Comments By Charles S.

Hey Lesa, welcome to the forum and hope all is going well. From RN to a truck driver, that's a real change of directions. What got you interested in truck driving? I'm sure you have already considered the hometime you will have a truck driver will be drastically different than what your used to now or what you would have had as a RN. From what I have learned that is a major contributing factor to the high turn over in the trucking industry. So with all of that considered, congratulations on your career move and we are here to help with your journey.

There is an AWESOME CDL preparation training course here on Trucking Truth. Several of our members who have already passed their CDL have used it and said it made a huge difference not only with passing their CDL but also with the classroom time at school. The training course covers everything on the CDL test and a lot of things not on the test but will need to know to operate that truck. There are also many blogs from many of the drivers on here, and an online book written by the site owner that gives you a rather clear idea of what being a truck driver is all about and how you need to prepare yourself for the difference in lifestyle. Spend some time and check them all out, it is all interesting and some funny reading, no dry boring stuff in there.

Once you have passed the CDL test and your done with school, there is also a great list of companies that hire new CDL graduates, no experience needed. Its a good idea to start applying with them before your done with school so that you can get as many pre-hire letters as possible increasing your possible employment opportunities and getting the truck company that is best for you.

We will be looking forward to hearing about your progress through school, and there are plenty of experienced drivers on here (male and female) who can answer any question about truck driving that you can likely come up with.

Ahhh, Charles thanks, are you doing private schooling or company sponsored?

Planning on going sponsored through Knight if all goes as planned. Sent them an application and they replied back to give them a call as soon as I have my permit. Hopefully will have that wrapped up here in the next couple of weeks. Getting very anxious.

That good news Charles. Congratulations!!!! I'm still up in the air with going to Knight or paying for school and going to Schneider where I can get a flatbed gig right after completing the course. Flatbed is what I really want. Just paying up front is the hard part.

Yeah I totally understand the concern about having to pay to go to school. Even if you get loans, you still have that extra thing hanging over your head and knowing that is one more expense your going to have to deal with after you get done with training and your on the road. One of the things I like about Knight is they will pay you from the time they actually take you into the class, not just on the road. Personally I can't afford to just take time off and go to school and not get paid and trying to juggle a regular job and school would be rather difficult. So we'll see how it goes.

Hey Joshua, sounds like a pretty bum deal with the criminal history but maybe not impossible. What was the felony trespass for? I know most trucking companies want about 5 years worth of a clean background, but trespassing isn't a violent charge nor anything that could have posed a danger to anyone. Trespassing is generally just something stupid that kids get charged with, was a security guard for a while and had plenty of kids and dumb adults criminally trespassed from properties that didn't belong there.

I know you said you had the means to attend school, but have you looked into company sponsored schools? Only reason I am bringing this up is that they will tell you off the bat if they will even consider you as a new hire before they bring you into class. You would have to be 100% upfront with them about the criminal history thing, lying or trying to fudge the truth on the application is a no no. If you haven't already tried, send out applications to Swift, CR England, & Werner for starters, they all offer sponsored schools and will be able to guarantee you a job once you get your CDL and complete training. I am not promoting any of those companies, nor am I going to say that either of them will be the best decision you have ever made. They are simply companies that will simply help you get your CDL and get you on the road fast. Pay likely won't be the greatest, but do your 1st year or whatever time is required for your contract and then look elsewhere if you want to. By that time you will have a CDL and verifiable experience.

I definitely wouldn't pay out of pocket for school without some sort of guarantee of a job after thou given your background situation. I am sure there are probably some local companies up there that might be willing to bring you on as a new hire out of school. Try craigslist and the other job listings and look for local companies in your area that have ads for drivers with no experience. Explain to them the situation and that you are ready to go to school and want to have a job lined up after you get your CDL. The one thing I have found out with trucking jobs, there are tons of them and I am sure you can get one of them to bring you on.

Ahhh, Charles thanks, are you doing private schooling or company sponsored?

