Whats A Rookie To Bring
Topic 3259 | Page 1
This is how TruckingTruth does a list:
Items To Bring To CDL School, Training, and OTR
There are three other articles listed at the bottom of that page I just linked to also:
- Things To Pack For Truck Driver Company Training
- Packing List For Truck Driving School
- Items To Pack For Husband And Wife Truck Driving Teams
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.
Hey Christopher.
We have a series of articles that will cover items to pack for the road.
I'm assuming you haven't gone out with a trainer yet. During that time you actually need very little because there isn't much room on the truck and your trainer will have a lot of the necessary stuff. By the time you're finished with training you'll know what you need for running solo.
During training you'll want:
- About 7 complete changes of clothing, including something for all types of weather from summer to winter
- A sleeping bag or blanket (sleeping bag is preferred by not necessary)
- Your bathroom stuff like soap, toothpaste, toothbrush
Others will chime in who are in training or recently completed training. But everything you pack should fit in one or two duffle bags and you'll likely have to keep those on the bed with you while you're sleeping.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
My soon-to-be trucker is leaving for company sponsored training in 9 days. He is not guaranteed any hometime before he gets on a trainers truck (could be out a total of 8 weeks). His pack list is as follows:
Classroom (this depends on your company):
Pens/Pencils: Clear 6in Ruler Calculator Notebook Motor Carrier Road Atlas (I've heard this is essential even if not company required) CDL Study Guide from DMV Work gloves (one pair for general one for fueling) Multi-tool with changeable bits Flashlight
Personal Care:
Money! Everything he uses for hygiene Over the counter meds (ie: Ibuprophin, Allergy Meds,, Pepto) 4 Short Sleeve button down shirts 2 Long Sleeve button down shirts 4 pairs of Jeans LOTS of underwear and socks (!extra! in case laundry proves difficult) Steel Toed Boots (required by some companies) Flip Flops for Showers Laundry Bag Sleeping Bag Pillow Extra Pillow Case Vaping Liquid, Batteries, and Atomizers (for e-cig) Towel Shelf Stable Groceries Paper Plates/Bowls Plastic Forks/Spoons/Knives Truck Driver's Day Planner An empty backpack
Entertainment/Communication: Harmonica Nexus Tablet Cellphone (subscription to Spotify for music) Thumb Drives Loaded with Movies. Charger Cables/Power Sources
He is carrying most of these items in a half duffle. His bedding will travel in his laundry bag and his groceries will be boxed.
I am sure I am forgetting something...lol, but I hope this helps. :)
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.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Hey Christopher.
We have a series of articles that will cover items to pack for the road.
I'm assuming you haven't gone out with a trainer yet. During that time you actually need very little because there isn't much room on the truck and your trainer will have a lot of the necessary stuff. By the time you're finished with training you'll know what you need for running solo.
During training you'll want:
- About 7 complete changes of clothing, including something for all types of weather from summer to winter
- A sleeping bag or blanket (sleeping bag is preferred by not necessary)
- Your bathroom stuff like soap, toothpaste, toothbrush
Others will chime in who are in training or recently completed training. But everything you pack should fit in one or two duffle bags and you'll likely have to keep those on the bed with you while you're sleeping.
Thank You Brett
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
My soon-to-be trucker is leaving for company sponsored training in 9 days. He is not guaranteed any hometime before he gets on a trainers truck (could be out a total of 8 weeks). His pack list is as follows:
Classroom (this depends on your company):
Pens/Pencils: Clear 6in Ruler Calculator Notebook Motor Carrier Road Atlas (I've heard this is essential even if not company required) CDL Study Guide from DMV Work gloves (one pair for general one for fueling) Multi-tool with changeable bits Flashlight
Personal Care:
Money! Everything he uses for hygiene Over the counter meds (ie: Ibuprophin, Allergy Meds,, Pepto) 4 Short Sleeve button down shirts 2 Long Sleeve button down shirts 4 pairs of Jeans LOTS of underwear and socks (!extra! in case laundry proves difficult) Steel Toed Boots (required by some companies) Flip Flops for Showers Laundry Bag Sleeping Bag Pillow Extra Pillow Case Vaping Liquid, Batteries, and Atomizers (for e-cig) Towel Shelf Stable Groceries Paper Plates/Bowls Plastic Forks/Spoons/Knives Truck Driver's Day Planner An empty backpack
Entertainment/Communication: Harmonica Nexus Tablet Cellphone (subscription to Spotify for music) Thumb Drives Loaded with Movies. Charger Cables/Power Sources
He is carrying most of these items in a half duffle. His bedding will travel in his laundry bag and his groceries will be boxed.
