Comments By Dixie Rose (Vicki)

Congrats. Hubs and I start with CD1 on the 11th. We are training as a team. Will try to post a blog of our adventure as well. Best of luck to you!

You're not going to be carrying any explosives. 95% of the Hazmat stuff you'll haul is ordinary household stuff like paint and cleaning chemicals. The really dangerous stuff they normally haul using specialized companies with highly qualified drivers.

I figured it was normal stuff. I know even laundry detergent is considered a HazMat item. Hubs was on the Fire Dept some years back. As for the explosives.....whew.. LOL

Hey that's great news!

I hope you're using our High Road Training Program to study for your permit. And make sure you get those endorsements, too. They're really just short, simple written exams that take a few minutes each but they open up a lot of opportunities. The Hazmat is a bit tougher but no big deal.

And make sure you go through Learning The Logbook Rules and Understanding Truck Weight And Balance because you're going to need them for doing your job out there.

Thanks! We are excited. We have started to study that is for sure. I definitely want my HazMat (worry about explosives though). Going to really crack down starting this weekend, sadly I have to work the next three days. Hubs is already cracking down on his studying, bless him.

Congrats. Will be there myself in about 4 weeks! I hope...

Good luck to y'all

Thanks a bunch. I am looking forward to this. Just scared since the only "big" vehicle I have ever drove was a Ryder truck for moving. But I have confidence I will learn this. Now to start the cram session for our permit/CDL!

It is now official. My husband and I are both starting our classes April 11. I started to sell off everything. We are planning on living in the truck for the next year. Not a big deal to me, I don't like large areas...LOL....But I do have to say bye to my cats. :( We are going with CD1 and will be driving for PAM. I am excited and scared at the same time.

We picked up our essentials for the classes today (flashlights, notebooks, leather gloves, etc). Wish us luck.....

I currently work as a cashier for the big W. I am also in grad school. Before that did customer service, fast food, homemaker, security etc. The whole jack of all trades master of none. My husband has been in the food industry since high school. He is burned out, I can see that so this is going to be a great way to refresh him. Glad to see that we are not alone in this and our new family is just as diverse as can be.

Thanks. It was my hubs idea for me to do this. He was ok with going OTR but really didn't want to be away from me that long. And since we don't have kids he thought this would be a great way to see the country and be together. At first I was very apprehensive. And honestly I am scared to death, but I think with the right mind set (I can do this) I am going to be just fine. And we are going to succeed. Best of luck with you!

I understand the "new driver" issue. I haven't gotten my CDL yet so I haven't had that problem, but I do have a BS in Accounting and no one will hire me for the same reason. No experience. That is why we (hubs and I) are going into this together. Hope to nail down a start date soon with CD1 out of Indy. Do this for a year, finish my masters degree and if I don't like it after a year I can teach somewhere. If I do, then we are well on our way to owning our own trucking company.

Thanks for the kind words. It isn't an easy decision that is for certain. But it is nice to know that I am not alone in this and I will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them.