Comments By Grandpa Clark

Congratulations!

Wow! So many dancing bananas! I'm sure there is a story behind this emoji, perhaps I'm bananas for getting into the trucking industry??

Thanks for all your encouragement and advice PackRat!

Way to go! Congrats!!

Thanks George! I appreciate the encouragement and advice.

Congratulations! Wishing you all the best!

Thanks Wile E! Can't wait to get started in the next chapter and learn the joys of flatbedding!

The BIG decision: what now? I decided early on this journey that I wanted to start my career doing flatbed. This decision was driven by a couple of facts. First, I'm not getting any younger and if I want to learn this specialized skill, now is the time. I'm in pretty good health and my physical fitness level is also good. I feel physically capable of hard physical labor and after decades in an office cubicle, I really would like some physicality to the work I'm going to do.

Secondly, my family runs a small food concession business which keeps us busy, primarily on weekends at certain times of the year (primarily football season). Flatbed work seems to lend itself to weekends off more easily than some other segments of the trucking industry. After applying with multiple flatbed companies, I ended up with job offers from Melton, TMC, and Maverick.

I pretty quickly eliminated Melton, although a recruiter at our school did an excellent job of describing an attractive company. The Cents/Mile, the $100/tarping pay, and his nearly new truck were tempting, but Melton required OTR to start and I did not want to be out 14-days at a time. That left me choosing between TMC and Maverick.

After extensive research, many calls to my recruiters, and endless YouTube videos, it was really difficult to decide which way to go. TMC offered training much closer to home (Columbia, SC vs. Madison, IL), percentage pay, and of course, the beautiful Peterbilt trucks. Their recruiter made a strong case for me to choose TMC to start my career. Having spent considerable time with their recruiter (Kyle), I have nothing but praise for the way they run their recruiting department and their professionalism. I was promised weekends home, and their pay structure with incentives is very clear and transparent.

Maverick was the first company to make me a conditional offer. It was an offer to join their Glass Division. Unfortunately, that division is out 12-14 days and I explained to them that I was needing weekends at home due to the need to be available for multiple Saturdays during football season. They initially responded that they couldn't work with that, and we decided to part ways. The recruiter (Jeff) was very professional, patient, and was always quick to return my calls and emails. I was rather disappointed when Maverick said they wouldn't be able to work with me on my schedule needs. Just over a week went by and Jeff called me back to explain that there was a dedicated opportunity that he wanted to discuss with me. He said the pay was a bit less than the Glass Division, but that it would work with my schedule. He explained the opportunity to join the dedicated division serving Nucor Steel in Huger, SC. This account typically requires a driver to live within 100 miles of the plant, but due to the amount of freight and the lanes being run, they had recently opened it up to a larger area and that area included Lynchburg, VA.

I managed to locate a driver via Facebook who has been on that account for over 5-years. Along with my very helpful recruiter, their driver, Chris has been invaluable to me as I have chatted with him and found out the day-to-day details for drivers on this account. He verified that he gets home every weekend and he absolutely loves his Fleet Manager on this account. He says they make a bit less per mile than some of the other divisions, but the consistent loads, consistent delivery locations, the fact that the factory loads/unloads 24/7/364 (closed Christmas), and all the drivers stay with their own trailers more than makes up for a couple of cents less in pay. He estimates he is making 80-85K/yr after 5 years with Maverick on this account.

After informing my wife that I had passed my CDL, my next call was to Maverick to accept their offer to join the Nucor Steel Account in Huger, SC. Within one hour, I received my airline ticket to Madison, IL with a start date, 2-days later. I will be starting a 12-day Pre-employment/Orientation Training Program at the Madison, IL Maverick Terminal on July 31, 2022.

In looking back to where everything started, and throughout the difficult process of deciding where to continue my training, I would say that my decision to join Maverick was based primarily on their responsiveness to my needs, and my many questions. It's hard to explain, but Maverick made me feel like I was important and valuable to them. They really seemed to listen when I explained my situation and were responsive to my needs.

I intend to keep up my training journal here on TT. Maverick has traditionally done all of their training at the HQ in North Little Rock, AR, and just recently set up this second training location. My hope is that my diary might be of assistance to those who will also be assigned to Maverick training in Madison, IL.

I PASSED!!

Let me start by saying thank you to all the experienced people who answered my questions and shared advice. Coming into a brand new business, with zero experience, at a more "mature" age, is daunting. For over 7-years I have used this site to gain knowledge and finally, to practice for my CDL Permit. Of all the trucking resources and forums that I have discovered, this is the only place that I have felt comfortable recommending to others who are starting a similar journey. So, once again, thanks to all of you who have contributed to my journey.

