Comments By Wile E.

What is leasing?

Brief answer: similar to leasing a car. Your payment will be less than purchasing, may have a buyout at the end of lease. YOU are responsible for fuel/maintenance on the truck. Definitely NOT recommended for a new driver just starting out.

The trucking industry is moving toward automatics. Many of the mega carriers, and a lot of smaller carriers, are already fully auto or nearing fully auto in their fleets. If you test out in an automatic, that "E" restriction means you cannot drive a truck with a manual transmission. It isn't nearly as big a concern now as it was even a few years ago, and there is a pathway that you can get the restriction removed later if you need to.

We had a driver in our class, who was a current driver for a large carrier, taking a refresher course to test out in a manual and get his "E" restriction removed. He had gotten some experience at his current job, had found another company he wanted to drive for, that only ran manuals.

Steve you should have hollerad at me. We have a nice little town for sure. I’m out in the country with plenty of truck parking…. Greenwood is a bit off the beaten path for sure… Shout out if your coming through sir!!!!

It's been a long time ago (1978 - 1983), but I used to make a delivery in Elberton. Can't remember the name of the place, but it was on 72, just on the edge of town. We used to come across the old narrow bridge from the SC side before the lake was filled, and I can remember driving across the new bridge, looking down on the old one, before it went under water.

Rick C.

The overall consensus here favors the company sponsored training path. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I'll go further and say that it is likely the best route for the majority of prospective drivers looking to get into this industry.

For some, the private school is the way to go. I chose that path, for a number of reasons that I won't go into in this note, but it was the better fit for my situation. I do not mean this note to discourage you in any way from company sponsored training. It is your decision.

Know this: the school training will get you your CDL. No more than that. That is true with either path. You won't know much about the actual job from the basic school training, and you'll know just enough of the laws, rules, and basics of handling the truck to get your CDL. The training of being a truck driver comes on the road with a trainer, and each company has their way of doing that. But that period will be where you learn the daily ins and outs of life on the road, and that education will continue after you're solo. How do I know this as a student driver? I read and listen to the men and ladies that have been doing this for many years. A LOT of those people are here on this forum. Also, I drove for 5 years a long time ago, and decided I wanted to get back into driving for the last years of my working career.

As to your question about schools requiring you to appear in person: I considered 6 different schools in my search, looked them up on line, searched through the info on their websites. I contacted 3 of those schools. All three provided info regarding tuition/fees via email. Two did ask me to come in and meet with them face to face before signing up, but again, they provided their fees before asking me to meet with them. I got the distinct impression when meeting with them that they were sizing me up, getting a read on me, whatever you want to call it. No worries, just the way they do things.

You mentioned driving local. Some LTL companies have a dock to driver program, but not knowing where you are, I can make no other suggestions.

I would so want to go over and play with those toys every time I was near them..

Me, too!

I signed up for the online HazMat training with my school as apparently you also need to pass an approved HazMat course before you can sit the state/DOT hazmat endorsement exam at the DMV.

Not certain, but I think you also have to be fingerprinted for Hazmat. There's only a couple places in NC that are approved to do that. Maybe check into it, if you haven't already.

Definitely get your doctor to check it out.

I'll second the compression socks recommendation already made by several others. Wife and I wore these on our trip to Uganda a few years ago:

Compression socks

Found those on a website that talked about the socks many pilots and stewardesses wear. They offer significant compression, but not quite as much as some designed more for medical applications. Neither my wife nor I have ever had any issue with swelling, but reading up on long distance travel we thought they were a good idea for prevention. We had no issues on our trip.

However, since you're already having some swelling, you may need more compression than those I've linked. Your doc will be your best source of info.

I drove for 5 years, many years ago, day cab, for a private fleet. To this day, I tell people it was the most fun I ever had, and still got paid for doing it. Sure, there were bad days, aggravating docks, a grouchy customer (rarely), sharing the road with the occasional idiot that thought he could do a U turn right in front of me (he did, and I missed him, somehow), whatever...but it was great!

Wife and I started raising a family, and I needed more money, but didn't want to go OTR and miss time with the family. So, I tried a few other jobs (sold cars, managed an office, swung a hammer for a couple of years), ended up in manufacturing in the plastics industry, where I've been for over 30 years now. Wages stagnated, the job getting more and more frustrating for a number of reasons, I decided it's time to make a change.

Wife and I talked about it off and on for months, and decided to give truck driving another go. I'm in school now, should graduate in a few weeks, and I'll be applying soon.

What are my concerns? Brett pretty much nailed them. Can I still drive one of these things? Can I pass all the tests? These trucks are a lot bigger than when I drove before! Trailers were max 45' and overall max was 55' back then. Now, these things are HUGE! What if I mess up and hurt someone? Or cut a corner too close and rip down a telephone pole? That hole doesn't look big enough for this truck...how the heck am I going to back this thing in there?! How hard is it really going to be, being away from home? What is life on the road really like? Am I going to understand and learn how to use HOS properly? Can I sleep well enough on a truck? Food prep? Can I be one of those drivers that my dispatcher can count on to get the job done? What about all the electronics (logs, cameras, etc.) I have more questions than answers...I'm just trying to take 1 step at a time.

When you took the test didn't they give you a paper to take to the DMV? Even though the scores are recorded electronically, that paper says you only have 30 days. Perhaps it is because my company tests out of state drivers so if you test within the state perhaps you don't so that.

Again... Go ask the DMV.

I had to show my med card at the DMV before I could take the permit tests. Permit is good for 60 days (North Carolina). Maybe other states do it differently?

According to the NCDMV website, The State-to-State Verification Service (part of the Real ID Act) should have cancelled your NC license when you got your AZ license. If your NC license still shows as active, then when you get to NC, I would carry both licenses into the DMV office and get them to confirm your NC license is still valid, then turn your AZ license in and let them get it cancelled.

Real ID Act info on NCDMV website

Congratulations, Matt! Very much appreciate your post. It is interesting, encouraging, and very helpful! Thanks!