New To Field, Seeking Suggestions

Hello! My name is Jonah, I live in San Diego, CA - born and raised. Back in 2016 a friend of mine convinced me to get my CDL , and I did some research into a few schools - this led me to CR England. Everything was going good, I passed everything turned in all the paperwork and obtained my permit. A month later I still had not received my CDL, I talked to CR England and I was told there was a problem, but would not be given an exact reason. I attempted to stay for a few days and still no word on my CDL, so I packed up and quit. I was employed (according to their records) with CR England for 3 months.

As soon as I returned home, I called the DMV & CR England to figure out what was going on, I stayed on top of this for 2-3 months and still no luck. All I could find out was there was an error on my paperwork, and it was up to the school to clarify, the DMV would not give me any additional information. So I let it be, and moved on with my career in Security.

About 3 months ago, I was let go from the Security job I had at the time, and once again my friend suggested I look into my CDL issue. After about a month of talking to DMV / CR England, I finally figured out what happened, corrected it, and as of yesterday I have my Temp License.

So I am trying to go through and do more research and pick a company to start with again, however I am having issues finding a "starting company" that people actually LIKE.

My Experience: 2016 - 3 months 11 Western States (CR England) 2017 - Zero 2018 - Zero (so far).

I do not need to go back to school, as I have my CDL already, however I do need a place that is going to offer retraining / refresher. My major concern right now is backing & pre-trip, everything else I remember. I would prefer to stay 11 Western Regional , however I am open to going OTR if its teams.

\\These are the companies I am currently looking into// PRIME Inc Jim Polmer Wil-Trans SWIFT Knight Trans CRST Schneider KLLM KKW Werner Watkins-Shepard MTC Eagle Trans CFI James H. Clark & Son Covenant

\\These Are The Questions I Plan On Asking// Do You Hire From CA? Minimum Requirements? Do You Offer Refresher? What Divisions Do You Have? Coast to Coast OTR Required Before Regional? % of No Touch, Drop & Hook, Live Load? Rider Policy? Pet Policy? Pay Per Mile? Avg Miles Per Week? Transportation Paid? (Orientation / Refresher) Lodging Paid? (Orientation / Refresher) Pay During Refresher / Training ? Out / Home Time? Forced Loads? Sick Policy? Weather Policy? Truck Models & Year? APU? Inverter? CB Radio Allowed? How Long Is Refresher / Training / Orientation? How Long After Being Hired Until First Pay? Dispatched As Solo or Team During Refresher / Training? Manual or Auto? Upfront Costs?

Any tips or suggestions? Thanks!

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.

Regional:

Regional Route

Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.

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.

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.

DMV:

Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles

The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

So I am trying to go through and do more research and pick a company to start with again, however I am having issues finding a "starting company" that people actually LIKE.

Any tips or suggestions? Thanks!

Stop putting any credence in what people *****ing on the internet have to say. Any of the major starting companies that haul freight in the area you want will be just fine. Fill out the web applications on those companies you are interested in and you will be called. You will have to go through refresher/retraining at any of them.

Good luck...

CFI does hire from California. If you work here and live in CA, you have the option of hourly pay or CPM. You have no recent driving experience, they would at the least require you to go out with a trainer or maybe want you to go through school again. They would pay for school and pay you while out with a trainer. Best thing would be to contact a recruiter Monday morning. I don't know if they will be working this Monday because of the holiday. We have OTR and some regional. I don't know the regions. Hope that helps. Oh and we have miles.

Welcome WhaDo...!

If a 10th of everything written on the intercrap about trucking by disgruntled, unemployed truck drivers were true, we'd all be driving for Uber.

Believe in this:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests