Husband And Wife Starting Out Together

When he goes out solo, you could go with him, just not as a co-driver. You could be of great value to him as a navigator, spotter, etc. Then when you qualify for CDL training, you would have a great head start in the profession. Just an idea to consider.

BK, that's doing work, which is strictly forbidden by any company that has a passenger program. That passenger cannot do any sort of work-related functions, even functions that have nothing to do with driving. At shippers and receivers, a passenger getting out of the truck is a huge liability and grounds for being kicked off the property, even grounds for being banned from the facility.

Now I'm looking at another driving school that we're considering and on their website it says "Must have held a valid drivers license for 2 years. " so I hope that doesn't mean "valid US driver's license.

Unfortunately for you, yes it does mean a U. S. Driver License has been held by you for 2 years. None of your former country's driving counts here in the States when applying to get a CDL.

Laura

Could you (or somebody) point me to a resource where it says that? I looked at the iowa dot website and I can't find any mention of that. I called the the school on Friday to ask that specific question and the lady said she will call me back next week, because she didn't know the answer either. Thank you!

To answer BK and Kearsey - Thank you for your advice, but I don't think that will help us much (me just sitting there while he drives). The entire point is that we BOTH need to make money (and I need insurance, although he could probably put me on his then). If I can't get a cdl , we will have to start looking for other options. I would love to be 21 again and have all the time in the world to do what you're suggesting, but we're a little older than that and wanna have a family someday ... I don't think I need to explain further.

I will call iowa dot and the school and probably Schneider next week to verify that recquirement and we'll go from there. We have definitely reconsidered going to a private school, especially because of my "unique" situation. We'll look at some of the companies that would pay for our training and eventually let us drive for them as a team and make sure that I can get the cdl, before we invest any money in it. I will update here once we find out the exact recquirements, in case anyone here is in a similar situation in the future :)

Hey Tereza you may be able to get an answer very quickly contacting Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement on Facebook. I've sent them numerous questions in the past and often times get an answer within an hour. They're the white Tahoes marked "state officer" on the back you see that strictly deal with commercial vehicles.

Congratulations on becoming a US citizen and doing the work less attractive and more demanding women in the US won't.

The US license requirement is something insurance companies want. I couldn't find a federal regulation on that or a state regulation in Ohio. In my neck of the woods Oregon requires one year of experience while Washington does not. Since most large carriers self-insure they may offer more flexibility. While the board collectively has centuries of experience driving trucks, we aren't lawyers so we may be a little rough on the gory details for every regulation.

For best results talk to an actual recruiter and see what they say. These companies will allow a driver to train their spouse:

Covenant: 888-536-5265

CRST: 866-271-1054

So you want to drive a truck? Driving a truck isn't a job - it's a lifestyle. You LIVE on the truck. You sleep while the truck is moving. While your husband will probably be more flexible than most team drivers, bathroom breaks usually require a negotiation. Going home requires advance notice - usually about 3 weeks. You're allowed one day off for every week on the road and usually there's a minimum of four days you have to take if you want time off. That's not paid time off, just time you don't have to drive the truck without getting fired.

Still interested? Team driving pays better than solo driving because most drivers refuse to team. An experienced team can earn $10,000/month for each driver. In one year you could OWN a home in South Dakota (average home price is $140,000). Starting out you'll be closer to $75,000/year each. Once you're established you should have no problem finding a team job with weekends off!

Training is usually around 4 weeks driving a truck with a learner's permit under the supervision of an instructor. You will learn just enough to pass the DMV test, important information like how to fuel the truck isn't covered. Once you get your CDL you then spend about 28 days on a truck with a trainer to learn all the details before getting turned loose with a truck of your own. This is the phase where you could have your spouse train you.

We recommend company sponsored training. There are no surprises - if they're willing to sponsor you for training you know you will have a job when you earn your license. in exchange for paid training they ask you to work for them for about a year (8 months with CRST). We hear a lot of horror stories from people who went to a school and paid thousands of dollars only to learn that having a CDL and having a job driving a truck are two separate things. There are no refunds if you get your CDL but no one will hire you. Good luck!

