Profile For Terry C.

Unless Prime's policy has changed in the 3 years since I was with them, any felony and/or drug charge was an automatic disqualification from Prime. When I was a trainer at Prime, they used to wash out way more people than they gave licenses to. I'd be interested to see what they say nowadays to see if they've relaxed their requirements.

Hello. After joining this site ans whining like a child or how to get the license. I mustered up the Inner man in me and went to a driving school.

My instructor told me to get the class B license so I would at least get an idea what trucking is like and see if it's for me. Of course being stubborn as was, I didn't listen. I failed a few times . but then the moons aligned and I got the class A in September. Got doubles and tanker.

Since then I have been searching high and low for work that would allow me to work for a small company and not travel over the road.

Got try out with some carting company in upstate NY. When I arrived there I thought to myself boy have u taken the schools trucks for granted. I didnt abuse them or anything but if something fell from the dash onto the " floor " it would hit the ground and fall through the floor.

Anyway I tried out for their road test. There was smoke coming from the 5 speed clutch and they said that the trucks are old and need special attention. They told me to engage the tractor brake / valve at every light since the service brakes would give out.

Anyway, after screwing that up I have been searching and searching and cant find a single company that would hire me. I thought this entire time. Well here is an industry that wants employees. But maybe I was wrong and wasted my saving getting this license.

Is going to the Otr companies like some sort of rite of passage?

Are there Companies that are east region only?

Is it easier to go with panther and do their class B OTR?

After this um " experience " I think he was right all along. I think I really screwed up.

Thabk you for your time.

Hey there Art. I'm going to level with you. You would think that getting a local Class A job would be easy with all the trucks out there right? Well here are a couple cold hard facts. Local driving, although typically uses small equipment, is a bit more difficult and dangerous. Unlike OTR where you maybe have 1or 2 backing maneuvers in a day between the truck stop and/or shipper/reciever, local driving entails driving mostly rural streets with, depending on the company, several maneuvers a day in tight parking lots or 2 lane roads. Not large distribution centers. Unless you find a job pulling doubles.

The bottom line is, due to accidents/incidents, local trucking companies heavily rely on "experienced" drivers. And the easiest way to get it is driving OTR for at least a year. OTR jobs are much much easier to get and don't pay all too bad as well. You just have to deal with the away time.

And to bring up the possible workload local driving can bring to it. In the food service delivery section alone, you'll be unloading 12k to 32k of food by hand 10-14 hours a day 60-70 hours a week. Sounds fun eh? You may be home every day but you still don't have much of a life and now you're doing a hell of alot of manual labor.

Think cautiously about what you wish for. You just might get it. ;)

Man, I nearly shuttered when I saw this necro post come through my email. Whatever happened to Patrick? I can only imagine what became of him. And for that matter, what ever happened to ME?

When I was driving for Prime, I got 3 randoms in 1 month. Not much "random" about that. I was tested first 12/9, left Springfield and got to Kentucky. Was routed back for another "random" on the 13th. Left Springfield and was routed back 1/1 for another "random." After the 3rd one I asked the company lady in charge of the random drug screens and asked her how the hell I keep getting picked. She told me that once a month the company selects 15% of its drivers for randoms. I must have been picked for November and was routed on the 9th. Then selected for December and routed back on the 13th. And then selected for January and routed back. Yeah, the math didn't add up to me either.

Brett was correct in saying the lab must contact you if you test positive. If you kept the receipt that you get when you test, it's in the fine print stating that the lab doctor will contact you for any positive (or false positive) result. False positives are given when the sample you gave was diluted, meaning you drank a ton of water before the test and your urine was low in creatine. The lab will automatically assume that if you drank enough water to dilute the specimen that you were trying to hide something. In most cases here you'll still get a call from the lab asking you if and why you drank a bunch of water before sending the result to the requesting company. The same applies to a positive result. You'll get a call from the doctor asking if you took any medications or ate something that could have caused a positive result for THC. Some medications such as tetracycline or foods with poppy seeds can give a positive result for THC.

