Getting Manual Restriction Removed For A Newbie
Topic 24267 | Page 1
Joseph, welcome to our forum!
Unfortunately I'm afraid you misunderstood what you were paying for. I'm not saying they don't exist, but I've never seen trucking schools advertising a "manual course" and then having a set price you pay for that type course. What they set out to do is help you get your CDL. You were going to need "extra time" but didn't have extra money. It's unfortunate because you could have done all this without paying for it out of pocket by using the Paid CDL Training Programs.
The price of the school you attended was really inexpensive compared to most. You got a deal, but it turned out to be a raw deal. I'm curious. Did they provide you with the 160 hour training certificate that most companies will require for employment?
Honestly here's my opinion of the steps you should take. Apply For Paid CDL Training, and then commit yourself to one year of over the road driving. After that you can get that restriction removed by simply doing a driving test in a manual transmission. If the oil field is really what you want, they will gladly hire you once you've got that good solid year of experience under your belt.
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.
Over The Road:
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.
You could always apply for Nine Energy service (no I don't work for them) if you are wanting to get your foot into the oilfield. Nine is an well servicing company and all of their fleet is automatics. Oilfield work is a LOT different than OTR driving. Like night and day. Yes you drive tractors and equipment, but, that is very little of what you actually do. The pro side of starting in the oilfield is, no docks to bump, usually have a wider range of area to turn, drive and especially with Nine energy, the require a land guide at all times when backing and we get paid when our wheels aren't turning. A ton of downtime. So, that definitely makes it easier for a new CDL driver.
The cons, you can be on location for days, literally! No showers, no truckstops, no cell reception. You run out of food, tough luck, you run out of clean socks and underwear, tough luck. You feel like taking a break while the job is in progress, tough luck.
Oilfield work isn't just huge paychecks, it's a rough life sometimes and definitely not for everyone. Just something to think about. I would recommend OTR before you try your luck with the oilfields.
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.
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Hi I got my CDL A with a manual restriction. What had happened was I paid 1800$ for the manual version to get my CDL A license. Everything was good got 1 hour a day of training but only 5 days before my test I have never driven a standered vehicle before in my life. Yes I grinded the gears like crazy the last day I got a little better , then the school tells me we’re gonna reschedule your test because it doesn’t look like you’ll pass. So they threw me into the automatic program when I already paid $1800 and I told them that i paid for the manual course. So they were going to charge me more for it and I couldn’t afford it. Tested in automatic transmission passed. All of the jobs in the oil field I’m craving are manual transmission trucks though. So I’m wandering what the best way to get the most manual transmission training with bigger chances of success?? What could I do differently?
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: