Going Back To OTR Driving After A Long Absence?
Topic 16224 | Page 1
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.
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.
Yeah definitely check with the licensing bureau. In New York they'll downgrade your licence if your medical card expires but they'll give you a year to get your physical and it gets reinstated. But each state is different.
Regardless, you're definitely going to have to go through a training program again after being away that long. The fastest, easiest, least expensive way to get going is likely through a Company-Sponsored Training Program but you can also look into taking a refresher course and finding work that way. But if you wanted to go the refresher route you have to make sure someone is going to hire you afterwards. So you would want to apply for jobs first and get some pre-hires. The pre-hires will tell you what refresher course or full training program they would require of you. Don't just sign up for a refresher course assuming someone will hire you afterward. That's not necessarily the case.
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.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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.
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.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
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.
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.
Intrastate:
The act of purchasers and sellers transacting business while keeping all transactions in a single state, without crossing state lines to do so.
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.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
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.
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
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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.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: