Looking For A Little Insight On Choosing A Trucking Company
Topic 17818 | Page 2
Oh I did forget to mention that a prehire is simply an "invite to the party". Always keep in mind that orientation is a really long interview. Glad you got lots if prehires. I can tell you my daughter only had 1 such ticket, and she ended up with only 2 choices, so decided to wait till everything drops off.
Ohhh ok I see. Yea I learned that while I was still in cdl school, so what I started doing is calling them and asking before I submit an app "will I be hireable with these 2 tickets". I'm not looking to shoot up to the top of the echelon out the gate, just a decent "starter" to get my years worth of "feet wet" and time for the tickets to drop. I'd sure hate to wait, then when the time comes I have no tickets but no experience as well. A year or 2 of experience and no tickets seems to knock out 2 birds with one stone.
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.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Prehire:
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.
Prehires:
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.
I hear ya. I honestly wish my daughter had gone ahead and went with one of those 2 companies (Werner & P.A.M.) because she could have more than a year experience under her belt, before hers comes close to dropping off.
I'm sure bills are pressing, but 3 weeks isn't very far off. Of course it might be 3 weeks before they get you to orientation, but then sometimes they have you on the ol grey dog in a few days.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
You can apply to a ton if companies at one time here cause Brett and this site is awesome.
And my freakin dispatcher went and got himself promoted which he deserved.
Damn Right......It about time those Rascally Dispatchers get what they deserve!!!!!!!
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Lol he was a good guy and kept me moving pretty well.
I think I can count on one hand the times I had to take a 34 because I ran out of hours even while having codrivers that thought driving for 8hrs was a lot. And running back and forth coast to coast those were the times I would run out of hours. I'm pretty sure he caught onto this.
And I like to stay out for awhile at a time.
A few times my codrivers got mad and demanded to go home and they got their home "by the book" which was no more than four days and I would let him know it was getting to be time for me to get home "soon" and he would say give me a call next week sometime and we'll get you a load out.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I told my dispatcher that if he ever changes companies I would consider following him. Love that man.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I hear ya. I honestly wish my daughter had gone ahead and went with one of those 2 companies (Werner & P.A.M.) because she could have more than a year experience under her belt, before hers comes close to dropping off.
I'm sure bills are pressing, but 3 weeks isn't very far off. Of course it might be 3 weeks before they get you to orientation, but then sometimes they have you on the ol grey dog in a few days.
If she's willing to run reefer LTL , she should give Witte Bros a call. I don't know if they'll take her or not, but it can't hurt to try. Good home time, decent miles, and mileage pay looks a little low but they pay for every detail under the sun (they pay for every dock you bump, every pallet you unload yourself, detention pay, you name it) and it all adds up. If she doesn't want to unload herself, they will cover lumper fees, but she'll lose the unloading pay. Trucks are all less than 5 years old and come with fridge, microwave, inverter, TV and blu-ray players. Another thing, they bend over backwards to help drivers when something comes up. They're a family-owned company with almost 200 trucks and have their own in-house school (none of this third party contract school CDL factory stuff). School has two instructors and class sizes are small. Only one class at a time, usually 5-10 students total. The catch on the school is $500 up front and drive for them for a year (though they may work with you on the up-front cost).
I got my CDL through them 2-1/2 years ago, made $25k in the first seven months (started driving solo at the beginning of June) and I'm still with them.
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.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Yea I made that bed, I'm going to lie in it. I've filled out at least 20 apps, I'd say about 5 said he'll no (they aren't know to be starter companies in the first place), 5 said they'll hire me in 3 weeks when one falls off, and the remaining 5 gave me offers. From the companies I've been applying to, the biggest thing is either waiting until one falls off in 3 weeks or waiting until the other is older than a year in may. I just don't want to sit around at all waiting, I'm super anxious to start, and well, the bills will still be due lol
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.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.