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Dustin S.'s Comment
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Hey everyone my name is Dustin and I currently reside here in GA.

After countless research on trucking and different career paths generally the best info I found was on this forum even though I wasn't actually registered.

I'm planning on making a career out of construction and specialize in the road construction field. I want to be very well rounded so I always have good opportunity's to learn and further my career.

Getting to the main point I want to get a class A CDL to lead me to possibly becoming a crane/heavy equipment operator. I just need help finding a school that works around a full time job. I found one school called RoadMasters, does anyone knoq if they're a good school?

One more thing, I have mild Chrons disease and was wondering if I'd fail a DOT physical because of it.

Thank you guys.

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.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

Dm:

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.
Bill F.'s Comment
member avatar

If you are planning on working in road construction you may want to consider a vocational technical school that offers a heavy equipment operator course and a CDL course. None of the road construction companies in my area (florida panhandle) would hire me with just a CDL and no driving experience. They wanted heavy equipment operators or CDL drivers with a year of OTR experience. Call some of the construction companies and ask them if they will hire you right out of school.

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.

OTR:

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.

Dustin S.'s Comment
member avatar

I just got hired by this company as a general labor on a road crew not far by my house. I'm just trying to do everything possible to be even more marketable than just a plain old laborer.

I did consider the no experience thing possibly being a problem. I'll just ask my company what their policy is for advancement regarding heavy equipment. Hopefully they'll just take me under their ropes and train me on it.

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