Comments By Chris

Chris, everything that Brett said!

I also would make sure you bring everything with you to orientation, including each document you've already sent your recruirer. I can't tell you how many times I've seen folks get tripped up over not having those things with them. They think, "I've already sent that to the recruiter, so they already have it." Make sure and be over prepared documentation wise.

On your ten years employment, lay it all out and include what you were doing in any employment gaps. It can be as simple as: "March 14, 2001 to June 26, 2001 - unemployed, looking for a job."

They don't actually need a resume, just a good thorough time line.

Thank you for the reply Old School, I agree with always being over prepared, I think that's what my CDL school instructors thouhht of me the first day of class when I showed up with two bottles of water, two oranges juices, a note book, and took notes on everynsingle thing they said. LOL

Yeah, you'll fill out all kinds of stuff once you arrive. The background checks will dig up everything - criminal record, driving record, employment record - they really do a super thorough job. People are routinely surprised at the depths they'll find stuff. So as long as you answered their questions honestly you should be in good shape. If you take any medications, disclose them up front and have your prescription with you. If you've taken any in the past 6 months they will likely show up on a hair follicle test, if they do one, so make sure you have proof that you were prescribed that medication.

I disclosed the advil, nightquil, ibprofen, and i'm not sure what the dentist used to numb my gums, but in the phone interview i told them "I had a shot at the dentist for numbing my gums, i'm not sure what it was however." They seemed to be okay with that. They asked me for what reasons i took each medication and the nightquil was back when i was extremely sick and not.able to sleep due to a cold at all, the advil was taken for pain after i ran out of ibprofen ok my multiple visits to the dentist office for fixing multiple cavaties.

I don't believe I have anything to be worried about that I can remember, I passed a background check for the fire department as a volunteer.

What the companies do is get you to their facility as quickly as possible before someone else can. Then they'll do everything once you're there. They'll verify your employment history, do a really thorough background check, send you for a physical and drug screen, and all that. Doing all that stuff takes a lot of time and money, so they don't want to waste that time and money on someone just to find out they're not coming.

So what they'll do is just verify quickly over the phone, or through a short application process online, that you meet the minimum qualifications to work there. Basically, they'll take your word for it right now, and verify everything for real once you arrive. You have the pre-hire in your email, so that's your written proof that you're signed up and ready to go.

They will only need to verify your employment for the past three years. Once you've driven a truck professionally then by law they have to verify your employment, or your whereabouts, for the past 10 years. Run this by your recruiter to make sure you have the information you'll need with you. It's not that they can't ask for the past ten years right now, but they probably won't.

Don't let the stress get to ya! It's a tough challenge being in this profession, but if you're up for that challenge it's an amazing experience and super rewarding in a lot of ways. But hey, "the hard is what makes it great" as Tom Hanks said in "A League Of Their Own".

Keep us updated.

Thank you for your reply Brett, it has put me at ease a bit, so basically I will fill a paper application out once I arrive?

Also, regarding the background check, I have nothing to hide, but it seems to be very foggy of the exact details that they are background checking. What exactly does the background check reveal? I'd suppose the only thing they'd find is that I had an accident in march 2013 at fault resulting in a failure to yield right of way with a voluntary drivers improvement course before going to court to pay the fine off. I disclosed this to them already. I am just curious and can't really find much on it.

Thank you again Brett!

So, my Melton recruiter says that i do not need to enter an application after having gone through a whole process on the phone, even got a pre-hire letter in my email, I try to do most everything through email now so I have written proof of everything that has been said. Have any of you just called like myself and never needed to put in an application? I have yet to send in my tax returns for the past three years to prove my self employment, but I just scanned them in to the computer.

Secondly, they still do want my employment history for the past 10 years though they only verify the last 3. Do I just type this up on a document and print it out to take with me to Tulsa, or do I just need to print out my resume with this on there? This whole process seems odd, but i'm excited either way, I just need some clarification on this.

On another note, if you didn't see my diary on the other forum, I am progressing through school just fine with only minor hiccups due to instructor issues. :)

Thank you for putting up with me guys! I've been here for a long time and I finally saved up the money to pay cash and have a good emergency fund to move forward with school and getting a job!

My life's dream is coming to, even if there is stress, I just need to remember i've always wanted this.

Congratulations on the almost newborn, I am 24 myself and currently in CDL school with a 15 month old, my lady unfortunately isn't able to leave her job just yet due to the debt we currently have. She has a car payments at $230.00 a month, me $108.00 a month on my truck because I put so much down when I bought it, then we have her medical bills that will be paid off in december and my son's medical bill which comes to a grand total of $25,000ish... Oh, did I mention I also own a horse? Lol, as soon as we pay my truck off this year, and her medical bill, i'll make her car payment and if it makes sense have her go part time. She is a manager but only makes $11/hr at subway and I am self employed as a caregiver. I feel you on starting in this industry with a new family, I look forward to following you!

It's great to hear I'm not the only one, Chris! My wife works for $8/hr at a local day-care and I work as a full-time meat cutter at a grocery chain called Harvey's. The company is going bankrupt, but for the time being, I'm making $12/hr which is very much decent for somebody my age in my location. Our rent is $525 a month, plus a credit card, plus our utilities and oh, $27,000 in student loans. We can manage, but who wouldn't want better? More money plus more time at home. My wife and son are my priority over myself anyway so trucking seems to be the better choice. Anyway... Who are you schooling with? -NiMa

Whew! I wish my rent was that low, my total monthly expenses for me alone comes to $2500, for her roughly $600/month. I am going through the 4CDL program through my local community college, it's not the college's program originally, im not sure how they ended up putting their office there, but i paid cash for the course to get a $1000 discount. Where are you based out of?

Hello T.T. members :) I've been paying attention to the forum for the past few months and first off, I wanted to compliment the High Road training program for it's incredible efficiency and simplicity in helping me obtain my CDL permit! Now, introductions... My name is very long and it's stuck for years, and I have no problem going by "heavy" or "warrior" or HMTW or anything of the sort. I am a month shy of 25 years old, and I live in central Georgia. Through much deliberation, my wife and I have decided to take the plunge into the trucking industry. I say my wife and I because even though I will be the one on the road, she will have the responsibility of raising our newborn son (late july) when I am away. It will be a 200% team effort. We have been married for nearly two years as of this august, and we decided we need a more substantial income than us both working full time with a child on the way. So we have talked on the subject for quite some time, and have chosen to part ways with our jobs and send me off to the road with Roehl's GYCDL program so my wife can avoid her stressful job of watching 20 undisciplined children (pre-k) and spend time at home with our beloved son. It was very difficult on my part to make the decision to leave the two of them for training, but we have God first in our marriage, and have come to the conclusion that trucking would be better for my wife and son, financially, than continuing this meat cutter job which I have already lost part of a finger to. My wife and I built our dating relationship on long-distance communication, and we feel that we are prepared for the trials and rewards that lay ahead.

Anyway, I have already had Ashley @ Roehl contact me about driving flatbed for them after going through the CDL program in Gary. My wife and I are continuing to save money to support ourselves through the training period, and shortly after he is born and I get some time to spend with him, I will be leaving for Roehl training in mid August. I have always been allured to the thought of living on the road, where the only thing that determines your survival are your wits and skills. Ive had my share of breakdowns hundreds of miles from home, and the only chance of getting back involves pulling the intake manifold apart on the side of the expressway. Waking up in a new location every morning is one of the most exciting things I can imagine. Of course, nothing can beat the feeling of being home with my wife and son again. I plan to move to a more regional route when possible, but for now, my plan is to get my CDL. Anyhow, that is my story. Thank you for your time, and I cannot wait to see the excitement and challenges that lay ahead for my family and I. I hope this can help somebody decide in the future with a similar situation. Until the next update, take care!! -Heavymetal

Congratulations on the almost newborn, I am 24 myself and currently in CDL school with a 15 month old, my lady unfortunately isn't able to leave her job just yet due to the debt we currently have. She has a car payments at $230.00 a month, me $108.00 a month on my truck because I put so much down when I bought it, then we have her medical bills that will be paid off in december and my son's medical bill which comes to a grand total of $25,000ish... Oh, did I mention I also own a horse? Lol, as soon as we pay my truck off this year, and her medical bill, i'll make her car payment and if it makes sense have her go part time. She is a manager but only makes $11/hr at subway and I am self employed as a caregiver. I feel you on starting in this industry with a new family, I look forward to following you!

Chris, Howse it going? I enjoyed what you wrote? Give us an update and keep up the good work.

-Traffic Jam

Thank you Traffic Jam, it's going very well, thank you, how are things on your end?

I just updated, but i'd also like to add, though I have done well, I am not afraid to ask questions when i need to ask questions, and believe me, I ask them a lot, today just happened to be less, but it was more of "what am i doing wrong on ____, how can I improve?" today.

I also asked if they'd teach me a 90 degree alley back after i finish getting my cdl at DMV, they said yes. That made me happy.

So I just completed this weekend, the day was cut short by a rain storm, however he did let myself and 2 others stay to practice some even in the rain, we are pretty much the 3 that have progressed faster in the 3 days we've been out on the range faster than some of those who have been there for a few months...

Today was the first day i've done offsets on the range, it was also the only day I needed, but BEFORE I gor in a truck to learn that, I took the BRAND NEW students on a walk around pre-trip inspection, I started with the lights and dot tape walk around, then exhaust system, then fuel system, then right side of the engine bay, left side of the engine bay, etc, etc. I explained each part to them since they've never seen them before, I explained their function, what can happen if those parts fail, then how to make since of what to say on inspection. I reiterated to them over and over that it's not enough to just see the part and call out the pre-trip terminology, it's extremely important to actually know why they are there, how they work, and how to inspect them correctly. Like I said, I had some knowhow before hand, that helped me immensely, but I probably would have only taken a day maybe 2 longer had I needed to learn the parts.

To me, the "what" isn't enough, I believe you need to know "why" too. It makes the learning sit better with people in my experience.

