Comments By Conservative

And bananas are good for your blood pressure.....not sure the dancing ones help though.........

Have to try them. But it's hard to find the dancing ones. I'll ask at my local stores . I'll be like ,"excuse me, do you have dancing bananas?" Oh this will be fun!

Just tested out today for my class b cdl permit. If I can get my bp in range I can take the physical and start training to drive school bus.

I should of clarified, I don't have a CDL and he said because of where I live, there are no opportunities for me unless I have a license. All I have is permit and I was wanting to do the sponsorship program. There wouldn't be any openings he said until next year, but even then he said they normally don't recruit out of my area.

They told me that the next class that I would be able to get into starts in January. So it's. not all because of where you live . Some of it has to do with their class sizes. Gonna check with some other companies and see if I can't get this trucking thing started sooner cause I don't wanna wait til January.

That's great news man, I've got a year and a half here so far and can't complain. If you have any questions I'll try to answer if I have the time. Congratulations

Btw. What gloves would you recommend for chaining ? Trying to get things together before they call for orientation so im not rushing around . Thanks

I've got great news and it has nothing to do with car insurance! Lol! I applied and am conditionally approved for Orr flatbed with Maverick. Feels like a dream come true! Almost too good to be true. As I said, I still worry about how it's going to work out , but I've prayed a lot about this and I think that so far God has been working things out. Thanks to all who supported me in my quest for knowledge and endured my multiple questions and changes of opinion. I'm sure that there will be more times in the future when I will need the advice of articles and forums discussions down the road (pun intended). I will keep you all posted.

Talked to a flatbed driver from Alro Steel. He was mostly positive about his local/job and echoed what I've been reading on here and other places in that once he got into flatbedding, he wouldn't want to pull any other type of freight. It was great to have someone repeat to my face what I've been reading . Even though I've got some jitters about it still (like other newbies) I am going to go with Maverick if they accept me. Reviews I've read are mostly good once you discount what the disgruntled former employees say and the general negativity. Also, from what I can tell the pay is good and they have a short commitment. I plan on staying with whatever company I choose for at least a year if not two, but if after six months I decide I can't stand it, I can leave with no debt.

Thanks everyone for the responses. It has helped me sort some things out. I'll be calling places tomorrow and verifying info. Then I'll make my choice. My last day at Walmart is this Wednesday so hoping to get started on something pretty soon after. Thanks again.

I see that TMC requires one to have their cdl permit. Should I consider this a down side or a non factor since other companies do not have this stipulation? Also, is it wise to consider flatbed as a newbie , or should I stick with dry/refrigerator truck? I like the advantages that flatbeds offer and am not afraid of hard work or extremely hot/cold weather as I have endured both as a traffic flagger . Sorry if I come off as a flip flipper, but I've had jobs I thought would be great experiences turn out horribly so I'm trying to avoid that. But I realize a lot of times one can't really know until one gives it a try.

I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Swift's orentation and then out with my trainer. Once I'm done I'm going into their dedicated division and I'll be home daily. So there are companies out there who will hire guys right out of school and put them in the type of situation you are looking for.

Running Bear, it's not just that there are "some companies" that will do this. Location is one of the major factors in determining whether a new driver can get in on something like what you're hoping to do.

You also have got to realize the risk you take by starting your career this way. Generally, a home daily driving job will have a lot more challenges involved for a rookie. It's a fairly common theme we see. A rookie driver gets a local position, has a few issues due to the maneuvering skills needed for the job, then gets let go. Now you've been fired from a trucking job, you've no OTR experience, and no one will even consider you.

It's a bad position to be in, and can be completely avoided by taking the prudent path of developing yourself as a driver while gaining that very valuable OTR experience. I completely understand wanting to be home, but many folks have let that desire derail the very career they were pursuing because they misunderstood the ramifications and consequences of not being properly prepared for the rigorous demands of a home daily trucking job.

The learning curve is steep, the consequences of not being prepared are great.

Thanks oldtimer! Very valuable advice there. Guess I hadn't looked at it quite that way. Makes a whole lot of sense. And another thing is that local will possibly require more in town/city driving which from what I've hears can be a pain. So to have to do that daily with not much variation would not help me develop as a driver and would become monotonous. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I would think it has less room for advancement . Loving the responses . Thanks again.!

I am focusing on companies that solely do flatbed

Why is that? There's no reason to do that.

TMC does indeed fit your preferences. You can apply to TMC and a bunch of other companies right here on TruckingTruth:

Apply For Company-Sponsored Training

I thought that maybe companies that were solely focused on flatbed might have better training in some areas such as load securement etc. But maybe it isn't that complicated in the first place. I do see the point of going with a multi division company. Just trying to sort everything out and find the best options.