Needing Advice Getting Class A CDL Training

Hi all! I'm very much new here, this being my first posting. I found this website a few weeks ago and have love all the teaching tools and personal stories shared. The stories inspire me and the teaching tools have enabled me to study and get my CPL. My problem is I can not seem to find any companies wanting to take me in for their school training. As mentioned before, I have my CPL (thanks mostly to this forum and its study material!) and I've also paid for my DOT Physical and have that as well. I have a super clean driving record-I think I've only ever had 2 tickets, the last one being back in 2014 or 2015--no DUI's or DWI's..no problems with the law ever..could it be that I'm just too old at 55? I've called a couple of places, the last one being Ashely Trucking and I thought that call went well, but the recruiter said he was going to send me a email to get the final info that would allow the scheduling of school and such to start but the email never came. I applied also using this site and was excited to get a "auto" response from Prime, that joy was short lived though as the following day I received another email stating they were not looking at people from my state at this time. I honestly don't know what I should do at this point.

Howdy and Easter Blessings to you!

First off finish off your bio and let us know what state you are in at the very least. If you are down toward the bottom of Florida, for example, you will be very hard-pressed to find a company that will take you on. Do that so we can help you.

You can get it out of your head that your age has anything to do with it. Trucking doesn't care how old you are, as long as you have good work history and good driving record. I was 63 when I got my CDL. I am 71 this summer and am in the top five of my company. They love me and how I run.

If you just sent in our form in the last few days, give it time cause this is a holiday weekend and a lot of companies were off Friday or they will be off tomorrow. If you don't get any responses after 7 business days, then reapply with our link. I will holler at Anne, she knows other companies and has their links handy. But today is Easter so it will be tomorrow at the earliest.

Don't give up, just hang in there. Anytime there's holidays, things slow down at trucking companies, but they will get to you.

Laura

Howdy and Easter Blessings to you!

First off finish off your bio and let us know what state you are in at the very least. If you are down toward the bottom of Florida, for example, you will be very hard-pressed to find a company that will take you on. Do that so we can help you.

You can get it out of your head that your age has anything to do with it. Trucking doesn't care how old you are, as long as you have good work history and good driving record. I was 63 when I got my CDL. I am 71 this summer and am in the top five of my company. They love me and how I run.

If you just sent in our form in the last few days, give it time cause this is a holiday weekend and a lot of companies were off Friday or they will be off tomorrow. If you don't get any responses after 7 business days, then reapply with our link. I will holler at Anne, she knows other companies and has their links handy. But today is Easter so it will be tomorrow at the earliest.

Don't give up, just hang in there. Anytime there's holidays, things slow down at trucking companies, but they will get to you.

Laura

Hi Laura, thank you for the information...I'm from Wa state.

Hi all! I'm very much new here, this being my first posting. I found this website a few weeks ago and have love all the teaching tools and personal stories shared. The stories inspire me and the teaching tools have enabled me to study and get my CPL. My problem is I can not seem to find any companies wanting to take me in for their school training. As mentioned before, I have my CPL (thanks mostly to this forum and its study material!) and I've also paid for my DOT Physical and have that as well. I have a super clean driving record-I think I've only ever had 2 tickets, the last one being back in 2014 or 2015--no DUI's or DWI's..no problems with the law ever..could it be that I'm just too old at 55? I've called a couple of places, the last one being Ashely Trucking and I thought that call went well, but the recruiter said he was going to send me a email to get the final info that would allow the scheduling of school and such to start but the email never came. I applied also using this site and was excited to get a "auto" response from Prime, that joy was short lived though as the following day I received another email stating they were not looking at people from my state at this time. I honestly don't know what I should do at this point.

Howdy, Carolyn!

I'm sorry you've not had any luck with our online app; you sound like you really want this! You've probably already gone through our 'starter links' per this:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

For some reason, Prime has been 'odd' about Washington state lately, and Wilson/Ashley hauls a lot of Prime freight, as well. A few other companies that have paid training, for you to look into, are as follows (and there ARE more!:)

• Raider Express Website/App

• Pride Transport Website/App

• Witte Bros. Website/School App

• Dutch Maid Logistics DML/School & App

• CFI / TFI Drive CFI/TFI

• Knight/Swift WebApp/School and SwiftReefer/Academy

Hope this helps, some.

