big cash all for themselves.

Do not buy a truck, until he has at least a couple years experience in the trucking industry and then decide if he still wants to buy and deal with all the headaches, of owning a truck.

[ralph]

http://www.kenserve.ca/[/url]

dtgroup.ca

Keep looking. NEITHER has a reputation you could take to the bank!

Kia, what part of the city are you located in? I can make a couple of suggestions for weekend work but if you're in Brampron there's no point in suggesting Oshawa based carriers.

[kia4ever]

We live in the west end, in the city of Vaughn but driving to Oshawa for experience is fine considering my dad's factory is probably going to be out of business, it doesn't even have to be weekend work. Can u pm me?

[kia4ever]

thanks for the links ralph. I applied him for the Erb group as a DZ which is what he wanted the others were asking for experience

[Manitoba Trucker]

I am fairly new to the industry (9 months in) and honestly if he has his license, SOMEONE will hire him on! Contact all the trucking companies in the area (that is what I did) and have him sell himself to them. Even though he is obviously up in years (not an insult), he has 18 years in one job, that has to mean something. Last Sept when I went for my training, I had no knowledge of the industry at all. When I passed my test, I went home that night and sent my resume (via email) to every trucking company I could find. I heard back from 3 of them. One told me to call back in a year or two, one told me they were not hiring, but thanks for applying, and one offered me a job! ONE DAY after getting my license, I got a job ... so honestly IMHO, I would pass on the purchase of a truck (no matter how small) and hit the bricks to see what is out there.

Tell your dad good luck, I really hope it works out for him.

[ralph]

I am fairly new to the industry (9 months in) and honestly if he has his license, SOMEONE will hire him on! Contact all the trucking companies in the area (that is what I did) and have him sell himself to them. Even though he is obviously up in years (not an insult), he has 18 years in one job, that has to mean something. Last Sept when I went for my training, I had no knowledge of the industry at all. When I passed my test, I went home that night and sent my resume (via email) to every trucking company I could find. I heard back from 3 of them. One told me to call back in a year or two, one told me they were not hiring, but thanks for applying, and one offered me a job! ONE DAY after getting my license, I got a job ... so honestly IMHO, I would pass on the purchase of a truck (no matter how small) and hit the bricks to see what is out there.

Tell your dad good luck, I really hope it works out for him.

TERRIBLE ADVICE!!!!!!

The man already got screwed over for wages by one POS carrier and by mass mailing to countless carriers you are setting yourself up for the same again. Manitoba Trucker, YOU got lucky that's all I any many here will say. How many have come to this site and tried and tried and didn't find work.

[Manitoba Trucker]

TERRIBLE ADVICE!!!!!!

The man already got screwed over for wages by one POS carrier and by mass mailing to countless carriers you are setting yourself up for the same again. Manitoba Trucker, YOU got lucky that's all I any many here will say. How many have come to this site and tried and tried and didn't find work.

WOW! Thanks for the vote of confidence! YOU are painting ALL carriers with the same brush as the one who screwed him! There are many reputable carriers out there who are NOT out to screw you. Sure if you get hired on by an independent with no reputation, you are opening yourself up, but if you do your homework and check out any offers, you can avoid the pitfalls.

Of course, this is just MHO...and I have been wrong (one or twice) in the past. ;)

[Noname]

TERRIBLE ADVICE!!!!!!

The man already got screwed over for wages by one POS carrier and by mass mailing to countless carriers you are setting yourself up for the same again. Manitoba Trucker, YOU got lucky that's all I any many here will say. How many have come to this site and tried and tried and didn't find work.

I've been looking for a solid job pulling with Class 8 trucks and I got my license in August 2008 and I'm STILL LOOKING. There's just too many drivers out there and not enough jobs that are willing to apprentice a trucking school graduate. Also there is a big rift of distrust between the trucking companies and the schools. The BCTA is trying to solve this problem by a pilot program for driver apprenticeships but currently this experiment has no seats left all the seats are full. The biggest problem is every trucking company wants someone with 2 years experience and even then they say you've "ONLY" been doing it two years and still think you got lots to do to earn the top brass stars in your career.

