Comments By Stickers

and the last was so horrible I have to go for blood tests every 3 mos.

Care to elaborate on that??????

And as far as trainers go I am really hoping I get someone I simply "click" with so I can get the full extent of their knowledge. I know its a right of passage and everyone has to do it so I am not going to be the guy on here complaining about my trainer as it only lasts a few weeks. I also made it through basic when I was 17 so I figure couldn't be much worse than that.....As long as they clean and don't smell.

Allison, I admire your grit! To be honest with you it is just plain tough to get a driving job when you are 18 years old - of course, I'm not telling you anything you haven't already figured out.

The temp agency would be a good place to start, but you also need to be scouring Craig's list. The above suggestion about agricultural/farm jobs is also a good one. Probably most of what you can get will be temporary jobs, I wish you the best in your search.

One thing you want to keep in mind is that no matter how many years you drive these local or temporary jobs, later on if you decide to go Over the Road no one is going to consider that you have any experience! It sounds crazy, but that is the way it is right now. You will be starting all over with training if you decide to transition into an Over the Road job when you are of age.

I don't mean to thread jack Allison but I am curious as to why coming from local to OTR is seen as "no experience"? I know local outfits look at miles driven rather than how long when taking in former OTR folks. Does that not work the other way around?

Stickers...

I worked at the USPS for 18 years. It was like a prison... the people were great the bosses sucked. Took me 7 years to get xmas day off... still get forced thanksgiving and all other holidays.. they would use our vacation time if they thought we were in the bathroom too long. It was micro managing torture by idiots whindidbt know my job let alone their own.

And this is why I want to go OTR so bad. I have a lot of skills that could get me some good paying jobs but none of them ever gave me work environment I excel in and that is to be given a task and left alone to do it.

And Semi trucks are just straight bada**.

Stickers...

I worked at the USPS for 18 years. It was like a prison... the people were great the bosses sucked. Took me 7 years to get xmas day off... still get forced thanksgiving and all other holidays.. they would use our vacation time if they thought we were in the bathroom too long. It was micro managing torture by idiots whindidbt know my job let alone their own.

Prime is AWESOME I have freedom.... I get home when I want... my mom needed heart surgery and I flew home no questions asked. They have decent training and pay rookies the most in the industry. People keep telling me to keep my options open ... my year will be up in Oct.... to look around. But if I'm happy where I am.. why would I leave? They gave me the larger truck.. I ha e my cat.. my FM is the best of the 4 I had since i started training.

To each his own.... until prime makes life unbearable there is no point for me to go elsewhere. Suriving the post office is like Suriving the Russian gulag... after that.. nothing is bad hahaha

Rainy,

I absolutely understand where you are coming from and I really appreciate you giving me something positive to chew on regarding prime. As you probably already know for every 10 negative reviews about one company there is only 1 good one.

Do you know off of the top of your head what their hiring requirements are considering my record and if they can work with it? Like I have stated before I have a few other irons in the fire as we speak but nothing will be in stone until at least the end of the month when I can start dropping applications for the places I have talked to already.

I will say one thing I have noticed about Prime, they have just about every type of division you can imagine. Reminds me of Schneider back in the 90's (Mom drove for them for about 11 years) and their terminal would have van, reefer, flatbed, tanker, oversized, glass, etc. I may be wromg but I would think a company like that would have a lot of diversity when it comes to a driver wanting a run certain accounts, freight, etc.

I don't mass apply to find a job. I will always call first and ask what their requirements are, pay, home time, etc.

We've got all of that covered for you with the major companies:

Trucking Company Reviews

That's what brought me to this site to begin with!

Stickers digs deeper:

Looks like you drive a day cab for Swift's Wal-Mart account? Do you have to do a lot of live unloads at the stores or drop and hook? If you don't mind me asking what is your home time per night like driving a day cab and do you get detention pay?

I used to run sleeper exclusively, 6 days per week, 1 day-off, averaging 12-13 hour days. Currently I run a LightWeight (which replaced most of the true day cabs) which is a hybrid of sorts, small sleeper, deeply setback axle, shorter hood, etc. I actually love it because it affords better maneuverability, higher payload and if need be (which happens a couple of days per week) I sleep in it. Since I now live about an hour away form the DC, I slip-seat in and out of 6-8 different tractors. I use my sleeping bag when I camp in it. I can be home every night if they run me south (which is 40% of the time), I park the truck in a local Walmart overnight and Uber it home to sleep in my own bed. I will also stay with family living close to the DC to reduce the commute time.

I have only gotten detention pay once in 3+ years due to a power failure at a store. Store deliveries are always live for reefer, for dry it depends if the last stop is at a store designated as drop and hook (with empties). Freight is no-touch, all palletized. I will on occasion lend a hand to restack a really bad "leaner" or a spilled pallet, it helps move quicker plus you gain respect from the dock personnel. Backhauls are primarily drop 'n hook.

