Former CDL A Driver Needing Advice
Topic 33895 | Page 1
Hi Gary. With such a long gap and no CDL , you’re looking at starting from scratch. And from what I’ve learned here is that it’s very difficult and expensive to just get a truck and take the CDL road test.
Your best bet would be to apply to all the companies that have in-house CDL paid training. (Meaning THEY pay YOU during training), plus other perks.
Check out the links here on Trucking Truth.
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.
Thanks, BK.
That's unfortunate. It baffles me that I had to drop the CDL portion just to retain the class - C. I mean, if I paid for the class A renewal, but had yet to take the class A tests, wouldn't the class A have simply reverted to a de facto class C until I took the tests? If I got pulled over driving a rig with the class A invalid, I would be in trouble, I should still be able to use it as a class C.
That made no sense to me.
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.
Baffle:
A partition or separator within a liquid tank, used to inhibit the flow of fluids within the tank. During acceleration, turning, and braking, a large liquid-filled tank may produce unexpected forces on the vehicle due to the inertia of liquids.
Yeah Gary, many things government related make no sense. But even if you had kept the CDL current, it wouldn’t help you at all with a 19 or 20 year period without driving. Most, if not all, companies are going to look for recent experience, especially the last 3 years.
That’s why paid training would be the way to go for you. You don’t have to pay for classes at a private CDL school and you get refreshed to drive again. If you can apply and get accepted by one of the big companies, it really doesn’t take that long. Could be as short as the 5 weeks I spent training with Schneider for classroom, pad, road practice and then out two weeks with a trainer on the road. Even if you go with a great, but long, training program like Prime, you still get paid for all the time you are getting your head back in the game.
So you can start by getting your CDL learners permit and applying to the paid CDL training programs through the links you have.
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.
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Greetings!
My name is Gary. I drove and delivered for McLane for a few years in California. I haven't driven in 20 years, and voluntarily gave up my CDL when I learned it had expired and needed a Uhaul that day. The only way to do that according to the DMV was to drop to a class-c. So, I did and got my Uhaul.
Now, I'm thinking about returning to trucking but not sure where to start. Can't really afford classes again. I had all endorsements but passenger. Do I just do the behind the wheel retest and paper tests again? And who would I go to for a truck to do the BtW test?
BTW, I'm currently in Fort Worth, TX.
Cheers! Gary
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.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.