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Gtown, if you look in the 5th paragraph, I referred to him as a friend. I used acquaintance as a figure of speech.

And you will refrain from humiliating me? Come on man, we're having a discussion, I don't see the need to "humiliate" anybody. My opinion may be faulty and you disagree, but I would not try to "humiliate " you.

And the company that hired him is not Scheinder, who is known to hire rookies.

Good grief...

I didn't try to humiliate you, I tried not to. Did you actually read past the first paragraph?

I offered solid, proven, and sound reasons in support of "why" hazmat tankers is a bad choice for rookies. Any rookie... If we didn't give a rat's a** we'd all be applauding JMart's decision; "hell yeah go for it!" We are here to give folks the path to proven success, not the opposite.

No sir, sorry you are mistskin', "we", you and I are not having a discussion about this. I am telling you why you have no business offering a suggestion like you did and you have yet to acknowledge any of the information offered by me, Brett or Rob.

What don't you get here? You have zero experience and have way more to gain by trying to understand the advice and suggestions made here than to offer discenting input with little supporting basis. Like I asked; would you follow the advice you gave to JMart? Go for it?

I was serious, get your friend on here...honestly and sincerely want to hear what it was like for him. I think it would be valuable and at the very least interesting.

And Schneider was NOT the company I was thinking of. Schneider does not put rookies fresh out of school in hazmat tanker service. They require a newly trained rookie driver to prove themselves over time, in non-hazmat service first. A bit more prudent.

It was Service Transport, based in Houston TX, that came to mind.

Jmart how did it go with your interview?

Jmart how did it go with your interview?

I rescheduled for tomorrow. Honestly, I'm thinking about returning to CFI. I think I maybe just made a snap judgement. I was extremely exhausted after being out with my trainer and was missing my family. The tanker thing does scare me.

I was extremely exhausted after being out with my trainer and was missing my family.

Well we can all understand that. Trucking does that to you, especially in the beginning when you're trying to deal with a million new things all at once - the long days, the pressure, being away from home and family and friends - we all know what you're going through with that.

That's exactly why we always say to stick with your first company for one full year no matter what. I always emphasize that last part because I know there will be times when almost everyone will want to throw in the towel at least a time or two. It's exhausting, it's stressful, and it really wipes you out at times.

I would highly recommend going back to CFI and pick up where you left off. Get that experience under your belt and then all sorts of doors will open up to you. Funny thing is, by the time most people get to that one year mark with their first company they're doing so well they don't want to move on. They're happy right where they're at. That may not be the case with you, but at least at that point you'll have enough experience in trucking that you'll know where you want to go next.

That year will go by a lot faster than you expect.

I was extremely exhausted after being out with my trainer and was missing my family.

Well we can all understand that. Trucking does that to you, especially in the beginning when you're trying to deal with a million new things all at once - the long days, the pressure, being away from home and family and friends - we all know what you're going through with that.

That's exactly why we always say to stick with your first company for one full year no matter what. I always emphasize that last part because I know there will be times when almost everyone will want to throw in the towel at least a time or two. It's exhausting, it's stressful, and it really wipes you out at times.

I would highly recommend going back to CFI and pick up where you left off. Get that experience under your belt and then all sorts of doors will open up to you. Funny thing is, by the time most people get to that one year mark with their first company they're doing so well they don't want to move on. They're happy right where they're at. That may not be the case with you, but at least at that point you'll have enough experience in trucking that you'll know where you want to go next.

That year will go by a lot faster than you expect.

Not so sure they will take me back. Recruiting said I need to get experience now since I resigned before I upgraded.

Jmart how did it go with your interview?

I rescheduled for tomorrow. Honestly, I'm thinking about returning to CFI. I think I maybe just made a snap judgement. I was extremely exhausted after being out with my trainer and was missing my family. The tanker thing does scare me.

I'm glad you've listened to what additional risks you'd be taking by following that path. Most hazmat tanker jobs aren't paying any more in general than a dry van hauling non hazmat. I knew that OTR wasnt a good fit for me and my family situation that is why I chose the path i went. I wouldn't have gone the path i did had I not been given such a long training period. In the end you need to make the best decision for you and your family. As I said before although I'm home every night it's usually only enough for my 10 off. I have been fortunate, And let's be honest, LUCKY I have not been involved in anything. I am by no means trying to say im an expert, or super trucker. I've had several close calls that having gotten the OTR experience would have helped prevent some of those sticky situations. There will be plenty of days you feel like quitting. You need to make the decision to look elsewhere on The days that went good to avoid The snap judgement. The best thing to do is give CFI a year at the very least to fulfill your contract. Look forward to hearing how everything works out for you

Gtown, I called Todd and read him what you responded to me. He said, like Schneider, he wasn't put on a hazmat load until his 6th or 7th month of driving.

And in general, he agrees with you and Brett 's reasoning about driving tanker right out of school. But, in his case, the company took a chance with him, provided the training in how to handle a tanker, had him drive dozens of loads with a very experienced local driver in Houston, and pull around an old tanker half filled with water in the vicinity of the terminal to get used to the surge when maneuvering.