Hey Tereza you may be able to get an answer very quickly contacting Iowa DOT Motor Vehicle Enforcement on Facebook. I've sent them numerous questions in the past and often times get an answer within an hour. They're the white Tahoes marked "state officer" on the back you see that strictly deal with commercial vehicles.

Thank you, I will do just that :)

and doing the work less attractive and more demanding women in the US won't.

What the heck is this comment??? You must be blind.

Laura

and doing the work less attractive and more demanding women in the US won't.

What the heck is this comment??? You must be blind.

Wait - YOU married her husband too? What a SHOCKING coincidence!

To update, I got a call back from the school (Hawkeye college in Waterloo, IA) and they said there are no requirements regarding how long one must have held their Driver's License to get a CDL. I also called DOT and they said the same thing. However, the lady warned me there might be some issues regarding a background check, she said it could take even a few months (she became a little worried when I told her my GC was currently just a sticker in my passport, since it takes the feds up to 6 months to send me the physical card). So we'll see.

I am currently looking for companies that sponsor CDL training, hire teams and don't have any requirements that I can't pass as a new permanent resident in the states :/ This was supposed to be a way to find reliable, stable employment (and to find it fast) and it's turning out to be just as much of a pain as finding a regular day job lol. If you ever wonder why immigrants don't work, think of me please. My husband and I have spent almost 2 years (and a lot of money) getting me here legally, so that getting an ID, job, insurance etc. wouldn't be an issue (and because we're not criminals) and yet we have to deal with a bunch of red tape trying to do even basic tasks. Sorry for the rant. I will probably post a separate topic for this, but if anybody has a recomendation for a company that sponsors cdl school, hires teams and is in/near Iowa, it will be greatly appreciated. So far, I have found Schneider and Hirschbach, although I have never heard of the latter.

... I will probably post a separate topic for this, but if anybody has a recomendation for a company that sponsors cdl school, hires teams and is in/near Iowa, it will be greatly appreciated. So far, I have found Schneider and Hirschbach, although I have never heard of the latter.

Thanks for the update, as I suspected in my earlier post the one year class C requirement varies by state. I'm not sure why you think the school needs to be in Iowa. Most companies just give you a Greyhound ticket to their school.

To illustrate, here's how I got my start. From Washington state I applied at CRST. CRST has no schools or operations centers in Washington. Their headquarters are in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and they have a school there but I'm a veteran and they send veterans to a truck driving school in Keenesburg, Colorado. I took a Greyhound to Keenesburg and in three short weeks I had a temporary, paper CDL. CRST paid for a rental car that I drove from Keenesburg to their nearest terminal (Oklahoma City, OK). After a week of orientation in Oklahoma City I was in a truck with a trainer. All travel and lodging were PAID by CRST and they provided two meals a day.

After a few weeks on the road our truck was routed back to Washington where I picked up my Colorado CDL in my mailbox (Colorado sent it to my address at the school. The school forwarded it to my residence in Washington). I went to the Washington DMV and traded my Colorado CDL and $212 USD for a shiny, new WA CDL. If I wanted to go home I would park my truck at a local truck stop in Washington and take an uber to my house. I didn't have to limit myself to a company that trained in Washington.

Cedar Rapids Steel Transport (CRST) I've seen reports that they are going to stop training drivers but TODAY they're still training.

Heartland Express - Headquartered in Iowa, but their schools are all in other states.

The following companies offer, "Dock to Driver" programs. Work on the dock for 30 days and they will train you to get your CDL at your local terminal then let you drive as teams:

XPO Logistics There are Student driver openings in Des Moines. Scroll to the bottom of the page in the link to see the description.

YRC Driver Academy Get PAID while you train. It's around $17/hr., actual amount varies by the union contract at your local terminal. Teamster scale after you finish training. Training is home daily, weekends off. 100% PAID healthcare for YOU and your family! No deductibles, no premiums - everything is covered with your union dues.