Best Company To Start Truck Driving School Out Of Fargo, ND?
Topic 2546 | Page 1
Hello Nick, and welcome to the forum!
Hey if you are looking for Company-Sponsored Training then follow that link and you will find tons of information on places that offer to pay for your training in return for a one year commitment from you. It's an economical way to get started in truck driving.
We've got a lot of information here that might help you understand How To Choose A School and How To Choose A Company. You'll find a ton of advice in our Trucker's Career Guide, and if you're really interested in seeing what a truck drivers life is like you should read Brett's Book. It's a free on-line version and it's an easy read. I read the whole thing in one afternoon when I was first getting started in this career.
I'm not really sure what you mean about it not being worth a 28 hour bus ride. This is how all truck driving careers get started. Everyone of us has a bus ride story to tell. I don't even want to begin to think about how many hours I spent on a bus just getting my career underway, but I will tell you it makes 28 hours look like a walk in the park. You are not responsible for paying for the bus trip, they will pick up the tab.
Nick, one of the things that new folks to this job usually don't understand is that it really makes no difference at all where you live in relation to your employer as long as you live within their "hiring area". I live well over a thousand miles away from the terminal that I am dispatched out of, and I seldom ever go there at all. I run all across the country and when it's time for me to go home they send me that direction and I drive that big truck right to my house.
The best way to get started in this career is to get an over the road driving job for one full year of safe driving. After that you will be able to get hired on at a local job if that is what you want. It is very rare to just jump right into a local job as you have already discovered.
Our main purpose here is to help new folks break into this career, so if you have some more questions you feel free to ask away. We won't treat you like an idiot and we will always do our best to point you in the right direction for an answer.
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.
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.
Over The Road:
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.
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.
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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Becoming A Truck Driver
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I live in Fargo, ND and I want to become a truck driver.
In this area there are a lot of smaller trucking companies but they all require 1 year of driving experience.
After doing some research my closest 2 options are CRST and CR England. Personally I don't like either company.
Swift is a 28 hour bus ride to their training facility and I'm not sure if that is even worth it.
Any ideas?