Old Man Leaves Six-Figure Salary To Begin Training As A Trucker- Psychiatric Evaluation Pending
Topic 31958 | Page 3
Not bashing Melton or Maverick both top notch companies.
Good to hear. TMC is a good choice w you residing in Lynchburg. They haul US Pipe and RockTenn out there. Easy home time option. Keep us posted. I would love to hear how many of the "world owes me 60k and 2 weeks paid" actually pass their CDL tests.
You & me BOTH, GB !!!
Steve; great choice, actually. Did you apply here? >>Apply For Truck Driving Jobs!!
This page, you can just click on their logo, too: TMC application & information! ... they LOVE getting folks from Trucking Truth & the HRTP, obviously, haha!
TMC is quite 'high & tight' ... in the Marine (military) sense of the way. The 'KEEP OFF THE GRASS' signs are NOT for decoration. If a potential driver cannot read a 'simple sign' on the ground and obey it; why would they trust you with their equipment, plus cartage ?!?!?
Best of luck to you; always!
~ Anne ~
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.
Any update?
We wrapped up training at the end of last week and entered the "waiting game" for a testing appointment. Apparently, Virginia shut down several CDL testing locations during Covid and all have not been reopened yet. Thankfully, I was able to get a July 27 date in Roanoke, which is pretty close, so I only have one week to wait. Looking over our class, some of our group will definitely benefit from an extra week of practice on the range. They brought in a third instructor who came to help out from Ancora's Mississippi group and she has been working with us over the past week. There has been some turnover in staffing over the duration of our class, but despite the equipment breakdowns, the instructor turnover, and some personality conflicts between instructors and students, overall I am very happy with the training I have received. I feel prepared for my test next week and the school has made every effort to let us know that even though our official class is completed, we are welcome anytime from 7am-5pm to come to the range and use the trucks (under supervision) to practice.
On the job search, I'm down to two: TMC and Maverick. I'm probably over-analyzing the whole comparison thing, but as far as I can see, they are both quality companies, probably very close in pay, and both have great reputations for training and having excellent equipment. I dropped Melton as their only option was OTR , out two weeks, home for 2-days. My family works a small food concession business (kettle corn and pork rinds) and our Summer/Fall schedule really would benefit from me being home every weekend. Maverick initially said my only option was OTR and I would have to be out 12-14 days. When I said that wouldn't work for me, they called a couple of days later and offered a dedicated account that guarantees weekends home. I contacted a driver who has been on the dedicated account (Nucor Steel-Huger, SC) for 5-years with Maverick and he said if they offer it, take it. He said the Fleet Manager on the account is fantastic, he's only missed a couple of weekends in 5-years, and he loves it. He said the money is good, backhauls are only about 25%, and the rest is delivering and then deadheading back to SC.
I still haven't made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards Maverick. I don't want to get ahead of myself and the next big step is passing the DMV test which is only one week away. I have obtained my TWIC in the interim and I'm working on studying for my Hazmat which I hope to test for early next week.
I'll check in next week when I (hopefully) will be a newly minted CDL holder. Thanks to all of you for your great advice and encouragement. Sincerely, Steve
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.
Deadhead:
To drive with an empty trailer. After delivering your load you will deadhead to a shipper to pick up your next load.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
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.Fleet Manager:
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.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
Check out the Lexington, Staunton or Buena Vista DMV for testing?
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.
Percentage pay (25%)? That sounds good at first glance, but rates are on a downward tumble for all of this year with no bottom in sight.
Personally, I would ask about straight mileage pay over percentage pay any day, not just now.
1). You don't know if they are truthful on the actual pay on the load.
2). Cents Per Mile is guaranteed no matter what the load supposedly earns. It's always the same no matter the economy, area, or day of the week.
Danville tests also. At least they did years ago.
Danville tests also. At least they did years ago.
Well, Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. in Roanoke, VA is test time! I've been through a couple of practice sessions on the driving range over the past week and all has gone well with straight backing, offset, and parallel park. Those are the only three backing maneuvers we will be tested on here in VA. I feel ready and am going for one final practice session tomorrow. There will be three of us from our class testing on Wednesday. Based on what I know of my fellow students, these two who are going with me are both well-prepared and ready to test. Our examiner is brand new, so I guess that could be good or bad. Regardless, if we pre-trip and drive the way we have been trained, it shouldn't make any difference. I'll check in Wednesday after the test with an update.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Best of luck! You got this.
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Good to hear. TMC is a good choice w you residing in Lynchburg. They haul US Pipe and RockTenn out there. Easy home time option. Keep us posted. I would love to hear how many of the "world owes me 60k and 2 weeks paid" actually pass their CDL tests.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: