Profile For Old School

What he's saying here is if I had a medical marijuana card, I wont be able to get my CDL or have a trucking career?

Not true Gabe. You can carry on and get the process started when you are confident you can pass the drug tests. I always recommend one year clean. That is based on the number of times I have seen people in here complaining that they waited nine months and then failed a hair follicle test. There is no cut and dry answer to the question of how long you need to be clean. People seem to metabolize this stuff differently depending on several factors.

Best of luck to you. Keep up your efforts at being clean and go get that license when you are ready to go.

Hey Kevin, thanks for posting this!

You have posed some very sober and serious questions. It is true that this career has issues that keep us away from home at times, and even if we have a local job it is not that easy to just tell the boss, "Hey, I've got to go home today - my family needs me there." Truckers are right there on the front lines of keeping our country's economic engines running smoothly and efficiently. Truckers are needed on the job and it just isn't easy to take time off at the drop of a hat.

I had a similar situation when I was starting my trucking career. My mom needed care and absolutely refused to be in a facility that provided care. We let her stay in her own home until a judge had her committed to a facility because she kept calling 911 every night because she imagined there were invaders in her home. At that point my brother went and got her released, but he couldn't keep her at his house. My wife ended up taking care of her and we let her live at our home until her death. I have five siblings, yet the burden fell on me. I'll spare you the details.

You have to decide what you are committed to. It sounds like your dad is going to be in a world of hurt if you just take off and hit the road. I didn't see any indication that there was anyone willing to help him other than you. That was my same situation. Personally, I think you have got to see that he is taken care of. I do not know how to advise you on that matter, but you will be miserable out on the road knowing he is at risk. I am sure there are probably options that you may not even be aware of. Start researching and asking questions about how he can be provided for in some capacity. What about his social security? I have a friend in a nursing home. Her social security checks pay for it. She has no real spending money of her own these days, but she is provided for with meals, a roof over her head, and people to watch out for her.

I think you have to settle the situation with your dad first. Then you can take care of Kevin. I am sure that sounds harsh to some, but I think it is the best thing for both you and your dad.

Give us some more details. Frankly, it sounds odd. It sounds like a small company or a 1099 job. It also sounds like you may be doing a good bit of physical labor in this job. Do you know the details?

Can you give us the company name or the account it is serving? Is it "no touch freight" or is it possibly a food service? All you really gave us are numbers, and that may be all you are interested in as a newbie, but buyer beware. This career has a lot of details that can sometimes make it very difficult on a new driver. Your best option is always one that helps you make the move into the career with the least amount of risk to yourself and your license. Your focus for your rookie year needs to be establishing yourself as a new driver. Once you get that job done you will have all kinds of years and opportunities to pick and choose the job you like the best.

can I have your email to contact you?

Hello Daniel - welcome to our forum!

The whole point of having a forum is for you to ask your questions in here so that everyone can share in the learning process. You have nothing to be ashamed of or self conscious about. We are not going to judge you or flame you. That is not what we are about. We are here to help people make the transition into trucking. Some of us have more issues than others. That's okay. We have helped tens of thousands of people get into trucking. We have a treasure trove of helpful information here, and it is all because people communicated with each other in a public forum.

Please keep your conversations right here in the forum and don't go offline with them. The questions you ask and the answers you receive are valuable to a vast community of newbies who want to get into trucking. This is the place to inquire or ask your questions. So fire away with whatever it is you need to know. There are others who have the same questions and they need to see the answers right here in our forum.

Some states do not offer a vision waiver. This new ruling will allow you to obtain a CDL. I am just not certain about a time line for when applications can be filed. We will try to stay on top of this and provide the information when we can.

Thanks John!

I've been following this closely. I get regular email updates from the Federal Register, but I haven't gotten anything about this step yet. I really appreciate you providing that article.

We will have to see how quickly they can get this ball rolling.

Welcome aboard Jack!

Here's the deal...

You can't get a CDL for interstate commerce unless you can pass the physical. You can get a CDL for intrastate with a vision waiver. To get the federal waiver you have to get the state waiver first and then just work intrastate for three years before applying for the federal waiver. The waiver you need comes from the state. Go online and search for it as an intrastate vision waiver from the state of Illinois.

The FMCSA is currently working on changing this, but nothing is final yet, and they have been working on it for several years. Don't hold your breath!

You said this...

I'm wanting a CDL so I can haul heavy equipment for a local excavating company.

If this is a job that you know you can already get, then all you need is the state vision waiver. You will be limited to staying within the state borders. That is your only option with a bad eye. After establishing three years of verifiable experience you can then go for the federal waiver.

Hey Christian, you already know you have a big problem. A rollover is often the end of a trucking career.

All you can do is keep throwing out applications. We have seen drivers recover from a rollover, but it is rare. Don't give up hope yet. Keep on trying. I think you have to approach it differently at this point. I wouldn't count on any of the large well known companies to hire you. Look at construction companies or dirt and asphalt contractors. I remember a friend in here who had a DUI and couldn't get a trucking company interested in him. I suggested he try construction companies and that is where he got his first driving job. After a few years of him proving to be safe and productive, he got on with a major carrier who overlooked his DUI because he had proven to be a steady employee as a driver for the construction company. That is going to be my best advice to you at this time.

Don't give up hope, just change your tactics and find some sort of alternative driving job to get yourself established again.

I don't think I have made any comment on Shantiwa's problems with landing a job. She has obviously been shaking the bushes pretty heavily and coming up empty handed repeatedly. I have been following along silently. I have wanted to comment several times, but have just been hoping something would turn up for her.

For those other newbies who may be wondering why a person could have such a hard time getting a trucking job when there is an obvious demand for truck drivers, I want to point out some things that are working against Shantiwa. This industry is obviously male dominated. That has nothing to do with men being better at the job. It has to do with their availability. Women who have children at home are seriously limited in the availability needed for this job. I actually chuckled when the recruiter from Knight claimed the job was a 10 hour shift. That is not how trucking works. We don't have a start time and an end time that stays consistent each day. We stick with the job until it is done. There is no way for Shantiwa to know this. They could say anything to her. She is less likely to understand this career than the recruiter.

I always recommend folks start out as OTR drivers. There are a lot of sound reasons for that. Unfortunately Shantiwa simply cannot do that. I wish she could. She would already be out there earning a great paycheck and she would be learning to operate a big rig as a professional. She is stuck trying to find a needle in a haystack job that rarely exists for inexperienced drivers. What's worse is that if she finds it she is likely to make a few mistakes that will get her fired. That is not a criticism of her abilities. They are fine I'm sure. It is the reality of why these type jobs are reserved for experienced drivers. A local job in Denver is going to be super challenging and have a whole set of difficulties that are best faced by someone who knows what they are doing.

I keep trying to come up with ways I could suggest something that would be helpful, but I am at a loss. Personally I think the best thing for you Shantiwa would be to check with your local city or county. They might have a driving job that would have somewhat regular hours. Think about a garbage truck, or maybe looking into your county maintenance department. I just don't know what to tell you. Have you looked up Waste Management in the Denver area? They sometimes hire new drivers for Class A and Class B jobs. They will likely have something with a little bit of a schedule to it. I would give that a try.

I feel for you. I know you have put so much effort into this, and probably had no idea it would be this tough to find employment. You are just in a difficult situation. I am sure you would make a great driver, but you have other demands on yourself. As a father, I didn't start this career until my children were grown. I was a busy business owner, but I was able to be home a lot when my children were young. As a professional driver, I am gone most of the time. My wife and I manage it in a way that works for us, but this is a demanding career. It is not ideal on any level for a young mother who has the main responsibility of taking care of her children.

I wish you the best, and I am still following along hoping to see you catch a break somehow. Just remember, when you do get that first job, you have got to be extra careful. Do your best to have zero accidents and be as productive as you can while being as safe as you can.

Welcome to New York - Now give us your money!

Even with Schneider charging 2 CPM , the net pay to the driver is 16% higher.

I don't know how you came up with that number. I'd be interested in understanding it though.

I have done this both ways. I have been on per diem and then decided to try going with out several years ago. In almost every industry I know of per diem is additional money given to you for your expenses on the road. In trucking it is money they subtract from your pay, put it into a different category and call it non taxable income. Which is crazy because if you look at your son's W-2 form, that money shows back up in another box that he pays tax on at the end of the year. At least that is how mine always worked out. It isn't even technically per diem. I consider it a gimmick.

This is why I asked in that other thread for drivers to please not comment on my remarks. This topic of per diem has been discussed on here many times. It is always lively and seldom do people agree on it. I suggest you take your tax advisors advice and do what they want you to do. I had to get right down in the trenches with my CPA and show him how mine was coming out. We both got a good laugh at the end and he told me, "I always enjoy it when you come by. I feel like I learn something from you each time."

