Comments By LadyDee

There aren't any rules that prevent you from obtaining a cdl and not using it right away. It's the same as a non cdl, it's good for however many years your state had set between renewal. ( Florida is every 8 years) Your medical certificate is only good for 2 years and without that, your cdl isn't valid. However there is a down side to having the cdl and not driving. If you let it go too far you'll have trouble getting a driving job without "recent" experience. Case in point. I maintained my A licence the 10 years I lived in Chicago but didn't drive a tractor trailer. I maintained my med cert the entire time. This year when I wanted to come back to driving truck's I couldn't get a job anywhere cuz it had been so many years without driving tractor trailer. I had to take an 80 hour refresher course thru an accredited school ($ 2,500) in order to get hired. I was basically uninsureable.

So the longer you go without driving, the harder it will be to find a job. Food for thought =)

Sir, what do you mean, your CDL isn't "valid" without your medical certificate?

Anyone living in Florida looking to obtain their CDL check this out:

http://ctltransportation.com/main.cfm?pagename=job_training

This is the only company sponsored program I have seen that teaches you to drive a liquid chemical tanker. I remember speaking to one of their drivers at a Nalco plant in Texas somewhere. He was a local driver. Looked like a professional, equipment looked good, and the guy said he was happy with the company.

You have to sign a one-year commitment to work for CTL, but that goes for most company-sponsored CDL programs.

Brett maybe add this to your list.

@ ThinksTooMuch

I'm going to do that!

Companies will use your license address as your "home base address". So claiming another (out of state) address, and not changing your license is technically not legal.

What part of Florida are you from?

Here in Fort Lauderdale, there aren't many companies that hire. South Florida is difficult to get outbound freight - so companies are reluctant to hire folks they have to get in/out of here for home time.

The other side of the equation (for me at least) is TAXES. Florida is one of the few states without city/state/personal property taxes - so if I ever make the jump into the industry, I would want to keep my "legal residency" in Florida. Though if I do make the leap - I'm going to do the "homeless thing", as there's no reason to maintain a homestead expense (being single/grown kids), that I'm only going to see 2-3 days a month.

Rick

The "homeless" thing? PLEASE tell me more about that ...

I should say, since you don't technically live in FL, you could use a family members address to make yourself more available for hire to more companies. For instance, if you have a sister that lives in OK you can put your residency as OK under her address and then you won't have to strictly look for companies that hire from FL. Just a tip, but Knight is a great company - you'll be in good hands with them.

Someone on here suggested I try doing that (I think his name was "Joba" or something similar). I still think most companies want your principal residence state to be the same as your license state - but what do I know? I just got here.

I work for Roehl and I have "met" a couple of Florida drivers in our Roehl driver group on Facebook. I think they like it well enough but I am fairly sure they slip seat. I am not positive, but most of the extended home time plans Roehl has involves slip seating.

The more things I find on TT about Roehl, the more I want to work for them. I tried to get in there, but they won't take me because I live in St. Petersburg (moving to Pinellas Park in 2 weeks). I'm shattered. So how did you all get in?

@ Ds H. @ Gunner

Thank you both. I will look at Swift and Prime again.

@ Thomas H. from OR:

I saw one of your old posts (a little over a year ago) about Knight having a terminal in Lakeland (which is closer to me than Ocala). So why didn't they tell me that when I called? Or is it that they don't do CDL training there ...

@ Daniel

Thanks. It was easier for you to get started because of where you live.

As far as the tuition reimbursement, I've found that trucking companies are paying something like $100 a month to drivers who come in on a tuition reimbursement plan, and they state that YOU (the driver) are responsible for making the monthly payments to your lender. If I go to Roadmasters @ $7000 tuition, I would have to stay at my hiring company for about 6 YEARS. I don't believe that this arrangement is "portable" between companies. If any of you knows anything different, please clarify for me.

@ Renae S. (Angel)

Thanks for the motivational words. Good luck at CR England. Tell us how it goes for you. I'll be watching.

Thank you Robert B. for your input. I will keep trying, and I'm happy that it's worked out for you.

Florida is a tough state to live in for a lot of the larger companies to hire from and has been for a while, Brett has mentioned a few times as to why.

The thing that gets me is that you're worried about the commitment to a company that is willing to foot the bill for your training? Big company is willing to put you in an expensive vehicle, carrying even more expensive loads and trust you to not destroy the equipment or get anyone killed. In the meantime, they're going to take you at your word that you're going to work hard for them, not give up like around 90% of new drivers do, pay off your school or a large portion of it and all they ask is for you to do your job professionally and make a small commitment in return? It's really not that much to ask.

Sir, you've got it wrong about me. I'm fully aware of all the points you made. You don't know me so don't judge me. I don't have a problem with driving for 6 months, 8 months, or a year to repay a company for their trust and their generosity. I have a stellar driving record and plan to keep it that way. What I'm worried about is getting myself into deeper financial water than I'm in.