Possible to be a part-time or occasional trucker?

Just starting out this will be very difficult to find. But once you got some experience, not impossible. I only worked five months last year, so it IS possible.

 

there are part time jobs around
some good some bad
harvest season in CA brings in more drivers
Another consideration is schools today really only teach you enough to pass your CDL license at DMV
part time brand new driver might not get you enough experience to really know how to handle a rig
in different situations
you drive say 2 years but no more hours behind the wheel then a 3 month rookie
and have to go over Donner to Reno with the chain law up

 

You should not have to pay over 5,000 for a school. For a community college, less than that, around 2,500. Which is the way to go.

Part time is hard to find....but not impossible. I drove a milk tanker as a relief driver and my boss knew if he called me, I would drive. He would schedule Me for however many hours I wanted.... That can be hard to find.
I also did seasonal local driving For a co-op, but that did involve full time in the spring and summer.

i am moving to scranton PA, and there is a company there I can drive as much as I want on Friday, sat, and sun. Or as little as I want, but I have to drive at least once every two weeks. The company name is "Kane is able".

There is also a Mail route that is part time, 5 days a week. Fixed route, day shift....about 4 hrs per day. Due to health issues I can not work full time, but can do part time fine.

also, one company here was doing 7 days and then 7 days off. They were hauling liquified clay for pottery plants.

So so I think it is possible to get what you are looking for, but you will have to search it out.

 

I always thought a truck share would be ideal find someone to swap a truck with depending on your goals you could be on one month off the next, work 2 months be off two. You get to work but you also get serious time off not just a few days at a time. But I don't know anyone who does it, but I have talked about it with my husband as an option for O/O.

 

I had driven full time for a while first but when I decided to go to paramedic school the local LTL company I had worked for had just started a nationwide expedited division and they kept me on part time doing that in my time off of school. They had local runs available almost anytime and a fair number of longer hauls that were straight out and straight back. You may want to see if there's someone doing something similar in your area.

 

Look at small, local operations, dump trucks and the like, if you want to look at a part time gig.

I trucked while I was in college running over the weekend and during breaks. Would do some 1500-mile round trips over the weekend or maybe some local work, stuff like that is what I was doing. Oversize, refrigerated, and tanker.

 

Well Ive seen crazy stuff happen. Everything from drivers with failed drug tests(staying on the road) -to keeping their last driving job,to felons getting hired after a fewyears or less to drivers with multiple wrecks over time becoming driver trainers! Note: I'm not comparing or implying you are any of the above: just using it as some examples to say most anything is Possible in trucking.A majority of companies want to see some experience just to get a foot in the door. For insurance purposes. I can tell you how to go about doing it though. Go thru a temp service (they are always desperate for drivers and almost always take what you offer.I have one still calling me: "Hey are you available to work One Day Only thursday? I SAY NO im a full time driver. So yeah look up driver services ie: Pro drivers,Centerline,Elite etc. Say hey,I have a good job,I just want 10 hrs week. Almost guaranteed gig. JMO

 

That's pretty much what I do... drive on a casual/on-call basis. I had experience before getting this gig, though.

 

I am currently working for a driver staffing agency. I had always been an OTR driver, but I wanted to get off the road and get a more local gig. The problem was that I didn't want to go to a job I ended up hating. The staffing company has given me the opportunity to try out various local jobs without making a commitment until I know it's something that I will enjoy. I have finally found one that I really like and want to make a long term career with. I now work almost exclusively with that company, and after a I've worked 6 months with them thru the agency, I can hire on with them directly (which is what I want to do).

Working thru the agency, I can work as much or as little as I want. I call every evening and tell them whether or not I want to work the next day. Also, the staffing agency pays VERY well. I get paid $21 per hour with time and a half over 40 hours. Also, for every layover run I do, I get paid $110 dollars to sleep in the truck. I get extra pay for each stop and extra pay for every time i hook a new trailer. They also offer health insurance and 401k. I'm bringing home well over $1000 per week working 5.5 days and sleeping in the truck 2-3 nights per week.

i would highly recommend a driver staffing agency if you want part time work and to try out different types of trucking jobs. You probably will have to get some experience thru a more traditional trucking job before you can go with the staffing agency though. You have to be able to get into any kind of truck and do any kind of driving and backing. I had over 5 years OTR experience. The company I work for is called Transforce. I don't know if they are in CA or not, but I'm sure there are similar outfits out there.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do. And also, I would recommend the community college route for acquiring a CDL.