Getting Your CDL With No School Questions
Topic 20839 | Page 1
Hey, welcome to Trucking Truth.
The answer your looking for is both "Yes" and "No".
Yes, you can get a full CDL-A without school. You will also need to rent or borrow a semi truck & trailer to take the skills test. Then nobody will hire you.
To get any trucking company to talk to you, you must complete a 160 hour class - your "3 week driving school", which does include class (rules & regulations) and backing + road practice.
Fot those who are "broke" all is not lost. If you promise/contract with a company to drive for a year with them, many carriers will either cover your tuition or even put you up at their own trucking school.
The standard answer about rookie year pay is you should gross and $40k.
Here's our starter kit. Two to read and the last is a CDL test study program. It's the bomb!
- 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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Hey everyone,
I am a 47 year old male, with a pristine driving record, and no criminal record. I am starting to study for my CDL A license in Florida, with the goal of passing the written test, medical exam, and paying 300-400 to take the driving test with a local company, that I found off the DMV website as an accredited School. My questions are: 1) How difficult will it be for me to find an OTR job with no experience. 2) Do you think it would be better for me to take a 3 week driving school? 3) If I do get hired, what kind of pay could I expect?
I am in a hole financially, and really need to make good money in the next couple years. I feel very confident in driving a semi, and know that I would be a very safe driver, as I have never had a ticket or accident.
Thanks so much in advance for any help you can give me.
Michael Martin
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.