Student In A Private CDL School
Topic 22128 | Page 2
I finally got to drive today! I was super nervous but I knew it was now or never. The instructor pulled into an industrial park in Chicago and gave a crash course on shifting. Then I got behind the wheel. A few minutes into it I took a right hand turn and I find myself in traffic, learning how to shift, with a dry van. I didn’t kill the engine, run over any curbs, or grind the gears. I was far from perfect but it was such a great feeling when I was done. I learned a lot considering I’ve never driven any sort of Manuel transmission in my life. I can’t wait to get more seat time! I’m on my way!
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.
Yes, you are on the way. Stay excited and stay vigilant. Good luck!
Key, Living in the Chicago area the opportunities for you are numerous. Just about every major truckload carrier, LTL , and Intermodel has some kind of operations near and around Chicago. Apply everywhere.
Things you need to figure out are: what kind of trailer do you want to pull.
Passenger/Pet Policies (if applicable)
Hometime frequency
Other than that you could pretty much throw darts at a dart board with the amount of options you will have available.
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
I’ve applied at about 10 major carriers so far. I’ve been rejected from a couple. I received a pre-hire through Swift.
I think I want to do OTR for at least a year to learn as much as I can. Home time isn’t a major concern at this point. If I could get home every 3 weeks or so for a day or 2 I would be fine with that. My girlfriend and I agree being gone for a year isn’t that big of a deal to start a career I will hopefully be doing for the rest of my life. I understand it won’t be a walk in the park but with modern technology it would be a little easier to get through it.
I’m pretty much just throwing darts at this point to see who will give me a chance. I haven’t looked into local jobs because I would rather be OTR to try and prove to myself and others I will have what it takes to be sucessful.
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.
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.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
H. O. Wolding has freight that goes to Chicago. You are definitely in their hiring area. My only advice before signing on. Go check out the many scrap paper places around Chicago. You will become intimately familiar with them while sitting in a 72 foot long articulated vehicle that is 13'6" high and 8 1/2 feet wide. Not to mention places like InterCity Supply and Newly Weds Foods.
You get loads to go home by getting loads going home, lol.
Did I mention our trucks are Blue?
Key City wrote in reference to his first year in trucking:
I understand it won’t be a walk in the park but with modern technology it would be a little easier to get through it.
You are right about that, it won't be a walk in the park. However we've all been through it and many, many of us in the forum have survived the first year to eventually thrive and prosper.
We have lots of good stuff in the blog section relevant to first year expectations.
Like this one written by Old School:
Four Traps That New Truck Drivers Fall Into
Although I could render a guess; what is it about "technology" that you believe will enable a little easier time during the first year? Not an expectation we typically see, so I am interested to read your thoughts on that.
And by the way, if Swift is the only company offering you a pre-hire , I could think of worse things. Many of us on here are happy driving for Swift. Some of us for many years.
Good luck!
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.
With technology it’s not like I would have to find a pay phone to call friends or family. I could lurk their facebooks to see what people are up too without even communicating with them. I could use FaceTime to talk to my girlfriend. Instead of just hearing her voice on the phone I could actually see her new haircut and things like that. I just think with cellphones it would make the aspect of being lonely a little easier.
I expect to get a few more pre-hires. My last job is being kind of ridiculous not confirming my employment. A few companies just tell them to e-mail my W2 from that job. A few companies are still investigating my background. I’m not to worried about finding a job. I’m pretty confident it will happen.
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.
Okay...totally get that. I FaceTime my granddaughter every day.
I passed my Pre-trip inspection at the DMV today! I knew I would but I was so nervous I could hardly talk! I did great though.
On the air brakes he skipped the Static test completely. When I got done with the rest of them the tester says, ( in a weird kinda mean tone) “ Ok, just get out of the truck”.
My heart sank into my stomach. I thought he had just failed me. I couldn’t figure out why. Then I followed him in and he gave me a sheet saying I passed!
At this point I have 10 hours left on my 20 hours of backing skills section of my program. I’m already good enough to get through 2 different trucks to get to the backing exam truck. I also have about 9 hours left on my 20 of road driving. They give us 2 extra hours that will be solely driving the test route.
I am very confident I will test out and have my CDL May 19th!
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
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.
Dm:
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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The Manteno IL terminal is actually one of my favorites. From the guys in the shop, up to and including the planners have always been top notch.
JJ
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.