Comments By Vykarius

I don't have to do the pre-trip inspection or the in-cab inspection, but I do have to do the brake test then drive to the skills test area to do a straight line back then a 90 degree alley dock followed by either an offset or a parallel parking then a road test back to DMV. I will try to go back to my cdl school a few times each week for skills training before the 29th of April when I test. I am thinking of watching some you tube videos to learn different techniques and styles. Any suggestions? Thanks for the kind words and supportive feedback. I hope my pre-hires remain in effect.

Vyk, do you only have to retake the skills part or the whole test? I don't know if you have more chance to practice but if you do I have one piece of advice. PRACTICE STRAIGHT LINE. At my school the straight line truck was always open and ready while people were waiting in line to do alley docks, parallels, and offsets. When you practice straight line, set-up in such a way where you cant just hold the wheel straight and go thru. If you get into the cones with your trailer twisted and cab to one side or the other you will gain skill. It's about controlling the trailer, not just doing a manuever in the exact same place the exact same way every time. I became one of the best in my class on the range by doing about 100 straight lines in a row while the rest waited in line to do other maneuvers.

Hey gang...bad news...I took my DMV test for my CDL on 3-19-2014 and passed the pre-trip, the in cab inspection and the brake test too. My drive test went well but I screwed up on my skills tests and failed the overall because of it. I don't re-test until 4-29-2014. Been bummed for days.

Why would they need a refresher course if they have local driving experience? I'm not trying to argue I think I'm just confused. Thanks.

One thing to be careful of going straight to local right out of school is if they ever elimanate that position and you cant find another local job you will have to take a refresher course to get back to driving.

I am currently in a CDL school in which W.I.A. is paying for. My experience in Northern California has been much like RedGator's posted. It saves like $5,000 and some companies like Covenant Transport will give tuition reimbursement EVEN IF WIA PAYS FOR IT! That's an extra $125 in your pocket each month you stay with Covenant even if you never paid CDL school tuition yourself!Mine took nearly 2 months to obtain but saving $5,000 and avoiding being locked into a contract with a starter company is a huge bonus in my opinion. Best of luck with your WIA funding search should you choose it.

It took about a month to a month and half start to finish before I was awarded the grant money. I had to take 3 seminars, provide 5 weeks of work search (which can be back dated), and take a 3 part test and score so much on each section before they move you along to your case worker. Then you have to fill out tons of paperwork. They provide you with a list of schools and you pick which you would like. WIA pays for you CDL, all your endorsement including your hazmat and background check plus they pay for any related items needed for training up to $6000 in total. You have to do a year follow up with them soley by email afterwards.

Congrats on flying solo now brother! I begin week 6 of 7 in my CDL school at Western Pacific in Stockton, CA. Nervous as hell about the skills tests for DMV on 3-19-14! Then I'll need everyone's advice narrowing down my starting company choice....so far it's May Trucking vs. Northern Refrigerated and if teams between CRST and Covenant. Good luck!

It's been a while since I posted here, so I wanted to post another update.

I finished my training at Werner, and tested out yesterday, and I was assigned my first truck. it's a 2011 international prostar eagle... it has 533k miles on the odometer, and I am waiting to go back to the hotel and get my stuff, and get my stuff in the truck and get going on the road.....

stay safe out there.....

Chris

Week 5 of cdl class now and received pre-hire letters from Covenant, CRST, Swift. Schneider, Prime and U.S. Xpress still interested but unknown if a pre-hire is coming from either of the last 3. Also May Trucking Company and Northern Refrigerated expressed interest post graduation. Any feedback on any of these companies would be welcomed. Thanks in advance.

Thanks so much for feedback Starcar.

Hey Vyk....you need to get LOTS of prehire offers...If you haven't put in many applcations...you need to....The first year is your most crucial. So you need to choose wisely...and to do that, you need ALOT of offers you can compare....so keep putting in apps.....you can never have to many offers....here's a link to apply at a bunch all at once...Truck Driving Jobs

But read this one, also Apply For Truck Driving Jobs

I hope you have been doing the High Road Training study here High Road Training Program if not, you may want to start....it will make everything easier.... And more than anything ....WELCOME TO TT !!!!! we're glad you dropped in...feel free to post, ask questions, study all the stuff, and immerse yourself in all things trucking !!!!

Thanks for the feedback. U.S. Xpress and CRST also gave me pre-hires. I have a record from 2003 and a DUI from 1992 which have minimized my prehire options unfortunately. Any feedback on US Xprees and CRST vs. Covenant? Again thanks a bunch!

Hey Vykarius. Covenant isn't a bad company but they don't really have a lot of the opportunities that their dry van competitors do like US Xpress, Swift Transportation, or Schneider National. Their pay is a little lower than many competitors also.

I drove for US Xpress for about 6 years and Covenant is owned by relatives of the owner of US Xpress and it was pretty common knowledge that they simply didn't have a lot of the perks and opportunities that we had.

You can certainly get your career off to a great start with Covenant but I would take a hard look at other Trucking Companies Hiring Inexperienced Drivers and apply for more pre-hires.

You can Apply For Truck Driving Jobs with just one application here at TruckingTruth. We'll send it out to as many companies as you choose on the form. Just make sure you start calling companies like crazy about a day or two after applying. Get a recruiter on the phone and make sure they're processing your application, otherwise it might sit on the pile collecting dust.

Hey guys, I'm in week 4 of 7 week CDL class at Western Pacific Truck School in Stockton, CA. I have a pre-hire offer from Covenant Transport and was hoping for feedback from the veteran truckers about Covenant Transport. Any information is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

~Michael