I blew over $7000 on my mastercard at 22% interest on trucking school, for what?

[JimmTwo]

Her is just a suggestion: http://www.driverlink.com/search.asp
Just a suggestion

[SHAMIC]

I've been looking for a solid job pulling with Class 8 trucks and I got my license in August 2008 and I'm STILL LOOKING. There's just too many drivers out there and not enough jobs that are willing to apprentice a trucking school graduate. Also there is a big rift of distrust between the trucking companies and the schools. The BCTA is trying to solve this problem by a pilot program for driver apprenticeships but currently this experiment has no seats left all the seats are full. The biggest problem is every trucking company wants someone with 2 years experience and even then they say you've "ONLY" been doing it two years and still think you got lots to do to earn the top brass stars in your career.

I blew over $7000 on my mastercard at 22% interest on trucking school, for what?

I agree; one of the challenges for EVERYBODY is the amount of time a school has available, and how much money the student has, severely impacts the level of ability a person would possess when they graduate. Add the MTO's harsh penalties, a company simply cannot afford the learning process. There is no one area to lay the blame, as the schools are only there to get you your license. I must admit however, that the single most common failure I see on my pre-hire exams is the air brake test. Every school I have seen gets the student their "Z" endorsement at the beginning of the program, and then never continues the practical application in the industry. Not very encouraging to say the least.

[Paul]

I've been looking for a solid job pulling with Class 8 trucks and I got my license in August 2008 and I'm STILL LOOKING. There's just too many drivers out there and not enough jobs that are willing to apprentice a trucking school graduate. Also there is a big rift of distrust between the trucking companies and the schools. The BCTA is trying to solve this problem by a pilot program for driver apprenticeships but currently this experiment has no seats left all the seats are full. The biggest problem is every trucking company wants someone with 2 years experience and even then they say you've "ONLY" been doing it two years and still think you got lots to do to earn the top brass stars in your career.

I blew over $7000 on my mastercard at 22% interest on trucking school, for what?

You blew 7,000 on driving school and put it on your credit card with an interest rate of 22%? WOW...



Anyways to the original poster of this thread, take it from people who have been in the industry for quite some time and listen when everyone says DO NOT BUY A TRUCK!
The companies will make it sound like your dad will be a millionaire just to get him to sign a contract, once he signs it things will be a whole lot different. At that point he will have no real way out and they've got him by the balls, and trust me when i say this they will **** him around.

Look for a job as an AZ or DZ COMPANY DRIVER, get a few years experience and after your dad finds out what this industry is all about he wont even want a truck.

[brolarter]

I would suggest looking around larger companies to see what programs they have for new drivers, Talk to employment canada see if they have some programs to help new drivers to get there foot in the door like wage periody.. down in the maritimes EI will pay so much $$ towards your wage with a company to hire and train you.. example say they pay regualr company driver $0.42 per mile then Ei would kick in say $0.20 per mile and the company only has to pay out of their own pocket $0.22 per mile for a year plus.. incentive to hire new drivers..
If your thinking 5 ton to buy and operate..local stuff.. then try getting in with local companies that pull local things around GTA or golden hourse shoe.. food, flowers, like toronto market, flower industry in St. catharines.. heinz in leamington.. to name a few.
Try to meet human resource dept. people face to face, instead of mass emailings resumes.. One you get a idea what the company is like instead of a polished web site, two you put a face to a name for companies... I myself have got jobs that way.. walk in with my resume had a interview right then and there started the job two days later, even with the company having 30 email resumes sitting in the HR in basket.

[OilPatchTrucker]

being a hardworker and being honest is all you need. Nothing wrong with those traits Some one will luck onto him and will be glad they did... Not all copanies are crooks.. i ope he getsa a decent position some where... Good Luck to both of you