Hi, and welcome to Trucking Truth. I am a type 2 former insulin dependent diabetic. While I was able to overcome the insulin dependence, There is a way for your husband to "get qualified." this involves going through a waiver process. Here is a link for that information. Diabetic waiver .
Here are some other good links to get you started...
Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving
Good Luck
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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.
Most of the large companies allow riders. I drove for Schneider and, as long as you paid the $8/month insurance, you could have a rider over the age of 10. I believe you had to have six month's experience though, before they'd allow a rider.
After two years, I transitioned from Dry Van OTR to Southeast Regional with a different company. Same cents per mile, same weekly miles, but I got home every week. After seven months with the company, they just offered me a salaried, dedicated position, which I took. Started this last week and so far, it's a dream job. But time will tell.
With some companies, you won't make the money being home every week. It really depends on what your priorities are. I don't have to make $80k/year. And though I was willing to stay with Schneider until retirement (they treated me VERY well), this opportunity gave me better home time while allowing me to still make the money I need to make.
Whatever company you choose, please plan to stay with them long-term. So pick one that you believe will achieve your long-term goals. You CAN change later, but you really don't wanna HAVE TO. To see what Schneider has in your area, you can go to schneiderjobs.com, put in your zip code and it'll list all positions for that area.
Best thing to do is apply to everyone when you get ready for CDL school (or right when you start) and let them fight over you. Then you'll have plenty of choices.
Good luck! Thanks for your service! Bring your good attitude and I'm sure you'll be another success story in the TruckingTruth forum.
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
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.
Operating While Intoxicated
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.
CFI will allow him to ride with you once you go solo. They will train you at no cost to you or hire you right out of school. If they hire you right out of school, they will pay for all or part of your training. Also, there is no charge for a rider. You just have to fill out a form. I hope that helps.
Wolding allows riders once you have 6 months accident free driving. No cost to have a Rider. Just 2 simple pieces of paperwork. I have them fax the paperwork to a truckstop, than I scan it in with my next trip sheet on my phone. So simple.
Wolding is great about working with you on how you want to run. You can start out the gate doing regional (home every weekend) if you want. I started out as Regional than changed to being out 2 weeks at a time.
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Almost every major company will let him ride along. You won't have to worry about that too much. Just find out the details for each company when you're applying for jobs. You might have to go solo for a short time without him at first. Every company has its own policies on that.
Wolding allows riders once you have 6 months accident free driving. No cost to have a Rider. Just 2 simple pieces of paperwork. I have them fax the paperwork to a truckstop, than I scan it in with my next trip sheet on my phone. So simple.
Wolding is great about working with you on how you want to run. You can start out the gate doing regional (home every weekend) if you want. I started out as Regional than changed to being out 2 weeks at a time.
I would not mind 2 weeks at a time.
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Thank you so much for the replies. I would not mind a couple weeks at a time. Time will tell what route I will take. I have a lot of learning to do on how pay works, type of routes and advantages vs disadvantages. As I said I have no mentors so doing as much research as possible. Thanks for any and all advice.
Use this site. Read training diaries. Put your questions in the search bar at the top of the page. Read through the links you were given. There is tons of info on this site on dry van , reefer , flat bed and tanker. We are here to help you be successful at this.
I spent about 4 years researching this career. I scoured this site. I read training diaries, blogs, Brett's book, all the forums, I searched topics and I learned. I have had no major suprises. Good luck.
A refrigerated trailer.
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Need advise as I do not know anybody in trucking. I am about to start school at a community college. This will be my second career I am a retired Paramedic.
I would like direction on paths to go down. At first, I was hoping my husband could go on this journey with me; however, he is an insulin dependent diabetic so he is disqualified automatically even though he is also a retired Paramedic/Firefighter. Anyhow, will companies allow him to ride with me obviously no driving?
Also what jobs should I looks towards if he can't ride along? In this case, I would only what to be on the road a week or two before coming home. Even a dedicated route to start off would be okay but do eventually want to see the country.
Dedicated Route:
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."