I wrote a fairly extensive description in a previous thread, use this link to review, scroll down to near the bottom and you'll see two large paragraphs:

Walmart Dedicated

Good info!

I'm going to (hopefully) be working with a staffing agency until September or October when I get my CDL. Right now I'm going to be getting a non-CDL job but the agency also has trucking jobs. I'm going to interview with them in the next week or so and I'll be asking how that works specifically with this agency, but does anyone know in general how a regular run of the mill temp agency goes about CDL jobs? Would they be construction and such, or??? And how would they work with insurance and all that fun legal stuff? Would it be worth it for me to stay with that agency as a new CDL holder, or would it be better to stick with a single local company to start out with (I will be 18 therefore intrastate only, and I have given it 2 years of thought, and I am most definitely getting it)? I realize there are a lot of things that can only be answered by the agency I'm working with, but any insight would be much appreciated

I have been a welder for about 9 years and I have worked with MANY tamp agencies in the past decade on and off. I am also about to obtain my CDL with the intent if going over the road however.

Considering your age and what background you may or may not have I think you should consider some things before you decide to PAY to get your CDL if that is how you are going to get one weather it be through a truck driving school using student loans or paying out of pocket.

The biggest thing is even if you are working for a temp agency you must still meet the insurance requirements of the employer you will be working for as a temp. Most places have a minimum age of 21 yrs old to operate their equipment due to insurance guidelines. Also, Only being able to operate within your home state due to your age may or may not make it a little harder to get a contract with a place that does primarily trucking.

NOW...on the flipside to all of that. I have worked for a few small construction companies and repair shops as a maintenance tech and I can tell you that they would have LOVED IT if I had my CDL then. It would have allowed them to let me use their flatbed tractor trailers to go retrieve broken equipment in the field or move and test drive customer trucks when I was working in a repair shop. My driving record has had some bad history on it a few years back so it never made sense for me to have to pay for CDL when I would only use it on rare occasions but for someone a lot younger getting a CDL now can be a very handy accolade to have on your resume especially if you plan on getting into the construction industry or any other industry that uses heavy trucks regularly.

I know just about every temp agency in my area has a CDL class A or Class B position open for driving delivery trucks or it is a requirement of the employer for some other type of position (construction equipment operator is a good example of that). Temp agencies are a good place to gain experience in a craft that a young person like yourself is otherwise inexperienced. I got my first welding gig with temp agency back when I was 18 because no shop would take me.

I would say if you want to drive I would try to avoid the temp agencies all together if possible. I am sorry for rant but I really do hate them. They are merely an excuse for potential employers to "test drive" you without having to commit to paying you a livable wage and decent benefits. And all to often when a temp agency advertises a job that is "temp to hire" it is actually " we need extra manpower for 90 days" and they can end your contract and hire up the next batch of people they don't need to commit to but still turn out product for the busy season.

A lot of guys a I deployed with got their CDL through the Army as they were Army truck drivers and the DOT lets them use their Military experience to test out. Some of them were able to get jobs driving concrete mixers and roll off dumpster trucks back home since they were not 21 yet. Perhaps you could give places like that a look if you plan getting your CDL and finding a driving job at 18?

P.S. We are coming up to harvest season in a few months. I always see ads on Craigslist for farmers looking for CDL holders who want to drive their trucks from the field to the co-op in fall. Might be an opportunity for someone under 21 there to get some resume worthy experience.

I could definitely understand a company policy regarding inverters that would need to be wired to the battery. I guess I have only ever seen the ones that plug into the 12V cigarette lighter sockets and allow you to plug in your 120v stuff. I am sure they have some kind of max rated capacity you can run your truck.

My truck has a factory installed fridge and an 1800w inverter, which allows me to run a microwave. I do most of our cooking with the microwave, crockpot, and electric kettle. For companies that don't allow inverters, you can use a 12v cooler, lunch box cooker and crockpot. Some drivers also use small propane powered hotplates (like you use when camping).

I too am also curious about the subject. I had no idea there were companies that did not allow inverters. Is it because they are seen as a fire hazard? How well does a 12v cooler work? Do they require ice or anything?

I had no accidents.. no tickets... and no arrests.. and had been a federal e.0loyee for 18 years when I went to prime in September 2015. In Jan 2008 my schizophrenic sister told police I chased her with 3 guns. I was at work as a federal employee at the time. The police raided my house while I was at work and I went to the police station where they gave me a paper to appear in court. My sister attacked me in court and the charges against me were supposed to be expunged. At no time was i read my rights .. photo or handcuffed. I was never told I was under arrest. I thought it was a domestic charge.. we had restraining orders cause she kept trying to hurt me. My sister committed suicide on 1/1/11.

When I went to prime.. they found this charge which was dismissed. I was told it was a complaint.... not a criminal charge. The guy in the office made it sound like I robbed a bank or something. Maybe because they thought I lied about it... but even if I was arrested... they only asked about convictions..not arrests.... so they should not have acted like that.

