CHARLOTTE -- With the rising cost of fuel, some truck drivers are wondering how they will stay afloat. The drivers and the schools that teach them are looking at an uncertain future.

Nearly $400 to fill up, it's a pain many truckers like Rodney Ellis are feeling at the pump.

"I can tell it's a strain even on bigger companies, but more so on independent truckers," he said.

Ellis has driven a big rig for more than 12 years. He says right now truck drivers earn about 89 cents a mile but running that same truck costs about $1 a mile.

"I think that we are actually at that breaking point," Ellis said. "I think that a lot of drivers are actually pulling over and not driving, they're parking their trucks."

That's bad news for Robert Woodard, who runs the Charlotte Truck Driving School. He says the price of fuel has an impact on school registration -- and his business.

"When you go to the fuel pump and you fill it up and it costs $800 or $900 to fill up one vehicle, people who drive cars can't imagine what it costs to fill up one of these big trucks," he said. "They're actually going in the hole as far as their freight is concerned."

But the fear of filling up isn't deterring some students.

"A man has to make a living," said Garry Moore, who signed up for truck driving school two weeks ago. "It's an honest way to make a living, there's lots of ways to do it, but this is one."

And even with gas prices at all-time highs, many drivers say they'll keep on truckin' and wait for the pain to subside.

Truckers say Tuesday's strike, which was held in several states, helped demonstrate how hard it is getting for drivers to make a living. However, they say it will take a national strike to make a change happen.