Harvey, you seem to like researching things. Do a search on per diem using the search bar at the top of the page. See if you can find some of Rickipedia's comments on it. He did a great job of explaining it to people.

You will go before a court of law. If found guilty, the usual punishment is being hung, then drawn and quartered just as an example to others.

Welcome to Trucking Truth! Actually that first statement was not the truth.

Nothing will happen. If anybody even asks you about it you just tell them it was a rookie mistake and a total accident. Honestly I don't ever think you will hear another word about it. Your conscience is the only voice troubling you, or maybe it is some phobia that you are going to be fired for the slightest infraction. It's all newbie nerves. Get over it and keep on trucking brother. You are just fine!

TwoSides, I'm confident I've gathered your contact info, but before I send you mine, please verify these two facts.

Your first name consists of three letters ending with an i, and both your home phone and cell phone numbers end with a zero.

I'm sorry to bother you with this. I just like to be careful on the internet.

Do you really think I should learn this on my own? If it were only Cressona loads I think it wouldn't be as bad. I have no idea about other loads, like the 8 rows of aluminum sows and where to place it on my trailer. I am thinking maybe I should go to another company if they don't keep their promise of me following a driver for a week. Then coming back to Knight after a year with another flatbed company??

That decision is completely yours. My knowledge of trucking tells me that you will be disappointed with your training wherever you go. There is no way to cover every single kind of flatbed load during a week's worth of training. I don't know of any companies who spend more than four or five days on securement training. All of them expect you to take the bull by the horns and learn how it works by getting out there and doing different types of loads. What you need is the basics. You need to understand about WLLs (Working Load Limits) and anchor points. The rest is learned out here on the job. Remember, you can always ask other drivers for some help. That is how I learned this stuff. I applied myself to my own studies of it and sought help when needed.

As for the per diem , I don't see why I would need that?? I read up on it, still a little confused on it because I never heard of it before. What do you think?

My opinion is that per diem does nothing beneficial for a company driver. Under our current tax laws you get no benefit from it. Some drivers claim it is tax free money, but it really isn't. I have 30 years of accounting and business experience. I do not take per diem pay and I see no reason for you to be on it unless you just want to be generous to your employer who will be glad to reap the benefits of you being on it. They are the only one getting anything out of it. Please people don't start a discussion here about how you think per diem is a good thing. I know what I am talking about, and am just trying to help this new driver out with some information.

Also I think Anne has your number?, is it okay for her to give it to me?

Anne knows not to give out that information. I will send you my contact info. Give me a day or so and I will get it to you.

I am guessing, but I think your pay rate is probably somewhere in the 42 to 44 cents per mile.

You will be more confident in your pay if you understand your check stub. When you speak to payroll just tell them you don't want to be on per diem. The company automatically puts you on it because it saves them money, but it is your choice. Payroll will take care of it right away if you make the request. That will simplify your pay stub, and you will be able to see your actual pay rate on your stub.

You will also be more confident in your job if you have more understanding of load securement. Here's a conversation about load securement. Take a look at it and see if it helps you start to understand some of the things you need to know. Securing a flatbed load.

We also have our own course on load securement here on our website. Work your way through it. You will learn a lot. There is way more in there than you need for this account you are on, but you still will enjoy your new confidence after you know what you are doing. Flatbed Load Securement. If you are serious about wanting to understand this part of trucking, you will apply yourself to this course of study.

I am fully aware of the problems there at Carlisle. I hope you can stick it out and find, as I have, that this account is a great way to make some really good money. Do you guys have a dedicated dispatcher for this account? Do they have Trey doing it right now? I know you are frustrated. I understand it completely. Hang in there and see if you can learn some of this on your own. You actually have a great opportunity before you. I hope you can make it work.

If there is anyway I can help, please let me know. I will do whatever I can to help out.

Trucking company pay can be confusing. Part of your pay is probably per deum. I'm just guessing, but I'll bet that's part of what's confusing you about that 30 cpm.

Recruiters can also be confusing. I doubt they are paying a brand new rookie 57 cpm. Recruiters will say things like, "Flatbed pays up to 57 cpm." Rookies hear, "I'm gonna make 57 cpm." That happens all the time.

If you are due stop pay and tarp pay, just talk to your dm. They can take care of it. Your dm determines all your extra pay like layover, breakdown and such. I always communicate those issues with them before payday. That way it's easier to get those things included.

