Profile For James K.

I just started school and one of the first major topics they covered was logging your hours. Talking about how much you can work etc. But he made it very big deal you get fined all the time if your off by just a bit on this stuff. So when you actually are on a real job are you still very much responsible for this or is it more steamlined and your fleet managers are something kind of can figure it out for you? Or maybe a program or something keeps up with it for you....

Also, holy this school is 3 weeks long and they move a little too fast for me and only 30mins break jeeeez... >.>

Yeah this is a big deal and yes you are responsible for your logbooks. Qualcomm made it easy to look at how much drive time was remaining and that if you forgot to log certain actions would do so automatically for you such as if you turned off the truck and got out it would automatically put you on duty not driving and if you go above 5 mph it would put you driving.

I just left a guarantee pay company K&B transportation I realized that they were strictly a relay company Meaning I rarely ever got a long haul load that I would actually deliver. Three months of being On the road for three to four weeks at a time and I never once made more than the guarantee.

Yeah i don't know. My trainer was always complaining that the student was making more than him because we sat alot and when we got a good load it would either get cancelled or someone else hit the joint before we could and while i was on guarantee he wasn't and he would always be talking about going to another company and thought i would be abandoned. He was a pretty good guy and i seen some of the trainers we had where the student was afraid to get back on the truck because their trainers were just nasty to them so i didn't want to lose him.

So the company i drove for last year keeps sending me emails trying to recruit me back by saying that they have a 1000 minimum guarantee in weekly pay and that sounds so good but I am trying to figure out the catch to it. Is there anyone here that drives for this type of company that can shed some light on this becomes it seems like a too good to be true pitch to get drivers. For now i will keep the company anonymous.

Thanks

Alright so here i am James K! Thanks for posting your out of state license post which sure helped me obtain my Ohio state CDL without a written test. Unfortunately, they DID NOT transfer my hazmat endorsement from MARYLAND and told me that i will have to carry out the whole process (fingerprinting/backgroundcheck/fees) all over again! BUT! When you arrive at a BMV in OH state they DO NOT ACCEPT your apartment/home lease as a proof of residence keep that in mind folks! The easiest,cheapest and best way is to transfer your out of state title to OH state which costs 18.50 plus the inspection (inspection comprises of ONLY vin number verification and has to match the title of your vehicle) that costs a mere 3.50! The transfer of my CDL cost me about 47.00 dollars with my endorsements being transferred along ,i.e, tanker and doubles and triples! And the location i went to was the same as you suggested me so with out any second thoughts i went to the alum creek location and had my CDL transferred in one plain trip to the BMV! Thanks again for the useful info James K and keep up the good work!

Not a problem and here to help. I didn't think anything of it for the hazmat because I had it in NV and when i switched to PA for a short time they didn't allow you to transfer so i dropped, plus im not actively driving or planning to drive Hazmat so i said the hell with it. But i don't think many states allow you to transfer the Hazmat and they will essentially make you start all over.

But I am glad you got everything taken care of.

James

Hey James K your update sure turned out to be a big relief not because i was worried or anything but like you said its just a hassle to go thru again! Anyways i ll be moving to OH from MD and will be switching my CDL just like you did! But can you please tell me which BMV branch did you go to? Can you please specify the location/address? And what documents did they ask you to produce? Any? Or just none at all? I mean to prove your residency? I only have my lease on me and was wondering if they will accept it as a proof. Also did they ask you for your new DOT medical card or were they just ok with the one that you have from your previous state/doctor? Once again i really appreciate this update and will highly appreciate your response! Thanks again and good luck!

I believe the one on Alum Creek Rd. They call it a 1 stop shop.

Documents you want to bring with you to change license over

- License from previous state -SSN Card -Birth cert. w/ raised seal(Not copy) You can use a bank statement or insurance card for residency, or your lease agreement should suffice, anything with your name and new address on it. You will need Ohio insurance before you register. - Medical card but there are several self certification classifications. I am not actively driving so my CDL doesn't require my medical to be current but I can't drive a commercial vehicle across state lines although I have a valid medical. Just its unreadable as its worn and didn't want to make contact with my office where I had it done. I will upgrade back to category 1 when I decide to go back.

