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Topic 12801 | Page 1
Age 21 to drive interstate with class A. I'm not sure what age 18-20 can do.
Training- company sponsored or private school. What companies want to see is a 160 hour school certificate- insurance companies require it.
To bring your girlfriend along- Better yet, if you both get your class A, team drive- Big bucks- if you drive 6000+ miles/week. Lots of good things to say about team driving. But it's not easy in an area the size of a small walk in closet.
Lots of research for you-
Absolutely recommended- Brett's Book
Study for class A- High road Training is superb-
Training:
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Interstate:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
Company-sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
You can get a cdl but can't drive across state line till you are 21...
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
You can talk to some sand and gravel companies, trash collection i.e. rolloff containers, local pickup and delivery, pepsi, coke, beer distributors, cement companies, road construction companies, farms, some recycling centers have their own trucks, and anything else you can think of that runs daycab trucks.
Now as far as bringing your girlfriend, probably not gonna happen. You need to learn to drive the truck first and all your concentration needs to be on that alone to begin with.
It would not be easy so the first thing I would do if I were you is to talk to some potential employers first and see if it would even be possible that they would give you a shot. Basically getting your own prehire before starting school. The biggest hurdle I think is going to be insurance and your age. The second hurdle is going to be training in the truck. These places do not like to foot the extra cost of having 2 people in the truck so you are really going to have to sell yourself. Maybe you can approach them with an offer/contract of staying put with them for 1-2 years once your training is done. It is going to be a big commitment for you but you need to stick with them through thick and thin. Even if they make you angry. Don't be a pushover but don't make waves either. These guys would be taking a big chance on you as a lot of 18 year olds are not mature enough to drive a bike let alone an 18 wheeler.
Then there is the family aspect, your mom would probably rather you grow up to be a cowboy than a truck driver.
Good luck to you, you have a steep hill to climb.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Another way to get started is with Fedex or UPS. If you get a job working the dock- loading/unloading trucks, they see you're a squared away worker, then transfer to truck driving for them. I would want this in writing with them, that they have this program, before I agree to this.
Just imagine doing this for 25-30 or more years, especially as a Union worker- you'd be set for life.
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So I'm 18 turning 19 soon and Im currently in college not very happy with what Im majoring in. When Im driving in the highway I always see trucks and I look at them and say to my self I would seriously love that job. I don't know much about truck driving by much I know nothing about truck driving but I honestly love driving.
So straight to the point my questions and concerns are: Can I start driving trucks right now being 18 years old or whats the requirements. Can i bring 1 passenger (My girlfriend) How do I get started?