Profile For Gar H.

Well now I have been driving for a year and 2months. The private school just got me trained enough to pass the test. My company had to teach me how to drive correctly. No double clutching, palming the turns are ok now. My backing is much better now, (some of that could just be experience ). I do like driving the big trucks. Glad at 62 I have a supporting wife.

We slowed during April But seem to be back up to speed. Local hauling, mostly grass seed in 50lb bags or 2,200 bulk bags. Up to 56,000Lb loads. We usually get 3 loads a day but also get part loads with 4-7 stops out and back before the next trip/load. We have 1 summer driver just started Friday and may have another soon. I started last year April and have gotten 2raises so far. My wife and I are looking into relocating to Texas so I will need to find a new company to work for. I do like the day cab and 6 or 7 am start time M-F with some Saturday morning work. I have thought about tankers and gravel trucks as a change up but also a line haul job. I do enjoy looking out the window and getting paid. At 63, hand loading even with a hand truck or pallet jack holds no interest for me. Thanks to cars who like to pull out in front of us causing a heavy braking check,..I have had to move a lot of grass seed bags back onto pallets. Good exercise but not what I want to do all day. Overall I think our company is doing fine and a lot of the farmers are optimistic about this year coming out okay. Any have an outlook on the hill country in Texas? As I am just 1year into driving truck, I am not sure where is the best place to start looking for work in a different state. We will be getting more serious about moving this fall.

I started school March 2019 at 62 years old,. I did a local private school that taught how to pass the CDL-A test in Oregon. I started work in April once I passed the test and got my license then I learned how to drive right. I drive a Day cab 13speed Pete 379 with a drop axle towing a spread axle curtain van. 92,000 gross rating. I do some forklift loading/Unloading but mostly the farmers and warehouse guys do that. Moving grass seed Monday-Friday and some Saturday work during the summer. There are a lot of tight driveways and small roads Going to some of the farms. Makes the heart rate jump but so far no ditch time. Spread axle trailer takes more room to back up and really scrubs the front tires when turning tight. As for the age thing I seem to doing okay. And plan to work full time for another 6 years. Then I may go part time. My background is electronics and I worked 36 years as a copier/printer technician. The company I work for was one of my copier customers. My wife and I are considering a move to Texas and so far like the hill country best. Kerrville area has our attention as we have liked our visits around there. We also have been looking at a Simi tractor set up for towing our 5th wheel RV. It’s a 10 speed and was being setup for a full timer RV. We figured my wife could learn how to drive simi’s too with that setup. It does have a RV size 5th wheel plate and is being used to tow the current owners RV.

Wow 3 weeks into school and I am doing okay . In Oregon the testers want you to double clutch vrs float the gears. Doing good with the 13 speed manual we have in the school trucks but the recruiters who drop by say most everyone is going to automatics. There is a lot to learn in a short time and our snow at the end of February left us with “holdover” students. So our first week &1/2 we had to share the trucks and training. Seems to put us behind a bit but mostly we will be ready to test out on time. Now it’s job hunting time. Narrow down the places I would like to work at and get all the paperwork done. I did get a scholarship for the school but I wonder if the company sponsored schools would have been better with newer trucks and better equipment. We have a trailer “out of service “ and a tractor in for maintenance. The teaching instructors seem good and keep me laughing. Working on perfecting my per-trip this weekend and finishing up the homework.

Our scholarships are approved and we start school on Monday the 4th of March. Val has been practicing backing up while we have been on our last 5th wheel adventure before school. We had stopped by the school before we started on this trip and the Owner ( also an instructor) talked to her about how to backup the trailer. She did all the parking and backing up on the road to Roswell NM to visit family and around Arizona to find sunshine. Just the short time he spent with her teaching her to back up really helped. Now it’s just 2 more days and back to home. We meet with the scholarship program people on 28th for final paperwork and instructions. We are excited and nervous about starting the school. For now she is wanting a local driver job after school is done. She has missed the kids ( grown ) and the big kitchen after 2 years of adventure in our 5th wheel trailer. Maybe in a few years we can do team driving OTR but for now local work seems to be looking good. Lots of options and opportunities in our area. Now for the interesting work of getting through school.

