Picking The Right Company To Start With
Topic 21980 | Page 4
Awesome read!! Thank you for all your help Rainy!! I really truly appreciate it.
When you go to tight places, watch the other drivers. Where did they start their U Turn to get on the drivers side? how far up did they go? At what location were the tandems when they began to pivot into the spot? Did they have enough room to make it a straight line back?
You can learn a lot from watching if you know what to watch for. If you are that nervous about it, go to a truck stop and watch now. check out youtube videos about backing. Get a toy truck and watch how the trailer turns in relation to.the cab. One of the biggest challenges of teaching it is that we all find a style that is right for us. I bet none of us here does it the same way. It takes about 6 mos to click. Using Google earth is great to visualize your entrance and set up. set up several times if you must.
Search for Errol Vs backing lessons.
No one company is going to make a difference with backing. Here's my backing fear story.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Start here:
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road CDL Training Program
- CDL Practice Tests
Then look here:
- Trucker's Career Guide: Choosing Your First Truck Driving Job
- Article Category: Finding The Right Truck Driving Job
- Forum Topics Tagged "Choosing A Trucking Company"
Now my $0.02. Pick a company that fits your needs best. CPM does not tell the whole story. For example CFI starts you at. 26 CPM while with a trainer. Then 33 CPM until 30,000 miles, 35 CPM 30,000 to 90,000, 37 CPM 90,000 to 120,000. At that point you will be at 40 CPM. They also have a safety bonus, hazmat and Northeast pay. Extra money for multi stop loads, boarder crossings, short haul, detention and layover. So there is much to think about when choosing a company. Try to pick a forever company. Good luck.
Hey Big Scott, are you a trainer yet for CFI?
No. Don't know that I want to share my truck. Also, I think I have to be there a year first.
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.
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
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
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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When you go to tight places, watch the other drivers. Where did they start their U Turn to get on the drivers side? how far up did they go? At what location were the tandems when they began to pivot into the spot? Did they have enough room to make it a straight line back?
You can learn a lot from watching if you know what to watch for. If you are that nervous about it, go to a truck stop and watch now. check out youtube videos about backing. Get a toy truck and watch how the trailer turns in relation to.the cab. One of the biggest challenges of teaching it is that we all find a style that is right for us. I bet none of us here does it the same way. It takes about 6 mos to click. Using Google earth is great to visualize your entrance and set up. set up several times if you must.
Search for Errol Vs backing lessons.
No one company is going to make a difference with backing. Here's my backing fear story.
Hope for a Lousy Backer
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".