Welcome Message to New Members

SirKennyG & pleasure here just getting ready to go to Ohio to get a Truck and see just what this part of trucking is all about . So if anyone wishes to pass on any good info We will sure keep it and hope it will help Us out .

im a class A CDL driver /Dump truck owner
work is way slow around here so im out looking for something to do local
even if its in another truck ill park mine and drive yours
like to find something local near Charlotte area

First I would like to say Hi to HawkFlyer and welcome to the group .
We just finished with all the classes here in Seville,Ohio , Yes We are working for Panther Expedite or are at least ready to start soon as a load comes our way .
Would like to let any others know a few things that might be heading up here to sign-on with Panther that when you get here to Seville,Ohio there is a couple of motels that will give you a discount if you say you are here to go to classes at Panther . We stayed at the Comfort Inn & Motel 8 and both give a discount if you state you are with Panther . Both serve a breakfast bar so you can eat before you go to class , it's a long time till lunch ( 12:30 pm ) but it is free .
You will need to bring your work history for the last 10 years with you along with your Drivers License Social Security Card and your Birth Certificate , if you don't have a B/C they will give you 30 days to get them a copy .
There is a couple here in Seville,Ohio that can Detail the inside of your truck for you if you need that service and you can get a discount rate if you let them know you are with Jeff @ BlueHorizon . We had them detail Our Truck and Karen a.k.a. pleasure said they did a GREAT JOB . I don't have My notebook with Me now but Jeff has their name , phone numbers & InterNet addy if you wish to get in touch with them . Try and call them soon as you can so they can set-up a time that will work for both of you .
Well I need to get the inside of the truck all in order so I'm going to say bye for now and will check back from time to time to see what is going on here @ BlueHorizon .
Happy Truckin to All...
SirKennyG & pleasure a.k.a. Karen

I don't know much about Panther. Do they keep their trucks loaded? What is their areas they haul in. Do they need trucks?

My wife and I are looking to drive when I get home from Kuwait in October. Neither one of us has a CDL but we will be getting our permits for our Class A when I get back. We dont want to pay the high price for school, so we were just going to bite the bullet and hit the Schnieder road for 18 months. Our goal is to drive tractor trailer. Like I said we are a team and are in this a 100%, we just need a direction that will get us out on the road and making money. Any advise would be great!

Good Day Wyatt ;
I just got started in expedite so I am still learning , but from what I have seen from this first month as I was running single till I was able to get home to pick-up My wife it looks hard to make much money running single.
I am hoping it will be better as a team now that I have My wife in the truck with Me , so I will see how the next month goes and have a better answer as to just how good Panther does with a team .
I got down in Dallas,Tx over Labor day and ended up setting there for 5 days before I got rolling again , it seems that Dallas has more team loads that single loads as most of the teams got loaded before they got one for Me to run , but other than that Panther kept the truck busy but as a single there just wasn't enough miles to pay all My bills back home . The second week out I ran out of hours so they do have the loads to keep the trucks rolling .
They run mostly east of I-35 but I hear they have good loads coming out of So.Calif. for teams and this is what I hope to be able to get into with My wife so We can stay loaded and rolling for a couple of days with-out waiting on another load .
I also understand they have a real good contract with the US Goverment running Special Freight , not sure just what that is but I know that it is all with-in the 48 states and the drivers need to have HazMat endorsement and they would like for the trucks to have a lift-gate and a 3rd axle and a Temp Control box is a big plus , but a Straight Truck can get on too.
Well I hope this answered some of your questions and if you want to send an Email right to Me you can as I will be taking My LapTop out on the truck with Us this time .
Our Email addy is : KenKaren_G@Yahoo.Com
SirKennyG&pleasure a.k.a.Karen

Well I made it thru the first month by Myself and looking forward to getting to run with My wife now that I got back home to pick her up .
The first month I learned the fundamentals of how Panther works and understand what is expected of Us , so this month should run better , not that last month was bad , just kind of hard to make ends meet with just 1 income , and the long Labor Day weekend did not help . But hopefully that will all change now that We will be running together as a team .
I see there is a new post from Mark123 and wish Him and his wife much luck in whatever they pick to get started and hope they keep in touch .
We will have the LapTop with Us in the truck so I should be able to post from time to time and see how all is going here at BlueHorizon .
Well I need to get the truck ready to go as We already have Our 1st load as a team on the truck . I picked up a load with-in 30 miles of Our home here in Western N.C. on Friday going to Indiana for Monday morning . Yes I know it was only 500 miles and will tie-up the truck and Us for the whole week-end , but it pays 2 days lay-over so seeing how We was going to be out over the week-end anyway , why not stay home and eat from the freezer and sleep in Our bed rather than speed it in a TruckStop , and get paid too .
Well hope everyone is doing good and will check back in later .
SirKennyG & pleasure a.k.a.Karen

Hi Mark and welcome to Blue Horizon ;
My wife told Me that You might be able to attend a Community Collage for less than a month and get your CDL and let your GI bill pay for it . This will be a cheaper way to go and it will not have you tied to a company for the next 18 months , and you might be able to get your wifes bill put on a student loan and be able to pay it back over time .
I did this back in 1973 when I got out of VietNam .
Then once you have your CDL and go out with a Company for a few months and you are able to run by yourself as a lead driver you could have your wife go thru the Company school if you don't wish to have her go thru the Community Collage and when she finishes it you take her as your trainee and that way you two will not be split-up and running with other people . This is a way to make more money too with you as a trainer while you train your wife .
This might take you a few months longer to be able to run together but it is something to think about . I was a Trainer for U.S.Xpress when I worked for them and this is something you may want to look into as most Big companys allow you to train your spouse once you finish running thru the 6 or 8 week training course you will have to go thru when you sign on with a company for the first time .
Besides if you do it this way by the time you are ready to be a lead driver winter will be over and you will have 6 to 8 months to get your wife comfortable driving before the winter starts again .
If you or your wife has any questions please fell free to write Us at :
KenKaren_G@Yahoo.Com