Comments By Joe Rayz

Good Morning all,

In three days I will be boarding a bus to Pittston, PA for Orientation with Prime's refrigerated division. This will be my first job in the industry and first time away from my wife and two sons for long periods of time. I am anxious, excited and any other adjective you could think of to describe a moment like this.

It seems like a whole new world is on the horizon for and I can't wait to see what the journey holds for me and my family. I know that time away from them won't be great, and training won't always be exciting or fun. But, I am ready for the challenge!! I am proud of myself for getting through trucking school and earning my Class A on the first go around. Apparently the school I went to was having a hard time getting students to pass at the MVA.

There will be more to come on this new endeavor, but for now I have packing to do. Talk to you guys soon.

Joe Rayz

Congratulations!!!! Good Luck on your next part of the journey.

Thanks Rainy D and 6 String for the info!

To answer your question Rainy, I do have my CDL A License with a Tanker endorsement so I will be going straight into training for whichever division I choose. I don't have a hazmat for now so I won't be running fuel, but was just curious as to why the high cpm to start for Tanker drivers. I assumed it was because the miles might not be there, but I do have to consider that i might have to wait a little for a trainer. Something I had not thought about. I have the option to go whichever division I choose, at least that what my recruiter says. He is a nice guy, just always seems in a rush to go and do something else which is annoying when I want to sit on the phone and ask Rookie questions. He seemed to be pushing refrigerated, but if you don't choose a LW Truck then you start at .5 cpm lower than a LW and .7 cpm below tanker starting pay. I don't think I would mind running refrigerated, just trying to make the highest wage I can to start. Is that shallow? Also, just in case you all were wondering, I would be running the Northeast for either division.

Richard, I am not an expert, but there should be a company out there for you. Here on Trucking Truth there are great company reviews Trucking Company Reviews And they generally say whether or not a company will hire someone with a felony. Also because it's an older issue, you shouldn't have too much harder a time than someone without. I have some issues from my past and I have received multiple offers from trucking companies. Just work hard in school and keep it clean going forward!!

I have chosen to drive for Prime Inc. And I have options now! I have a tanker endorsement and it pays the most starting out as a newb, but I am not sure of what an average week or month would look like in a tanker. Also when I asked my recruiter he said he isn't sure, but I'm welcome to choose whatever division I would like. Anybody ever driven a tanker or know anyone who does? Is the high CPM. because of low mileage? Any advice is appreciated.

Oh, by the way - we have a list of companies that have cameras and those that don't. We keep it updated as new information comes in:

Trucking Companies That Use Driver Facing Cameras

Thanks to Brett and Trucking Truth for always keeping us who are in or curious about this industry updated with such great company info!!!!

Just out of curiosity. What is a PBJ? besides the sandwich. Lol

Lol, Hey Tractor Man, PBJ is when you receive probation before judgement

Also, to everybody that replied, thanks for the info. I will be as open as possible with all questions they ask.

Ok guys,

I am filling out job apps and they are asking about past charges/ moving violations etc... So I have a serious violation from another state ( reckless driving in '08, going 82 in a 55) Its not on my State MVR so should i even mention it? I have filled out 3 so far and put it down, but noticed that the recruiter i was speaking to today said that they had to pull my MVR and check everything. Also have a PBJ for speeding in 2014 that was in my state but isn't on my MVR. I know that most of the time honesty is the best policy, but i just wanted to see what the more experienced guys thought.

Thanks in Advance

Thanks to every one for their replies! I definitely have some choices to make, but i will consider all the info that has been presented. All that talk is now making me hungry!! I suppose the devil really is in the details of each company and not just the surface.

I used the Study Buddy app, California CDL app, and High Road Training Program and by far High Road was the most in-depth and helpful to me. It just gave more whys and whats for me which helped me to understand the answers to questions and not just memorize them.

All that being said, the tests should not be that hard if you put in the proper study time. Good Luck!!!