I am sure I am forgetting something...lol, but I hope this helps. :)
Thats great and some hilarious again I Thank You
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.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
My soon-to-be trucker is leaving for company sponsored training in 9 days. He is not guaranteed any hometime before he gets on a trainers truck (could be out a total of 8 weeks). His pack list is as follows:
Classroom (this depends on your company):
Pens/Pencils: Clear 6in Ruler Calculator Notebook Motor Carrier Road Atlas (I've heard this is essential even if not company required) CDL Study Guide from DMV Work gloves (one pair for general one for fueling) Multi-tool with changeable bits Flashlight
Personal Care:
Money! Everything he uses for hygiene Over the counter meds (ie: Ibuprophin, Allergy Meds,, Pepto) 4 Short Sleeve button down shirts 2 Long Sleeve button down shirts 4 pairs of Jeans LOTS of underwear and socks (!extra! in case laundry proves difficult) Steel Toed Boots (required by some companies) Flip Flops for Showers Laundry Bag Sleeping Bag Pillow Extra Pillow Case Vaping Liquid, Batteries, and Atomizers (for e-cig) Towel Shelf Stable Groceries Paper Plates/Bowls Plastic Forks/Spoons/Knives Truck Driver's Day Planner An empty backpack
Entertainment/Communication: Harmonica Nexus Tablet Cellphone (subscription to Spotify for music) Thumb Drives Loaded with Movies. Charger Cables/Power Sources
He is carrying most of these items in a half duffle. His bedding will travel in his laundry bag and his groceries will be boxed.
I am sure I am forgetting something...lol, but I hope this helps. :)
Hey, that's me! LOL
I should clarify a couple of things...
The box of food, paper plates, etc are for the hotel. I'll be in the hotel for 3 1\2 weeks. There is a fridge and microwave in the room. Continental breakfast will be provided there and if I avoid eating out while I'm there I can save most of my living money for the first couple of weeks of OTR training. I won't be taking groceries and stuff onto the trainers truck. I may be able to cook meals with the trainer, but I'm not counting on it. Within my first two weeks on the road, I'll be getting my first training paycheck.
The half duffel that home fire was referring to is actually a military style parachute bag. Its about 26" long and soft sided. It will live on my bunk and I will be sleeping with it. All of my stuff fits inside this bag: clothing, tablet, atlas, toiletries, etc. Also I'm bringing a small backpack to carry my shower supplies and clothes from the truck to the showers. It is folded up inside the duffle bag.
I have 4 pairs of jeans and some shirts, but I also have 12 pairs of underwear, 12 pairs of socks and 12 undershirts. That way no matter how long I have to go between laundry mats, I will always be able to have a fresh set of clothes next to my skin. Jeans and shirts can stay pretty clean for a few days as long as the stuff you sweat on gets changed every day.
I have a really good sleeping bag. Its big and roomy. Canvas on the outside and flannel on the inside. Very warm, but can be opened up or slept on top of. I think this will be very helpful.
The past few days, I have been working on ripping my DVD collection onto a couple of thumb drives. They take up almost no space in my bag, and I can watch movies on my Nexus 10 tablet.
Hope this helps you a little bit. I'm leaving in a week for training, so we'll see how well I've packed.
Ed
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.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
Hey guys I'm currently in the late stages of PSD training with PRIME . I go to test out for my cdl next monday. Ive been on my trainers truck for about 4 weeks now and i will be with him for about 6 more once we go TNT. I can give you a bit of advice on packing because my trainer has given me no room on the truck to store my stuff so it all has to fit in my duffle bags. First its a good idea to bring about 7 pairs of underwear. You wont change them everyday but i do change at least every other day. This will last you a good two weeks between laundry days. Plenty of socks and t shirts as well. Pants about 4 or 5 pairs should be fine. Again you will wear them for more than one day at a time. I happen to like polo shirts for comfort and professional appearance and have about 7 of them in different colors. They are all lightweight and dry easily for the odd time i may get a little warm and sweat. You will want a good pair of gloves for work and cold weather as well as a pair of rubber gloves for fueling. I also have a lightweight jacket that is very warm for the odd time when the weather changes and it gets chilly out. Now when it comes to sleeping i put my bags on the passenger seat so that i have my whole bunk free. Its a pretty small space so dont crowd it by trying to sleep with your duffle bags. I usually get up before my trainer and get going on my pretrip while he is getting dressed so i am ready to roll by the time he is finally dressed. I usually wear a pair of slip on leather shoes or sometimes if it's warm and im wearing shorts i will wear sneakers but most times its my leather loafers. I have yet to visit a shipper or receiver who requires boots must less steel toes but follow your company guidelines on this. I usually do laundry about every other week and i try and shower every other day. Sometimes this is not possible but i try to stick to it whether my trainer does or doesnt. I have had to buy my own shower a couple of times when my trainer didn't want to use a shower credit to have a shower. I dont consider this a big deal as i have a pretty good trainer in the big scope of things. Hope this helps take out some of the mystery as to what it may be like being on the road with a trainer.
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.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
I have had to buy my own shower a couple of times when my trainer didn't want to use a shower credit to have a shower.
Are you kidding me!!!
Now when it comes to sleeping i put my bags on the passenger seat so that i have my whole bunk free.
That makes sense to me. I've been wondering why more than one person has mentioned that you have to sleep with your luggage. Any reason for that?
Now when it comes to sleeping i put my bags on the passenger seat so that i have my whole bunk free.
That makes sense to me. I've been wondering why more than one person has mentioned that you have to sleep with your luggage. Any reason for that?
I dont think there is any more reason other than they just didnt think of it. You will have to stow your bags on your bunk in such a way though that they wont fly forward and become missiles in the event thst you or your trainer has to brake hard. He or she should show you how to do this as soon as you get on board. I stow mine at the head and foot of my bunk behind the cabinets when we're (i'm)driving.
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Hey Brett,could you make a detailed list of what us rookies are to bring ,say our first five weeks OTR ing.That would be great you know with a trainer,shower caddy flip flops for shower right down to clothing?technology what we need for that type stuff all the goodys
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.