kingshrek

hi there, my name is nigel im due to get married next year and have 3 kids, im currently working in the uk as a hgv driver and have 7 years experiance and the last 4 years being self employed driver, my mate darren is getting married next year also, and has 3 kids and has roughly same experiance as myself in uk hgv work. we are looking to come over to canada together as a double man team, but we are going to leave all our family back in the uk until we know exactly what were dealing with in canada, as theres so much indiffrent information out here on trucking in canada. it will be hell being away from our families for that amount of time but we will not put them thru all the hassles until we know for sure what its like out there.
were not coming over for a holiday we are here to work and make a real go of it, i can tell you now were not work shy, theres nothing better than doing 15hours when your self employed in the uk ££££££££, as you know with being self employed no work no money.
weve come to a crossroads on which way to do things...
1. we would like to fly out to do the canadian trucking licenses off our own back and money so we are not held by a company who offer to "get us our licenses"... does anyone know how much this would cost us to get all relavent lisences and how long it would take?
2. can we jump straight into owner drivers or do we have to be a resident before we can do this?
3. what realisticly would be the average monthly wage of a double man team
4. which province is paying the best rates/wages with jobs available

ive probably got lots more questions to ask which i will do as i go along thanks in advance nige

nwtrucker

Bloody 'ell, good luck with that one! Someone here should be able to offer advice. I personally think that if your making money here (UK) you must be insane to try that with families and impending marriages but each to their own! Good luck.

kb33

1) You need a permanent Canadian address to get a Canadian licence , Plus you would have to surrender your UK licence .

2) You would need permanent residence to start your own business

3) Not much more than a single driver (certainly not double the milage rate anyway )

4) Alberta / Manitoba / SK

Sounds like you are good fodder for H&R in Lethbridge

http://www.hrtrans.com/careers-with-hr/

Good luck !

flat to the mat

Contact Yanke Transportation in Saskatoon,Saskatchewan.They always run you team until PR is granted.Must be worth a phone call to see what they're offering.

kingshrek

thanks for all the helpfull info.
ive just been quoted $2890 to get all relavent licences is this about right for the price?
they also say i need a full g lincense, and begginers test in hand before i can start. does this mean i have to dop g license first before going for the truck licence or can i do it without it as im a uk driver?
its very confusing, thanks in advance

nwtrucker

Not sure what a 'g' license is to be honest....but your UK license means diddly squat over there. About $2500 is average I would say but am prepared to be corrected on that.

spockil

i didnt surrender my uk license.
i was told to keep it as it is proof of driving history.

kb33

Well I dont anyone that didn't have to surrender their UK licence , But this being Canada rules change and goal posts move on a regular basis .

wire

You cannot hold both a Canadian and UK licence at the same time. That applies to anyone.

wire

Bear in mind that running team over here involves keeping the truck going right round the clock. Quality of life doesn't get a look in.
Also, it is unlikely that any company would put two inexperienced drivers together in the same team so you would almost certainly still work separately anyway . At least at first.

spockil

well i have both i first came over to sk and earl at Maximum training in saskatoon helped me.
if I remember i got it transfered to a class 5 with a class 1a learners but didnt validated sk license as uk license I could still use till i passed test. and it acted as a learners as well i think.
then once i passed my class 1a i validated my sk license and got my sk license same day. and i only had to show them uk license.

Gremmie

You 2 would be split up for sure as you have zero experience. Being an O/D here is not the same as in UK, here you are tied to a company and have to run under there licences & authorities. Forget that idea for at least 2 years until you know the ropes and are settled. OK
Learn how to walk then try to trot.

berkoboy

Depending on yr province, here in Ontario a g is your car licence, you just swap it for your uk car licence. As for not having experience, when I first started at Challenger they would put two uk newbies together, that was why I found it so hard at the beginning. We both made the same mistakes!
Good luck

Lou Skannon

Wire is right about companies wanting to run teams 24/7. Not much fun at all. A lot of companies would be interested in employing the pair of you as a "Super Single" team. They get 2 licences in a cab but only pay the normal cents per mile. A lot of husband and wife teams run as a super single. You would get used on long runs that are short on time and for collection of abandoned trucks where a driver has fell ill or just dumped the motor.
A driver at our boarding house paid $1500 to change over his licence with a local driver training school.

wire

Super single is a good compromise except that instead of earning 2 x wages the probability at best would be one and a half. Great for husband and wives but perhaps not so good for two guys with a wife and three kids each to support.