Hi, I'm Ryan And I'm New Here.. Should I Go Over The Road?
Topic 6547 | Page 1
My name is Ryan I'm 28 years old. I've had a CDL-B for 2 years and drive school buses. I went to NETTTS(New England Tractor Trailer Training School) in RI and graduated and have had my CDL-A since February. I looked and looked for local work and had a few interviews but nobody wants to hire me without experience. It will almost be a year coming up so I need to make some moves in my life. No wife or kids, I'm just so worried about going over the road and being just away for so long and living in a truck most of the time plus all the horror stories I read when I read reviews on companies. What is my best play? The school bus is only part time and I have a student loan I need to pay.. I figure either suck it up and go on the road or just go with my class B experience and get my hazmat and tanker and just ignore the class A and focus on something full time class B.. I'm not sure what to do. Any advice? I've been talking to Werner and have people there sending me stuff to read and business cards and are waiting for me to contact them after the holidays but I'm so nervous about pulling the trigger on it. Thank you for your time and input.
OK as for any company you choose it will be what you make it ..... Go in with a positive attitude and strong work ethics and skies are the limits and I would leave that class b alone and go otr for at least a year to gain experience and safe driving for future jobs.... With that said you will most likely make more money with the class A then that B but that's my 2 cents and sure some of the other people will chime in here soon
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
Over The Road:
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.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Welcome to trucking truth.... There's a lot of info on this site to help you decide which route to take
Seems like you don't want to go OTR unless you have to. If that's the case, then you should listen to yourself. Sounds like you possibly have some other avenues to explore w/ your Class B if you get some other endorsements. Getting your hazmat and tank isn't difficult, doesn't really cost much, and doesn't require a road test. There are materials on this website to aid in studying.
Folks roll OTR because they want to, or need to in order to get a job they really want. A lot of this depends on your location as well, in regard to opportunity. You can look into LTL companies for linehaul or P&D jobs. You can look into food service.
I will say this though, you might have closed some doors by waiting so long to use your Class A CDL. Typically, truckload companies for OTR positions want to see you use your CDL A within 6 months of obtaining it, PLUS, they'll want to see you have a minimal credit hours from your school. You might just have to work a little harder in finding an opportunity.
For local gigs, OTR experience isn't always required anymore, but your opportunity will vary according to your location. For OTR jobs, you can pretty much get a job no matter where you live, but the fact that you waited almost a year to use your CDL A might require you to go through a refresher course for any major truckload company. You might want to start contacting truckload companies just to see if you'll need a refresher, that way you'll know what you'll need to do to get a job OTR, if that's the route you wanna take.
Again, I don't know you, but based on what you wrote, it sounds like you don't wanna go OTR unless you have to. Folks going into OTR aren't necessarily doing it for the money, but the lifestyle. You won't know if you like it until you try, but that's a gamble you'll have to take.
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.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
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.
P&D:
Pickup & Delivery
Local drivers that stay around their area, usually within 100 mile radius of a terminal, picking up and delivering loads.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers for instance will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Ryan, in the meantime, look into these resources. Especially the pre-hire , since you'll need to explain to any truckload company that you haven't used your CDL A in close to a year.
Understanding Pre-Hires
Truck Driver's Career Guide
Company-Sponsored Training
Here's what you can use to study for your endorsements.
Best wishes.
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.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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.
Thanks for all the tips! When talking to Werner they said I wouldn't need to take a refresher course, but Schneider did. I'm trying to be optimistic but it's just tough. I'm not sure if I'm cut out for the road. Going to school I thought I had local things lined up through people I know but they just fell through. It was never my goal to hit the road but it's an opportunity that I have right now to launch my future in a better direction. I guess I'm just too anxious about it. It's a lot of change.
OTR will always be there for you, to the very least, you might need a refresher course - as you're already aware of. If you need OTR to gain experience, then keep that in mind when you venture out and the going gets tough, sometimes we need to sacrifice a little.
I don't know what kind of local work you've already looked for, but I gave you two other suggestions in LTL and food service. I run linehaul for an LTL company and we have a terminal in Providence, RI. There are other company terminals up that way. Not sure where you are in RI. Sounds like you've looked into hauling fuel if you're interested in getting your hazmat and tank.
I'm not trying to discourage you from going OTR, but it sounds like you'd only be using that as a means to an end. If that's the case, just make sure you've exhausted all your local opportunities before taking what might be an unnecessary plunge. I was able to land a great linehaul job with an LTL company right out of school. But I live in a great area for trucking jobs besides the standard OTR. So much of it depends on location.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
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.
Linehaul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Daniel B's Diary of a year OTR opened my eyes up to what life at a class A trucker would be like.
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.
Welcome aboard Ryan!
"6 string rhythm" has given you stellar advice. Read it carefully. It's well thought out and very helpful.
At first I misread your first statement and I thought you said you had a wife and kids so your concern about going OTR was well justified. But you don't have a wife or kids so I'm not sure what you're concerned with about "being away for so long". Being away from what? Get out there and see the world! Where's your sense of adventure? You're not an old granny!
If you were to get on with an OTR company after the holidays and get even 3-6 months of OTR experience it would open up some doors for you with local gigs. They normally say they require a year of experience but they'll often settle for much less and sometimes they'll even take students out of school like they did with 6 string rhythm. I suspect some companies just say they require experience hoping to get better quality applicants. If you post a job that says no experience required a lot of veteran drivers might skip that company altogether, thinking it isn't a job they'd want for one reason or another.
At 28 years old with no wife and kids, now is the time to establish your career. If you can't find something local then suck it up and go OTR for a few months. It will be a priceless experience. It will be extremely difficult of course, but trucking always is. By spring or early summer you'll likely be able to find something local and then you can establish any kind of relationship/family/home life you would like to have.
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.
I'm really looking into all my options right now. I'm hoping to have a decision in January. A few weeks of soul searching and research should do it. I know going OTR will really help in the long run and may even be something I enjoy. Something about it makes me so anxious though. Maybe it's just such a big change from what I'm used to.
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.
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
My name is Ryan I'm 28 years old. I've had a CDL-B for 2 years and drive school buses. I went to NETTTS(New England Tractor Trailer Training School) in RI and graduated and have had my CDL-A since February. I looked and looked for local work and had a few interviews but nobody wants to hire me without experience. It will almost be a year coming up so I need to make some moves in my life. No wife or kids, I'm just so worried about going over the road and being just away for so long and living in a truck most of the time plus all the horror stories I read when I read reviews on companies. What is my best play? The school bus is only part time and I have a student loan I need to pay.. I figure either suck it up and go on the road or just go with my class B experience and get my hazmat and tanker and just ignore the class A and focus on something full time class B.. I'm not sure what to do. Any advice? I've been talking to Werner and have people there sending me stuff to read and business cards and are waiting for me to contact them after the holidays but I'm so nervous about pulling the trigger on it. Thank you for your time and input.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
Over The Road:
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.