My Head Will Explode!***
Topic 20861 | Page 1
Good luck, Greg, you got this! I'm curious... how long was the gap between your year of driving and now? We're close in age and I'm very interested in reading all the "older" guys'/gals' diaries that I can. I'm an avid weightlifter and soccer ref so I'd love to show some company how I can carry 70 lbs for 50', toss it aside, and ask "what's next?" Haha. In all seriousness, please keep posting as I live through you/us older guys until I can start my own trucking career.
Greg wrote:
You have to walk I think 50ft, with 70lbs, 3 times. And I'm sitting here thinking, ' could I even do this when I was in my teens or twenties? '. If you've ever picked up a sack of concrete? That's 50 lbs I believe, and it's not a bundle of joy to lift and carry either. And here I am at 50 thinking, hmmm..... or a sack of dog food, relatively for a large bag, this would be 30 lbs. I can carry it, but it still gets heavy after a few feet. And they want you to carry 70 for 50 ft. :) I mean, who in their normal lives can actually say, ' oh yeh, carried 70 lbs around the yard today.
Unless you plan on becoming a flatbed driver, you will not be subjected to a strength test like this. One less thing to worry about...
Good luck, Greg, you got this! I'm curious... how long was the gap between your year of driving and now? We're close in age and I'm very interested in reading all the "older" guys'/gals' diaries that I can. I'm an avid weightlifter and soccer ref so I'd love to show some company how I can carry 70 lbs for 50', toss it aside, and ask "what's next?" Haha. In all seriousness, please keep posting as I live through you/us older guys until I can start my own trucking career.
I think I went to school in 1993 and worked from 1993 to somewhere in 1994. Thanks for the input. Yeh, I use to work in the tree business, and lifted a few logs. That was back in my twenties.... but, I don't believe I ever carried them for 50 ft. lol That's what gets me... 50 ft, 3 times. lol And good luck. I'll have to remember your sign in name and keep track of you.
Thank you GTown.... I was wondering, except that she went on to say bla bla, ' and the flat bed drivers have to, bla bla '. The way she wrote it made it sound like *everyone had to*, and the flat bed drivers had it worse.
Good luck, Greg, you got this! I'm curious... how long was the gap between your year of driving and now? We're close in age and I'm very interested in reading all the "older" guys'/gals' diaries that I can. I'm an avid weightlifter and soccer ref so I'd love to show some company how I can carry 70 lbs for 50', toss it aside, and ask "what's next?" Haha. In all seriousness, please keep posting as I live through you/us older guys until I can start my own trucking career.
I think I went to school in 1993 and worked from 1993 to somewhere in 1994. Thanks for the input. Yeh, I use to work in the tree business, and lifted a few logs. That was back in my twenties.... but, I don't believe I ever carried them for 50 ft. lol That's what gets me... 50 ft, 3 times. lol And good luck. I'll have to remember your sign in name and keep track of you.
Thank you GTown.... I was wondering, except that she went on to say bla bla, ' and the flat bed drivers have to, bla bla '. The way she wrote it made it sound like *everyone had to*, and the flat bed drivers had it worse.
What company? 70lbs for 50', 3x...I know of no carrier requiring that of an OTR driver unless it's Flatbed. There are many other companies to consider...as follows:
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.
What company? 70lbs for 50', 3x...I know of no carrier requiring that of an OTR driver unless it's Flatbed. There are many other companies to consider...as follows:
Well, believe it or not, it was Swift.... I'm seriously considering Swift, if I can get in, or if I finally decide to. I'm in for the long haul and plan on staying for a very long while, with one company. I'm not much on moving around.
It was an article posted (pasted) by one of the moderators here, in a different thread. He wears that big fishing looking hat. Can't recall his name. If I can find the thread or the article I'll let you know. It's probably just the way she worded it. I think she maybe mixed up some information when writing it. Either that or I misread it. I don't believe I did.
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.
Greg,...Swift does NOT administer a test like that unless you applied for their flatbed division.
"Errol" is the moderator you referred to and this is the post he made on the subject, scroll to the very bottom. Click this link:
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.
Greg,...Swift does NOT administer a test like that unless you applied for their flatbed division.
"Errol" is the moderator you referred to and this is the post he made on the subject, scroll to the very bottom. Click this link:
Yeh, thanks for the info.... no, that's not the thread I was referring to. I'm pretty sure it was Errol who pasted a link to an article that someone had written concerning Swift. It wasn't a strength test article, it was more of a diary and her experience with going through Swift academy and orientation. Whew, anyway, can't find it.... she probably just messed up with the wording or something and meant something else.
Anyway, that's good to know. Thanks Again! :)
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.
