Comments By TxsGent

Well tomorrow i take my final backing test and road test and i will find out if I pass or if i got to have another week of training.

OK, don't take me serious, but have you ever just thought, "If I screw up some, I could get more attention and driving time."?

Sorry, just the way my mind works. If you are talking behind someone's back, where are you really at?

I'm now getting back into trucking and this go around I want to give tanker a try for several reasons. 1) It's always fun to lean new things and there are so many types of tanker loads, you will have your fill of learning (I think). 2) No bumping crowded docks with a tanker. 3) No scaling loads and adjusting tandems. 4) Since I already have experience driving a 10 speed, I'd like to see what automatics are like and I've noticed several Tanker Companies use them. 5) With the company I'm hoping to go to work for in the next couple of weeks, they run out of my home town loaded and return empty, so no headed to tank washes while out on the road. Come back to the yard and grab a clean trailer.

The director of the school thought that tankers was the way to go. If you live in an area where there are oil wells or are willing to spend weeks at a time there, that is where the money is at. Hauling water is apparently very lucrative. I wanted to get other experiences first. I might try that after a period of time.

Old School / Sly48,

Thanks for the input. Don't worry about me falling for all that the recruiters have to say. I do take it with a grain of salt. Most of what they say corresponds with their respective web pages. If someone was to offer me something that sounded too good and out of the ordinary, I would make sure that I got it in writing. I started my training here at TruckingTruth and and believe that I have garnered way more information here that I did at school. I tried pushing it to the other students at school without getting on the instructors bad side. The director had seen too many bad sites that offered training and had to correct the results to be swayed. I did get some old trucker stories from school. That was interesting. They were for historical and entertainment purposes. Multiple state licenses and multiple log books wouldn't pay off for very long in today's trucking industry.

I have read some of the negative things that people say about the various companies. About the only negative things that I might be inclined to listen to are things like the hotel you stay at for orientation is not good. While I can see that as something that might be true, orientation is really even a week long and I slept on a ship for many a months at a time. When I occasionally do see something good about a company on one of the whiner sites, it stands out.

I have narrowed my list to what it is by "determine what you want or need" and am in the process of determining which one on my short lists offers me more of my wants. I don't want a dedicated run like Dollar General. I am fifty-two, and while I don't consider that too old, I just don't want to spend hours lifting, carrying and unloading. I don't want flatbed for similar reasons but also for the weather. I hate the cold and don't want to be tarping in freezing rain. That narrows it down to dry-van or reefer. I rather go with dry-van. I want a company that is pet friendly. I want my wife to ride with me eventually, and when she does, her minpin is coming with her. One criteria that also narrowed the list down is that I want to start out with a manual transmission. My first year will be training. I want to start it out right and I don't think that an automatic transmission is the way to do that.

OK, that is wordy enough. Thanks again for the input, TxsGent

Oh, the place I call home is a little bit north west of Fort Worth.

I have graduated trucking school and have my certificate in hand. All of the driving training had been pulling a empty van. On the last day, I asked if I could pull a tanker. It is loaded with water. The difference was significant. It will definitely take some getting used to pulling an actual load.

I still haven't decided on which company to pursue. Instead of narrowing it down any I have even added PTL to the mix. I will spend more time talking with the recruiters and see how can woo me their way.

Thanks for all the assistance TT!

Capt. K Miles,

If the costs of the tests and the physical are included in the school, I would wait. You can, and should, be thoroughly prepared to walk in to the DMV and easily pass all the test you take if learn the High Road training materials. It does eliminate a lot of pressure.

Good luck and enjoy the ride.

Jason E.,

I am not sure how it is in Nevada, but in Texas you can not get your HAZMAT endorsement until you have your license. When I took my test I also took the doubles and triples as well as the tanker endorsements. This might be a Texas thing as well, but if you fail any test three times, you have to start all over. This doesn't happen if you have your license already.

Hope that add more confusion than help.

I have sent a couple of PM within the last couple of weeks without replies. I just figured that the persons that I sent them to had nothing to say, or hadn't checked yet.

I took my driving test yesterday, 10/07/14

Strike one.

Straight line backing, I got that down pretty well. Parallel parking, it wasn't good, but I think the tester was going to let that slide. I didn't have a good angle going toward the curb. I was running out of curb so just cranked the wheel to the right. I ended up pretty far from the curb.

Road test, I wasn't too worried. There are plenty of things to get hit on, but there aren't too many that will fail you. The very first real turn, I nailed the curb. I was watching, but by that time, that was about all I could do.

You got it. Hitting a curb is one of those things. Probably within 300 feet of the DMV. I was told that we would redo it in two days. Two days is a long time.

Take two:

I didn't have to wait two days. The instructor called before we had gotten back to the school and made an appointment for today, 10/98/14.

I didn't have to retake the parallel parking test. Passed my CDL road test with a 90. I have the doubles and triples and the tanker endorsement.

Big relief! I will try to get studied up on HAZMAT and take that test before the week is over.

Now the big decision.

A recruiter from Maverick came to the school today. Since their pet policy is "No pets", I had already ruled Maverick out. That is the only reason. It is a very attractive company. I did ask him about my three choices. Without hesitation, he said Con-way. That definitely added weight.

Hey, not to make things more complicated for you but check out May Trucking Company. I believe they have a really nice pet and rider policy.

-mountain girl

Thanks for the reply.

With just a short internet search, I didn't find much information on May. Their web page is one of the worst that I have seen. The driver qualification page just copies from Section 391.11 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR). Oh, the Dallas Operating Center is "Coming Sooe"? I might give them a call after class, but first impression is not a good one.

Mountain girl, what's the latest update on your quest? Good luck and thanks again.