New Driver, Future Plans, Need Good Advise!

Hey all, I've posted on here a couple times recently asking questions and I appreciate everyone who's given me some good advise. Hopefully some day in the near future as I learn the trade, I'll be able to give back to this website. So I've been doing lots of research on which way to go here. I've talked to a few different recruiters from different carriers about their CDL and road training and sounds like Knight is probably my best bet as far as the training goes. Seems like their pay may be a tad higher as well but pay really isn't my priority for my first year or so, I just want good training and a good mentor. I was told by a recruiter who seemed very helpful with all my questions, that as a new driver starting out in today's market and the current slowdown of freight right now, that my best bet would be to get all my endorsements and go into flatbed because that'll just make me that much more valuable down the road when I get more experience. I love that idea of flatbed work because I'll still be able to do some physical work and seems it'd be a little more challenging. I love challenges. So I'm just curious if that was decent advise from that recruiter? The other thing is I'm going to be pushing to be full blown OTR (if there is such a thing) and be asking to stay out for months at a time if possible. Right now I'm just studying up for my CLP and endorsements until July when I'm ready to start all this (Lord willing). I know none of us can predict the future but is there any signs of things picking up in the near future? I just have a ton of questions, I wish I could sit down with a trucker with lots of wisdom haha. Thanks guys and Gal's..

Yes, get all your endorsements so you take the tests all at once. For hazmat that's different and since I never had the desire to have hazmat on my license I don't know what the rules are. The guys will be along to answer that question.

We don't recommend doing tanker your first year or two, but flatbed is okay.

When it comes time, use our link that sends out apps to many companies. You don't want to focus on just one company because they may not want you, even though you have a perfectly good driving record and haven't been in trouble with the law, etc.

I think we're in for greater hardship to come in the future. I don't think we're going to straighten this mess out anytime soon. I talked with my real estate lady a couple days ago. She thinks I can sell my three 1 acre lots in Idaho, but mortgage rates are going up again. They are over 6.2%. I hope they stay steady so I can get those three acres sold soon.

Laura

Congrats. I would say don't put your eggs all in one basket. There are a lot of different companies that offer training. That being said, I work for Knight and have from the beginning. I personally have found success with them. Others have had difficulty. Old School has worked for them in flatbed for many years and is basically the Yoda of trucking in my humble opinion.

I'd recommend looking at his threads as well as the Cdl diaries I kept a diary of my experience with Knight from day one in regards to school, training and Squire miles. There are many others there as well.

In addition here's some ideas for further exploration.

High Road CDL Training ProgramPaid CDL Training ProgramsTruck Driver's Career Guide

Congrats. I would say don't put your eggs all in one basket. There are a lot of different companies that offer training. That being said, I work for Knight and have from the beginning. I personally have found success with them. Others have had difficulty. Old School has worked for them in flatbed for many years and is basically the Yoda of trucking in my humble opinion.

I'd recommend looking at his threads as well as the Cdl diaries I kept a diary of my experience with Knight from day one in regards to school, training and Squire miles. There are many others there as well.

In addition here's some ideas for further exploration.

High Road CDL Training ProgramPaid CDL Training ProgramsTruck Driver's Career Guide

Davy, yes I've read your diary it was very good info, thank you. You should be a book writer your a very talented.

The problem with applying with many different companies is because only a very select few in approved for washing state, Swift and Knight and maybe a couple more that I don't know of. I don't have the funds to fork out 3-5K to go to a local school here in Washington so it seems like my options are very slim because of that. However I'm determined to do this no matter how tough it might be with the down turn and all, but I know for a fact that I'll do good out there. I don't know why I'm just now deciding to do this, I've always wanted to. Been a aerospace machinist for almost 20 years and have hated it for almost 10 now.

Awesome, both Knight and Swift are great companies. Swift shares our Top Gun program. If you can get in with either one, I'd recommend it.

In regards to jumping right into flatbed, I personally took a very conservative approach to my career, meaning I didn't feel confident in my fledgling skills with the tractor and trailer to go into it first, rather I chose dry van because I felt it would offer the best chance of success. But that was a personal choice. Others have gone into it right off the bat. There's a wealth of information here regarding it.

I'm very happy with Knight but I try to present an open minded approach and don't want to promote. Aa is said so many times here, the name on the door isn't what dictates your success.

