Location:
Gainesville, FL
Driving Status:
Rookie Solo Driver
Social Link:
Dry bulk tanker yanker with CCC Transportation.
Posted: 9 years, 1 month ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Hello Diver, I just got out of CDL school and start with Comcar next Tuesday. I'll be a part of the CT flatbed division. Was the DOT drug test urinalysis only or also hair follicle? I'll be 100% honest with you and I hope you don't pass judgement, but I quit smoking marijuana 2 months ago and have no desires of going back as I'm trying to make a positive change but I know the hair tests go back 3 months. The recruiter said they don't hair test but I would figure that a current employee would have more accurate information. Hope to hear back from you, thanks.
Welcome to Comcar Max. When I went to orientation in Auburndale for CCC this past May, it was urinalysis only. And you're welcome. Good luck!
Posted: 9 years, 2 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Hi Diver,,,thanks for the good info. Can you give us an update on how's it going? Thanks
Sure thing Chris. Been solo for about 4 months now. Out 11-13 hours a day Mon-Fri doing 2 runs a day for the most part. Usually leave out between 3 and 5 in the morning most days. Mostly driving Florida with occasional runs in to Georgia. Not getting rich, but making okay money. Some days are better than others. All in all, I'm pretty happy with CCC.
Posted: 9 years, 4 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Thanks Col. O. I don't know much about MCT either other than I think they have some driving out of Jax and their trucks can do 65 mph. I'm stuck at 62 mph and all that I have seen are all auto, haven't seen any sticks. Things are going well for me there.
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
My 1st day as a solo driver and it was the day from hell...
You make a valid point Pat M. It could have been worse.
Errol V., I don't know what the odds are, but I dang sure wouldn't have taken a bet like that because they have to be pretty high!
I knew from reading a lot of the posts on here that this is an industry fraught with trials and tribulations. You deal with them and move on or you get the heck out of it. I'm no quitter!
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
My 1st day as a solo driver and it was the day from hell...
This past Friday was my first day solo as a truck driver and IT SUCKED!!!
It started out with a few minor issues with the tanker that they assigned me. No big deal, worked through them and good to go. Drove to Jacksonville to deliver a load of cement. Got there no problem, backed in to the spot just like I knew what I was doing. Got everything hooked up and started pumping it off. First hopper no problem, second hopper too. 3/4's of the way through the final hopper and feeling pretty good when all of a sudden there is a hellacious racket from my PTO blower. I immediately shut it down and oil is all over the place along with a huge puddle on the ground. I have no way to finish unloading since my PTO basically blew up.
CCC has a terminal in Jax so I contact them. They said they'll send a wrecker down with a truck and tow mine in to their shop. Hour and a half later I have a different truck. I uncoupled mine and coupled the other one up to my tanker. Wrecker leaves with my truck. I go to start the PTO blower and to my dismay, it doesn't work! I call Jax back and they tell me that they have a driver bringing a truck from Orlando to them, but they'll divert him to me since I'm right off I-95 on his way up. They tell me to just swap trucks with him. So I go to uncouple this truck from the tanker. Landing gear down, lines unhooked and pin pulled for the second time. Now their truck won't go in to gear (automatic)! Transmission service light flashing when I put it in gear, but it won't move. I'm more than a little perturbed at this point. They tell me to shut it down for 15 minutes and it should reset. So I do and guess what? You got it! Still the same thing.
In the meantime they other driver shows up. While Jax is trying to figure out what to do next, I have him pull his truck next to mine and I hook my tanker hose to his PTO blower and get the rest of my cement unloaded. My PTO went out at 8:05 and it's after 12:00 now, but I got my load delivered!
Jax decides to send a wrecker back out to get the truck and tanker and tow them in and for me to just ride in to their terminal with the other driver. We get there and they are replacing the PTO on my truck. Seems that a bearing went bad. They'll have it done by the time the wrecker gets back with their truck and my tanker.
It's after 3:00 by the time I leave Jax and head back. I call my dispatch and they tell me to get on back, but make sure I preload my tanker before I come to the terminal. Not gonna say what was going through my mind to say, but I just said okay.
Made it back to the terminal, turned in all my paperwork and bout to head to the house. My dispatcher catches me outside and asks if I preloaded my tanker and I said yes, Well, this other driver wasn't able to get back in time to get his done and he was supposed to take a load to Tallahassee the next day (Saturday) by 8:00. He asked me if I wanted to take the load. I gave him a look and he quickly said that I didn't have to do it, but if I didn't, I'd need to drop my tanker so the other driver could take it. I was NOT dropping another dang time that day so I told him I'd take it.
I left out Saturday morning at 5:00, got to Tallahassee, pumped off my tank no problems and drove back to the terminal. I was sweating bullets the whole time that something else bad was going to happen. Sure wish my first day had gone that smooth.
If the trucking god's were wanting to see if I had what it took, I think I showed them I did by taking that load the next day after the day from hell I had when I didn't have to. I know things aren't always going to go smooth in this industry, but I sure wouldn't have minded having a day like this later down the road rather than on my first day solo! I survived, nobody died and I'm trucking on!
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
I start school at Mid Florida Tech on the 29th. CT is on my list of companies to apply to.
Good luck with school! I initially thought about CT, but they don't have any terminals close by. CCC has a dry bulk terminal 20 miles from me and they also do a little flatbed. I'm probably going to get schooled up on that too and insure plenty of available runs (money). :)
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Released from training this afternoon! I am now a solo dry bulk tanker yanker!
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
And welcome to Trucking Truth btw! It's a very informative and useful site.
Posted: 9 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Glad you found it useful David M. I just finished my first week with my trainer. He was all set to sign off on me as a solo driver today, but since I came on right out of a school we were told that Safety would not go along with just one week of training. No biggie though, it just gives me more time to get comfortable with unloading the dry bulk and get to learn more about places we deliver. I haven't been to the port in Tampa yet with a delivery, but I will be going there next week with my trainer. He had told me about it, but I wasn't looking forward to trying to go in there on my own without having been there at least once before. So now I won't have that worry hanging over my head.
Are you looking at going in to the dry bulk or van? They also do a little flatbed too. Training pay is $9.50 an hour btw. I'm pretty happy with them so far. Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.
Posted: 8 years, 6 months ago
View Topic:
Orientation with CCC Transportation (Comcar Industries)
Thanks, hope it has been help. Congrats on getting your CDL.
All the trucks that I have seen are automatic transmissions. My terminal in Newberry are all day cabs so I can't tell you anything about the sleeper cabs as far as APU's and all. Only regional drivers get the sleeper cabs and the vast majority of our trucks are Mack's. As far as the company goes, I haven't had any issues with them. All of their recruitment ads that I have seen say they know their driver's by name. That may be true for your terminal, but I seriously doubt they would know me from Adam's housecat if I went down to the corporate office. As a daily driver I average 55-65 hours a week and get paid percentage of the load, 21% starting. Good luck out there and stay safe!