Wife Gave Me The Okay To Get CDL
Topic 31049 | Page 1
Check out CFI. We have constant freight in and through Tennessee. The training is free with a one year contract. You would have to get your permit and DOT card before they would bring you in. Get receipts for these and they will reimburse you once you're hired.
You start with 3 weeks of school to get your CDL. You are not paid for this, but all your food and housing is covered.
Then you go to orientation where you are paid. Then it's out with your trainer where you are paid per mile. I don't know what the student pay is currently up to.
Contract a recruiter for more info. They also just revamped their website cfidrive.com.
Good luck.
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.
CFI has a good reputation. You should research Schneider as they have an operating center and training in West Memphis.
BTW, if the wife WANTS you to go OTR , that might not be a good sign, lol
Schneider had driver friendly schedules. If you want to be home every weekend, they will accommodate that.
Good luck!
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.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
CFI has a good reputation. You should research Schneider as they have an operating center and training in West Memphis.
BTW, if the wife WANTS you to go OTR , that might not be a good sign, lol
Schneider had driver friendly schedules. If you want to be home every weekend, they will accommodate that.
Good luck!
CFI has a good reputation. You should research Schneider as they have an operating center and training in West Memphis.
BTW, if the wife WANTS you to go OTR, that might not be a good sign, lol
Schneider had driver friendly schedules. If you want to be home every weekend, they will accommodate that.
Good luck!
Let me take a look at CFI and Schneider! Let me rephrase, “she wants me to go OTR”. She has been against it in the past, but now she’s okay with going out for a week or a little longer. Home life with the family is great and we have a great support group. I am excited to work hard, change careers and hopefully make some decent money along the way! Thanks for the input.
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.
EPU:
Electric Auxiliary Power Units
Electric APUs have started gaining acceptance. These electric APUs use battery packs instead of the diesel engine on traditional APUs as a source of power. The APU's battery pack is charged when the truck is in motion. When the truck is idle, the stored energy in the battery pack is then used to power an air conditioner, heater, and other devices
If LTL is your goal, I would stick to boxes and not flatbed. Reefers and dry vans bump docks and it'll improve your backing faster. The tandems on some flatbed trailers are separated making the backing a little different.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Dry Van:
A trailer or truck that that requires no special attention, such as refrigeration, that hauls regular palletted, boxed, or floor-loaded freight. The most common type of trailer in trucking.Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
Not trying to discourage you but from the tone in your posts I see marital troubles in your future. 
.. then go LTL after a year or so.
A noble goal, but it reminds me of when my 10 year old nephew announced he was going to marry Emily Ratajkowski. It's good to have goals but it's also good to have a backup plan. In some locations LTL companies are hiring civilians and training them to get their CDL's or hiring them fresh out of truck school. In Houston, TX those same companies require a CDL just to work the docks. In Seattle, WA all the majors shot me down with 2 years of OTR experience and a clean driving record (it's been a few years so things may have changed). Your odds of success in landing an LTL job will vary greatly depending on your location.
Meet Emily's slightly heavier, less attractive, but not as picky cousin - dedicated. You can still get weekends off and home daily but you'll have to settle for $85k-$95k/yr consistently instead of $100k+. These jobs usually don't advertise on the job boards - you have to go to the company websites to find them (Ruan, Cardinal Logistics, Penske, JB Hunt).
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.
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
- FedEx Freight
- Con-way
- YRC Freight
- UPS
- Old Dominion
- Estes
- Yellow-Roadway
- ABF Freight
- R+L Carrier
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Ah, Pacific Pearl, aren’t those numbers for very experienced drivers? I think new drivers would be more in the $40,000 to maybe $50,000 range. I’m just worried about giving this gentleman false hope. Heck, he’s already on the verge of leaving his wife, lol
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I might add that driving jobs where you can be home every weekend are very common. In the past, the company wanted OTR drivers out longer, but in the current trucking atmosphere things are different. Much more driver and family friendly. This has been necessary in order for carriers to recruit and retain drivers. A very positive thing in my opinion. So, Stephen, it is possible to drive a truck and keep the wife and family happy.
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.
Heck, he’s already on the verge of leaving his wife, lol
Let's drop that and not jump to any conclusions on anything that we clearly don't know any facts or backstory on, okay? No humor in typing up that comment.
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Hey guys I have posted once before about joining LTL with Yellow, but I haven’t had much traction from them. I had a serious talk with my wife about letting me get experience and go somewhat OTR with a company. I am looking at TMC, Maverick and Rohel as top candidates as they offer paid training and don’t want to go without any income and I do not yet have my CDL-A. I have done quite a bit of research on the 3 companies, but if there are others I’m forgetting about please feel free to let me know. I think Prime is out too long for my liking although I’ve heard their program is awesome. I am located in Tennessee and also haven’t had luck with any other LTL companies and am ready to get out there and learn then go LTL after a year or so. Thank you so kindly for the advice before hand!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
LTL:
Less Than Truckload
Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.
LTL carriers include:
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.