Trying To Break Into OTR With No Experience?
Topic 1578 | Page 3
Wow. The amount of response here is great. Thanks everyone. I have been away from here a couple days so I am just now seeing this. I went ahead and took a plunge. I payed out of pocket from some money I had put back a while ago. May not have been the best move, but it's done now. I start Nov 18th. I will be talking to companies between now and when I finish about employment.
Thats how you do it, Mike....Its just a leap of faith...so be sure and use us as your emergency parachute....We are here to do all we can for you.... Now go finish up your High Road Training Program...it will make your SHINE in school..and the better the student, the sooner they get in a truck...sometimes without the rest of the class !!!!
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.
Brett, Starcar and rest of your moderators (and ole timers)....I just want to express my gratitude for this site. I only came across this site by accident as I was googlin'. I got irritated as I was on another Trucking Forum and reading some of the responses on there. I found most of them just ****ing me off because it just seemed like some of the ole timers on there were just being butt-holes.
Keep up the great professionalism and help.
I got irritated as I was on another Trucking Forum and reading some of the responses on there. I found most of them just ****ing me off because it just seemed like some of the ole timers on there were just being butt-holes.
Yeah, we pride ourselves on being everything TheTruckersReport is not. 
Hey Hoosier...aka Woody (I'm from the great state of Indiana....license plate #86....also), thanks will do. Last time I dealt with a recruiter I kinda got screwed by the pooch (back in '90-Navy) so this time I am being careful of what they say.
Scott
If you are an IN resident, they offer Work One, I'm in school with Celadon and they paid 4000 dollars of my 7200 dollar commitment. So instead of a year of team driving I only have to do six month... well 53,000 miles. All you have to do is pass a pee test and met with them a few times to talk about goals.
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.
If you are an IN resident, they offer Work One, I'm in school with Celadon and they paid 4000 dollars of my 7200 dollar commitment. So instead of a year of team driving I only have to do six month... well 53,000 miles. All you have to do is pass a pee test and met with them a few times to talk about goals.
I went to meeting at work one to get things started a while back. Then I found out my wife makes too much money for me to qualify for any assistance. We can't really cover our bills but it was still over the amount to qualify.
If I could have been under the displaced worker I would have qualified. But even though my old workplace essentially eliminated my position they said it was still a no go.
Woody
This is really good info. I have had my CDL for going on 20 years, but have not driven over the road in the past 15 years. I was looking at going back to driving in the next couple of years. I currently work down at the Port of Oakland. I cannot count the times that I have had to pull a driver out of his rig after watching him try to back into a parking stall 10 times and miss every time. I then hop in and hit the hole on the first shot. How in the hell do these intermodal guys get their CDL, if they can't back up in a straight line?
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.
Over The Road:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Intermodal:
Transporting freight using two or more transportation modes. An example would be freight that is moved by truck from the shipper's dock to the rail yard, then placed on a train to the next rail yard, and finally returned to a truck for delivery to the receiving customer.
In trucking when you hear someone refer to an intermodal job they're normally talking about hauling shipping containers to and from the shipyards and railyards.
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
This topic has the following tags:
Choosing A Trucking Company Company Sponsored CDL Training GI Bill Military Personnel In Trucking Truck Driver Training WIA
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
We have tons of information on Trucking Companies That Hire Inexperienced Drivers and Company-Sponsored Training Programs. Those are the sections Scott is referring to.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.