I'd Like To Become A Driver, But Having Trouble Finding What I Need...

Hi PackRat. Thanks for the vote of confidence...lol. I think I'll be ok. I mean, if the classroom time is 8 hours and I drive a little over 2 hours up and a little over 2 hours back, I think I could handle it. Although it was a while ago, I use to work in a chemical plant slinging around 50 lb. bags the whole shift and I live an hour away. Plenty of times I'd drive in, work a double and drive back. As a matter of fact the last week I worked there I worked 12 hours the 1st day of the week and then 6 doubles in a row.

You're thinking of commuting between Eden and Fayetteville each day? Good luck staying awake.

Yes, I regularly stay in my truck at our terminals. I'm currently doing laundry in our terminal in Fontana CA. Another perk of going with a large carrier is the resources like terminals and repair facilities. Times I've had where due to service, I couldn't stay in the truck, they provided me ubers and a hotel as well. Many times.

James, let me assure you that no one is laughing at you or your questions. We all started from scratch, just like you are. So fire away with your questions, there are no dumb questions when you are starting out.

There can be a difference between a mailing address and your official, legal permanent address. You can’t use a P.O. Box as your permanent address, for instance. The one I use provides me with a real location which is the office building of the business. They allow me to use their physical address as my official address along with a PMB number. (Personal Mail Box) This is the address that is on my driver’s license and is completely legal in the state of SD. Plus it doesn’t matter if I never set foot in SD again, it still works as my permanent address. Costs me about $350 per year for this service.

Many drivers leave their personal vehicles in the driver’s parking lot that most terminals have. If they park their truck at the terminal , their car is right their for them to go wherever they need to.

BK is right. When I retired and my wife and I began full time rving we found Good Sams Mail Service. They offer 3 choices for permanent legal residence in Florida, Texas and South Dakota. We chose Florida as we winter there and we have a legal address for DL, vehicle registration and voter registration.

Hey all. It's been a little while and I have good and bad news and desperately need some help. I studied hard and passed the 3 sections for the CDL permit. I went to an Urgent Care near me and got my DOT medical stuff done as well. I started training at Millis Training Institute on 4/15. The instructor; Jim; turned out to be a really nice guy and really knew his stuff. He had been driving for almost 34 years. Class size was only 3! One of the other guys had a little experience already because he had gone to a school for a little while, but he said he dropped out because the training "sucked". The other guy in class was the same as me. No experience at all.