Registering your vehicle is a different story its a pain in the ass because you have to rely on your lienholder which is the pain in the ass part. First you might want to call your lienholder if you have one to have them send the title because you need to convert the title to OH before you can register. - Then you want to get an inspection done. ( Simple just go to a car dealership and they verify your vin and ensure its your vehicle ) Then you go to register your car.

Honestly I think they should just have a national CDL license instead of state issues. I shouldn't have to recertify and retest and all that **** but its revenue to the states and that's all its about is money greedy *******s. Good luck to you.

Interesting. I'll be taking my permit test probably on wednesday. I'll try to remember to post in this thread and let you know for sure.

Yeah i already had a CDL from PA. The website says that when out of state licenses transfer over to Ohio that you need to take the General knowledge exam but the road test is waived unless you have a restriction. You are going for your permit so you will be taking all the appropriate tests. Good luck on them. Just think safety and common sense situations and you will do fine. I was just passing on information to those who may be moving to Ohio and already have a cdl.

Hey important info for those considering to transfer their CDL's to Ohio in the future. I just did it today and although I am not driving anymore, I went back to my original career in the federal gov. i wanted to keep my CDL because I just never know and i invested alot of money into it just to give it up like that.

Anyway I just wanted to let everyone know and the point of this post is that I don't think you have to take the Gen. Knowledge tests anymore because they waived them all for me today unless it was the guy being lazy. The website says that you need to take the CDL General knowledge so i did study up but didn't have to take them. The guy did say they don't make us take them anymore. Huge sigh of relief. I could probably pass them but didn't want the stress of a test if that makes sense.

Anyway i just wanted to pass that info for those who maybe curious.

I have a problem and maybe can get the answer here . Why is it that truck companies want OTR experience when their job they are listing has nothing to do with OTR? I am not understanding the point of having 2 years of OTR experience when the job doesn't require sleeping in a berth or showering once a week at a truck stop. I am a believer that these are 2 totally diffrent sides of the truck driving bed. Non OTR is a job where as OTR is a life. Either way you will have to learn the rig your going to be driving as i found out they all drive different, even if its the same 10 speed. You still have to have some sort of training they won't just give you keys and say deliver this. I am not trying to be rude so i don't want rude responses. If i knew the answer i wouldn't ask it

Wow, you guys really "know" a lot about this industry and its inner workings. If things are like you say then you made a dumb choice becoming a truck driver instead of owning a company where you say all the money is.

There is a large group of guys (owner operators) that like to spout "backhaul". "I'll run this load and get a back haul when I get there." In other words i will run my truck for cheap. If that's the case everywhere you go its someones "back haul". Everyone fights each other in this business.

Oh, you mean it's like companies are competing against each other? I never would have guessed. And yes, everywhere you go it is indeed someone's backhaul which they may be willing to do for cheap. It's one of the long list of reasons why I say it's a bad idea to own or lease a truck in this business. The profit margins, if there are any profits, are very thin. Competition is fierce.

if this bill did pass everyone would be IC independent contractor 1099 instantly

See, you say dumb things like this because you're getting too emotional about the subject. That kills your credibility. Your brain stops working but your fingers keep typing. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I don't believe this Bill being passed is going to force everyone to become owner operators, not even over a 10 year period, let alone 'instantly'.

Then i find out that these companies also make somewhere around 300 a day per person in their orientation hotel rooms waiting to get out.

And from what reliable source did you get this tidbit of information from? And what would you say it means? Is all the hiring in the industry just a scam to get $300 for having someone in orientation? Hey, maybe companies secretly want you to quit so they can just keep hiring people and making money off the government in orientation, right? Come on, get real. Think about it.

Do you think in a company with 5,000 or 10,000 trucks there are people sitting around going, "Hey, maybe we can keep this company alive and turning big profits by pretending to hire a lot of people and secretly collecting fees from the government!" Take Swift for instance. They had 4.3 billion in revenues in 2014. Do you think keeping a few extra students in orientation to collect $300 a day is going to be a worthwhile strategy in a company with 4.3 billion in revenues? Do you think this is the kind of stuff upper management is scheming in their meetings?

