Trucking Company That Hires For Tanker Directly Out Of CDL School?

Hello,

I live in Georgia, and have been accepted by Maverick for their CDL school, but its like a 4 month wait list! So in the meantime, I want to try and get in to a company that will allow tanker driving directly out of their training school. I know Prime does, and have applied with them. But I am wondering if there is a smaller, more driver-focused, company that does the same thing? I KNOW about the difficulty in driving tankers, but my religious beliefs prevent me from doing dry van , due to hauling things like beverage alcohol(medical grade is ok).So its flatbed or tanker for me. I don't think I can wait 4 months for maverick, so if anyone can help me with this, I'd appreciate it. Thank you!

Schneider as far as I know does dry bulk tanker...what do you mean by wanting a small company more driver focused? A majority of members of this forum are working for the mega carriers and doing quite well. If you are reliable and safety orientated you'll become a "top tier driver" and get special favors from your Dispatcher regardless the name of the company on the side of your truck

I guess I am just reading too many reviews from disgruntled truckers. So Schneider and prime. Any others?

Not every dry van company hauls alcohol. Some that will haul alcohol rarely do so. In over a year at Wolding, I personally haven't hauled alcohol. Soda, water, paper products, lawn mowers, all kinds of stuff. Not alcohol.

I am honestly curious as this has come up before. It doesn't make sense to me. I understand because of your religiously beliefs you cannot handle or consume alcoholic beverages. You won't be loading or unloading it. All you do is close your trailer doors and drive. Why is it against your religion if it is in the back of your trailer? You are not being asked to handle it or consume it. Just seeking clarification.

Drive Safe and God Speed

I'm with maverick now, and I live in GA. Great company. To be honest though, accepting their invitation and then driving for another company for 4 months, then going back to them is not a good idea. Yes, 4 months is a long time, but I'd suggest you find a company that suits you and stick with them for a year. Just a thought, we do haul giant aluminum coils that may or may not be used for cans, which may or may not be used for beer. I know it's a stretch but just putting it out there.

Thank you for putting it out there. The ruling doesn't go so far as to ban the materials use to hold it. It is the fact of helping to transport alcohol which in my religion is forbidden to consume, due to the things it causes, and the harms upon the body. I don't look down upon or think lesser about anyone who consumes alcohol, nor do I refute scientific evidence that it is in small doses beneficial, but when one is looking to follow his religion "to the tee," one simply says " I hear and I obey." A strange concept to a lot of people lol. So anyway the exact quote from our books that state this is what was said by our Prophet when asked about who among the people who use alcohol would be in sin. His response was:

"the one who squeezes (the grapes etc), the one for whom it is squeezed, the one who drinks it, the one who carries it, the one to whom it is carried, the one who pours it, the one who sells it and consumes its price, the one who buys it and the one for whom it is bought.”

So flatbed is perfectly fine, since I am not carrying the actual substance itself.

Lastly, I don't plan to drive for another company for 4 months and then go to maverick.... I think what I am saying is that, the wait is just too long due to my financial need, so I'm probably just going to drive tanker instead of going with Maverick.

Are there any other flatbed companies you've looked into?

FYI, TMC (exclusively flatbed) runs a school out of Des Moines. They seem like a pretty solid outfit, I had actually looked into them before going with where I'm at. They have students drive all over public roads, and down I-80. See em all the time

Thank you for the clarification. No one has ever specifically cited anything. It was enlightening. As I said before, you can't completely discount dry van. Not all dry van company haul a lot of alcohol. There are companies like the one I work for which rarely haul alcohol. There are drivers that goes years and never once haul alcohol. We mainly haul paper, paper products, scrap paper, sugar, and water. I am sure if alcohol is not a mainstay of the freight, it would be easy enough to discuss it with your Dispatcher and the load planners. I am sure it would be easy enough to avoid.

Schneider and Prime are the only major companies that hire students out of CDL schools and put them in tankers; apparently there are smaller companies that will do this also, but you won't find recommendations for them on this site. Schneider hauls liquid chemicals only; I've only read about tankers with baffles, I haven't actually seen one yet in the six months I've been driving. The surge beats you up pretty good in these smooth-bore tankers. You won't get a compartmental trailer until you've been with the company for at least a year, as new drivers aren't trusted with mixed chemical loads. Basically, I am trying to steer you away from Schneider; the challenge of driving tankers is overrated, as is the pay. However, we do have a wonderful dry van division!