1st week was mostly going over how to fill out a log book, going over hours allowed to drive, how much off time is required, etc. Also, Jim showed us how to read the atlas and figuring routes to get from point A to point B. I think it was that Wednesday we finally went outside and Jim showed us the truck we'd be training in, he handed us the "Pre-Trip" instructions and he went over the pre-trip himself and he just wanted us to watch him to see everything that's involved and all the various parts. Went over the lights test, everything that's inside the cab and then the part about the truck and trailer air, testing that, etc. Thursday on, he would have one of us do the pre-trip and after that, he drove around the lot a little bit then took us to a part of the lot with cones. He showed us the first of 6 backs; straight back. He then let us all take turns in giving it a try. I think it took us all; except the one student who already had some training; a little while to figure out that once the trailer was starting to head to either the left or right that it didn't take much to correct it. The end of Thursday, he showed us one offset. To the left, I believe. Friday, I tried the pre-trip, but I did as the other student yesterday did. I just read from the papers and used a pointer the whole time. After that, we all took turns doing some straight backs and then our instructor showed us the left offset again and wanted us to take turns doing that. We all went pretty slow; except the one that had some training. Took us a while, but I think we were all getting better at it with time and practice. Then he showed us the right offset and gave us all shots at doing that. Pretty much the same thing, just opposite cuts. Nearing the end of the day, he showed us how to parallel park on the driver's side and said that's what we'd be doing on Monday. Then, we were all off for the weekend and came back Monday. Another student went over the pre-trip and then we all took some turns doing straight backs, left & right offsets. Then our instructor showed us how to parallel park on the driver's side again and wanted us all to take turns trying that. I think we all had a problem on when to cut, how long to cut, when to cut back, how far to shove the trailer in before making the final cuts. Basically, we were all messing it up. So, he had us all get out of the truck and took us one at a time; first doing it again himself; then having each of us try one at a time while he told us when to do everything and what to look out for while doing it. None of us got it perfect, but we were doing much better than before. We eventually all started to get it on our own. Then he showed us how to parallel park on the passenger side. Pretty much the same thing, but perhaps a little more difficult considering it's on the opposite side and sticking your head out the window to look back doesn't help at all. So, the day ended with all of us needing to work on that back. Tuesday, we all did all the backs up to the passenger side parallel park and then our instructor took us one at a time; he did the parking first, told us what to look for, etc, then had us try one at a time. We were definitely getting better at it and eventually we all got it. At the end of the day, he showed us the 90 degree back and said that's what we'll be doing on Wednesday. Wednesday, did a pre-trip and then we all took turns doing all the backs up to the 90. The one student that started out like me; no experience; was having some difficulty. He started cutting the wrong way or started backing a little too fast. I could see he was getting frustrated. The instructor took more time with him in the cab with myself on the other student watching outside. Unfortunately, it just didn't seem to be sinking in for the other guy. Just after lunch, he took us over to the 90, did it once then gave us all some tries to do it. None of us were getting it right and I think we were all getting frustrated. He then took us one at a time while the others watched. He'd so it once and told us what to look out for, when to do the cuts, when to pull up, etc. He then let us go one at a time with him in the cab. We got a little better at it, but we obviously needed more time. Wednesday came to an end and he said that we'll be all working on all of the backs Thursday and that we needed to show him that we can do all of the backs successfully on Friday or he'll have no choice but to drop anyone who can't. I couldn't believe what he was saying!

