Comments By BuckeyeCowboy

Thanks for encouragement Brett.

So, I test August the 6th. I have met the school's requirements for hours. They are still letting me come in everyday and practice though, which I am grateful for. We didn't have a lot of people around on Friday so the lead instructor assigned me to go out on the road, giving me an extra hour than the minimum so I could be ready for my test. I did well, according to the instructor. He didn't have to tell me how to do anything. If I made a mistake or missed a gear I corrected it before he could say anything. I am feeling very confident for my test. If I don't let my nerves get me I will be fine.

Sewell Motor Express came on Thursday and brought doughnuts. Anytime they do that it is a good thing. The man that came in was actually the company president. He is a nice guy, but they have no medical insurance, no apus, and no rider policy, so I wasn't interested. On the day before, Wednesday, Knight Refrigerated came in. He came in not promising the world and was bluntly honest about the trucking industry and what we should look for in any company that we go with. He seemed sincere, but he only talked about his company for 4 minutes and refused to give out applications without talking with you first, because he wanted to make sure that we were a good fit for him and his company a good fit for us. I know who I am going with, but he has me intrigued enough that I am tempted to call him. So, we shall see. Ozark Motor Lines was in last week. They were good, but 17.5 cpm during training for all miles truck runs, but they don't run you as teams. I can survive on that barely, but why bother when I have other offers?

Just need to finish learning the 90 degree backing maneuver. It is the only one that I don't have down. I am close to getting it, but it is strange to do it having to look out your window. I am not used to that, but I will get it. We shall see how it goes. I will keep you all updated. Thanks for reading. God bless.

Hey Guys,

I knew about the media that is out there. I use it all the time. I appreciate the advice. Honestly, for reasons that are probably outside the scope of this site, I haven't been to church in a year. Mainly because the one I was attending shut down. It doesn't make me any less of a Christian, but I was asking this because I do miss the fellowship with other Christians, and I would actually like to get involved in a "trucker's ministry" if there was one. I will check out the truck stops and see what I can find out.

Tracy, thanks for the link. I will have to check out the sermons while I am out on the road. I have some on cd, but I have listened to them so much I can almost recite them word for word.

Daniel, Thanks for the advice. I do the one on one thing already. I just didn't know how readily available it was on the road. LOL, I know it is silly, but I wasn't sure if there was something where some ole southern Baptist preacher got on the cb and preached a sermon or if there was something on XM or Sirius. I don't have either satellite service, so I have no idea what they offer. Thanks for all the advice. God bless and stay safe.

Sorry about that, I wish I could be fishing right now. I have been trying to get caught up on some reading and got posts cornfused. I apologize.

Hey coupletruckingonfaith,

I know of one company that will allow you to train together, if you are dead set on it and that is Covenant Transportation. They have several husband and wife teams. They do haul Hazmat though, so something to consider as well. Good luck.

Steven,

Like you I am in school. I have done research on so many companies out there. I have to agree with Starcar, they are a top notch company. I would go with them if their rider policy worked for me. Since it does not, I have chosen not to go with them. However, in the future, if I look for another company they will be on my short list. Good luck.

Tim,

I recently went through C1 Driver's Solutions. I did not pass the road test. First thing to keep in mind with them. If you do not pass the school's requirements or pass your road test and get your cdl, you owe them money. That needs to be your first thought. Secondly, it is a 3 week program. They will give you 5 weeks, if you need it, but they like you to do it in 3. If you go to the Indianapolis school, when I left there at the beginning of May the state had come in and shut down a bunch of the trucks that they had to go on the road, including the two you tested at state in. So, be aware of that too. I believe they have them fixed now though. You will be assigned PAM or USA by the recruiter, but many of my friends asked to change and they let them, so if you get assigned PAM, you can asked to be switched to USA Truck.

In regards to the automatics, USA truck has a few, but most of their equipment are sticks. I have several friends with USA Truck and they all have manual transmissions. I think USA does give you a choice once you get a new truck. Also, I have heard whispers, mainly on the internet, but they are whispers that USA stock is in trouble and they could file for bankruptcy. I don't know how true it is, again a rumor, but I would check on that before you make up your mind. In regards to PAM....I have a friend that left them in the first month and went to CRST. He just paid the bill from Drivers Solutions. One other driver was complaining about their truck being in the shop for 6 days for something minor and having to wait on loads, but all my other friends seem to like PAM.

Also, one more thing with both carriers. You will be required to team drive for a minimum of 6 months. You can choose your partner, but if you don't want to team that might not be what you are looking for.

As for me, I am in a private non-JC trucking school and I love it. I am getting so much more knowledge than I did before. With JC's you can choose who you want to work for and often times recruiters from other companies will come in and try to get you to work for them. If you can't get the funding, ask about the WIA program or whatever your county has. They will pay for your education and all expenses related for you to go to school.

I am not trying to influence you either way. I wanted to give you my experience so you can have some information. Keep in mind, my experience will be different than yours. Drivers Solutions is a good choice if you have no other options. But just do your research. My biggest problem is I never researched anything and went in feet first and got hosed while doing it. However, like I said Driver's Solutions may work for you. I know several people went through them and are happy. Good luck in your search. If you have any other questions please let me know.

Can't say I don't know much about them. My schooling was like $4500.00 and WIA covered it. Not sure if there is a limit or not, but if they will take you on do it. See if they will let you go to the fair even if you are not a student yet. That will be neat if they could. Good luck in your quest. If you have any questions let me know or PM me. I will be checking here from time to time too.

Jerry, I have been married five years. I have to take my wife as that was the only way that she was going to let me do this. :). If your wife would be willing to go to school too you could team drive and make a heck of a lot more money. Something to keep in mind. Once you put in your applications, wait 24 hours and call them companies and tell them you want to review your application and they will send a prehire letter. A prehire letter invites you to orientation and allows you to move forward with the company. It doesn't guarantee employment, but will get you to their orientation, which will let you get the job after you pass a physical and take a road test and attend their classes. etc.

I have spent numerous hours researching companies. Start with Brett's list on here Companies that hire inexperienced truck drivers. That will be a good starting block. I have 11 pre-hires, so just apply to as many or as few as you want, but the more that you do the more opportunities you create for yourself.

Melton is a flatbed company and if I remember right they will let you take your wife from day 1. They have good benefits too. TMC has nice black and chrome Peterbilts that they put your name on once you get assigned your truck. Maverick has all automatic transmissions, so that can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.

Yeah there is. You have to tarp all your loads. No matter what the weather conditions are you have to drop or throw tarps on all your loads and make sure that they are tied down according to DOT/company/carrier specs. There is a lot of hard work in it from what I understand. I am still a student myself, but meeting with some of the flatbed companies out there, they generally pay more, but most companies pay extra for tarping.

One thing to keep in mind with flatbeds, is that if you want to see the country and run the whole country, TMC and Maverick are the best for that. If you are like me (and I think you are) because like you I love to drive and travel. If you have read my previous posts I collect roadmaps for each state I have been too and I dream about the states I have not been too. Anyways if you want to see all 48 states look into hauling refer units. Central Refrigerated, Warner, Shaffer, Stevens, and others will run all 48 and some in Canada. Just something to think about. Good luck. Refers pay more too because you have to keep the refer units in good working order and the temps regulated. God speed.

To get into their school, PAM only required a urinalysis, but not sure how they do orientation etc.