Everyone Has A Story....

First, let me thank the mods and contributors for the amazing wealth of information on this site. It has been more helpful than you may ever know. Thank you!

Now my story: Both of my children are now grown and living happy lives without my daily interference. Son is stationed in Japan and Daughter is doing the college thing in Arizona. I had planned to buy a class C RV and travel around just doing temp work to keep busy. And then a lightbulb...why not get paid to do the traveling! I can still hike in the Rockies...see the sites and knock out the states i haven't seen yet (the Dakotas and Montana) and get paid for it! Great idea! Background check:no problem! Drug test:no problem! Physical: no problem! CDL:hmmm...slight problem.

I remember it well....now. I was working in Philadelphia and living in northern Delaware in June 2006. I had taken my sisters Jeep down to get tires on it for inspection. No sales tax in Delaware and I could save her a few bucks. I did a California stop at a stop sign coming off the interstate and got caught. Tossed the citation in the glove box.....and forgot about it. Took my sisters Jeep back to her a few days later and never thought about it until I went to renew my license. Aurgh! I cant renew because I'm suspended. Sadly, my adventure was just beginning. A couple years had gone by and that district court no longer existed. So all the phone numbers and addresses i could get online or from the various dmv's went no where. No one seemed to know where I needed to go to take care of it. I wont go into all the gory and irritating details but suffice it to say I was finally able to get it resolved and get my license restored in March of this year. And a lousy $58 was all i had to pay for a failure to appear and citation.

With driving privileges restored I used this site to apply to all of the company sponsored CDL courses with one application. Ive had some great conversations with recruiters and following the advice you folks gave me...I told them the whole story at the start. I don't really know how long I was suspended but I have told them I was chasing it for over 3 years but it could have been as long as 11 years. Several thanked me for interest but they couldn't help. Several others told me to check with them again when i had license back for 6 months or a year. I did receive one which I accepted and will begin school July 2. (side note: Son is home on leave June 12-27 and I wouldn't start until he went back). the only offer I have is from Swift.

My thinking is that I can get my CDL and miles in the next 6-12 months that others want me to wait. Since the overwhelming advice is to stay with your first company for at least a year, I figure i have time to prove to them they were right for taking the chance and i can get the experience ill need if i decide to leave later.

I have been compiling a list of questions. Some for my recruiter (btw some similarities between trucking recruiters and Army recruiters :) but I'm old enough to not believe all of it this time) and some for you folks. I'll post them here if I cant find them within this training manual.

Thanks again for all the useful info.

Oak

Welcome to Trucking Truth, O&I. I share a somewhat similar story in getting into trucking.

Two months before I decided to apply for trucking jobs, I got a 15 over speeding ticket, first one in y-e-a-r-s. Some companies said I needed to wait a year, then come back. Swift said "come on down".

That was about four years ago. In that time with Swift, it never entered my mind to switch companies. This is the thought you should have - why get started in one company just to move to another? Make your decision at the start, and stick with it.

As for proving anything, mostly you need to prove to yourself that you can handle the trucking lifestyle. Once you get rolling on your rookie year, you don't need to prove anything to Swift, and they'll keep you rolling. ... And this goes for any major carrier.

Good luck with your CDL training. If you happen to be assigned to the Memphis school, look me up - I'm an instructor there.

Errol, thanks for the reply. Sadly i wont be able to see you in Memphis. I have been confirmed today with a start date of July 2 with Driver Solutions in Philadelphia. According to my recruiter, there are 10 folks starting that day...2 for Swift and 8 for PAM. On a sidepoint..when i drew up my list of what I wanted from my trucking company was: OTR with opportunities to see all lower 48, allows passenger, and allows pets...the only reason I wasn't initially excited about Swift was the pet policy. But...they've offered me training and a position on completion. Ill take that and I'm glad to have it!

I am excited to get this adventure rolling. And there aren't enough words to thank everyone for the great articles and tips Ive read over the last couple of months. Most of my questions have been answered in one form or another somewhere here....and I appreciate that.

I have a couple left that I cant seem to find answers for:

1. Can they do a hair follicle test on someone that is bald? I don't care if they check it 20 YEARS back...it'll be clean. But I generally do the head shave thing and its getting kinda bushy.....so I'd REALLY like to shave for comfort.

