Introduction
Topic 950 | Page 1
Welcome Tec and Treasure !! We are glad you found "the best trucker site on the internet"...our humble little spot in the trucking educational field. Going from class B to class A won't be to difficult, since you already have the otr experience. I guess you will need to figure out whether you want to go thru a private school, community college, or company sponsored school. If you are a veteran, theres a program for you to help with schooling. Theres alot out there, and we'll sure help you find it, get in it ,and get thru it....
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.
Starcar,
Thanks for responding. It's good to know that the community here is willing to help if the opportunity is there.
Due to finances, it'll have to be company sponsored training. We've discussed the various options and realize that time-in-service with a company is the common trade off for providing training and we have no problem with that requirement. To us, it's a perfectly logical requirement.
Our biggest hurdle that I've noticed so far is pet policies. We do have a dog that will need to come with us so we've been looking into companies that either allow pets (even with deposit/insurance deducted weekly is no worry for us) or lease/purchase options so that she can be with me sooner as she won't be able to go with me until the dog is able to go along as well. While I'm researching companies, she's researching O/O and leasing so that we're well informed and as educated as we can be about the hurdles, trials and tribulations that go along with that option in the trucking industry.
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.
It seems like there aren't mq ny companies that allow pets, especially the ones that will offer you cdl training. I'd look into Prime inc to start with. O/o or lease may be a good option as far as being a pet owner but is also a big financial risk. Personally I couldn't do it unless I had a partner with me to take care of the business side of things. You have that so I thnk that's a plus. The downside is you wouldn't have the aid of drivng as a team. You would be a solo truck with a driver and "helper". You wouldn't have those extra mles turning which would limit your income. Not many people on the site are advocates for the lease or o/o route. Its a lot of risk. Without a nice chunk of money in case something happens ou could really hurt yourself financially.
Welcome aboard
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Prime allows pets with a $1k deposit that is deducted from your check a little each week. Werner allows pets and there are more out there. Most companies that allow pets do not have it listed on their websites but in almost all cases they limit the size of the pet. 20 lbs is about all is allowed in most company trucks. Any bigger than that it becomes unfair to the dog due to their size. You will just need to call them up and ask each company about their pet policy.
Welcome aboard!
Yeah, we try like crazy to steer people away from leasing or owning trucks. It's just an awful business to be in. And honestly, buying or leasing a truck so you can take a dog with you is not a reason to become a business owner. I love animals as much as anyone and I'm a business owner myself. But you can't be making major life-changing decisions and putting your financial future at risk because you'd like to have a dog with you. I mean, you could make major life decisions that way. But that kind of decision-making doesn't end well.
But since you're interested in learning more about it, the best site I know of is OOIDA for information about becoming a lease driver or owner operator .
In case you haven't come across it already, our Truck Driver's Career Guide has a ton of information about every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your trucking career off to a great start.
Owner Operator:
An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.
OOIDA:
Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association
Who They Are
OOIDA is an international trade association representing the interests of independent owner-operators and professional drivers on all issues that affect truckers. The over 150,000 members of OOIDA are men and women in all 50 states and Canada who collectively own and/or operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks and small truck fleets.
Their Mission
The mission of OOIDA is to serve owner-operators, small fleets and professional truckers; to work for a business climate where truckers are treated equally and fairly; to promote highway safety and responsibility among all highway users; and to promote a better business climate and efficiency for all truck operators.
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Just wanted to introduce ourselves to the community. We're a couple that's working on getting out on the road together to alleviate the home time issues and out-of-truck overhead of supporting what is essentially two separate lives.
I've been running expedited freight in a straight truck team situation that was hurting more than helping and due to the "need for speed" over what could easily be a long haul, team driving is all that I have been able to find available for straight trucks.
This has forced us to looking into upgrading my CDL to Class "A" from Class "B" so I can run solo and carry her with me. Wanted to say thank you to Brett for this site and the information that's available to those like us who are looking into this industry and needing to look into or contact multiple companies.
Even though she's unable to get a CDL due to physical limitations, she is experienced as a trucking partner in that she is good with paperwork, understands and is proficient with Qualcomm systems if it's needed and experienced in talking with shippers and consignees. While technically not a team in the traditional sense of the term in the trucking industry, we're very much a team in how we work and get tasks accomplished.
We're open to suggestions from anyone who has them & thanks for reading this little introduction.
Tec & Treasure
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Consignee:
The customer the freight is being delivered to. Also referred to as "the receiver". The shipper is the customer that is shipping the goods, the consignee is the customer receiving the goods.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
Qualcomm:
Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.