Well so far I have passed my knowledge, air brakes and combinations CDP test. Figured with an Oregon driver license, might be easier to start school with the permit out of the way. Working on the endorsements now. Trying to learn more about the Pre-hire and how to go about that. My wife is liking it back in Oregon, but still wants to relocate to the Hill country of Texas. She has passed the Knowledge and air brakes test and is working on the combination test practice questions,..doing great thanks to your training program. Today I went riding with my neighbor in the log truck, a different view of the forest from up high as my pickup sits a lot lower, (of course). Thank You again for this site Garwin

I have read through both articles Old School posted. Good information. After doing lots of reading, my wife has decided that at this time she wouldn’t be a good candidate for OTR BUT does want to drive. She has talk to a couple of ladies that drive gravel truck and get home every night. Long hours in the summer construction season seem okay to them, just have to budget for the winter slow season. Local haul and ltl are a consideration too, but construction has the “Davis-bacon act” and so Lady drivers, because they are minority, are needed for Government jobs. So now this throws a monkey wrench in the paid-cdl school for an OTR company. We are currently back in Oregon and may get our permits here before heading to school in Texas. Up here we have a large gravel/cement company that is short 67 drivers. I wonder if that’s the case in texas? Do local haul, LTL, or dump truck companies sponsor CDL students? From what I have read,CDL Schools just get you to be able to pass the test. They don’t really have you ready to jump in a truck and start driving everywhere. It seems like at school a student may get 20-30 hours of actual driving time. Maybe a little more but mast seem to put 2-4 students in a truck at the same time. High School driver training all over again. As a kid I got to work and drive on Uncles farms in the summer work season, so when driver training took place I already knew how to drive in the country. I learned the city driving was WAY different, but the teacher liked to use me as an good example for the other kids. I followed her directions well and was sharp. I am sure watching others will help but will also limit the time of “wheel in hand” learning. So does CDL Schooling just get a person ready to start training at a real job. And how long does a dump truck take to learn? Are there opportunities in the dump Truck driving in the Hill country of Texas?

By the way, Happy New Year everyone. We hope for a wonderful 2019. Thanks again for all the information and advice. It’s nice to find an upbeat web site. We are looking forward to this new year and lifestyle.

I too would like to hear how things are going after school, I am looking into driving and what is to be expected and possible. So much negativity in the web has left my wife very unsure if this is a good idea. We are considering team driving after school but I am not sure if she will follow through with the idea and start school with me or not.

A friend of my wife has talked to her about the dispatches for loads often don’t get you home when you want. He said once you get company paid training, they hold the cost of schooling over your head and run you ragged. He said a lot of new truckers quit because of the total lack of dispatch getting them home when they want/need home time. They have too many loads needing moved and don’t care where you want to go. If you get tired of that and quit,..you have to pay the company back for the school. She is very worried about being ran ragged and forced dispatch. And the cost of training held over her head. Some of the schools have a Pro-rate on the school cost so I think we will be okay. Also as we would have to be “out of pocket “ up front with private schools. Then with private schooling, it’s getting a pre-hire agreement or job hunting after we are done. How does it work as far as the school and company being a different state from our resident? In Texas you have 90 days to get a Texas license once you move there. If we go to Swift or Knights school in Arizona don’t we end up with a Arizona license and once we move to Texas we have to take the CDL test all over? Training in Sunny Arizona during the winter sounds great. We like warm weather. Also with a home in Oregon too ( her son lives at home ) we would like to be able to drop by there for a few days a month. She has thought about it a lot and would like to get a “home at night” or “home every other night “job after building up the experience needed, 1-2 years it sounds like. As it is getting close to the new year, we are feeling the need to figure this out soon. I am a lot more comfortable with changing situations then she is. She would like a rock solid plan for the road ahead, I am okay with winging it (Pilots LOL) Old School, you stated that your dispatch can get you home when you want. How often are you turned down on that? Would you recommend Knight as a place to start and a good school? Wow there’s a lot to learn about this industry, and so many options and opportunities.

Paid CDL school training program is plan “A”,.. we figure you pass and your hired. As for Texas, it’s where we want to live and we like the state Tax structure. ( no payroll Tax ) Some of the Texas schools seem to state that we must be Texas residents so we will need to switch from Rainy Oregon. We both like warmer weather. As we want to move to Texas and it seems that wherever you go to school you need an in-state license for CDL training, we figure on schooling there. We are open to other ideas which is why we are asking lots of questions and reading suggested material. G-Town,..are you saying that we can go to school and work for an out-of-state company and still relocate to Texas? That would broaden our search and possibilities. Bretts book was good and I read it in 2 days ( while getting ready for Christmas too),..I will look into the link you just posted too. Thank You.