New Driver - Need Housing Advice
Topic 34607 | Page 1
Hi Shane and welcome to Trucking Truth!
I don't have any advice for your living situation, but I do in regards to school and getting your CDL. Stick with company sponsored training. It can be difficult to find a job if you go through a private school - having a company hire you and teach you will almost certainly guarantee you a job (assuming you can pass the training). And if you're looking at Roehl (excellent choice, by the way) they'll pay you while in their program and you'll be that much further ahead in the long run.
Whatever you decide, best wishes to you and safe travels!
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.
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.
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Hi all, I'm getting ready to start CDL school in about a month at a local community college. Long story short, I'm 43 years old, single, no kids, and have been wanting to make a career change for a while and have always had interest in trucking. I've been kicking the can down the road with staying with my current job (managing a recreation facility) because it's comfortable but decided that it's time to take a chance on something new and exciting. I've learned quite a bit from the Trucking Truth website already among other places, and am aware that I will likely need to start with an OTR job, which I am fine with. I've been really looking at Roehl and have heard a lot of good things about them, so will probably start by applying with them and likely other companies as well.
I live in a very high cost of living area just outside Washington, DC and plan to move out of my apartment once I finish CDL school and get hired to move to a cheaper area. It's just me so I don't need much but I would like to have some kind of a home base for when I have days off. I've narrowed it down to 2 options that I think could work for me, and am curious to hear what you all think and if there are any holes in this plan that I may not have thought of.
Option 1: Rent an apartment somewhere along the I-81 corridor, likely between Winchester, VA and Harrisburg, PA. Rents for 1 bedroom apartments are reasonable and I would still be fairly close to family if I wanted to visit.
Option 2: Buy a towable RV and find an RV park around that same area that allows long-term parking. I figure a perk of this option would be that I could always move to another area easily if I change jobs or just want to be better positioned based on whatever routes I frequently take.
Financially, it looks like the RV option might be cheaper, especially in the long run, but I'm curious if anyone here has tried this and how well it worked. I'm open to any advice you all may have. Thanks!
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.