Comments By Jake B.

I have an opportunity to lease a truck from my parents. It is an F350 with the 6.7 powerstroke and SRW. I would like to do RV transport full time with it. I am in the SLC Utah area.

1. Is it feasible to do it full time?

2. Will I have enough truck?

3. How much money would I need to start?

4. Do I need a CDL?

I trained for a CDL a few years ago and passed. I never got a job because of my driving record. No DUI or anything alcohol related ever, just had some recent tickets. I haven't had any since. I downgraded my CDL to a class D about a year ago because I figured I wouldn't need it anytime soon. Now I'm wanting to actually start trucking. I have some questions.

1. Should I go get my license back to a class A cdl, or should I start over with a refresher course? My testing is still valid as I got my cdl in 2018.

2. I have a 65ish pound yellow lab that I'd like to take with me on the road, after the training period of course. The company needs to allow dogs.

3. I'd prefer regional like 11 western states so I can possibly get home a few times a week.

4. Preferably training on automatics. I learned on a 13 speed manual for training. I find that the automated manual transmissions these days are getting very good, almost making the manuals obsolete.

Is it still worth it given the cost of tools? Would a community college program be the best way to get trained? Is it an extremely hard job? I'm about 80 pounds overweight. Thanks.

I am in Utah and I am wondering what companies around here offer training and then put you on an in state route, an out and back route, or a regional route. Basically, which company offers the most home time but also trains to get the cdl? Thanks guys.

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I am 28 and I live in Utah. I want to go through company training to get the CDL. I have an 80ish pound labrador that I'd like to be able to take with me. What are the best companies for this? Thanks guys.

Thanks for the replies guys. My brother told me the other day that there are a few truck drivers where he works that made over 200k last year. That's VERY hard to believe.

Hi guys. My brother works for ups and said right now they're hiring drivers off the street. I obtained a cdl back in june of 2018 and I haven't used it since. My driving record was too bad back then but now it has cleared up. I dont know if ups or any company would even accept my cdl as valid. I am afraid of getting back into a big truck again. One thing I hated in training was all the shifting. I was pretty good at it but I'd much rather have an automatic. That way I can focus on driving and handling the rig rather than up shifting or down shifting at the right rpm. What do you guys think? What should I do?

Thank you

Jake it’s highly unlikely that any reputable company will hire you without at least first requiring you to complete going a refresher course and also a few weeks of road training.

Having a CDL without any Class A experience isn’t all that valuable. My suggestion is to research companies offering Paid CDL Training Programs.

Considering that you already have a CDL and assuming you satisfactorily pass a skills and road evaluation, they can fast-track you through the training process.

Your other questions? The vast majority of companies offering jobs as you described, will require experience. The reason? Tight schedules, close quarter maneuvering and lots of backing.

Although this is probably not what you wanted to hear, it represents the best path to take based on your experience.

Good luck.