Need Help, New Driver, No CDL, Time Sensitive
Topic 34476 | Page 1
Tony, welcome to TT. Sorry for the short response, my timeline just changed. But wanted to say you are of the right mindset going for company sponsored training. That way you are vetted by the company before they bring you on so you know you have employment with them once you pass. Use the link on this site which will send your application out to many companies. Make a quick list of what you want, such as type of freight (dry van, reefer , flatbed), hometime wants/needs, etc., and go with the first company that'll take you on that meets most of your list.
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
@ Sandman J Thank you for that advice. I've been over on TT's Paid CDL Training Reviews page looking at all the options. TONS of info there. I might have to make an Excel spreadsheet, include all the relevant companies and "tick the boxes" I need. This whole idea started when I was scrolling on my phone looking for a job and came across Roehl Transport and read about their offerings. Right now it's late here and I have info overload! :)
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.
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.
Welcome to Tt Tony.
Sorry to hear your one of the many victims of Helene. I have family in western NC so I know first hand how devasting it is. My heart goes out to everyone effected.
Roehl is a good choice. I’m biased toward them. I went there back in 2013. Use the link on here get your app out and see who is interested.
In the mean time go through the high road program on here.
Keep us posted on your journey!!
@PJ Thank you! Will do :)
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On Sept. 27, 2024, our house was hit directly by Hurricane Helene, which cost me a whole lot of money. Then just a couple of weeks after that, the CFO of the company I worked at for the past 14 years called me on the phone and said that AI (Artificial Intelligence) had just taken all the "human" employees' jobs, including mine. No prior notice, just a call: "Bye." That news was devastating because I have a family to support, live in the country with no jobs around here, no income and just 5 months worth of bill money in the bank before me and my family are homeless.
Today is Nov. 7, 2024 and I'm on a mission to start a new career as quickly as possible. It's taken a month to get started because our internet was down all that time.
I've done a whole lot of traveling in my lifetime and I love being on the road and seeing the countryside. I've had long haul trucker friends and have ridden with them many times and loved every minute of it. I've done nonstop "long haul" car and pickup truck trips many times. Once I drove a friend from Georgia to Vermont and back nonstop so he could bring his new fiance and her trailer full of stuff to live with him. Another time I used my pickup truck to drive nonstop from Georgia to Arkansas and back to haul a friend's old duelly Chevy C-50 tow truck back on a trailer to Georgia. He told me on the trip back, "Tony, you really should consider being an OTR truck driver. You'd be very good at it." I didn't give it much thought at the time because I already had a good job making decent money. Those are just two of many examples like that.
Driving is in my blood and the road seems to be calling me right now.
I don't have a CDL yet, but I just learned that trucking companies pay new drivers like me while they train them to get their CDL, then put them to work. I brought this idea up to my wife and she wants me to go for it. She supports it 100%. She sings for a hobby and told me she'd sing a cover of "18 Wheels and a Dozen Roses" for me if I did it. So now I have to! LOL!
I've read a lot of this forum before I decided to join it and you all seem like really great folks. I'm hoping you folks will help me get on the road ASAP. I don't have much time. I have to save our home. If you can help me make this happen, I'll let you hear that song as soon as she records it! :)
Thanks in advance for any help and guidance.
Tony tgantt65@gmail.com
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.