New And Overwhelmed

Hey everyone!! My name is Sean and i live in central texas.. i been looking at different companies til im blue in the face and so nervous of making a bad decision.. ive nailed it down to either pam and driver’s solutions or Wil Trans and their driving program..

On the surface Wil Trans looks hands down the better choice for starting pay and what you can make while surviving the training which is important to me as i have child support responsibilities to consider..

Im 39 and have worked primarily security my entire life and im a service connected Vet at 20%, so other then the ten ton I drove in the military 20 years ago im going in blind..

Im being told by the recruiter that i have to secure my med physical and cpl through texas before I arrive to class but then i read hear somewhere that they do all that there so you can understand my confusions and nervousness..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.. thanks guys...

I can't speak to those companies or how they do training. I will say the saying on here is any large company is good, they are all doing essentially the same thing with the same trucks, with the same goals, so I would say focus on specific needs for you like the pay during training if that makes a big difference for you.

I will suggest no matter if they do teach for the permit or not to study before you go! The high roads training on here is great! Also to just do practice questions CDL study buddy app worked nice for me. It is a lot to learn in a short period of time if you wait till school. Our school you could wait or get your permit before hand and I will say it was so nice to not have the stress of wondering if you will pass the permit test at the end of the week.

I think anything you can do to make it less stressful the better. Good luck!! Stay focused, work hard and you will do great!

It's normal to be nervous, everyone is. Don't focus too much on money because the pay balances out whether its CPM or bonuses.

The only bad decision you can make at this point is wait and do more research.

Im being told by the recruiter that i have to secure my med physical and cpl through texas before I arrive to class but then i read hear somewhere that they do all that there 

Go with what the recruiter told you. Always take what the recruiter says over what you read online. That may have been the case some time ago and it may have changed or the information can just be wrong. The recruiter is the best source you have on what to bring as far as documents go.

Sean

My Son drive's for Wil-Trans. He has been solo about 6 months. He is grateful they took a chance on a 21 year old kid to operate there equipment. He did have a minor issue in training, they added additional training time, and one while solo, and guess what, they didn't let him go. The benefit of paid CDL training. Since going solo, and up until this point I don't hear to many complaints. Other than other drivers lol. He just finished up his home time. Whatever company you go with, good luck, and keep us posted.

Here are a couple of links,

Apply For Paid CDL Training

High Road CDL Training Program

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

Best of luck. Chris

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.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

{Sidebar to Amber: you have just started your career and you're already jumping into forum topics with some thoughtful answers. Keep this up! 👍👍}

Learning from the best! Thanks Errol! Paying it forward!

Sean, don't worry about making a bad decision. The large carriers are all fantastic companies to work for. The main things that matter are:

1) How often do you want to get home?

2) What type of freight do you want to haul?

3) What regions of the country do you want to run?

That's about all you have to worry about when choosing one of the Paid CDL Training Programs.

I would also recommend that you Apply For Paid CDL Training and see who gives you an opportunity before doing more research. People often believe they can work anywhere they like, but that is never the case. You may get more than one offer, and that would be nice, but don't waste time researching until you've been accepted by more than one company. Then you can decide which ones suits you best.

what you can make [in] training is important to me [because] I have child support responsibilities to consider.

Getting your career started is very challenging and stressful. We highly recommend you get at least two months' worth of finances set aside before you begin your career. If you walk in the door on day one thinking, "I have to hurry up and start making some money" you're going to stress yourself to death. You don't want to be distracted from learning this trade. You'll be overwhelmed with challenges from the training already.

Thanks guys ive started going through the online training course thats provided here..Its seems like alot of knowledge and a ton of reading..

Ill ring the recruiter today and see what all i can accomplish.. biggest hurdle is im currently out the country til the 26th and I believe the class starts like third week of December so seems like ill hv alot to get done in a short time to do it..😂

Out of the country for how long? How long have you had a current driver license?

Hey Sean, Good Luck! I also have been studying up on the different companies & have been in contact with MaryAnn at Wil-Trans. That's the company I hope to train at too, but looking at January 2020 From my last conversation with MaryAnn, they made a slight change to the training program, You must obtain your CDLPermit & have your DOT Physical before arriving at the training location. I found the Trucking Truth web site when I started looking for a career change & read all the reviews that were posted of all the companies & made a list of all the things I liked. What led me to contacting Wil-Trans is their pet & passenger policy... My wife works as a Teachers Aid in one of the local school districts & in the summer months, she & our rescue dog can travel with me,

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.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.