You have more options than Swift and Knight in Washington. Either company would be a fine place to start, but as Laura indicated, you don't want to leave yourself with only one option.

Ashley Distribution hires and trains drivers from Washington. They have their own school.

You mentioned liking the idea of physical work. McLane (food service delivery) trains drivers from Washington to get their CDL.

Prime hires and trains drivers from Washington and they have a flatbed division.

There are probably more companies than these. Use the application link on this site. You would be surprised how many companies operate out the PNW.

Washington state has began cracking down on what some refer to as "cdl mills". They now require the schools to be approved by the state. List of approved schools in Washington you can find Here. Most private schools partner with carriers to pay for your training in exchange for a contract. I went through 160 driving academy (which I see is also in WA) and they had students contracted to USA Truck, Schneider, and Swift among others. It was part of the enrollment process. It may be beneficial to inquire private schools in your area to see if they offer similar. I'd still recommend using the link provided for paid training as the recruiters will be able to tell you what, if any, schools they partner with in the area.

I attended 160 driving academy in Moline Illinois nearly 6 years ago. Although I had a great experience with them others haven't. Much of your experience will be dependent on the trainer/instructor. Mine was great but another instructor at the same site had far less patience and a worse pass/fail rate.

This is a hard time in the freight world for sure. I read all kinds of stuff every week from experts in the industry and the one thing everyone agrees on is it’s a mess and currently no end in sight. How long it lasts is anyone’s best guess.

The recruiter is probably recommending flatbed because at this moment it seems capacity is tighter than dry van/reefer. That translates that there aren’t as many available trucks vs loads.

Greetings from Issaquah! Your best may just be to head on down I-5 to Exit 99 and chat with some of the drivers at the FlyingJ.

The main differences between dry van and flatbed are live loading, tarping and load securement. Dry van is generally drop and hook - you show up at the shipper with an empty trailer then you drop the empty trailer and hook to a loaded, sealed trailer. Grab your bills and you're on the road! You can be in and out in less than 10 minutes.

There's not much drop and hook in flatbed. There's live loading - you wait for the forklift driver to load your trailer. Once it's loaded you must secure the load. There's a lot of art in how you secure a load and a learning curve. You usually have to tarp the load too. Tarps can weigh 100 pounds and most carriers give you a small sum for tarping ($25-50).

With dry van the shipper generally loads the trailer and seals it before you show up. This means they are responsible for load securement. You're not expected to break the seal and check their work. With flatbed you have to stop periodically to re-cinch the straps and check your load securement. This must be logged on your ELD to be legal. Rain, snow, wind, extreme temperatures - you must get out of your truck several times to do this.

In Washington you MUST complete your TSA Background Check BEFORE you test at the DMV for your Hazmat endorsement. It usually takes a few weeks so jump on that FIRST. Some states will let you test before you background check, not Washington.

The nice thing about endorsements is that most of them are one and one - you take one test and they're on your license until you die. EXCEPT for Hazmat - it has an expiration date and you need to re-test to maintain the endorsement. Hazmat also means several DMV services that are normally done online are not available unless you go to the DMV in-person, like changing your address. Still, it's better to have the endorsements and not need them than to need them and not have them - especially in this economy.

While Washington is picky about what schools they will accept for issuing a NEW CDL , through the miracle of reciprocity they will accept ANY US CDL (with proof of WA residency and $218) in exchange for a WA CDL! I went to truck school in Keenesburg, CO. I took a Greyhound from Issaquah to Keenesburg. The school had me fill out a lease for my housing at the school. I used that as my proof of CO residency and exchanged my WA license for a CO license. In 3 short weeks I exchanged my CO license and my examiner's report for a paper CO CDL. I went to orientation and got on my trainer's truck. in about a month the CO DMV sent my laminated CDL to the school. The school forwarded it to my home in Issaquah. My carrier routed my truck to Issaquah and I exchanged my CO CDL for a WA CDL. Now, every school does things a little differently but they're all aware of Washington's restrictions and they have workarounds.

The economy is in much worse shape than you've been led to believe. There's almost a half million more trucks on the road than will be needed to meet the demand for freight this year. If you're not happy about that you're really not going to like next year. It's going to be rough for at least the next two years.