Whats it like to drive in the USA?

[big_truck]

Hurryup&wait:

Big Truck:

Micky B:
Hi Guys
I’m a long distance trucker in the UK…I was thinking about coming to America as a trucker but I have heard some bad stories…One guy went to the USA , and was back in the UK in 4 weeks telling me it was better back in the UK…Can you Americans enlighten us Brits about the truth.

You can’t just go and drive in USA as not possible unless you’ve a green card etc.

Only way is via TWP/PNP in Canada or H2A temp work visa and drive truck for a USA Custom Cutter on the wheat/corn/soybean harvests.[emoji6]

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As Big Truck says the best and only easy way to get to drive in US is on a H2A Visa.

These are for temporary (3 years max I think) agricultural workers.

Assuming you don’t want to go milking cows then you want to join a harvest crew out in the mid west. With your previous truck driving experience they will put you on the trucks that transport the grain from the field to the silo.

She will be probably about a 20 year old 500hp Artic with a 13 speed crash box but like most things American she will look way way better than she drives.

Even more freaking amazing is you only need a US car licence to drive her in this type of agricultural work.

Hard work, camp living, weather delays but some good experiences with modest pay & craic.

There are genuine UK recruiters for this harvest work and they usually get active around Christmas time for an April start, 6 month contract. Start googling.

There is at least one guy on here who is years over there now in this type of work (but mostly on spanners now) and I guessing he might have started out this way.

Unless you are a very bored young lad you do not want to do distance work (OTR) in the US.

If you can get the visa described by Pat Hassler above, you deserve to join NASA but there are loads and loads of driving jobs if that’s your thing.

The pay is total crap for most novices and the systems they use to calculate your pay would do your nut in.
The wagons look way better than they drive but some are very fast for sure.

The worst thing is the size of the country…the road goes on forever and many of the roads are a real bore with annoying 55mph speed limits. Being out for 6 to 12 weeks at a time is not unusual.

You are running the gauntlet of scales on every state line and then it gets worse…you arrive in California. All fines are out of your pocket and all holdups are at your expense.

However the way things are going here where the height of adventure is listening to BS in an RDC for crap money too then some will certainly enjoy across the pond.

There are some good driving jobs if you can climb up the ladder a bit.

I came back a few years ago now as Euro work here was better in my opinion at the time so things may well have changed in the US but whether for better or worse I cannot say.

Stevejones is a good man to follow too if you want pros and cons as he has recent experience of both ans doesn’t sugar coat it.

my 2 cents worth but don’t hesitate to give it a go and best of luck to anyone who does.

Great post.[emoji106]

Although if you Google “Custom Harvesters of America” their site will contain a lot of “Custom Cutter” (Agri Contractor) website’s.
Search through them and you’ll find a right few of them have “fairly” fresh truck fleet.[emoji6]

But sure not much diff in a 1975 Pete/KW “long-nose” compared to 2005 one!!![emoji2] [emoji108]

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[hurryup_amp_wait]

Big Truck:
But sure not much diff in a 1975 Pete/KW “long-nose” compared to 2005 one!!![emoji2] [emoji108]

Isn’t that the truth!!

In fact if the A/C was working I think I would take the older motor for farm work.

p.s. thanks Ardsman.

[pat_hasler]

A very informative post indeed, but some slight differences… The roads out west are as mentioned long and boring but the speed limits are much higher than 55mph, in Texas and New Mexico some of the interstate limits are 85 mph. State route 57 across Kansas which is a single carriageway has a 75 mph limit, most interstate routes in PA are 75mph. I know of one person who tried the harvest work some years back, never drove off the farm and tried to get a job in Canada after being told to leave the USA when the harvest ended, 3 months later was deported from Canada and that means a minimum 10 year ban.
I think you will find that with the orange idiot we have in the white house now you will find getting a harvest job to get.

[big_truck]

Hurryup&wait:

Big Truck:
But sure not much diff in a 1975 Pete/KW “long-nose” compared to 2005 one!!![emoji2] [emoji108]

Isn’t that the truth!!

In fact if the A/C was working I think I would take the older motor for farm work.

p.s. thanks Ardsman.

Not you’ve got me curious!!!

Are you from NI??