Sooo... if they acted like that over a dismissed/expunged record that was not even an arrest from 7 years prior.. I would say no.. you have no shot with prime. Ask them of course.. but don't get your hopes up.

I am sorry to hear that, definitely a rough time. If you don't mind me asking what made you want to leave your Fed job? And as far as Prime is concerned nothing about them has really stood out to me but depending on what happens with the other places I might talk to them. I can't stress it enough though. I don't mass apply to find a job. I will always call first and ask what their requirements are, pay, home time, etc. The 20 minutes it takes me to fill out an app for one place that is unlikely to hire me is 20 minutes I could be filling out an app for a place that is interested.

Stickers wrote:

I just don't see myself going from one Wal-Mart DC to one Wal-Mart store everyday. No offense if that's what you do and you are reading this. That freight has to get to there somehow!

Not offended. Considering the source, you really know nothing about it.

For starters if you want to interact with people, running Walmart is actually a great account for that. Averaging 4 store deliveries each day per load, typically has a driver talking/working with 2-3 people at each store. Plus all the other drivers at the DC each day or every other day. It's nothing like true OTR. I have made numerous friendships in the 3+ years I have been Walmart Dedicated. A lot of retired military on the account.

The driver is actively involved with each store delivery, thus the interaction with store personnel. There is some exercise especially if it's a consolidated perishable load, but definitely not like flatbed.

It probably isn't for you but my point is until you peel back the "onion", running vans, reefer or dry may look all the same on the surface. It's not.

Looks like you drive a day cab for Swift's Wal-Mart account? Do you have to do a lot of live unloads at the stores or drop and hook? If you don't minf me asking what is your home time per night like driving a day cab and do you get detention pay?

While i am a convicted felon and it was hard for me to get a company to even look at me. My felonies where 9 and 7 years old. A lot of them wanted me to be out of prison for a year. May Trucking gave me a chance when no one else would. Just keep grinding someone will take a chance on you....

That's the big plan and I appreciate the motivation. I figure regardless of my record I have two very big variables working for me 1. The turnover rate for the industry is absurd (100% -110% last I checked) 2. I am Vet and I am used to being away from home.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you feel that way? I've hauled just about every type of freight imaginable over the years and all of them have their advantages and disadvantages but none of them were so bad that I would avoid them and none were so good that I would do that exclusively.

Well first of all I do not want to offend anyone, I will also agree that one type of freight is not better than the other. But I have a few reasons why I am stuck on going flatbed.

- From what I have seen, the pay per mile is usually higher for a new driver for flatbed rather than van. (40 -43 CPM as compared to 25-32 CPM).

- Flatbed allows me and forces me to stay in shape.

-I have Military connected mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, being physically active helps A TON with combating this. I see getting out to check straps and chains as a positive thing. (I can proudly say I am no longer on V.A. prescribed medication for a year now).

- If I start my career in flatbed I can always go to van. It doesn't seem to work the other way without some kind of retraining.

-When and if I decide to come off OTR (and I'm sure I will) I can use my experience driving a flatbed to get a local job at one of the many construction companies or building supply companies hauling equipment locally.

-Growing up with one of my parents driving van for over 20 years and also working as a mechanic for a flatbed company I have observed that the flatbed guys/gals get more opportunities to deliver to small mom n' pop places, construction sites, etc. Rather than just dock door to dock door. I like the idea of being more personable with the people I am delivering for. And some of the places the flatbeds go into are unique and interesting, seems like an adventure and a challenge.

- I eventually want to work my way up into specialized/ heavy haul.

I haven't given tanker much thought but it is not totally out of the realm of possibilities. I live in central Iowa and you just don't really see a lot major tanker outfits around here outside of day cab fuel trucks. If I find an opportunity I would be interested but I have no intention of paying for my Hazmat or tanker endorsement if I don't need it.

I just don't see myself going from one Wal-Mart DC to one Wal-Mart store everyday. No offense if that's what you do and you are reading this. That freight has to get to there somehow!

The few that I have met said requirements told me to fill out an app AFTER I have started school

Sorry, forgot to respond to this. There are a lot of people who are considering trucking but aren't really sure if they want to get into it so you'll find some companies that try not to waste their time with people who are just curious. There are also a lot of people that would like to go to truck driving school but can't afford it and don't realize it early in the discovery process.

If they won't give you a written pre-hire letter before attending school then just try to get a verbal confirmation about whether or not you would qualify to work there with your background. Explain to them that you need to make sure you can find a job before you commit to the schooling. Also keep in mind that pre-hires, whether verbal or written, are not guarantees of employment. They can change their mind at anytime. That's why we tell people to try to get two or three if you can. That way if one or two fall through you'll still have opportunities available. Don't bank on just one pre-hire if you can help it.

That's completely understandable. Even the Community College I will be attending for my training does not actually enroll you until you show up for your first day of class for the same reason. This is why it has been no surprise that the handful of recruiters I have talked to did not take a whole lot of interest in me yet.

When and if I get a pre-hire I am sure you guys will be the first to know!