You're probably talking about Sunshine the woman who failed the strength test for Swift flatbed.
You're probably talking about Sunshine the woman who failed the strength test for Swift flatbed.
Who failed the strength test and left motivated then when she got the opportunity again she aced it.
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My head will explode, just give it a little more time. lol
First, I'd like to commend Brett and anyone else involved for creating this beautiful forum. Is describing it as beautiful to fruity? Ok, I'll leave it at *great* forum, with loads and loads of information, and helpful hands.
We didn't have things like this back in the day. Brett and I got into trucking around the same time, he stuck with it, I did not. No, I don't know him personally, but I can relate with what he has built here.
I let me class A cdl go a few years ago, and yes i'm still kicking myself for it. I remember looking online for a place to get a physical which is now mandatory for getting your cdl renewed in the state of Texas, and I couldn't find anything in my area. So, genius me figured I'd just let it go. If I needed it back, I could get one. Right? Yeh, don't ever let it go, if you have one.
Right now, I'm sitting here typing. ha ha .... this is about the mentality I have... I'm here, now. And I've been reading, reading, reading these past few weeks, and reading some more, and more. Which company best suits me, what company I believe I could actually get hired on with. And not to mention, studying for the cdl permit test. Whew.... ah, and trying to live in the meantime, taking care of everyday business.
I was reading about one company that puts you through these strength test, to test your endurance I guess. You have to walk I think 50ft, with 70lbs, 3 times. And I'm sitting here thinking, ' could I even do this when I was in my teens or twenties? '. If you've ever picked up a sack of concrete? That's 50 lbs I believe, and it's not a bundle of joy to lift and carry either. And here I am at 50 thinking, hmmm..... or a sack of dog food, relatively for a large bag, this would be 30 lbs. I can carry it, but it still gets heavy after a few feet. And they want you to carry 70 for 50 ft. :) I mean, who in their normal lives can actually say, ' oh yeh, carried 70 lbs around the yard today. It was a blast! ' I mean, even if you have kids, a 10 year old relatively weighs 70 lbs, and you normally don't carry them around. Why? *Because ..... they .... are .... to .... heavy!*
Sooo, after considering, at first ( or my first week ) how I was going to accomplish getting into trucking school. How I was going to go about doing it. If this is even what I really think I'd want to do for the rest of my driving career. The questions are, can you even carry 70 lbs for 50 ft. ?.... and others of the sort.
There was a question, or is a question on this forum, ' what is the most difficult thing about trucking '. Well, for me, I believe it was being alone. Me, I'm a sharing person. I love to share everything. If I saw a squirrel run across the road, I'd want to share it with someone. So, me and being completely alone driving a truck isn't a great combination. But, I need the money. Ahhh, yes, the ole money problem. It never really seems to ever go away. I won't go into detail about my financial situation, but I'd really have to say, I don't believe anyone is ever completely prepared for anything. Life hits, your bills add up, and you find yourself here, just here.
I really do think very highly of this forum. I mean, we had absolutely nothing like this back when I first went to school and started my driving career. I found myself out there in school (paid for with money I borrowed from mummy and daddy) with a bunch of people I knew absolutely nothing about, trying to learn how to drive a truck that I knew absolutely nothing about. And my whole driving career, which lasted a whole year, was pretty much all just a learning curve. I know now I believe what all it would take to survive driving a truck for a living. But, still, here I am, here, just here....
It's been 24 years, and after reading all the study guides, I realize that I remember very little of it. So, back to square one we go, sort of. I do have an advantage. I've been there, and out there. I do pretty much know what to expect. I could probably hook up to a trailer right now and deliver it safely. But, I no longer have mummy and daddy paying for school. I have to be picky and choosy. I can't just run right out and do whatever I want anymore. Not that I ever did. Everyone remembers what it was like trying to convince mom and dad to lend you money for anything. But, I have to prepare for leaving. I have to make sure all the bills are paid while I'm away at school and over the road with trainers. I have to do serious budgeting. It's all really just one big long drag. Anyway, way to much to think about. I mean, I say drag. It's not all bad. It's a lot of fun relearning everything, and the giddiness you get thinking about driving a truck (again for me). Is giddiness to fruity of a word to use here? :) You know what I mean. It's a hoot driving a truck. It's the whole package. The career, the pay... etc. .... the simple joy of learning how to drive. And I'm sure I'm a little rusty.
Anyway, yeh, it's a lot to think about. Maybe someone can relate.... that's the reason I wrote this. I think I want to scream to get rid of some stress. I can feel it all building up. :) Maybe it will cheer someone up, maybe I'll make new friends here. Or acquaintances anyway, we don't have to be buddy buddy. ha ha
It's all a lot to take in....
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.