2. What tools should I have or carry with me to school and beyond? I'm guessing a tire gauge would be at or near the top of the list...but...

3. Is there any type of cheat sheet permitted when doing the Pre-Trip Inspection for the test?

4. How long does background check take for HAZMAT? I was told that i could add it near the end of school. I was wondering if on the day I did written tests for CDL permit and endorsements (second day of school) that I could start that process. Then, just stop in DMV and take written HAZMAT test when i was ready to get license.

thanks all!

I can give you a solid answer on number 1. Barring a rare genetic disorder, the only places on a human body that has no hair follicles is the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. So...... is there ANYWHERE else on your body where there is hair that is an inch and a half long? When you come up with the locations, then those are possible places they can get a hair sample from. No one said it had to be from the top of your head. Beard, armpits, arms, legs, back, chest, privates... pick one, lol.

This is what I've experienced in my first year of OTR:

The country at 62 miles per hour-after-hour-after-hour-after-hour..lol... Proving yourself an asset worth training AND keeping means door SHUT wheels TURNING all while not killing yourself and others!... Oh, and of course not tearing things up.

Please be aware that unless you own your own rig, run under your own authority, pick and chose your own freight/destination you will be expected to grind (no pun intended) for weeks on end. If your out on the road for a 34 hour reset then sleep may turn out to be more enticing then a grand hike...lol.

Adventure tourism in my opinion for the first year is a bit unrealistic....

1. Can they do a hair follicle test on someone that is bald? I don't care if they check it 20 YEARS back...it'll be clean. But I generally do the head shave thing and its getting kinda bushy.....so I'd REALLY like to shave for comfort.

2. What tools should I have or carry with me to school and beyond? I'm guessing a tire gauge would be at or near the top of the list...but...

3. Is there any type of cheat sheet permitted when doing the Pre-Trip Inspection for the test?

4. How long does background check take for HAZMAT? I was told that i could add it near the end of school. I was wondering if on the day I did written tests for CDL permit and endorsements (second day of school) that I could start that process. Then, just stop in DMV and take written HAZMAT test when i was ready to get license.

thanks all!

Firstly, welcome to Swift. I literally just passed my academy testing and hope to meet my mentor tomorrow. So since it's fresh in my memory let me answer some questions:

1. Of course. They'll snip it off your legs, arms, back, pits, or privates. Hair is hair.

2. To school? A STURDY GOLF UMBRELLA AND SUNSCREEN. And black pens and a notebook. You don't use a tire pressure guage or tire tread depth guage for training or testing, tho you will use both of those at least twice a day for the rest of your life for pre-trips and post-trips.

3. Absolutely not. You are required to do the Pre-Trip test from memory. It WILL include the in-cab, 5th wheel & coupling, and airbrakes test. The airbrakes test is a bit harder because you MUST do it EXACTLY AS WRITTEN from memory or it auto fails your whole Pre-Trip segment. In addition to those three sections you will be asked to Pre-Trip the front of the tractor and engine and steer tires, driver's door to the tractor tail lights, trailer from bulkhead to DOT bumper, or all three at the same time. From memory. You get a study sheet literally the first day of class, and you will Pre-Trip a tractor and trailer literally every morning from your 3ed day on. Study that study sheet.

4. No idea. I don't have a HAZMAT endorsement. And it's probably different in every state too.

Good luck, study hard, and when you're doing your 90° IGNORE THE CONE: IT IS A PIED PIPER OF LIES. You want your trailer to go into the space between the 1st and 2nd dashed lines from the opening to the box at a ~45° angle, then turn the wheel aaaaaaall the way right really quick, then turn it aaaaaaall the way left even quicker, then straight back into the box once you're lined up; a pullup is acceptable to get straight in the box, but once your trailer is IN the box don't take it OUT of the box. Be sure to get out an look to make sure your DOT bumper is in bounds before you end that test. Study your Pre-Trip and IGNORE THE CONE!

Hello

I hear this works well for pretrip

• Pre-Trip Inspection Study Guide
• Daniel's Pre-Trip Inspection
• Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist
• Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Questions

And I have been doing this on and off until I get out of my current job

High Road CDL Training Program

Best of luck Chris