Best wishes & ... Stop back with what becomes!

~ Anne ~

ps: Thanks, IDMtnGal (Ms. Laura) for the heads up! We ladies here, have eachother's backs!

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.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

DUI:

Driving Under the Influence

DWI:

Driving While Intoxicated

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Swifttrans:

Swift Transportation began operations in 1966 transporting imported steel through the ports of Los Angeles to Arizona and Arizona cotton for export back through to Southern California.

Jerry Moyes, founder, began with the same entrepreneurial, can-do spirit that is one of Swift’s core values today.

Today, Swift generates over $4 billion in revenue and operates nearly 18,000 trucks.

Hi and welcome...

I agree with Laura... I was 41, am now turning 48.... Have trained many women in their 50s and 60s. No one cares about age. Gender. Race religion or sexual orientation. It's whether you can do the job and make money

The WA state thing was an issue for all companies before Feb 8th 2022 when the law changed Did you get a recruiter name or was it an automated email? I'm a trainer at Prime and can ask in the morning. But I thought that was resolved.

And damn Laura I had no idea you were up there. Good for you. 8 got your message late the other day and your # isn't there!!!

Wow-Thank you for so much information and links to resources! Everyone here is absolutely the nicest people on the internet!!

Hi all! I'm very much new here, this being my first posting. I found this website a few weeks ago and have love all the teaching tools and personal stories shared. The stories inspire me and the teaching tools have enabled me to study and get my CPL. My problem is I can not seem to find any companies wanting to take me in for their school training. As mentioned before, I have my CPL (thanks mostly to this forum and its study material!) and I've also paid for my DOT Physical and have that as well. I have a super clean driving record-I think I've only ever had 2 tickets, the last one being back in 2014 or 2015--no DUI's or DWI's..no problems with the law ever..could it be that I'm just too old at 55? I've called a couple of places, the last one being Ashely Trucking and I thought that call went well, but the recruiter said he was going to send me a email to get the final info that would allow the scheduling of school and such to start but the email never came. I applied also using this site and was excited to get a "auto" response from Prime, that joy was short lived though as the following day I received another email stating they were not looking at people from my state at this time. I honestly don't know what I should do at this point.

Howdy, Carolyn!

I'm sorry you've not had any luck with our online app; you sound like you really want this! You've probably already gone through our 'starter links' per this:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

For some reason, Prime has been 'odd' about Washington state lately, and Wilson/Ashley hauls a lot of Prime freight, as well. A few other companies that have paid training, for you to look into, are as follows (and there ARE more!:)

• Raider Express Website/App

• Pride Transport Website/App

• Witte Bros. Website/School App

• Dutch Maid Logistics DML/School & App

• CFI / TFI Drive CFI/TFI

• Knight/Swift WebApp/School and SwiftReefer/Academy

Hope this helps, some.

Best wishes & ... Stop back with what becomes!

~ Anne ~

ps: Thanks, IDMtnGal (Ms. Laura) for the heads up! We ladies here, have eachother's backs!

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.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

DUI:

Driving Under the Influence

DWI:

Driving While Intoxicated

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Swifttrans:

Swift Transportation began operations in 1966 transporting imported steel through the ports of Los Angeles to Arizona and Arizona cotton for export back through to Southern California.

Jerry Moyes, founder, began with the same entrepreneurial, can-do spirit that is one of Swift’s core values today.

Today, Swift generates over $4 billion in revenue and operates nearly 18,000 trucks.

Wow-Thank you for so much information and links to resources! Everyone here is absolutely the nicest people on the internet!!

Hi all! I'm very much new here, this being my first posting. I found this website a few weeks ago and have love all the teaching tools and personal stories shared. The stories inspire me and the teaching tools have enabled me to study and get my CPL. My problem is I can not seem to find any companies wanting to take me in for their school training. As mentioned before, I have my CPL (thanks mostly to this forum and its study material!) and I've also paid for my DOT Physical and have that as well. I have a super clean driving record-I think I've only ever had 2 tickets, the last one being back in 2014 or 2015--no DUI's or DWI's..no problems with the law ever..could it be that I'm just too old at 55? I've called a couple of places, the last one being Ashely Trucking and I thought that call went well, but the recruiter said he was going to send me a email to get the final info that would allow the scheduling of school and such to start but the email never came. I applied also using this site and was excited to get a "auto" response from Prime, that joy was short lived though as the following day I received another email stating they were not looking at people from my state at this time. I honestly don't know what I should do at this point.

