Class B To Class A, In A Round About Way
Topic 13027 | Page 1
Day one of "training" at GCC...
Lots of videoconferencing. Lots of paperwork. At least they bought us a hot lunch and even paid us on the clock during lunch!
We were shown several videos and photos of the horrible wrecks that have happened while driving a mixer truck. 30k pounds of constantly moving slop, constantly altering your center of gravity, in an already top heavy truck. A truck, mind you, that is generally prone to roll-over even at speeds as low as 12 mph, due to the giant spinning drum sitting behind your arse.
Exciting.
The pay scale, especially for a beginner like myself, is pretty darned good, $15 an hour. 8 paid holidays in addition to the PTO you earn each week. Free steel toe boots, free company shirts, and free fancy high-risk winter jacket!
So far I'm impressed.
I'll have an in-the-cab driving instructor for as long as I need it, roughly one to three weeks, before I will go solo.
More paperwork tomorrow... Then maybe out for some road time Thursday!
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I've had a Class B CDL for the last three years or so, ( passenger and air brakes) which is all I needed at the time.
I made the mistake of thinking that I could climb the corporate ladder at Walmart. Buhwahahahaha Apparently I was lacking in corporate skills, and overflowing with a tad too much Pirate.
I hated dealing with the children they insisted on hiring at that store anyway.
Moving along, I'm now an apprentice at a local cement company driving a cement truck ( class B) and I'll be working on upgrading to a class A during the next 12 months.
I am envious of those of you who have the time/funding/etc to attend a truck driving school. I happen to be in a situation where I cannot afford to NOT get paid. No savings, and no credit. I have to keep paying bills, and keep a roof over my family's heads.
There happens to be a cement mixer truck job opening about a half mile down the road and they're willing to train me and the pay is decent. $15 an hour to start and plenty of hours.
I plan on working there for at least a year, maybe more if I like it. This should get me valuable experience "behind the wheel", and verifiable hours in the old logbook.
I figure that after 6 months I should be able to upgrade to a Class A, and also I'll be able to see if I am up for real over the road driving. The following 6 months I can spend doing research and see what's what with all the big companies that will hire a Class A with just a little experience.
I'll try to keep everyone updated as this idea of mine progresses, good or bad.
Looking forward to everyone's comments or suggestions!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
Over The Road:
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated