Comments By Sno-boy

Thanks Big Scott

You can show and send the logs. I just left it pulled up on my phone.

Is this accepted by the various state DOT officers ?? So you pull it up on your phone and send or show it to them ?? Thanks.

When I got my truck it did not have People Net (Our on board computer) in it. I had to be on paper. I couldn't do it. I found an app called Keep Trucking. Kept my logs on my phone, like elogs and was able to email them to our logs department. Just an idea.

Just saw this as it got bumped to the top of the page. What is to say ? The linked NBC article covers the story as it was released by authorities. If I had originally saw this subject I would not have commented anyway as it is not relevant to my CDL career. If I want to comment on hundreds of other issues from A to Z, I will find an appropriate forum relevant to that particular issue.

8 Suspected Migrants Found Dead In Trailer

Thank you, as a "newbie" shall we just say "I have issues" and need to start over at times. 😀

No you are just required to have the current log plus the previous seven days. At Swift we have loose log sheets in a binder. We only use them if our Qualcomm goes down.

Realizing ELD is drawing nearer daily, I am driving "on call" so I paper log. Is there any rule your paper log needs to be stapled together? Right now mine is 8 previous days loose leaf on a clipboard (out of a previously log that had been stapled.) If the staple marks are an issue, what if they had no staple marks (2 small holes top middle and bottom of pages?) I am thinking such as copier made log sheets. Thanks for input.

Realizing ELD is drawing nearer daily, I am driving "on call" so I paper log. Is there any rule your paper log needs to be stapled together? Right now mine is 8 previous days loose leaf on a clipboard (out of a previously log that had been stapled.) If the staple marks are an issue, what if they had no staple marks (2 small holes top middle and bottom of pages?) I am thinking such as copier made log sheets. Thanks for input.

I saw the same thing in an initial class of 10. By the end of week 2, we lost 3 and were down to 7 at the end of the 6 week course. I think only 6 of us passed and were awarded our certification and CDL and that person was a phone carrier/user addict. I turned my cell off and left it in my car to even eliminate a possible misconception of looking or using it. Make sure your personal hygiene is projecting a person that is not a slob or uncaring. Dress respectable, you don't need to over dress but don't arrive for class looking like you're on a beach vacation. Do not doze off, pay attention so you don't need a second prompting to reply to an instructors question.

Awesome. We're all more than happy to help. The biggest thing on your written tests is to study. So many apparently don't. I know in my CDL class there were only about 4 who had no problems passing their written tests and 8 who sat in class looking bored and playing on their cell phones. One guy got sent home to change shoes when he showed up wearing sandals, and another for wearing flip flops.

Wasn't paying attention to the fact it was for an article. I just thought it was a new thread. I try and talk to the younger crowd 20 to 40 that if you're not making a good living, take look at being a CDL professional. Schooling initially is short and tuition (in relationship to other post high school training) is extremely reasonable. It is a fun and rewarding profession if you apply yourself to being prompt, courteous and professional. The living can be quite nice if you decide to earn your CDL. Is it for everybody?? absolutely not, but show me a trade/profession that is. Biggest thing I tell the young crowd "if you're into even tiniest amounts of the so called no harm to anybody "recreational drugs" forget CDL as a career. You will get caught and you will be done in this industry if not for your lifetime, for many years. Wait until you out grow that part of your life or quit cold turkey and I mean QUIT. Sadly, I feel at that point I lose many listeners interest.

Ok the article is up!

Drivers Share Their Biggest Misconceptions And Surprises About A Career In Trucking

Sno-boy you missed the deadline by a short time but I may go back and add that in.

andhe78, we're all in it to make money, but you also have to be the type that's cut out for the job, otherwise the money won't be worth it. The failure rate or dropout rate for new drivers coming into this industry is super high. It's stressful, it's life-consuming to a large degree, and it takes an incredible amount of ambition and nerve. If you don't have the personality and life goals that fit with a job that has such high demands you're going to find the money isn't worth it. It pays decent, but it takes time to work your way up by learning your trade and developing a great reputation and relationship with the office personnel. Not many people are willing to meet the demands of this job and the lifestyle that comes with it.

Best advice ?? "When you leave here ( school) you will have the BARE minimum knowledge that the state says you need to be granted a CDL" I have been at this about 2 months driving on an on-call basis locally 3 to 500 mile daily trips. Now have better than 10,000 miles and probably over 100 D&H and I learn and hit situations every trip I have no clue as to the issue. Luckily I have 3 really good friends hauling same product with same trailers and tractors that I can call and ask advice. Without their input (virtually every trip) I would be pretty well in the crapper. My one friend says "I've been at this 18 years and almost every round I discover or learn something new" Stop and think about that statement "rookies". As a rookie you need to retain mentally or write down tips... info... rules... regulations....general knowledge etc. This deal (driving) is not easy mentally and physically it can be demanding too. That said, I am enjoying myself and I like the challenge plus learning a new trade at an older age 60+ Way plus btw.

Awesome stuff everyone! I'm going to start putting the article together now. If there are anymore last minute thoughts throw em on here. The article goes up in a few hours.

In my schooling I found out it worked way better for me to literally stop and think what my next move was going to be. Our teacher allowed us to take as long as we wanted to do a maneuver. I was trying to emulate a student or two that could alley dock or offset without stopping. After I stopped trying to do the skills without stopping, I put it in the box cones almost every time. Even today I may stop and think "okay, now I need to do ______" I still may even do a pull up (not inside the box) because it doesn't matter as no one is scoring or watching me.

Been at Prime for 2 weeks now and my trainer feels my pre trip and driving is good enough to test. We spent 5 hours backing yesterday (straight back and offset are no poblem). Alley dock and parallel park have me so frustrated though. I can't get it. No matter what I do. Mostly, I can't seem to 'see the solution' to fixing it when I mess up.

This is quite literally the hardest thing I'be done in my entire working life. I don't know if I'm looking for advice or what. I guess I'm just discouraged and not sure what I can do to make things less frustrating. 🙁

I do return to my home base most all nights (other than once I stayed out) so this clears up the possibilities of other positions offered most likely won't recognize my experience. Worst they can do if I apply is tell me "no" eh ?? Thanks to you (and others) for the info, I was not sure what DAC's were all about and such.

Local is local. It sounds like you're doing a part time OTR/regional. Now if you were say running around doing loads nearby all day, starting and ending in the same place, that would be local.

For instance I'm an OTR driver. I go anywhere my company sends me whether that's east, west, Midwest, southeast, etc. The other day I had an appointment to get my truck serviced so the day before, they had me running as a local driver. I drove about 98 miles running a load of scrap into the local paper mill dropping that, and then hooking to a load of tall paper rolls and dropping that in one of our in town drop yards... Grab another load of scrap, take to mill, grab rolls, take to our yard, rinse and repeat. I did about 10 rounds during my shift.

The day my truck was at freightliner, I took a spinner truck and dropped a load at our South St. Paul terminal and grabbed one needing to come back to Cedar Rapids. About 550 miles round trip. That's what my company calls hub or flex. Each day I began and ended my shift at our cedar rapids terminal. Day 3 I went to our Chicago terminal and back. Those were technically all "local runs".

If you are staying out overnight that would be OTR/regional... Just working part time. I would think (due to reduced miles of part time) that as far as months or years of experience, they'd credit you with half the time.. Say instead of 6 months experience, they'd say you have 3 months, but I'm really not sure. Different companies may look at it different ways.

I hope that helps a little in trying to make heads or tails out of it.