Thursday morning came and we all had the same question. What do you mean you'd drop us? He said as much as he'd like to give us more time and he's actually argued with management over it, he said that they need to know that we can do all of the backs by the end of Friday or we can't continue. So, we all had that one last day to get everything just right. I told him that all of the emails I got; including what I read on their site; says that after the classroom training that we'd be paired up with a "driver trainer" and go on the road for what I thought would be more training. He said that the "driver trainer" actually doesn't really do any training. I said, "What?!?" He said that most will give a little bit of help...here and there...but, they really don't train you. He said they are more or less "babysitters" and they report to management on how they think you are doing. I thought I was going to pass out! I completely misunderstood EVERYTHING! Although, the term "driver trainer" IMHO is a bit misleading...don't you think? Anyway, we all went outside and I did the pre-trip. This time I tried it without the paperwork. I'll admit, I missed a few things, but I think I did pretty good considering. Then, we all took turns doing all of the backs. I think we were all spending too much time on the ones we were all pretty good at. The other guy who had no exp. started messing up ALL of the backs. Even the straight back. I felt bad for him. I tried telling him to keep in mind that if the back of the trailer is starting to go left, give a little nudge to the left then straighten out your wheel. He started either turning the wheel way too much or the wrong way. No matter what I or the other student was telling him, it just wasn't sinking in. I could see he was getting frustrated and so was our instructor. He didn't yell at him, but he definitely started getting more firm with him. He said, "I don't know what else to do or say to get you to do the right thing." Before you knew it, it was lunchtime. We went back to the classroom and started to eat. The other guy that had no exp. asked the instructor if he could speak with him in private. They went outside for about 20 mins. and then they both came back. We all went back outside and before we got to the truck, the no exp. guy said that he was going to finish out the day and that was that. He said he's not going to continue with the course. We all felt bad for him, but he just said that he thought it was the best thing for him to do and he wished us good luck. I'm not sure why; considering he was leaving anyways; but he still wanted to try a few more backs. I mean, it's nice and everything, but I was planning on staying and needed more practice for Friday. Especially for the 90 degree back. I finally got my turn and started doing all of the backs and I'm not sure if it was nerves because I felt like I was under the clock, but I got the straight back fine, both offsets fine, the passenger side parallel fine, but kept messing up the driver side parallel and when I thought I should just move on and get back to that one, I still hadn't got the 90 back right and was messing that one up too. Before I knew it, it was the end of the day. I went home, got something to eat and went to bed. I know I didn't get much sleep. Waaaay too much on my mind. Got up a little earlier to get an extra cup of coffee, got ready and left. Just the 2 of us now in class. We went outside, the other guy did the pre-trip and then he asked me if I wanted to go first or second. I said it didn't matter; but I really wanted to watch him first. He said he'd go first and did the straight back, did the offsets, did the driver side parallel and kinda messed that up. He asked the instructor if he could try again and he said that for all of the backs that we have all day to get all of them done once. If we did all of them once, then we move on. So, he kept trying. Eventually, he got it. Then he did the passenger side parallel and messed that up twice, but his 3rd attempt was good. He then went onto the 90 back and messed that up once and before he could try again the instructor stopped him and said it was lunchtime. We went to lunch and went back out. He tried 3 more times and got the last time in, but he backed it up too far and hit a cone in the back instead of stopping within the 3 foot range. I could see he was frustrated so I told him to take a little break and then give it another try. He did and we talked a bit during the break. I reminded him that we're allowed to pull up twice and get out twice as well so you can see where you're at and make any changes if you needed to or how far you are from the back cones. I think he felt more confidence after I said that and the very next try he pulled up once, stopped once and looked. Made a small adjustment and backed up. He definitely had it this time and stopped once more to see how close he was then backed up within the 3 foot zone. Our instructor put his thumb up and said he's done. Now it was my turn. I did a straight back. Good on that. Did both offsets. Needed to pull up once on both of them, but I got them. Not sure what I was thinking, but tried the passenger side parallel first. Messed it up a little bit, so I pulled up and put a little more angle on it. Backed up, did the cuts and I got it in...barely. The instructor said as long as you get it in, you're fine.

Ok. So onto the driver side parallel. I drove around the lot and got myself set up for it. I think I cut it too much and when I straightened out I was too far in the box. I tried to pull up and fix it, but for some reason I wasn't taking enough angle off. I was starting to get frustrated. I drove around the lot to set myself up again and pulled the air, turned it off and took a little break. During the break I was looking at the truck, looking at the box, looking at the cones, thinking about when to do the cuts, how long to hold them, what to look for when straightening out, basically thinking about everything. I thought I had it and went to give it another try. This time I didn't get in deep enough. Once again, starting to get frustrated. I took a deep breath, pulled up, put some more angle on it and backed up. Now it looked like I had too much angle on it. I thought that it's ok, I got one more pull up allowed on this try. I pulled up and tried to correct it. It looked good to me so I backed up. Got the trailer in and went to put the truck in, but I didn't seem to have enough real estate to get the truck in. I got out and took a look. I couldn't figure out how to get the truck in as well without pulling up; which would have been a 3rd pull up. So, I pulled away again and I'm not sure why I did this considering I had already done it, but I went and did another straight back. Mentally, it was kinda like a reset to me. After that, instead of trying the driver side parallel again, I went to try the 90. The instructor told us that we could do the backs in any order we wanted to, just as long as they are all done. First attempt at the 90, I think I started too close to the setup cone. Tried to fix it, but my angle was getting messed up. I figured the best thing to do would be to start over. I swung around and set myself further away from the setup cone, but I think I didn't drive up far enough because when I went to back up I was right back where I was on the first attempt. Swung around once more and wanted to take another quick break and look over everything and think about where I need to be, how far to cut, when to cut back and straighten out, etc. I reminded myself that I've got 2 pull ups and 2 stops for this one as well. The instructor came over and said that he needs to see the 90 and the driver side parallel soon. Now I'm getting a bit nervous. I thought I'll try the 90 one more time then go back to the parallel. This time, everything was looking really good as I was doing the 90. I pulled up once, got straighter with the box and my trailer and now it was just a simple straight back. Nothing can go wrong. I got this! I backed up and thought I had more room than I actually did. I did stop to see where I was thinking I was close to the 3 foot zone. If only I had stopped sooner because I had everything perfect, BUT I backed up too much and made a cone in the back lean. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I thought, it's ok. Just go do the parallel and come back. Don't worry about it. I went back to the parallel and tried twice, had a great line and backed up and both times for some reason or another I just didn't back up far enough and started trying to get the cab in too early. Now I'm frustrated, nervous and losing hope. I thought it's time to go back to the 90 and do my best to get that out of the way. Pulled up and thought I set up just right. There was one thing I noticed, but didn't think it would make that much of a difference. I had a slight angle on the trailer to the right. I saw it, but didn't think it would mess me up. Was I wrong. I just couldn't get the right angle to the box. Even with 2 pull ups, I just couldn't get it. I wanted to give it another shot, but the instructor came over and said it was time to go. I told him that I knew I was close for both of them. I said I just needed a little more time, that's all. He said he had argued with management before about it. They won't listen to him. He said he knew there were a number of students that he knew were just about to get it, that they just needed another day or 2 of driving and they'd have it...but, time ran out and he's given no choice but to pull the plug. I asked him if he thought I was close. He said he knew I could do it. I can't say how frustrated I am. He said he really thinks I should try again with a different company that is closer to me and one that offers more actual driving time, not time with a "driver trainer"