Howdy, Carolyn!

I'm sorry you've not had any luck with our online app; you sound like you really want this! You've probably already gone through our 'starter links' per this:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

For some reason, Prime has been 'odd' about Washington state lately, and Wilson/Ashley hauls a lot of Prime freight, as well. A few other companies that have paid training, for you to look into, are as follows (and there ARE more!:)

• Raider Express Website/App

• Pride Transport Website/App

• Witte Bros. Website/School App

• Dutch Maid Logistics DML/School & App

• CFI / TFI Drive CFI/TFI

• Knight/Swift WebApp/School and SwiftReefer/Academy

Hope this helps, some.

Best wishes & ... Stop back with what becomes!

~ Anne ~

ps: Thanks, IDMtnGal (Ms. Laura) for the heads up! We ladies here, have eachother's backs!

Awh! Thanks for the thanks! The 3 of usns are also pretty much pals, on here & off here! We keep it real, and many of us have email addresses in our profiles, as well. Kearsey & Laura 'almost' got to meet up this week, too!!

Some of us (not me!) are more of a 'star!' LoL!!

Check out Kearsey's Y/T channel: Truckin' Along w/Kearsey!

I won't even ask where else you'd stopped for info/forum chatter, haha! WE got ya!

Best wishes; keep us posted & keep asking!

~ 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.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

DUI:

Driving Under the Influence

DWI:

Driving While Intoxicated

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Swifttrans:

Swift Transportation began operations in 1966 transporting imported steel through the ports of Los Angeles to Arizona and Arizona cotton for export back through to Southern California.

Jerry Moyes, founder, began with the same entrepreneurial, can-do spirit that is one of Swift’s core values today.

Today, Swift generates over $4 billion in revenue and operates nearly 18,000 trucks.

Hi Kearsey, thank you for taking the time to respond! Yes I do have a recruiter's name for the email, Stacey Barrera. The sharing of information, resources and links here on this forum is simply amazing! I've been reading on several different threads/posts and the positivity is just the best! So blessed to have found Trucking Truth!

Hi and welcome...

I agree with Laura... I was 41, am now turning 48.... Have trained many women in their 50s and 60s. No one cares about age. Gender. Race religion or sexual orientation. It's whether you can do the job and make money

The WA state thing was an issue for all companies before Feb 8th 2022 when the law changed Did you get a recruiter name or was it an automated email? I'm a trainer at Prime and can ask in the morning. But I thought that was resolved.

And damn Laura I had no idea you were up there. Good for you. 8 got your message late the other day and your # isn't there!!!

Sometimes companies will not hire from certain locations due to freight to get home or back out from home time.

I will try shooting Stacy an email and find out what the deal is with Washington. Hopefully I will get some answers.

In the mean time, keep applying everywhere. I find it strange you have no takers. Is there something you can be forgetting? Ticket. Accident?

Goodmorning! Thank you for all your efforts on my behalf, I very much appreciate it!! And as far as tickets go-I've had 2 my entire life, the last one being in either 2014 or 2015 and I've never been in an accident. No criminal record either. I did fill out a app for Ashley's trucking school so hoping after they finish with their background check I'll be all set. It's so ironic, one of the main reasons I'm trying to do trucking is to relocate out of Wa after that contracted 1st year and thought trucking would be something I could take anywhere-just didn't figure where I'm located could hamper my chances. Again, thank you so much for all your efforts-I do appreciate it!

Sometimes companies will not hire from certain locations due to freight to get home or back out from home time.

I will try shooting Stacy an email and find out what the deal is with Washington. Hopefully I will get some answers.

In the mean time, keep applying everywhere. I find it strange you have no takers. Is there something you can be forgetting? Ticket. Accident?