Comments By Heavy C

Best thing you can do is reach out to any and all companies you may be interested in and talk about this with them. Each company may be different in terms of who they can hire and what training is acceptable. Either way I don't think you'll be left out in the dark without a job if you attend private school. And as far as your permit and physical your school should have that included in the tuition and your first company will likely have you renew it when you get hired.

Thanks guys. Yeah the owner is still involved heavily. In fact I'll be meeting him during my orientation. The equipment is going to be very nice. All brand new. Tractor, Pups and dolly. My linehaul will be pulling Parts for GM dealerships. No grocery for me anymore.

I did exactly that. Private CDL training and took the weekend course. Which was also during the holiday/winter time. We actually missed a few days during that stretch for holidays and snow storms. So it got extended out. However I still had no problems getting my license. In fact I passed the first time out and still had two weekends to go before I finished the class, which I obviously didn't have to finish. I got what I needed. I had to take weekend courses to maintain my regular Monday thru Friday job. It may not be for everyone but I think it more depends on your level of retention. If you think you can retain the info and manuevers you learned the previous week then go for it. If not just go for the regular course.

So, I am wondering about your work options once you finished private school. Did you get more than one offer while in school? How long did they want you to be with a trainer and what was the pay like?

I got three local interviews as soon as got my license and prehire letters from a few OTR companies because of the school I went through and their affiliations with these companies. Look I get what the others are saying. And they're not wrong on most of it. But their suggested path wasn't going to be my path. I knew either I was going to make it doing it this way or I just wasn't gonna make it. Believe me I almost didn't. But here I am and I never once had to sacrifice time with my family. I won't tell you my path is the best. But it was the best for me

Sir like you I have a few young kids at home and went local straight out of school. I wasn't about to sacrifice my time with them. And getting to sit down to dinner with them every night makes things completely worth it. However there are a Couple things. First yes it's hard work. The backing can be intense. The hours can be long. The labor can get tough. I had my own problems when I started and one that cost me a job with OD. However I pushed through and still drive locally. As far as the experience thing goes. Here's what I've noticed, at least in my area. Companies are so short on drivers that most have cut back their requirements and some are even willing to train now. This is a drivers market and a lot of companies just want guys willing to drive.

I stand by my decision to go local. It's not the recommended way to start a career in trucking and could have easily failed. However I wouldn't have changed my mind if I had a second chance. In the end you need to do what you feel is best for not only your career but your family as well. Best of luck sir. if

I did exactly that. Private CDL training and took the weekend course. Which was also during the holiday/winter time. We actually missed a few days during that stretch for holidays and snow storms. So it got extended out. However I still had no problems getting my license. In fact I passed the first time out and still had two weekends to go before I finished the class, which I obviously didn't have to finish. I got what I needed. I had to take weekend courses to maintain my regular Monday thru Friday job. It may not be for everyone but I think it more depends on your level of retention. If you think you can retain the info and manuevers you learned the previous week then go for it. If not just go for the regular course.

Well gang I'm moving on. I accepted a job with Black Horse Carriers to run doubles from Portland to Hartford. Finally gonna be getting that schedule I've been wanting. Monday through Friday no holidays. Running line haul is about as easy as it gets and for the money you almost can't beat it. Time to get away from the grocery biz. Do we got ant Black Horse drivers here?

I'm sure as most of you know, this week is truck driver appreciation week. Well a heads up for those coming up into Maine if any of you are. The State police are holding a free lunch for drivers at the northbound scale house on I95 in York, ME. Unfortunately it's only from 11:00am to 14:00, so it's a fairly small window.

If anyone else knows of any spots to get some stuff. Coffee, breakfast, shower, whatever. Go ahead and post it in here. Let's get all the perks we can.

While your eating get a free level 1 inspection as well, lol

You would think,but actually they do something like this all the time. Commercial vehicle enforcement around here are pretty cool.

I'm sure as most of you know, this week is truck driver appreciation week. Well a heads up for those coming up into Maine if any of you are. The State police are holding a free lunch for drivers at the northbound scale house on I95 in York, ME. Unfortunately it's only from 11:00am to 14:00, so it's a fairly small window.

If anyone else knows of any spots to get some stuff. Coffee, breakfast, shower, whatever. Go ahead and post it in here. Let's get all the perks we can.

This was actually my first thought. Coming from a local driver P&D standpoint, a lot of my backing came from off the street. It's hard to tell how wide the street is or if there's normally parking on the side. But that's how I would attack it.

Oops was it not our turn yet

Well my second thought is back in off of Chambers St. Why? My luck lots marked 1 and 2 would be full when if I pulled in and would have to back out onto Chambers St anyway. I know with my 40ft camper I would rather back off a street than try to back onto a street. A long distance to back but looks to be clearest path.

Yes I did exactly that. Paid 6k and made promises to myself and my wife that I wouldn't do OTR. It's not the easiest thing to do, and depending on your area jobs be limited for local work. There's plenty of companies that do primarily local stuff though. LTL companies like OD, XPO, YRC. There's food and beverage like Sysco, Pepsi, National distributors. You just need to prepare yourself though. Local driving presents challenges that a lot of OTR guys don't get a lot of, and not having any experience makes things that much harder. It can certainly be done but it's not easy.