See you’ve been a member on here longer than me!!!

Did you do a “harvest run” in the States at one time??

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[spardo]

Just wondering about Pat’s assertion that with all those contributions you automatically get NHS treatment in the UK.

I was told quite firmly that this wasn’t the case and that I would need a Euro Health Card as all costs would be referred back to my country of residence, France.

Now I realise that you may be talking about if you went back to UK to live, but would that be automatic from day one? I wouldn’t have thought so.

Incidentally the first time I applied for a French EHIC here I was told that I couldn’t have one as I would get free treatment in UK (they ask you where you are going). So I applied again and told them I was going to Ireland. Job done.

[spardo]

ChrisArbon:
I live in Canada but do most of my driving in the US. I write about my trips here:
roadtrip chris arbon

Had a read of that Chris, and enjoyed what I saw, but when I left a comment I later saw it wasn’t registered but then described me as ‘unknown’.

So if it got through and you read it, it was about the office texting you, you’ll know it was from me.

[hurryup_amp_wait]

Big Truck:

Hurryup&wait:

Big Truck:
But sure not much diff in a 1975 Pete/KW “long-nose” compared to 2005 one!!![emoji2] [emoji108]

Isn’t that the truth!!

In fact if the A/C was working I think I would take the older motor for farm work.

p.s. thanks Ardsman.

Not you’ve got me curious!!!

Are you from NI??

See you’ve been a member on here longer than me!!!

Did you do a “harvest run” in the States at one time??

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

Not NI but have enjoyed some very good nights out in Belfast some years ago.

I was doing regular driving in US (OTR) but a m8 is just back from another harvest run.

[big_truck]

Hurryup&wait:

Big Truck:

Hurryup&wait:

Big Truck:
But sure not much diff in a 1975 Pete/KW “long-nose” compared to 2005 one!!![emoji2] [emoji108]

Isn’t that the truth!!

In fact if the A/C was working I think I would take the older motor for farm work.

p.s. thanks Ardsman.

Not you’ve got me curious!!!

Are you from NI??

See you’ve been a member on here longer than me!!!

Did you do a “harvest run” in the States at one time??

Sent from my SM-J500FN using Tapatalk

Not NI but have enjoyed some very good nights out in Belfast some years ago.

I was doing regular driving in US (OTR) but a m8 is just back from another harvest run

.

Ah great job.[emoji108] [emoji106]

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[chrisarbon]

Spardo:

ChrisArbon:
I live in Canada but do most of my driving in the US. I write about my trips here:
roadtrip chris arbon

Had a read of that Chris, and enjoyed what I saw, but when I left a comment I later saw it wasn’t registered but then described me as ‘unknown’.

So if it got through and you read it, it was about the office texting you, you’ll know it was from me.

Hi David. I looked for your comment but couldn’t find anything. I don’t get a lot of comments so maybe there is a problem (or maybe nobody ever comments). But thanks for taking the time to read it; glad you liked it.

I see you are in Department 24; one of the best places to live in all the World. Lucky man!

[spardo]

ChrisArbon:
Hi David. I looked for your comment but couldn’t find anything. I don’t get a lot of comments so maybe there is a problem (or maybe nobody ever comments). But thanks for taking the time to read it; glad you liked it.

I see you are in Department 24; one of the best places to live in all the World. Lucky man!

Yes, it was strange, I left the comment and it said I was unknown but gave me the opportunity to identify myself, which I did. I also took the invitation to list my own url (below) and that was that. But when I looked later it was gone.

I have never recieved any comments on my own blog, though I know it is well read as people I meet around the continent tell me so. And also kept prompting me when I went through a period of almost a year without updating it.

I can’t remember what I said, apart from that I had enjoyed reading it and to say that I don’t look at texts when on the move but assume that nothing is so urgent that it can’t wait till my next stop. Strangely enough, I used to hate calls, but prefer them now since I got the hands free.

It is nice here, but we are isolated and, when for a period when we had only one car and that was off the road for a gearbox change, had to rely on friends and neighbours for the shops. Not so good.

[big_truck]

Anybody thinking about heading to USA on harvest look up this fella as he’s getting good reviews on FB for employment on harvest:

harvestsupport-usa-uk.com

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