Profile For Stone Dude

Well after a lot of waiting at both the doctors and the DoT my Class is back to Interstate and my medical card is on file. Now to start researching companies.

I'm pretty set on going flatbed and I'm going to start with companies that train new drivers (as they should have fewer problems training someone who already has a CDL). I'm hearing a lot of good things about Prime, but not sure yet where else to try.

I was in your same situation last year. 3 months experience with a 10 year break. I went with Prime last January. After orientation I skipped their PSD phase and went straight to the TNT phase for 3 months. I have been on my own as a company driver since April and have not regreted the choice.

Thanks for the info. Prime is on my list of potential places to apply.

You might want to check and make sure your cdl is still valid. If your med certificate expires your cdl automatically gets downgraded in some states. You will probably have to go through a refresher course. Figure out what company you want to work for and find out what they require for a refresher.

Thanks for the heads up. I checked and since I don't have a medical certificate on file they downgraded me to Class A Intrastate Only. So looks like I'll have to spring for a physical. I figured whoever hired would give me a new one so I didn't think it was a big deal, but I seem to be wrong.

So, I'm kind of at a crossroads. I graduated from a truck driving school about 10 years ago. Afterwords I drove a flatbed for 3 months and liked it. What I didn't like was the constant calls and complaints from my then girlfriend and my mother about stuff like 'I was gone so much' and 'when was I getting home' and 'what was I doing out there' and so I quit after 3 months. Since then I've done a few different local driving jobs (bus driver, drove a straight truck delivering construction supplies, etc) but as of late the work has been a lot harder to find. I'm currently not even driving, I'm working through a temp service building crates for just slightly above minimum wage. However, my living situation is such that the idea of living out of a truck is sounding pretty okay, and I no longer have to worry about getting nagging calls the whole time I'm on the road. So I'm seriously looking into getting back out on the road and would love any and all advice I can get. Plus, like I said, I liked the job, and after 3 months I was just starting to get good at it. And I figure if dumbass 26 year old me can do it, less dumbass 36 year old me should be even better at it.

I still have my Class A. (No Medical certificate at the moment. It expired last year and since I wasn't using it I didn't renew it). My driving history is clean. I've been looking around at some companies and it seems like 3 months experience 10 years ago counts as no experience, but I have to imagine that at the very least any company that would hire someone without a CDL to train up should hire someone with one. Right? Wherever I go I expect I'll have to go through training and go out with someone for a period of time just like any other new driver, which I can deal with.