The day started with heavy humidity (thanks Virginia!) and threatening skies. I met two of my classmates at the truck at 5:00 a.m. and our instructor chauffeured us to the DMV Testing Center in Roanoke, VA, about 1-hr's drive from Lynchburg. My test was up first, at 7:30 a.m. By then, the skies had opened up and it was a steady rain as I began my pre-trip.

My examiner was very calm and I instantly felt as though she really wanted me to pass. When one is nervous, having the feeling that someone is rooting for you makes a huge difference. The computer decided that for the exterior, I would pre-trip only from the driver's door hinges, to the back of the tractor, so I feel like that was a gift to start the process. The second student to test was assigned the engine bay, plus the coupling device, and our third student drew the short straw. He had to pre-trip the entire tractor-trailer.

Once I completed my exterior, we went inside the cab and I did my interior, Parking Brake Test, Air Leakage Test, and Service Brake Test. Then I asked the examiner to assist me in checking my lights. Once the exterior light check was done, it was off to backing maneuvers.

I tend to look past things I consider easy (straight-back), and fixate on the difficult maneuver (parallel park), but today, in the rain, I fixated on each maneuver individually and everything went very smoothly. The straight-back and off-set backing were relatively easy, although I used one pull-up on my off-set. My pride wanted to squeeze it in with no pull-ups, but I found myself coming out of the turn uncomfortably close to the cones on one side. On the range, I would have tried to finess it back to the center of the lane, but this is no time to try to be a "super-trucker". I used one of my two allowed pull-ups to get repositioned and it was a simple straight-back, down the alley.

The parallel park was not pretty, but there are no points for style. On my first attempt, I got it into the box. It was crooked and ugly, but when I got out to check all my sides, I found that despite the awkward angles, everything was in the box, so I re-entered, the cab, put on my seatbelt and honked the horn. I was finished with my backing maneuvers and it was on to the road test!

Before leaving the testing center the examiner asked me to simulate crossing a railroad track, using a painted line on the asphalt as the simulated stop line. Once we went through this exercise, we left the testing center for the road portion. Thankfully, I-81 was moving slower than the typical speed which usually seems to average about 80 mph. On this day, due to rain and moderately heavy traffic, speeds were 50-55 mph which thankfully slowed things down. After leaving I-81, we wound our way back through Roanoke's city streets to the testing center. Along the way, we did a simulated breakdown to describe the proper positioning of the truck and the emergency warning triangles. Several times along the route, the examiner asked about signs we had just passed, including a bridge height sign that I missed. I guess because I was on an interstate, I wasn't thinking about overpass height clearance, but missing that sign was a good reminder to me to pay special attention to all height signage. I had a couple of turns that were less than perfect, primarily because I was turning right onto a two-lane street, with oncoming traffic. I suppose I could have waited until oncoming traffic passed and encroached on the other land once it was clear, but my driving was during the late stages of the morning commute and traffic was pretty heavy. On one turn, the trailer tandem touched some grass and on one other occasion, I was only about 1-inch from the curb. Not very proficient driving to say the least! However, when we arrived back at the testing center, the examiner said I had done very well and that I had passed!

It's hard to explain the relief and excitement of passing this test. I don't recall feeling the same elation when I received my pilot's license about 10-years ago. I'm sure the stress and pressure of flying with the FAA examiner was intense, but somehow, this process seemed more of a challenge and thus, more of an accomplishment. Pre-tripping an airplane during a pilot's examination test is a breeze compared to the pre-trip for a tractor-trailer at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles. I will also say that flying an airplane is in many ways easier than maneuvering a 70-ft. monstrosity on city streets. Now the pilots on here might disagree with me but I think landing an airplane and backing a tractor-trailer is probably close in complexity, although I would agree that the implications of a catastrophic failure are more serious in aviation. Once airborne, I would say that flying is much simpler than driving a tractor-trailer. So kudos to all of you drivers out there, who safely maneuver those trucks day in and day out.

Danville tests also. At least they did years ago.

Well, Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at 7:30 a.m. in Roanoke, VA is test time! I've been through a couple of practice sessions on the driving range over the past week and all has gone well with straight backing, offset, and parallel park. Those are the only three backing maneuvers we will be tested on here in VA. I feel ready and am going for one final practice session tomorrow. There will be three of us from our class testing on Wednesday. Based on what I know of my fellow students, these two who are going with me are both well-prepared and ready to test. Our examiner is brand new, so I guess that could be good or bad. Regardless, if we pre-trip and drive the way we have been trained, it shouldn't make any difference. I'll check in Wednesday after the test with an update.

