Newbie
Topic 33604 | Page 1
We highly recommend Company Sponsored Training. There are many companies besides those two who will train you for free. I was trained by CFI and did all my OTR (6 years) with them. They are now owned by Heartland Express which also owns, Millis and Smith. They all train.
Prime and Knight are also good choices. There are many others, depending on if you want to pull dry van , refer, flatbed or tanker.
Best of luck to you.
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.
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.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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Thank you so much!
We highly recommend Company Sponsored Training. There are many companies besides those two who will train you for free. I was trained by CFI and did all my OTR (6 years) with them. They are now owned by Heartland Express which also owns, Millis and Smith. They all train.
Prime and Knight are also good choices. There are many others, depending on if you want to pull dry van , refer, flatbed or tanker.
Best of luck to you.
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.
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.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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
If you go with a company training program, be darn sure that is a company you want to drive for, you will be locked in until your obligation is fulfilled.
I went with a 10-week technical college program, 5 days a week, along with a part time job nights & weekends. After getting my CDL , I could "shop around" to find a company that was a good fit for me. I had recruiters calling and emailing me; the biggest issue was narrowing down the choices until I made a decision. The company I chose had tuition reimbursement, paid back over time so I was committed to them. Keep in mind, that was 9 years ago when all the talk was about the big "driver shortage", and companies were falling all over themselves to hire drivers; that may be different now, I don't know.
Bottom line - I went with tech school training, got an excellent education, and landed a good job. It worked out great for my situation; you have to figure out what your needs are, and go for it.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
Hi all. I just took my first step towards obtaining my CDL-A by getting my permit. I’m feeling overwhelmed with the bombardment of schooling options. Do I go with Swift and their schooling, Werner by way if Roadmaster, both out of state which is cool, or do a local school? I visited one school, locally, and it looks good, but $5000 to attend. Anyone has any feedback, I’m all ears. Thank you
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.