Have CDL W/ All Endorsements Except Hazmat - Like To Get A Driver Job In Puget Sound In LTL- Have Some Experience

Topic 1614 | Page 1

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Jim P.'s Comment
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Dear Trucking Forum members: I have a current CDL with all endorsements and no hazmat yet. I have no tickets or accidents and the last verifiable time I drove CDL was for a concrete company in their mixer trucks and pup and dump gravel from their mines. ( It was a seasonal concrete position so I took on different work.) For IBEW / I worked off road delivering dozers and offroad vehicles on wind farm sites; in 2005 I drove chip truck hauling hog fuel from PDX to Albany. I don't have any recent experience but would like to get back in the game.

I'm currently working in Sales and Marketing in the Puget Sound Region and would like to stay in this region, possibly in LTL sales or trucking. How could I reach this goal of getting back into the trucking game either in support positions of sales or driving? All jobs require "Recent Like Driving Experience" - How should I go about gaining this experience, look for part time, nights, weekends?

Does anyone have any advice? Feel free to call me if you like: 971-255-3901 Jim P

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.

HAZMAT:

Hazardous Materials

Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations

LTL:

Less Than Truckload

Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.

LTL carriers include:

  • FedEx Freight
  • Con-way
  • YRC Freight
  • UPS
  • Old Dominion
  • Estes
  • Yellow-Roadway
  • ABF Freight
  • R+L Carrier
Old School's Comment
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Jim, I know it sounds crazy, but now days in the trucking industry recent verifiable experience is a must. Even if you had driven for twenty years and then stopped for a year you would be hard pressed to find any company that would consider you experienced.

What you have to do is take a refresher course from an approved truck driving school before you would be able to get hired. And then you will have a certificate showing that you have had so many hours of certified training. That certificate is what opens the door for you. These companies are required by their insurance underwriters to be able to verify recent experience or have a training certificate on file.

I wish you the best in your pursuit of this new career, and hope you'll hang around awhile and let us know how things are developing for you.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

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