Not sure if I mentiones it, I have my fire fighter I, fire fighter II, and went to college for emergency medical services (emt-b, emt-e, Paramedic.) I have a little observational experience in how information sits better with most people, the instructors were pretty happy with the way I went about it.

By the end of the day when I went back over there, they had the engine parts down with the why, how, and what. It was awesome, I felt accomplished in being successful with my own day and helping them out. Of course they had a pre trip paper to follow, but they weren't even needing it at the end of the day, not sure about the guy who left because he was going to a party..... I will leave my feelings out of this.

So about my own learning, I learned how to off set the instructor had me pull past the end cone just right so i'd hit it when I turned the wheel the way it needed to be turned, I said something, he said "i know, but this is your first offaet so go with it."

Guys i messed up under hia instruction more than when he finally shut-up. I still didn't hit a single cone in my off except the one at the end of the pull up point of that first offset where he told me to set up.

Second offset, I told him, I believe I can get it back in the hole alone this time.

I set my brakes first, gor out and fixed tge stupid cone he made me hit them got back in foot on the clutch pushed trailer and parking brakes in appli3d the service brakes, put the truck into second gear and pulled up with the end range cone just at my bumper so i would hit it on my side. I was offsetting from right to left this time. I then pulled them stick into netreul and up into reverse, okay so i'm pretty sucky on the clutch not having ever driven a manual, that's my only set back, but i was smooth for the first time i let off the brake then clutch and began to offset, without even stopping i off set and put the truck into the hole, got it straight without pulling up even once, and I backed through. Not a single cone was in danger in my gentle, patient hands. I then did it over and over and over. I did 8 offsets all without a single pull up, even in the rain. In the rain of course I had to put the window up, and I had to crank up the a/c and the rain was so hard I had to have the windshielf wipers on full speed. It was cool though, I hate volvos. They have a nice peterbilt 387 there with a cat c15 and eaton 10 speed, I LOVE IT. Volvo doesn't feel as homey as it does, good thing i'll be driving a t680 which has a similar feeling.

Next for Virginia I need to learn parallel parking, shifting at the shift pad, and road driving. After I learn parallel parking, i'll go to the shift pad. That will be my barrier, but if i could just stop over thinking, i know i'll be fine...

I'll stop babbeling on and on, found out my pre trip is spot on all the way around in cab and brake test. And i did perfect offsets all day. I don't understand why some of these people can parallel and offset but cant straight back to save their lives. Does that make sense?

Thank you for reading!

I also made $48,000 gross my first year, averaging somewhere around 2500 miles a week.

I talked to a few melton drivers at a local truck stop, each one has told me they usually get close to 3000 miles at a minimum except on home time weeks, one, she pulled up her stubs to show me on her smart phone, she was still in just above student pay at the time, which means she's between 3 and 12 months! She was the one that told me "if you come to melton, figure your expenses on 2500 miles a week, and you'll be safe."

Of course mw veing who i am, i still have the need to pick and prod just to see where multiple people are at. I suppose there are too many factors to involved to guess.

I started training with 4CDL.com through the local Community College on April 29th, 2017.

It's been a little bumpy so far, on their end, but luckily i've done enough self study and my other 3 classmates, well 2 of them are self starter, motivated individuals as well, one of them, he'll probably be here for the next 6 months if he doesn't quit his crap.

We were in the classroom for 3 days total so far, we have 3 in classrooms left, they seem to be very unorganized, first weekend, great! Second weekend, he forgor he started us, sunday that weekend a new instructor came in and got us through another 10 of the 33 chapters, so we're up to chapter 18. Surprisingly i've already known everything up to this point, from my self study of course.

The third weekend, 2 instructors were fired due to their lack of showing up, so class was cancelled the entire weekend.

The fourth weekend, they have a new instructor, we were out on the range because he had a new class starting this coming weekend and he said he'd just start them where we left off, that the order didn't matter. awesome! The fourth weekend was spent on the range, we pre tripped from 7 am to 3pm, we got REALLY good at it, lol. Sunday we went in, each did a pre trip on the truck, i was proud of myself, i went through it in under 30 minutes and hit everything perfectly, didnt miss a thing. I have a bit of confidence and i know diesels a bit as i used to work on them, so i do have that. I also knew air brakes pretty well before hand.

That same sunday, we got up in the truck, i dont know hoe to drive s manual, but this new instructor is amazing! He had me up to par in about 20 minutes, my take offs are pretty smooth, then he had us doing some bscking menuveurs, with his tips, i didn't hit a single cone. Put it back in the hole every time with even space on both sides of the truck. I do drive with a 30ft gooseneck horsetrailer, so again, i'm sure that helps in a small amount. I liked his 1..2...3.. stop turn to straighten truck and trailer get closer, turn 1..2.. start straightening, with the rear end in, use a pull up and voila straight back. Lol

This coming weekend we're supposed to be in the classroom, if he forgets... again... well, to the range we'll go, except ill have my sunscreen this time, not this time sun, not this time. Lol

While the delays are irritating, im not letting them get to me, such as life, right? I'm still raking in a good paycheck, cushioning my savings account, and preparing for that potential loss of income in my first year over the road.