Planning on going sponsored through Knight if all goes as planned. Sent them an application and they replied back to give them a call as soon as I have my permit. Hopefully will have that wrapped up here in the next couple of weeks. Getting very anxious.

Charles, who do you run with?

Getting ready to start school, have relatives in trucking and finally getting there myself.

How cool is this

RC rig pulls a real car

Dry van for one is "contained" no need to worry about tarping or tying down the load. Flatbed loads always need to be tied down, and may need to be tarped due to weather and cargo. Flatbed is just usually considered more of a hassle due to the extra work by many drivers, however a lot of drivers prefer flatbed so its just a matter of preference really. Flatbed loads being exposed are also more of a liability due to things that could fall off the trailer and cause an accident, as well as a liability for theft or vandalism. We have a few flatbed drivers here as well as dry van drivers, not to mention refer, tanker, and hazmat drivers too. There are just many different types of loads, and they all have their unique positives and negatives.

One more thing to consider with the issue of not getting loads is what is the driver bringing to the table? Unless your company only hauls dry van non-hazmat to regular docks then you will probably need some endorsements and special credentials. This is why is it is recommended that you get all of your endorsements on your CDL. In addition to your endorsements a Passport will allow you to travel out of the country into Canada (some companies do go there) and a TWIC card will also allow you into shipping ports to deliver and pickup loads. If you are sitting and waiting for a load and there are 6 waiting in the area that you are in but you don't have the endorsements or credentials to haul that load to its destination than you aren't getting any of those loads. So if you want to stay busy, spend the extra time and $$, get everything you can and consider it an investment into your career. Just my .02

Andy, Gotta watch those sites like Glassdoor and Ripoff its all negative. You will hardly ever find a positive comment on any of those sites. I too have read a lot of the same comments and if you believe it all then you are lead to believe that all trucking companies are out to stick it to the driver. Trucking companies are in the game to make money and the only way they make money is by moving freight. Trailers and drivers sitting waiting for loads doesn't make anybody money. Now with that being said, there are some companies that will have more drop and hook freight than others, so they will have more loads readily available. If a driver is sitting waiting for loads and not getting the miles I would suspect that the driver might be the problem.

From what I have gathered from various drivers on here, that when a driver isn't getting many miles or his loads aren't very regular it may be due to the drivers attitude, or his willingness to take a load. A driver that refuses a load for whatever reason can get bumped down to the bottom of the list and wind up waiting for a day or two until they decide to find them something else to haul. Trucking from what I can tell is just like any other job, you have the guys that couldn't cut it and just like to blame the company, guys that have been doing it for a number of years and are tired of it and will just complain about everything, and some guys who just don't want to work period.

Just getting started you will likely wind up getting all the crappy runs as they put you through your paces (I as well) and they see just how reliable you are. Put in your time and keep a positive attitude such as Any load, Any time, Any where.

Not saying that Knight or any other company out there is perfect and will treat every driver right, but just put in your year's time to get started and if you don't like it there move on. There are plenty of local ads for CDL drivers here in the phoenix area for OTR, regional, and local work. I really wouldn't worry about about what you read on those other sites, just concentrate on getting your permit and getting on with Knight or whoever you choose and start driving. I think once you get to driving you'll probably realize most of the negative stuff is just B.S. and to ignore it.

Hey Todd. Swift can keep you regional as well since they run about 7 different regions throughout the country, however they won't guarantee that you will stay in that region you are still considered an OTR driver and subject to the 48 states. I am not sure how Knights program works, however I do know I have seen ads for them locally here in the Phoenix area for the 11 western states like Andy mentioned. One advantage for you that Swift may have over Knight is that Swift does run a lot of flatbed (as well as just about everything else), so if you are certain that you want to get into flatbeds then they may be able to get you in that direction. Being in the Phoenix area I would suggest either Knight, Swift, or Werner that I can think of at the moment. Swift and Knight both have local schools here in the valley and Werner uses a private school in the Phoenix area for training. Going to school locally will help you conserve on cash, so your not having to spend extra money on a motel and food. Good luck to you and hope you get your career started soon :)