He said the company hires very few rookies, but he knows of a few others that were hired since he has been there. I asked him why did he think he was hired,and he said that when they gave him a test drive before hiring him, the company guy complimented him on his driving skills for being a rookie. I asked him to join TT and post about his experience and he said that he doesn't do any social media, but he said he would think about it and maybe he would.

Gtown, I wasn't disagreeing with you and Brett, I was jjust conveying the experience of a friend who had success in going into tanker work as a rookie. Maybe he is the 1% that succeeded.

Peace and out.

Riot wrote

Gtown, I called Todd and read him what you responded to me. He said, like Schneider, he wasn't put on a hazmat load until his 6th or 7th month of driving.

And in general, he agrees with you and Brett 's reasoning about driving tanker right out of school. But, in his case, the company took a chance with him, provided the training in how to handle a tanker, had him drive dozens of loads with a very experienced local driver in Houston, and pull around an old tanker half filled with water in the vicinity of the terminal to get used to the surge when maneuvering.

He said the company hires very few rookies, but he knows of a few others that were hired since he has been there. I asked him why did he think he was hired,and he said that when they gave him a test drive before hiring him, the company guy complimented him on his driving skills for being a rookie. I asked him to join TT and post about his experience and he said that he doesn't do any social media, but he said he would think about it and maybe he would.

Gtown, I wasn't disagreeing with you and Brett, I was jjust conveying the experience of a friend who had success in going into tanker work as a rookie. Maybe he is the 1% that succeeded.

Peace and out.

Riot really glad you spoke to your friend. This is a meaningful and valuable response. Something JMart can definitely use, plus we all learned something. You'll never get pushback from any of us for writing something like that, had some depth.

Thank you for taking the time to call Todd and write about your discussion with him. Second time today I've been pleasantly surprised with someone on this forum.

Let Todd know he is welcome here anytime.

JMart, I hope you find what works best for you. OTR can be hard and is not for everyone. Yes you should stay at a company a year for many reasons, and no a rookie should not do local because of the tight roads and backing. But hey, G Town proves a rookie can do it cause he only did 3 months OTR before going to the really difficult Walmart run in, of all places, the Northeast, which again is not recommended for rookies. So he beat the odds with that.

OTR is not for.GTown and not for JMart, and i get that.I did one WM run and absolutely hated it, you couldnt pay me enough. Different strokes. Had someone told GTown that advice years ago, he might not be happy now. Only weekends home might not work for some people and despite all the mental preparation, the realities can be shocking.

Hazmat tanker...no way would i do it. I honestly disagree with the advice to get your Hazmat endorsement immediately. That is my opinion and differs with Bretts and others. Two of our forum members were given Hazmat loads as their first solo run. WHY??? i dont get it. and i would never put myself or the public in that situation. Odds are you will probably hit something so why do it with hazmat anything, not just tanker?

JMart, a year flies by..im working on my third which is crazyyyyy. i wish you the best.

Rainy pays the diary forum a visit:

But hey, G Town proves a rookie can do it cause he only did 3 months OTR before going to the really difficult Walmart run in, of all places, the Northeast, which again is not recommended for rookies. So he beat the odds with that.

OTR is not for.GTown and not for JMart, and i get that.I did one WM run and absolutely hated it, you couldnt pay me enough. Different strokes. Had someone told GTown that advice years ago, he might not be happy now. Only weekends home might not work for some people and despite all the mental preparation, the realities can be shocking.

Hazmat tanker...no way would i do it. I honestly disagree with the advice to get your Hazmat endorsement immediately. That is my opinion and differs with Bretts and others. Two of our forum members were given Hazmat loads as their first solo run. WHY??? i dont get it. and i would never put myself or the public in that situation. Odds are you will probably hit something so why do it with hazmat anything, not just tanker?

This is a surprise. Rainy...wow you rarely venture over here. This conversation got wings, hot wings...no wonder. Good for the ratings! LOL.

Had I known the difficulty factor with Walmart, I might have opted for more OTR experience. 6 months is about right. No one tried to talk me out of it because I didn't ask for anyone's input.

Fortunately there were and still are a great bunch of people at my D.C. who really helped me the first few months; Jeff, Emmy, Kerry, Rock & Roll Dave, Tim, Nick, Steve and Jim. Great bunch of folks, like family to me. Not to forget others who helped many Swift WM rookies out in a pinch including several top shelf WMPF drivers, a couple of K-A Walmart Mechanics (Rizzo and FWD Bob)...etc. But if I had it to do over again,...yes Rainy I'd have probably waited. But who knew...I survived and honestly took it one day at a time.

Technically it's not local though...more like concentrated regional but definitely NOT true OTR. I consider what Rob does the epitome of what local work is all about. That doesn't appeal to me (no offense Rob, but I couldn't do what you do every day, white flag)

By the way Danielsahn is running Walmart and has done so right out of school and doing a great job. He was dealt a Walmart Mentor/Trainer right from the git-go. Definitely gave him an advantage over most rookies on the account. It's not for everyone; love it or hate it. Like Scrapple...

Even so, Walmart isn't like rookie local running with a Hazmat Tanker. Had JMart came in with that idea; "Walmart Dedicated", I would have conservatively encouraged him and would have painted a truthful picture what to expect.