Recruiters
Topic 26652 | Page 1
Congrats on earning your CDL. You can't go wrong with either company
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.
Thank you Rob T. What company are you with now? I read all of your diaries when you were local and how tough it was. I hope all is well
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.
I drive for PDI, which is a subsidiary of Hy-Vee grocery chain in iowa and the surrounding 7 states. We deliver to on average 2 to 3 stores a day in the 8 state region with most routes home every day. It's much less physical than what I was doing since I pull full pallets off the truck using an electric pallet jack. We also are involved in LTL freight to help cover our fuel expenses since we cover such a wide area it would be extremely expensive to run us back empty as our longest run (before any backhauls) would be 350 miles or so empty 4 times a week.
One thing you'll see about trucking is theres something out there for everybody, you just need to find your niche. Once you have 1 year of experience a ton of opportunities will open, especially if you're able to maintain a clean safety record and not get a ton of logbook violations. There will be many times your first year you will want to throw in the towel but just power through it and remember OTR driving IS NOT the only option for driving truck after your year is up. We have members here who love the OTR lifestyle, others do linehaul driving the same route every day/night for 6 months or a year.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
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
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.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Hooray for you on getting that CDL done on the first attempt!!!! You rock!
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.
Congratulations!!!
The Crete dedicated Wal-Mart run is a good one if you ask me. I had the opportunity to run on Walmart dedicated for a week out of Loveland CO. It was an excellent experience but not my cup of tea. I prefer the OTR driving way more. If I, for some reason, needed that type of run I would go back to it.
Just my two cents.
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.
Rob T. I really appreciate you writing back. I'll definitely try to keep positive and see what opportunities I'll jump on after 1 year.
I drive for PDI, which is a subsidiary of Hy-Vee grocery chain in iowa and the surrounding 7 states. We deliver to on average 2 to 3 stores a day in the 8 state region with most routes home every day. It's much less physical than what I was doing since I pull full pallets off the truck using an electric pallet jack. We also are involved in LTL freight to help cover our fuel expenses since we cover such a wide area it would be extremely expensive to run us back empty as our longest run (before any backhauls) would be 350 miles or so empty 4 times a week.
One thing you'll see about trucking is theres something out there for everybody, you just need to find your niche. Once you have 1 year of experience a ton of opportunities will open, especially if you're able to maintain a clean safety record and not get a ton of logbook violations. There will be many times your first year you will want to throw in the towel but just power through it and remember OTR driving IS NOT the only option for driving truck after your year is up. We have members here who love the OTR lifestyle, others do linehaul driving the same route every day/night for 6 months or a year.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
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
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.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Thank you Pack ! Blessing to you and yours.
Hooray for you on getting that CDL done on the first attempt!!!! You rock!
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.
Dave :) thank you. I actually just told my husband I'm going to call Crete and schedule orientation with them after discussing each company. I would need more info on Walmart account I'm hoping to talk to G Town. How do you like your company ?
Congratulations!!!
The Crete dedicated Wal-Mart run is a good one if you ask me. I had the opportunity to run on Walmart dedicated for a week out of Loveland CO. It was an excellent experience but not my cup of tea. I prefer the OTR driving way more. If I, for some reason, needed that type of run I would go back to it.
Just my two cents.
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.
Cecelia, you're doing the right thing avoiding those dollar store accounts. I think the recruiters are getting extra bonus money for signing people up for them. It's a rough way to learn as a rookie. We never recommend it to newbies.
Crete is a great company. Just remember getting yourself established in trucking takes time and commitment. We all get frustrated, but don't let your frustration cause you to lay the blame on your company. It's just trucking. Switching companies doesn't eliminate a rookie's issues.
Wherever you start just hang in there until you gain some confidence in yourself. It will take every bit of that first year to begin to feel you're getting the hang of this.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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US Xpress Transport Attending Truck Driving School CDL Pre-Hire CDL Training Choosing A Truck Driving School Dedicated Jobs Local CDL Drivers
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I took my CDL Test September 18th. Passed the first time. Thank you God.
I've been speaking with Werner, Crete, Knight and US Xpress the most.
My Werner recruiter is very nice but she will not stop trying to convince me to take the Dollar General account. When I ask her about the OTR opportunities she breezed through it. Or she will say "you're only 24, your strong and the DG isnt that bad and it makes the most money you need to jump on this" .50cpm and 60$ per stop but I really dont want to do it.
My Us Xpress recruiter told me there are no other opportunities for me besides a Family Dollar Dedicated Acct that's interesting to me I guess I assumed incorrectly that they had various OTR positions. 5000 sign on bonues, .33cpm , 220$ unload. But once again I do not want to jump into an account like this.
My Knight recruiter is brand new at recruiting so I havent heard from him in awhile but he messaged me today and said he will be calling me with all the information I need and I'll be asking him questions. I'm very interested to see what they have for me.
Crete Carrier has OTR, Mid SOUTH regional , and A walmart dedicated account available to me in my area. .44cpm, .47cpm or .50cpm depending on which account I choose. and My recruiter there has been very responsive and just helpful.
After I talk to this Knight recruiter i will be making my decisions on which company i will go to but it is looking like a strong possibility I will choose Crete. I am very interested in what Knight has to offer I have heard great things about them . Anywho Very excited to attend someone's orientation and get on the road with a trainer.
*Disclaimer* Recruiters do not determine if the company is good or bad. I just want other newbies to stay clear of DG, DT, and FD accounts because they will push it. I've never done them but I trust what everyone on this site has said about them being very challenging and not a good start for a rookie.
Cece
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Regional:
Regional Route
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
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.
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.