Listen, you guys can scream to the high heavens about getting screwed by everyone all the time but complaining isn't doing any good and 95% of what you're saying is baloney anyhow. I think the solution to your problem is simple, really. Since you know where the easy profits are then go get em. Why waste your time sitting here complaining that you're getting screwed while others rake in the easy money? Why not go get some of the easy money for yourselves? If I knew there was easy money in owning trucks or being a freight broker or whatever then I'd go after it. If there were jobs that paid nothing I'd avoid them.

Im not saying they want them to quit. I am saying that they are getting money from the government from the people who are at orientation because i asked why there are people here for 3 weeks before getting the boot and i was told that was why they keep them here for so long because they make money to have them there. But I think my portion of this is getting twisted. All i wanted to say in this was that i felt the reason the turnover rate is over 100% is because drivers are paid so little for the hours put in and that companies can probably afford to pay more than they do.

Do the math you will most likely put in 70 hours a week most weeks and you may get to that magic number of 1000. But you do realize you are essentially working almost 2 full workweeks to earn that 1000. That is crazy to me.

Well you guys are spouting the typical "truckers against trucking management" and "business owners versus employers" stuff which, as usual, holds very little water. People who have never owned a business always think every business owner is just swimming in cash.

Companies have the money to pay their drivers more and they just pocket it instead.

James, you should be right on Rich's tail. Get out there and buy yourself some trucks and pocket all that easy money. Why sit around complaining about not getting your share? Go get it!

In recent years Europe has made some changes to their pay for truck drivers. I know almost nothing about it except that it's now focused more on hourly wages than it is on mileage pay.

This is the first I've heard about this Bill being proposed. If they changed over to hourly pay it would turn the entire industry on its head. I have no idea if anything like this would ever see the light of day. The technicalities involved would be enormous. Everything in the industry would change. From the way the janitors mop the floors to the way CEO's conduct meetings and everything in between. It would all be overhauled. Brokers, logistics software, sales negotiations - everything would change. Not to mention a tidal wave of lawsuits going in all directions for years to come.

The other thing you have to consider is this. Right now companies and drivers make money the same way - by keeping those wheels turning. The more freight a company can move the more money they'll make and the more money the drivers will make.

If you change it to an hourly system of some sort you're now riddled with the same problem that all hourly workers and employers of those workers face - you have opposing goals. In an hourly type system the worker wins by doing as little work as possible while riding the clock. The employer wins by squeezing more work out of the workers than they're paying out in wages. So while the employer is trying to work you to death, the employees are trying to get by with as little work as possible. It's a constant bashing of heads and someone is almost always going to lose.

With mileage pay the company and the drivers win or lose together. You're both on the same side. The employers are desperately trying to get all the freight they can and the drivers are trying to turn all the miles possible.

If they came up with a hybrid system of some sort it might not work out too badly. Keep the mileage pay but include a small hourly rate for "on duty, not driving" time. Now here's where this would get interesting. The overwhelming majority of your paycheck would be made turning miles. Now you might get a few bucks an hour riding the "on duty, not driving" line, essentially getting paid to do little or nothing most of the time, but you're also going to be eating into your available on duty time. If you waste time "on duty, not driving" making minimum wage you're not going to have the hours available to turn miles and your paycheck is going to suffer terribly.

So in the end it wouldn't change much of anything. Trucking companies would simply adjust. First of all they'd reward freight based on how efficiently a driver is using his time. For those who want to sit around collecting minimum wage they'll let you do just that most of the time. You'll spend your time making minimum wage sitting in truck stops until you go broke. For those who want to run their tails off and make those big paychecks the company will make sure to help you do so. This is pretty much how things are done today anyhow.

Trucking companies are like any other major corporation out there man. Im talking swift, werner etc... The CEO's of those company probably rake in millions if not billions while their drivers are on the road 330 days out of the year missing life events and working 70 hour weeks just to try and earn 1000 a week and usually come up short.

Then i find out that these companies also make somewhere around 300 a day per person in there orientation hotel rooms waiting to get out. So they keep the drivers they know either aren't going to medically clear or mainly background stuff just to keep a warm body in the room until the next orientation then tell them they couldn't hire them and send them packing on the greyhound. I am just stating these companies are just as greedy as any other corp. out there. and thats their right but they want to know why they can't keep new drivers.