I Live On The East Coast, Looking To Get Into Trucking.
Topic 15839 | Page 1
Location is important yes depending on who you want to work for as well as who will hire you. There are tons of different types of jobs available. Of course it depends on your situation. If you don't have a cdl , you will need training. If you can afford to pay for schooling search for cdl schools in your area. If you can't however, look into company sponsored training right here on this site. I'm sure someone will post a link.
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.
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.
I'm from South Jersey and I'm looking to obtain my CDL Class A license and start trucking. A company sponsored school seems like the best option for me. Are there any companies near where I live geographically? Does it matter where I live when choosing a company? All responses appreciated.
Hi. I live in South jersey too ;)
Off 295 exit 18... west deptford. I drive for Prime Inc and we have a terminal in Pittston Pa near Wilkes barre. But it doesn't matter. I rarely go there.
When I come home they get me loads to drop in PA or hammonton, vineland, carney point. I pick up put of gloucester city to get back on the road.
With Prime it doesn't matter where you live and once you get there, you are getting your permit and driving the country . I drove 10k miles in 3 weeks with my permit then got my license and went with a team style training for another couple months for 30k miles. Then went solo as a company driver. I love the company and my dispatcher and they get me home on time.
I have a thread called "my Prime PSD experience" it's long but if you read thru it it can help you decide if my company is right for u.
There's a lot of great companies that produce awesome drivers on this forum. Find the one that is best for you... and ask anything ;)
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
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.
Lee Boy, welcome to the forum!
Let me clarify some of what CT. stated, because proximity to a terminal or a company's headquarters is not important at all. I live in Texas, but my first trucking job was with a company whose headquarters were in Nashville, TN. Now I am working for a company whose headquarters are in Phoenix, AZ. My friend, Daniel B. lives in Sacramento, CA, yet he worked for three productive years at Prime, who is headquartered in Springfield, MO. The only thing about your location's importance is that it is in an area where the company you get a job with has freight going. I never have any trouble getting home when I need to because the companies that I have worked for have my state listed in their hiring area. That is what you want to look for on the various company web sites - most of them will show a map with their "hiring area" highlighted in a differentiating color. That is an indication that they have freight moving in those states and, they will be good states for you to live in while working for that company.
There are not any Paid CDL Training Programs in Jersey that I am aware of, but it is not important at all. If one of them accepts you they will provide you with a bus ticket or some other form of transportation to their facility and then usually will provide your lodging and meals while you are at their program. By clicking on that link you can peruse several of the training programs available to you.
We have some great information packed into this web site that will help you understand how to get started in this career. Here's some things you definitely want to take a look at as you are preparing to make this transition. That third one on the list is our free training program to help you prepare not only for your permit exams, but also for success on the road.
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road Training Program
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I really meant to expand my explanation of the idea of location not being important.
There are some types of trucking jobs where your proximity to a terminal are important. Line haul drivers need to live close to a terminal, as do Pick up and Delivery drivers. Any type of a local truck driving job requires living close to the terminal.
These are jobs that I don't recommend to rookie drivers, and often are not even available to beginners. Occasionally a driver can find himself in a location where new drivers are hired into these positions, but it is rare - location plays a big part in that role, and as with most things in business, the demand will provide opportunities for folks looking for that type of work.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Line Haul:
Linehaul drivers will normally run loads from terminal to terminal for LTL (Less than Truckload) companies.
LTL (Less Than Truckload) carriers will have Linehaul drivers and P&D drivers. The P&D drivers will deliver loads locally from the terminal and pick up loads returning them to the terminal. Linehaul drivers will then run truckloads from terminal to terminal.
Well I am impressed. You all just taught me loads of valuable info that I wasn't finding any where else. Thanks so much!
Ok nice, Prime is the one comapny I am seriously considering. I live over in Collingswood and am familiar with the Gloucester terminals. You really nailed this for me. I'm going to read your thread about Prime right now.
Hi. I live in South jersey too ;)
Off 295 exit 18... west deptford. I drive for prime and we have a terminal in Pittston Pa near Wilkes barre. But it doesn't matter. I rarely go there.
When I come home they get me loads to drop in PA or hammonton, vineland, carney point. I pick up put of gloucester city to get back on the road.
With Prime it doesn't matter where you live and once you get there, you are getting your permit and driving the country . I drove 10k miles in 3 weeks with my permit then got my license and went with a team style training for another couple months for 30k miles. Then went solo as a company driver. I love the company and my dispatcher and they get me home on time.
I have a thread called "my Prime PSD experience" it's long but if you read thru it it can help you decide if my company is right for u.
There's a lot of great companies that produce awesome drivers on this forum. Find the one that is best for you... and ask anything ;)
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dispatcher:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
They have me bobtail home and I park at the TA on 295 in paulsboro. There are other places that will let u park overnight if you ask... deptford mall will let 24 hours but no longer.
Sometimes I can stop.home between runs if in the area.
My thing with Prime is that they fix issues and problems. No company is perfect and every company has bad or nasty drivers or trainers. But if u tell prime what is going on they fix it. I get paid at the higher end of the rookie scale and brought my cat ;)
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
Hey Lee Boy, i'm in S. NJ and have been looking at schools here too. Depends if you're willing to lay out cash up front and not be indebted to a specific company for about a year. This site recommends staying with your first company for at least a year so you're not seen as a job hopper, so having to stay with them to pay off your training and CDL shouldn't be an issue.
But if you want to go shopping for more options with your CDL, consider a private school. We don't have that many options in S. NJ though. I looked at Solomon Smith, who have quite a few schools in the area, but other members here (and elsewhere on the internet) have left poor reviews about being stuck at those schools for months because they don't have enough instructors and trucks for all their students, and they end-up spending hardly any time practicing behind the wheel. So i've been considering Bradway in Vineland. It's more expensive (runs about $4000) but from what i've read their owner is more intensive about turning-out better students, and their classes are much smaller so you get the proper time behind a wheel.
Although, with Rainy's (and many others') very good reviews about Prime, i've been wondering myself about whether I should try out there instead! Tough choices.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Btw when I said location was important I meant the hiring areas for some of these companies. Also, as was said earlier, some companies require you to live within a radius of their terminal. Maverick has a terminal near my house and I've only been there once to pick up my truck.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
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I'm from South Jersey and I'm looking to obtain my CDL Class A license and start trucking. A company sponsored school seems like the best option for me. Are there any companies near where I live geographically? Does it matter where I live when choosing a company? All responses appreciated.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.