Profile For James H.

Thank you, Millionmiler24. I will look into them.

Hey! Im obviously brand new here and i don't have much forum experience so please forgive any mistakes. Im here for advise and guidence and i want to say thank you in advance to all the professionals that take the time to sit down to read and reply with positve answers. I received my CDL last month, I went through a CDL school and i had a blast the whole 4 weeks of class and passed my exams with no problems! I have been planning this for months so i saved enough cash to pay for school as well as pay the rent and child support while i took time from my current job to attend CDL school so i guess what im trying to say is i take this pretty seriously. During my 4 weeks of school a few recruiters as well as drivers speaking on behalf of their company would drop by the class to talk to the students. these all seemed like fairly good companies but not exactly what im looking for. I don't have a long list of demands i only have a few request and none of these are really deal breakers.

I was wondering if any one could give me the name of any California based companies or companies that have terminals in California? I have read that a lot of companies are pulling out of California and i don't blame them but i want to maybe one day relocate back to California. As of right now im based in Mobile Alabama and i have a AL CDL. Im looking to drive OTR im mostly interested in flat bed so i have had TMC in my sights for months. I have read mostly good about them and i like their equipment but they are based out of Iowa .

Most of the recruiters promised more home time and some promised every weekend off. Im currently a Chief Engineer and i have been going to sea for 18 years now and i usually work a minimum of 4 weeks out. My daughter is getting older now and she has adjusted to me being gone long periods of time. She understands its my job So i would like to work for a company that lets me work as much as possible. I figured the more i drive the quicker i learn.

I didn't realize this until i started getting serious and really started looking into trucking but there seems to be a lot of companies going to automatic transmissions? Im sure the work great but i tested in a 10 speed and i would like to stay on a manual transmission if possible .

another thing that turned me off to some big companies is the team driving thing. I know the money is better but i would much rather drive solo. Maybe after i get confident enough i will be willing to have a student now and then but i don't think im cut out for team driving.

These are just a few of the questions i have. As i said before im a recent CDL school graduate and that makes me less then a rookie and i also understand that as a newbie i will have a fair amount of dues to pay before im able to find that perfect company. Im mostly interested in flat bed because i was thinking it would maybe help me someday get into the heavy haul or oversize cargo trucking? I grew up around heavy equipment and trucks and spent many weekends as a kid riding in the passenger seat of a 359 day cab with my dad but i have never driven professionally . Thanks to anyone who reads this and is able to point me in the right direction.