Truck Driving
Topic 29731 | Page 1
Hello everyone hope everyone is having a blessed day. I have a question. I'm about to go into CDL SCHOOL. I have been getting social security income for about 10 years. So I have been living off of my social security income. And I'm perfectly fine to work. I even got my DOT card. So my question is. Can I find a truck driving company to work for. With a not very good job history. Also I got 4 felonies 2 forgery and 2 uttering about 12 years ago. What companies could I look into. 🙏🙏🙏😃😃😃
Haya, Charles, and WELCOME, to Trucking Truth!!
Your past can be forgiven, with many companies.
Here's a few links; including that one, specifically!!
- Truck Driver's Career Guide
- Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
- High Road CDL Training Program
- CDL Practice Tests
As far as a 'spotty' work history; if you can account for the days/weeks/months etc.. (even via unemployment, W/C, or caring for a relative, elder, or going to school of any sort!) you can get notarized letters and whatnot, accounting for that time.
I wish you well; don't be a stranger!
Blessed day to you, as well~!!!! Congrats on setting foot into this profession; it will be all you put into it !!
~ Anne ~
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
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.
Hello Charles - welcome to our forum!
Are you paying for the school out of your own pocket?
Last but not least; APPLY HERE!
(Any reason you want to go to your 'own' CDL schooling?) << That's great; at least you are on a path of positivity!
Check these out, as well...however. I think you'll be okay on the 'work history' issues, with many companies.
Apply For Truck Driving Jobs <<(CFI is another great one; not yet on our list.)
Apply For Paid CDL Training ^^ again, ditto.
- Pre-Trip Inspection Study Guide
- Daniel's Pre-Trip Inspection
- Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist
- Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Questions
Not to overwhelm you; but the last 5 (checkmarked ones) will be helpful if you do, indeed, go to a private school.. TruckingTruth HAS the tools; at your disposal, good sir!
~ Anne ~
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
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.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Hello Charles - welcome to our forum!
Are you paying for the school out of your own pocket?
I'm paying out of pocket
I'm paying out of pocket
There's nothing wrong with paying out of pocket, but with your history there is a big concern that you may waste your money for a license and still not be able to land a job. Because of that I would recommend you look into Paid CDL Training Programs. All we get from going to truck driving schools is a nice shiny new license in our pocket. Some of them will help with job placement, but my experience was really disturbing. I paid for my own school and then I could not get anybody to give me a shot at trucking. I should have been a stellar candidate, but for some odd reason, that I have never figured out, I got a ton of rejections.
By Applying For Paid CDL Training, you will be able to find out if trucking companies are willing to hire you. The companies in that link will train you at their facilities. They will put up the money for your training and they will provide you transportation to their location. Once there, they will feed you and house you. The greatest thing about these programs is that once you have successfully completed their training they have a job waiting for you. By applying to some of these programs you will get a feel for whether you are going to be able to be hired or not. If none of them wants to touch you then you know that you are going to be rolling the dice by paying for your own training. Just remember, all you get from truck driving school is a license that allows you to drive a class 8 truck. You don't really learn to be a professional truck driver. The schooling is just like the first baby steps toward your goal.
Should you go through the steps I have suggested, then you could start researching this list of Trucking Companies That Hire Drivers With Felonies. You may be able to find someone who will commit to hiring you before you part with all your money for truck driving school. That would be the most prudent way to go about this. I encourage you to try very hard to get into truck driving if it is something you really want. I just want you to go about it in a way that will help you get yourself in the door. You already are aware of the difficulties that your felonies and lack of work history will place on you. Hopefully you can find a path into this rewarding career. I just don't want to see you waste a lot of money without understanding what you are doing.
Let us know how you are progressing. We will do whatever we can to help. If you can keep us informed, we can provide you with information to help you in your pursuit.
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.
With those convictions on your background, I would forcefully recommend you attend a company sponsored course.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.New Reply:
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Hello everyone hope everyone is having a blessed day. I have a question. I'm about to go into CDL SCHOOL. I have been getting social security income for about 10 years. So I have been living off of my social security income. And I'm perfectly fine to work. I even got my DOT card. So my question is. Can I find a truck driving company to work for. With a not very good job history. Also I got 4 felonies 2 forgery and 2 uttering about 12 years ago. What companies could I look into. 🙏🙏🙏😃😃😃
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
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.