Any update?

We wrapped up training at the end of last week and entered the "waiting game" for a testing appointment. Apparently, Virginia shut down several CDL testing locations during Covid and all have not been reopened yet. Thankfully, I was able to get a July 27 date in Roanoke, which is pretty close, so I only have one week to wait. Looking over our class, some of our group will definitely benefit from an extra week of practice on the range. They brought in a third instructor who came to help out from Ancora's Mississippi group and she has been working with us over the past week. There has been some turnover in staffing over the duration of our class, but despite the equipment breakdowns, the instructor turnover, and some personality conflicts between instructors and students, overall I am very happy with the training I have received. I feel prepared for my test next week and the school has made every effort to let us know that even though our official class is completed, we are welcome anytime from 7am-5pm to come to the range and use the trucks (under supervision) to practice.

On the job search, I'm down to two: TMC and Maverick. I'm probably over-analyzing the whole comparison thing, but as far as I can see, they are both quality companies, probably very close in pay, and both have great reputations for training and having excellent equipment. I dropped Melton as their only option was OTR, out two weeks, home for 2-days. My family works a small food concession business (kettle corn and pork rinds) and our Summer/Fall schedule really would benefit from me being home every weekend. Maverick initially said my only option was OTR and I would have to be out 12-14 days. When I said that wouldn't work for me, they called a couple of days later and offered a dedicated account that guarantees weekends home. I contacted a driver who has been on the dedicated account (Nucor Steel-Huger, SC) for 5-years with Maverick and he said if they offer it, take it. He said the Fleet Manager on the account is fantastic, he's only missed a couple of weekends in 5-years, and he loves it. He said the money is good, backhauls are only about 25%, and the rest is delivering and then deadheading back to SC.

I still haven't made up my mind, but I'm leaning towards Maverick. I don't want to get ahead of myself and the next big step is passing the DMV test which is only one week away. I have obtained my TWIC in the interim and I'm working on studying for my Hazmat which I hope to test for early next week.

I'll check in next week when I (hopefully) will be a newly minted CDL holder. Thanks to all of you for your great advice and encouragement. Sincerely, Steve

I am in CDL school currently after deciding to take the plunge after decades of procrastination. (feel free to check out my CDL Diary if interested) I started my career farming (milking cows) in Southern Ontario, Canada. I joined the police department at 22-year of age in the suburbs of Toronto and that sure beat milking cows! A friend of mine was an Owner/Operator and offered to teach me the business, but our first child had just been born and it didn't seem like the right time to be gone from home for long periods. After 9 years of policing in Ontario, I moved to Virginia and worked in law enforcement for 15 years. For eleven of those years I was a law enforcement trainer for the Dept of Criminal Justice Services in VA. I then transitioned to a Technical Trainer position at a Fortune 500 Communications Company and climbed the corporate ladder until I achieved the Manager position in the Technical Training Dept. It's sad when you climb a lengthy ladder, only to realize it's leaning against the wrong building! I lasted a whole 14 months of management misery before I bailed and resigned from my job and my six-figure salary to embrace trucking, which has fascinated me since childhood. After three weeks in CDL school, I couldn't be happier.

I just posted this in the CDL Training Diaries...thought some of you might find it interesting here as well.

Week 2 and 3 with Ancora Corporate Training at Central Virginia Community College (Lynchburg, VA) With one week to go until we finish up our course, it's hard to believe how fast it has flown by. There has been drama, truck breakdowns, instructor/student friction, but overall, I'm very pleased with the learning experience. These past two weeks have all been spent on the driving range practicing backing maneuvers and going out on the public roadways to practice in the real world. There have been many complaints from some of the students in our class (we have 9 total), we have had one student drop due to Covid, and I believe there has been a change made at the Director level for this program.

Probably the greatest source of strife between the students and the instructors involves two issues. First, there have been a couple of truck breakdowns (sounds like trucking right?) which has limited our exposure to practice time. With 9 students and only one working truck for several days, we have been waiting for long periods between sessions behind the wheel. This has impacted our class on two different occasions and they finally have brought us a second vehicle from one of the other Community Colleges to replace the one that is broken down. The second source of strife has involved cellphone use on the range and in the classroom. With so much waiting time, it is only natural that the younger students have resorted to using their phones to kill time. That gravitated to inappropriate and offensive videos that were laced with heavy profanity and other inappropriate content that everyone was exposed to. The instructors tried to reign it in and that didn't go very smoothly. These distractions are just that...distractions. While distracted driving is definitely a bad thing, I have to credit our instructors with overcoming many challenges that are beyond their control. I feel like I am learning what I need to know in order to pass the Dept. of Motor Vehicles test and that is what they promised they would teach us to do. After next week, my DMV test will be scheduled and we'll see if I can translate what I have learned into an actual CDL license!

