Advice Needed On Restarting Truck Driving Career
Topic 1107 | Page 1
You didn't say how long you have been driving for your friend, but if you could drive for him for a year, you would have that requirement out of the way. Even with your cdl and stuff in hand, any company is gonna make you go thru a refresher course. It may be a week, it may be their whole course. That would totally be up to the company. You will be charged for any training past the basic company orientation, but why pay for what you are already getting from your friend ?? I'd drive for him for a year, then start applying at heavy haul companies....cut out the middle man,...
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Thank you for your prompt reply Starcar!
I have just used my friends truck to practice for a couple of hours and take the CDL practical exam and then I have done a few trips for him. Unfortunately, my friend is just a one truck operation who goes through brokers and such for his loads and thus cannot really make use of me, or should I say he cannot stand staying home with his family, for the next year while I am driving his truck.
It seems like the recency of experience issue is my greatest obstacle at this point.
I am willing to dole out some money for training to get my career back on the road quickly, do you think I should signup for an independent driving school (Though it seems like a bit of training overkill, it seems like some of these schools have connections that can get around the one year recency of experience requirement) or do you think I should try to seek a company that will train me in their own in-house school?
Thank you again for taking the time to consider my situation and giving me a thoughtful reply.
PS I am a product of Kirkland, Washington, so I suspect we have some common driving experiences.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Well Mark. Since your choices are limited, were I you, I'd go to Company-Sponsored Training , and apply at all the schools that you feel your a fit for. There is no specific school for RGN....but if you go with a school that does flatbed, you will get in and get out fasters, since you already know the ropes. And after doing a year behind the wheel, I have no doubts that you will be able to scoot right back into RGN... So try it that way....No use going thru a company that can't offer you what you really want to do, and have experience in....
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
While on paper your past experience will help you SOME but being out of trucking period for 25 years that will hurt you. Basically you are in the same boat as a rookie.
Heavy haul operations will not touch you until you have been OTR for at least a year or two.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
You can also apply to trucking companies and they will tell you what requirements they have to bring you on with them. Most of them will give you some schools in your area that offer refresher courses and they'll tell you how many hours of training they would like you to have.
I'm not sure if you're going to have much luck taking this route or not. If it had only been 2 or 3 years, no problem. But a quarter of a century? They may require you to take the entire training program again. But it certainly never hurts to try. Someone may just tell you to take a quick 20 or 40 hour course and they'll turn you loose.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
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Hello fellow truckers,
I would appreciate it if you could advise me on how to get my truck driving career restarted.
I am 55 years old and have a little more than 10 years of heavy haul RGN trailer, related heavy equipment hauling and flatbed experience throughout the western states with a clean MVR. For the most part, the only driving I have done is related to heavy haul, so I am more than light on van, refer, and other such experience. For the past 25 years, I have been a businessman and owner/partner in unrelated industries. Recently, I successfully sold my business and would like to return to truck driving and especially heavy haul, if possible.
Using a friend's truck, I recently re-obtained my Class-A CDL in Florida, Hazmat certification, and TWIC validation. To get get back up to speed and obtain some recency of driving experience, I have been doing some for my friend's dry van driving for him.
Now, I would like to get a job driving with the goal of getting back into heavy haul at some point. It appears, from the online driver job sites that experienced heavy haul drivers are in considerable demand. However, before I start my job search I want to make sure I have a handle on the current job market for a driver with my background. The questions I have for my fellow drivers are: In today's job market is my lack of recent experience going to hold me back? Age? Lack of recency of experience insurance requirements? Some other factor I have not considered?
Any assistance and advice you current drivers can offer will be greatly appreciated!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
MVR:
Motor Vehicle Record
An MVR is a report of your driving history, as reported from your state Department of Motor Vehicles. Information on this report may include Drivers License information, point history, violations, convictions, and license status on your driving record.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.