Location:
Charlotte, NC
Driving Status:
Experienced Driver
Social Link:
Big Scott (CFI's biggest fan) On The Web
I dream of a career driving a truck. I spent almost eight years working for a company that builds machines. Unfortunately, I lost that job in the beginning of February (2017). I have been on unemployment. That runs out early May. After a couple of years of planning, when I lost my job, my wife had some health issues that prevented me from making the leap then. Now she is doing better and I have started applying to several companies. We are working hard to pay off debt and that is a slow process. I am here on TT because I find this to be the best site for current and truthful information on this industry. I was. accepted into CFI's company sponsored training and I'm currently in school for them. 6-26-17 Got my first truck with CFI today. 9-21-18 Still driving OTR with CFI. On 11-15-18 I became a trainer with CFI.
In July of 2019 I was denied a new medical card due to high blood sugar. After several months of hard work, I got everything back to normal. Then due to CCP Virus, the non driving job I was working at closed down. This forced me back to where I wanted to be. I contacted CFI and on May 28th 2020, I will be back in a truck.
Currently running a dedicated lane that has me home weekends. truckerscott104@gmail.com
Posted: 2 weeks, 3 days ago
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No matter what the law is, a company may have different rules. Some companies don't give you an option to PC, some require permission from logs or dispatch.
Posted: 2 weeks, 3 days ago
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I know someone who left CFI for a smaller company that pays more CPM. This driver can't make enough most weeks to pay the bills. Getting repairs there is very difficult.
I don't know where CFI currently starts students out. By the end of my first year I was at 42CPM. I'm currently at 52 CPM. I have other perks. I love CFI for many reasons. Some of our perks are, many terminals around the country with showers, shops and wash bays. We get reimbursed for showers and parking. We earn PTO time as we drive. They get us home on time and so much more.
If you're happy where you are, stay another year.
Good luck.
Posted: 1 month ago
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All that info on the paid training is old and outdated. There are many companies offering paid CDL training. Some are: CFI, Prime, Schneider, Stevens, CR England, Heartland Express, Millis Transport, Roehl, Swift, Knight, TMC, Maverick, and others.
It is realistic for a first year driver to make $35,000 to $50,000 in their first year. As you home your skills you get faster and more efficient, leading to more miles and more money.
I hope this helps.
Posted: 1 month ago
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Truck was given away while on medical hold
They should have emptied your stuff out of the truck. My pitbull attitude would come out if that happened to me.
Posted: 1 month, 1 week ago
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Chris, I can't even imagine what you're going through. I just happened to watch this video the other day. It may be helpful to you. Whatever, you do, you have my best wishes. Video of a trucker's accident story.
Posted: 1 month, 1 week ago
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Hey Son, I hope all works out for you. Good luck and much happiness.
Posted: 1 month, 1 week ago
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PFJ, Love's and TA/Petro. I use them all.
Posted: 1 month, 2 weeks ago
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No CAT scales between shipper and weigh stations
Trucker Path will also show you Cat Scales.
Besides weight you need to consider length. Page A16 and A17 in your Atlas has your length limits by state. Find the length limit for each state you're going through, the shortest is the max length you should use.
Posted: 1 month, 4 weeks ago
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We don't have APUs. Our trucks will idle when the outside temp is 30 and below or 70 and above. Mine will idle any other time by raising the idle with cruise control. We have dry van and temp controlled (refer). We have terminals all over the country. We do run into Canada.
Our trucks have Sirius/XM radios and have a TV mount. The newest trucks will have refrigerators. We are governed at 65 and can have an extra 2 MPH for passing. We also have shops around the country. Getting anything fixed on the road is simple.
I am happy with our benefits.
If you have to pay for showers or parking it is quickly reimbursed. We are paid on dispatch and can see what your earning with each load.
I hope this answers some questions.
Posted: 2 months, 1 week ago
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Any Grand Island express Drivers here
Why would you choose to work anyplace and then decided to find out about the company? That seems backwards to me.
Posted: 3 months ago
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Question - potential new trucker here
We have terminals all over the country. Here is what we have in PA.
CFI trains for free. Millis trains out of Carlisle.
Posted: 3 months ago
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I park at truck stops almost every night. Have had lot lizards wake me up a few times. I always plan where I will park for the night. Can't think of a time I didn't feel safe.
Posted: 3 months ago
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Hey guys, general update, question about good pants!
I wear blue jeans all year round.
Posted: 3 months ago
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You may have seen on line, one of our rigs upsidedown in the median. This happened on US69 in Oklahoma. A pop up tornado picked the thing up and dropped it there. The driver is ok.
Be safe out there.
Posted: 3 months, 4 weeks ago
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Crowder College Transportation Training for CFI
Great news about the CDL. Keep CFI in the loop. Depending on where you live they may be able to get you home often enough.
Posted: 4 months ago
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How I got to where I am in trucking
Excellent post and attitude. Keep up the great work.
Posted: 4 months ago
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Crowder College Transportation Training for CFI
While I did not go to Crowder, it took me 3 times to pass my CDL test. First the truck wouldn't start after the pretrip, second timed out on alley dock third time nailed it.
How did it go?
Hope you made it. You have 3 tries on each section.
Big Scott, once a person successfully completes a section, it doesn't have to be completed again when having to retest, is that correct? So, for a hypothetical scenario, I fail the pre-trip twice and pass it the third time, I still have 3 tries with each of the other segments, if I am understanding things correctly. After successfully completing the 3rd attempt at pre-trip, I fail my 1st and 2nd attempts at backing, then successfully complete the 3rd. After the 3rd attempt at backing and passing, I then have 3 attempts to pass the drive section of the exam. Do I have that understood correctly for a worst case scenario in passing the CDL exam? If I am also understanding things correctly, failing a section ends the examination for the day, but passing a section means moving on to the next section on that day. I am asking about specifics on this so that if someone asks me about testing, I can be sure to give accurate information.
Yes.
Click Anywhere To Close
Posted: 1 week, 1 day ago
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Changes, changes, changes
Biggest changes, more terminals to stay at, more company shops to use and more company truck washes.