M-F Home Nightly Jobs For Newly Licensed 55+ Male Class A Driver
Topic 32379 | Page 1
Hello Paul
Welcome to Trucking Truth forum - to be blunt with you, you are in a tight spot with your new CDL in addition to the labor issues already going on at your company (with the economy and freight market the way it is nationwide, inflation etc) you aren’t the only one having labor/work issues right now - trust me on that.
The issue with your CDL lays in the fact that while you have it, you have no experience and thus an established driving record with it. That is going to present an issue for you should you try and look for that desired driving job that you have. Additionally many local positions (food service, retail and fuel delivery) typically work on a seniority basis, the more time you have in, the more desirable shifts you get, that’s just the way it is, age not withstanding - you will still be looked at as a newbie with any local company you may try to hire on with.
Additionally, a carrier’s insurance may mandate a minimum driving record for new drivers in order for that carrier’s insurance to be willing to cover you, if they can’t cover you, they can’t/won’t hire you. You may not like hearing this, but it is a pipe dream to expect that you will get a m-f local shift right out of the gate with the lot in life you are facing right now. Best thing I can tell you is to start applying to many different companies and see what bites, understanding that you will more than likely have to do some sort of OTR or regional/dedicated work in order to get the driving experience. Also understand as I said that having the CDL A but no experience can be just as frustrating as not having one, in fact having it can be more so because after a certain period of time of not using it, it is considered Stale and companies would look at you as someone who hasn’t had any recent driving experience.
Look at the link I sent you below about companies and also the applications link, that will send your info out to a few companies and can get the ball rolling. I was in a similar situation, but got my CDL privately not via employer sponsored means. I had a rough go at it too getting started.
I am going to recommend May Trucking to you (maytrucking.com). They will take folks with a CDL A and little to no experience and work with you to help you get the experience that you need, although to be honest I do not think they have any terminals near NYC, the nearest may be in FL, which is a bit of travel.
It would be up to you to determine what will work and what won’t all we can do is offer suggestions based on experience that we have seen to work for us and many others.
All the best to you and if you have any further questions, ask away!
Moe
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Am I dreaming if I require M-F home nightly, in the nyc area for a newly licensed 55+ Male Class A Driver? My employer managed to start the ball rolling on my desire for a CDL-A after 5 years of procrastination, but now "they" are the ones that are telling me maybe I shouldn't have done that and that I should be happy just being a dockworker, especially given all the overtime, currently. I'd really, really, like to stay with my employer, my co-workers, the general environment - I've been a dock worker for 10 years for this company, but I"m not getting any younger and I was older when I started working here. If my company backs out of a verbal agreement to hire me on as a driver and put me into their driver training program ( my company currently is having really bad labor problems for warehouse workers such as myself, on all 3 shifts), I may have to look for alternatives, if there are any. Are there any?
I am in Central NJ, newly licensed Class A, looking for M-F, weekends optional, home nightly, or very close to that. Any additional endorsement I do not have already, I will obtain as required. I will willingly work up to the max of the book for weekly logged in hours.
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.
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.
Most of the LTL companies have facilities in the Woodbridge/Edison area, as well as closer to NYC around Newark and Elizabeth and up to Carlstadt and Teterboro. My first driving job, at age 57, was doing linehaul , and I think that for those of us who have responsibilities at home and can't go OTR , it's the ideal way to start. The fact that you have dock experience is definitely an asset for these jobs, although it seems you're finding it's a mixed blessing. Your current employer seems to value you too much on the dock to put you in a truck. If that's the case, they're likely to lose you entirely.
I just went on indeed to find a CDL A job, and took it from there. Good luck!
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.
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Am I dreaming if I require M-F home nightly, in the nyc area for a newly licensed 55+ Male Class A Driver? My employer managed to start the ball rolling on my desire for a CDL-A after 5 years of procrastination, but now "they" are the ones that are telling me maybe I shouldn't have done that and that I should be happy just being a dockworker, especially given all the overtime, currently. I'd really, really, like to stay with my employer, my co-workers, the general environment - I've been a dock worker for 10 years for this company, but I"m not getting any younger and I was older when I started working here. If my company backs out of a verbal agreement to hire me on as a driver and put me into their driver training program ( my company currently is having really bad labor problems for warehouse workers such as myself, on all 3 shifts), I may have to look for alternatives, if there are any. Are there any?
I am in Central NJ, newly licensed Class A, looking for M-F, weekends optional, home nightly, or very close to that. Any additional endorsement I do not have already, I will obtain as required. I will willingly work up to the max of the book for weekly logged in hours.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: