Comments By Errol V.

Here ya go:

ELDT.COM/hazmat

I toik this course, the record was in the TPR the next day. Sweetest part: $25.

100% legit. Their quiz is way easier then the DMV 's hazmat test

Puh-LEEES!

A professional driver has a Safety Sensitive Function, meaning a driver must be fully aware of what is going on all around. Any distraction or "alteration" greatly increases the chance of unsafe operation.

Drink you caffeine, smoke/vape some nicotine, have a bit of alcohol (with restrictions related to your shift/work times), but leave it at that.

The rear of the truck is the bumper attached to the frame with tail lights, etc.

The mud flaps, you know, just flap.

There are three tests you need to pass to get a CDL permit.

• General Knowledge
• Air Brakes
• Combination Vehicles

Since you took General Knowledge and Air Brakes, go back and take the Combination test.

The DMV clerk should help list the required tests.

Hey, Abel, welcome to Trucking Truth. This web site is founded to help new people understand the trucking Over The Road life.

Touch on the "Hamburger menu" at the top left and course any topic.

Check out Bret's book Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving.

There's much more. Don't be a stranger and ask any question here.

Matt has heard:

They wanted to go to Schneider simply because they said they'd put us in a hotel.

You can't get the OTR experience starting in hotels. I can't believe any trucking company will spend $100 +/- night for your training.

My mentor set a rule: when he closes the sleeper curtain, act like he's not there - I'm on my own except for emergencies.

So not to worry about "that other guy" or privacy. I was satisfied with how it all worked out.

Also you may hear that Swift is a crappy company - they screw their drivers, etc. They didn't get to be one of the largest trucking companies by doing that.

Another thing: you mentioned an auto restriction. Again, not to worry. There's a recent topic here taking about auto vs manual. The big companies jumped on to auto shift as soon as it was practical. It saves then money and is actually safer.

I went to Swift's Academy. When I got out on the road, I trained for about six weeks. Then out on my own.

The longer time gets you more experience in more types of pickups & drops.

With Swift, for the first week you and the trainer ("Mentor") go with the same shift - you drive and your mentor is right there. Then for the rest of the time it's team driving. By that time you should be able to drive all those highway miles without help. My mentor set his alarm and got up front when we arrived at a destination.

The "fast" and "slow" are a problem.

Timings from a song can help. The first one that came to mind was Jingle Bells. Try to make the shifting moves to the main beats - you don't have to sing the whole song, just repeat Jingle Bells at the song tempo while you

Jingle (clutch-neutral)
Bells (clutch-clutch)
Jingle (neutral-next gear)

Try not to think "Now I'm in neutral." You'll waste time, just yank the shifter into the middle then do the next thing.

Down shifting has that extra step to rev the engine while the shifter is in neutral:

(Off the accelerator, use some brake as needed, then)
Jingle (clutch-neutral)
Bells (clutch-rev)
Jingle (neutral-next gear)
Bells (repeat the brakes as needed)

I teach my students to watch the tachometer and work between 5 and 10 on the dial. That's the start. With only a little experience you be able to make smoother shifts.

Let me list the details here:

Caucasian: illegal to use this as a requirement.

middle aged: minimum age is 21, anything over that is ok.

male: gender makes no difference.

from the middle of Kentucky: many companies don't care where your domicile is.

Are you ;looking at Deck...3-4 trucks or singles......union or non union roughly what part of the country you live in

I live in Missouri, and I’d like to get to where I could do the deck method, but need to figure out how to get into this before I can afford a pick-up and trailer

I drive for Truck Movers for a few months. Here's my story on Trucking Truth: Truck Delivery Driveaway

Independent Contractor (1099), you need double-triple endorsement.

I didn't last long because I didn't have the "drive" required to make decent money there.