We have had recruiters from TMC and Melton (flatbed) and Englander/Fleetmaster (refrigerated/dry van). The recruiters have been very informative and willingly answered any questions thrown their way. Despite some of our younger students feeling that they deserve far more than $0.50/mile to start, as well as at least 2-weeks paid vacation to start, most of the class has seemed to enjoy the recruiters' presentations. Just a few years ago (about 4-5 years ago if my memory is correct) I was considering signing on with a mega-carrier and going through their training program to get my CDL. At that time, the pay for new graduates was .36 cpm. So, suffice it to say, I've been pretty impressed to see starting pay around $0.50. It seems fair to me for people with no experience who are likely to bend or break a few things as we learn the ropes.

I am thoroughly enjoying my experience thus far and my only regret is that I didn't do this earlier. However, having been mixing with the youngsters in my class for these past three weeks, I now know that my extensive life experiences are going to serve me well in this career. I also have had a lineup of companies give me conditional offers of employment...sight unseen! How amazing is that? As of today, I believe I'm the only person in our class that has any job offer, and I already have 3 (TMC, Melton, and Maverick). I guess you can tell I want to do flatbed to start (while I still can!). I haven't decided yet, but I feel very fortunate to have some options right out of the gate.

When I check in next, I'm praying I'll have a CDL and I hope to have made my decision on where to start my trucking career. Thanks for following along on this journey, and for all the encouraging comments. Sincerely, Steve

Week 2 and 3 with Ancora Corporate Training at Central Virginia Community College (Lynchburg, VA) With one week to go until we finish up our course, it's hard to believe how fast it has flown by. There has been drama, truck breakdowns, instructor/student friction, but overall, I'm very pleased with the learning experience. These past two weeks have all been spent on the driving range practicing backing maneuvers and going out on the public roadways to practice in the real world. There have been many complaints from some of the students in our class (we have 9 total), we have had one student drop due to Covid, and I believe there has been a change made at the Director level for this program.

Probably the greatest source of strife between the students and the instructors involves two issues. First, there have been a couple of truck breakdowns (sounds like trucking right?) which has limited our exposure to practice time. With 9 students and only one working truck for several days, we have been waiting for long periods between sessions behind the wheel. This has impacted our class on two different occasions and they finally have brought us a second vehicle from one of the other Community Colleges to replace the one that is broken down. The second source of strife has involved cellphone use on the range and in the classroom. With so much waiting time, it is only natural that the younger students have resorted to using their phones to kill time. That gravitated to inappropriate and offensive videos that were laced with heavy profanity and other inappropriate content that everyone was exposed to. The instructors tried to reign it in and that didn't go very smoothly. These distractions are just that...distractions. While distracted driving is definitely a bad thing, I have to credit our instructors with overcoming many challenges that are beyond their control. I feel like I am learning what I need to know in order to pass the Dept. of Motor Vehicles test and that is what they promised they would teach us to do. After next week, my DMV test will be scheduled and we'll see if I can translate what I have learned into an actual CDL license!

We have had recruiters from TMC and Melton (flatbed) and Englander/Fleetmaster (refrigerated/dry van). The recruiters have been very informative and willingly answered any questions thrown their way. Despite some of our younger students feeling that they deserve far more than $0.50/mile to start, as well as at least 2-weeks paid vacation to start, most of the class has seemed to enjoy the recruiters' presentations. Just a few years ago (about 4-5 years ago if my memory is correct) I was considering signing on with a mega-carrier and going through their training program to get my CDL. At that time, the pay for new graduates was .36 cpm. So, suffice it to say, I've been pretty impressed to see starting pay around $0.50. It seems fair to me for people with no experience who are likely to bend or break a few things as we learn the ropes.

I am thoroughly enjoying my experience thus far and my only regret is that I didn't do this earlier. However, having been mixing with the youngsters in my class for these past three weeks, I now know that my extensive life experiences are going to serve me well in this career. I also have had a lineup of companies give me conditional offers of employment...sight unseen! How amazing is that? As of today, I believe I'm the only person in our class that has any job offer, and I already have 3 (TMC, Melton, and Maverick). I guess you can tell I want to do flatbed to start (while I still can!). I haven't decided yet, but I feel very fortunate to have some options right out of the gate.

When I check in next, I'm praying I'll have a CDL and I hope to have made my decision on where to start my trucking career. Thanks for following along on this journey, and for all the encouraging comments. Sincerely, Steve