I know your struggling. I wish I could be there to help you. Don't confuse your struggles with your tendency to think you started with a "bad company." These are rookie issues that every new driver faces. In trucking we are just kind of thrown out here and expected to figure it out. You are fortunate to have this large safety net of help here at Trucking Truth. I'm glad to see you seeking advice in here.

Hello Jimmy, and welcome to our forum!

You said this...

After having read many remarks on this site, I know that most do not recommend getting your CDL on your own. Most on here say do either company sponsored school or some other driving school.

That's right, but you want to ignore that advice. Just keep in mind that we have no agenda here. We volunteer our time for free. We get no kickbacks or payments of any kind to give you sound advice. You don't have to take our advice, but you need to realize that it comes from professionals who are out here living the dream and experiencing exceptional success as professional drivers.

Overall, I have to say your plan is really a bad one. You will end up with a stale CDL which means no one will want to touch you. You will have such limited training that it will be virtually useless. On top of both of those bad ideas you want to start your career as a local driver. That is another big mistake for several reasons. Foremost is that it is extremely difficult to land a local job as an inexperienced driver, and it is even worse to keep that job as a rookie because you are going to make some mistakes that your employer more than likely will not forgive. We have seen this countless times in here. A new driver somehow lands a local job for their first driving job. They have a minor accident, and then the employer has to fire them because their insurance company refuses to cover the driver. Then the driver cannot get another job. He is in a sort of trucking purgatory. He has a CDL in a time of great demand for drivers, yet he is unemployable.

I would never recommend someone take your path to this career. It is not likely to turn out well. We have a young lady in here right now who went to trucking school and needs a local job because she is a single mom and has to be there for her kids. If you have seen her postings you will see that she is having a terrible time getting a job. It is just not a good way to go about starting this career. If you have about a year's worth of experience it would be different. Experience opens up those local driving job doors. The absolute best way to gain that experience is to do OTR (over the road) driving.

One of the biggest reasons people fail at trucking (and a lot of people do fail) is that they have unrealistic expectations concerning the career. I don't know what you are thinking. You may be thinking that the high driver demand will make it easy for you to find a job. You may possibly be thinking this job is easy. After all, it is just driving. Anybody can drive! You may even be thinking it would just be cool to drive a big rig for a little while to earn a little money on the side. I don't know how you are approaching this. I do know this career takes a huge commitment of time and energy. It is not something that people do for a side hustle. If you are going to get into it then do it with gusto. Don't decide you know better than seasoned veterans at this. Don;t cut corners. Don't blackball yourself from success at trucking. Success at trucking comes with a price. The price is a great deal of commitment. I don't see much of that in your plan.

Why You Don't Want To Start Your Trucking Career As A Local Driver

Number 2 is governed speed. The math tells us that being able to go 68 rather than 63 will get us there in less time. A 5mph advantage will not make much difference for a 500 mile assignment, but over the course of a year can be very significant.

Governed speed will not cut down your productivity. If it did none of these companies would limit the speed their trucks run. Productivity is how they make money. I regularly did 3,200 to 3,400 mile weeks in a truck governed at 62.

I don't have time right now to really make the argument, but there are way too many other variables to this job that make it clear that a governed truck doesn't limit your earnings potential.

Please show me where I completely fabricated an issue with you and this site. I did not. I simply stopped using the site for awhile. I have no agenda or malcontent here. I have no idea who jesse smollet was until now. I learned something new. Interesting story. Dude should be shot.

This is a quote from Kandyman. It's from another thread where he tried to tell us goodbye.

Don't forget you can slide that rear axle forward real easily. It takes all of about five minutes. There is an air valve on the side of the trailer that will release the pins and set the brake on that axle. Then you just back the truck up until you feel it bump into place. Set your tractor brakes and go flip the air valve back and you are done.

That gives you a set of tandems back there so you can back into a spot more easily. You can then slide the axle back into the spread position if you need it that way while sitting in your parking spot.

Also remember if you get a load to Florida you will need that rear axle slid forward in that state. You have to know the laws in these various states so you will be legal. I am heading into California in the morning. They have a 40' king pin law. I am hauling a load of aluminum logs from Louisiana. It was loaded with the axles open or spread out. It was legal that way. It had 37.000 pounds on the rear axles. However it would not have been legal in California. When I have the axle forward it is too much weight on the rear. Before I left the shipper I had the load re-worked so it would be legal with the axles in the closed position.

I'm sorry to go into unnecessary details, but I want you to realize you can move that axle when needed. Sometimes I move it for my convenience, other times I move it just to be legal.