This is where; hopefully; someone here can give me a HUGE hand. Does anyone here know of any driving companies in or somewhere relatively close to Fayetteville, NC that offers paid training? I drove 268 miles daily; from Fayetteville, NC to Ridgeway, VA and back for 2 weeks and I can't give up now. I need a 2nd chance.

Has ANYONE here gone through a company that offers paid training in or near Fayetteville, NC???

This last month, I had no choice but to hold off paying the minimum on 5 credit cards, 1 loan payment, 3 Affirm payments and even holding off on all that....at this point in time I have NOTHING. Literally NOTHING. I'm desperate, to say the very least! I've been using something called Flex to spilt my rent payments and I don't even have enough to cover the 1st half of my rent!

Until I hear back from someone here...hopefully VERY soon, I'm just going to continue to make ads for Facebook Marketplace and sell as much as I've got in here.

Why do you insist on being close to home for your training? You are really limiting yourself. There are many companies who will pay your transportation, your lodging, and your meals while you train.

Dig in and look at some of these Paid CDL Training Programs.

Why do you insist on being close to home for your training? You are really limiting yourself. There are many companies who will pay your transportation, your lodging, and your meals while you train.

Dig in and look at some of these Paid CDL Training Programs.

Hi Old School. Thanks for your reply. I thought I had talked about this before with someone...maybe not. I have looked into a number of them that offer most; if not all of the things you listed. As far as lodging, I've seen a number of them that cover that...for a week or 2 then the rest is on you. Either that or pay for certain things, but not everything. For me to honestly travel out of state, I'm not against it at all, BUT considering I honestly have nothing and would need to keep up with rent and bills for my apartment, they would have to pay for ALL lodging, ALL food, ALL transportation AND pay me enough so I don't lose my apartment or have anything shut off. I really don't think that any company can do all that, but please...prove me wrong! Please! I couldn't find any.

At least if I were close by, I wouldn't have to worry about anything they can't cover.

Thanks for looking out for me, though.

Why do you insist on being close to home for your training? You are really limiting yourself. There are many companies who will pay your transportation, your lodging, and your meals while you train.

Dig in and look at some of these Paid CDL Training Programs.

I will take a look at the link you provided. Thanks!!!