When the lab tests for THC they aren't actually looking for THC they are looking for a metabolite that your body secrets into your system when you have THC in your system. That metabolite stores particularly high in the fat cells in your bladder which is why THC can be detected for so long in urine after you ingest it. Your body secrets this same metabolite with some medications (like the one mentioned above) or ingest foods like poppy seeds and others. Thus you'll get a call before they contact the requesting company.

Like Errol mentioned, I think you just fell through the cracks of the recruiter or there could have been something else in your background they took a dislike to. I wouldn't sweat a possible positive test result. Either way if you want to keep a career in the trucking industry you had best stay well away from the buds.

Mr 6 string.........To satisfy your curiosity about a USF hub near Scranton....There is a USF Distribution Center (D/C) in Pittston PA. Next I think you have a great idea with a "local drivers" section or thread or whatever Brett is behind. I'd be more than happy to share my insights into the food distribution side of trucking, simply because the new hire turnover rate at my D/C is very high. I'm sure that's why USF in Florida is sooo particular on who they hire. It's a big pain in the ass I suppose to the company to set up all the benefit packages to new hires and spend the time to train them, to just have them quit 3-4 weeks into it. It's a VERY physically demanding job, more so than you might think.

I would also like to learn more about the other aspects of local driving as well. So hell yeah, great idea 6 string!! I pull an occasional set of doubles and have past experience in doubles but I'm curious to know more about the tanker set up.

I'd like to read about other people's local driving jobs. I'm just not interested in the OTR thing anymore. It was a means to an end for me. Once again congrats on the new job!! I know it feels great to be home every night! Good luck to you sir!

Hey Terry. We haven't conversed much on here, but I know who you are and have read your posts since you joined. I have a thread on a local driving job. It's all about LTL and linehaul, although I do touch on some P&D stuff and general things about what it's like to have a local gig. Based on your post, I take it you're in food service? The big one on the East Coast here is Sygma, a branch of Sysco.

Thank you for the reply 6 string! I'll look up your thread here and dive right in. And yes, you are correct, I work for US Foods in Florida. USF is the 2nd largest food distributor in the US. They tried merging with Sysco last year but the government stepped in and blocked it.

So I came out of hiding and researched you Daniel and low and behold I see this post! Props and congrats and the local gig!! I recognize the Williams trucking logo on that door from the many many years I lived in Sacramento. I almost went to work for a local Hazmat company here in Florida by the name of Florida rock and tank. I declined because of the low pay and long hours. (Ironic though the company I work for now I'm averaging 60-70 hours a week but only 5 days) FR&T works you right up to your 70 hour limit every week. They put in alot of 6 day weeks if they have enough time on Saturday to run a route. Long story short $16.00/hr wasn't worth the long hours. However, I guess the trade-off would be that my job now is very physically demanding. I move over 3,000 cases of food a week. I've lost all the 30 lbs I gained while driving OTR for 13 months. I may make close to double the pay but my body is taking a beating for it.

I'd like to hear an update on how things are going with the new gig! Also do you know if Tom's Sierra is still hauling fuel out there? They were based out of Colfax if memory serves me. For sure I'd like to hear about how many stops you average a day as well as driving miles. Have you got a regular route yet or are you running like a relief route?

I'd like to read about other people's local driving jobs. I'm just not interested in the OTR thing anymore. It was a means to an end for me. Once again congrats on the new job!! I know it feels great to be home every night! Good luck to you sir!

And all this is why I live here in Florida!! I've delivered to alot of these places already in the 3 months I've been working local. Congratulations on the 3 year milestone brother!! Here's to many more, should you choose to continue on your trucking path!!

I'm currently struggling with my 90 Degree backing. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank You

This can be answered a couple different ways depending on: A) if you're trying to do it on the pad for the cdl exam. B) real world backing. (You already have your cdl.)

It may sound strange but the way you back for the test is rarely used when you get out into the real world. After you have your cdl you set up for the alley dock different in that you never start from 90 degrees when at all possible.

It's tough to explain this without visual aids. I suggest going to YouTube and searching for the alley dock. For now that is the best advice I can give. When I'm not as tired (after working a 20 hour day) and if no-one else is weighed in I'll try to explain as best I can. Good luck in your video search!