Just Got My CDL
Topic 1956 | Page 1
Hey Troy. I doubt anyone hear will have any inside information on those particular companies. But there's a massive difference between hauling a flatbed and hauling auto parts, assuming the auto parts job is a dry van. They both get you home on weekends so that's a toss up. So I'd say the decision comes down to which type of freight you'd like to pull.
Your best opportunities for getting home on weekends will indeed be dry van and flatbed companies. We have an excellent listing of Truck Driving Jobs, including an option to Apply For Truck Driving Jobs With One Application. So check that out for some ideas and apply to all the companies you'd like!
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Congrats on getting your CDL 
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.
Congrats Troy!!!!!Way to go. It sounds like you got 2 very good prospects there. Like Brett says, which type freight would you prefer. The flatbedders here all love their jobs, but for me I don't see the intisement. Just my personal choice. Another thing to consider with the states you listed the winters get cold and miserable. Do you want to be dealing with load securement in those conditions. I think it's great you have such a hard decision to make!!! The flip side is benefit packages. A company paying 100% of your health package is almost unheard of these days. That can be a lot of dollars these days...Good luck in deciding....Just be sure to let us know once you do decide. You'll be another great resource.....
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Just a little update. I ended up choosing Modular Transportation. The Benefits package was to hard to pass up. It is the flatbed job so that will be interesting.
I went there yesterday and took my road test. That went better then I expected. All I was use to were the older trucks that the CDL school had. For my road test I drove a 2012 Freight-liner. The drive went great. He had me do a pretrip as well and also hook up a trailer. They had me pick up a tarp and strap it to the flatbed to. I kinda had no clue how to do the strapping but they knew that and gave me the run down on the do's and dont's of strapping stuff down. I also had to unhook the trailer when we were done. He said I did great and sent me on my way to get a drug test and officially hired me.
I start on December 4th which is a Wednesday. Wednesday and Thursday are orientation days filling out paperwork and all that good stuff. Friday they send me to Marshall, Michigan for skid training. They told me its wild but Ill learn valuable information there and they actually have you in a truck that jackknifes and teach you how to recover from it.
Anyway thats about it for now. Ill definitely keep you guys updated. I was nervous at first but now Im getting excited to get my new career going.
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.
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.
So how do you like Modular Transportation? I just started CDL school today and a recruiter from Falcon stopped by. Never heard of them before. Sounds like a good company... How are things going for you now?
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.
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Just finished a 3 week training course at West Michigan CDL. Now the fun part of trying to decide where i want to go work. I currently have a couple offers out there and want an opinion on the companies. Im 34 years old with a wife and 2 daughters 6 and 7 years old so home time is important to me.
First I have an offer from Modular Transportation. Its a flatbed job hauling steel ( mainly coils ) from the Grand Rapids Michigan area to Wisconsin, Northern Indiana, Northern Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Its a Mon-Fri job and home weekends. They also pay 100% Health, dental and vision
Second is Falcon Transport. It would be a dedicated run from Grand Rapids to Bowling Green KY. Pretty much running back and forth all week and weekends off. Hauling auto parts for GM, Ford and Toyota.
I guess my quandary is has anyone here heard anything about these companies that would make me not wanna work there or something that puts one above the other.
I like the fact of knowing where Im going and what Im hauling with Falcon. I also like the fact of that because Im just starting out and will take a little stress of not knowing where Im going and what im hauling out of the picture and can just focus on driving.
Also if anyone knows of any other companies that hire right out of school on a dedicated run and also a place where Im not out long.
Thanks for your time
Troy
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Dedicated Run:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated