Adventures Of A Brand New OTR Driver.
Topic 4662 | Page 1
Name: Brian Age: 24 (1990) Home state: Illinois Exp: None Start training August 11th.
Hello, my name is Brian. I'm 24 and slated to report to Springfield, Missouri on August 11th to start training with Prime Inc. in the tanker division.
I'm brand new to trucking and am really looking forward to the experience. I have absolutely no experience whats so ever in the profession lol expect for the countless hours I spent riding with my brother during summer breaks in Jr. High and loved every minute of it.
Anyway, I'm starting this thread in all honesty just to track and record this chapter in my life for my own personal satisfaction although hopefully it will bring some entertainment to members of the forum as well.
Like I said my first day in Springfield, Missouri is August 11th. I'm currently studying for my CDL permit because I want to obtain it before I even arrive in Springfield. I already have my DOT physical and certification out of the way and am good for 2 years. I plan on testing for my permit either Tuesday or Thursday of this week. I'm also going to be packing sometime this week, I used lists I've obtained from this website to finish purchasing and gathering everything I'll need to take with me, I'm good to go just need to pack it all away.
Anyway, I look forward to the experience and keeping a record of it all here!
Hi Brian, I will be following your progress eagerly. I just live up the road from Springfield (about 2 hours). I still have a couple years before I can begin my trucking career and Prime is one of the top companies I am considering due to it's close proximety to my home. Any way, good luck and please keep posting.
Larry B.
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.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Well my recruiter called me today and everything has been finished and I'm ready to go. However I opted for an August 18th start date instead of the 11th. This will give me a little more time to prepare and get my permit before I show up and will also allow me to bank one more paycheck from my old job so its a win-win.
Anyway, back to studying for my permit.
P.S. Nice to meet you Larry, I look forward to the career and posting more here.
Hey Brian, Welcome to Trucking Truth!
Thanks for posting your training diary, I can assure you it will get well read by other new folks trying to get started.
Just wanted to give you a heads up about your medical certification - Prime will make you do it again, but hopefully they will pay for it. Each time you get hired in this industry the new employer is required to get a new medical certification on you.
Hey Brian, Welcome to Trucking Truth!
Thanks for posting your training diary, I can assure you it will get well read by other new folks trying to get started.
Just wanted to give you a heads up about your medical certification - Prime will make you do it again, but hopefully they will pay for it. Each time you get hired in this industry the new employer is required to get a new medical certification on you.
Yup thanks, I found that out today and the exam is included in the $150 admin. fee.
Also I'd like to point out some discrepancies between this website and what I've been told to try and clear up which is correct.
This website states new drivers start at .33cpm and can't even touch tanker for a year however my recruiter has told me I'll come out the gate solo at .44cpm and I'm going straight into the tanker fleet from day 1 at Prime. I'm trusting my recruiter on those 2 points but can't anyone confirm?
Thanks and nice to meet you Old School.
P.s. I've been reading through Daniel B. 'S thread and am loving it.
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.CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Well, I joined 4 days, 7 hours ago...and that was the first time I started studying for my permit. This website is the only thing I've used...that's it, nothing else...and yet I was able to go in today very confident and score a 100% on my GK, Combo, Air Brakes and Tanker tests.
Yes, 100% using only the material provided and quizzes after each page this website provides. If that don't speak volumes about this website and forum, nothing does. I did not even touch my state book lol although I will in order to continue learning and brush up.
So I'm all set for the 18th to arrive. Thank you Brett for such an amazing website, it is able to single handle prepare a person with zero knowledge on CDL training to test in less then 5 days. and pass with a perfect score.
Thank you! Can't wait for the 18th.
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.
Sitting here eating lunch, arrived this morning and got my drug screen done. Physical is halfway finished and the line for the interviews is huge so I'm waiting.
Rest of physical at 1 and simulator training at 4.
So much waiting lol.
Well, since I obtained my permit before coming I am finished for the day.
Finished simulator training yesterday and computer based lessons today. Went over logbooks this morning. Today was much better then yesterday, I arrived at 3am Monday morning and had to be at orientation at 7 so it made for a rough and long day.
Anyway, I'm enjoying the experience so far, tomorrow is , according to the schedule, nothing but pre-trip all day. I read we had to obtain our passports and TWIC's somewhere but no one has said anything about it yet and its not on the schedule.
Guess I'll head out on the town and try to find something to do.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
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Name: Brian Age: 24 (1990) Home state: Illinois Exp: None Start training August 11th.
Hello, my name is Brian. I'm 24 and slated to report to Springfield, Missouri on August 11th to start training with Prime Inc. in the tanker division.
I'm brand new to trucking and am really looking forward to the experience. I have absolutely no experience whats so ever in the profession lol expect for the countless hours I spent riding with my brother during summer breaks in Jr. High and loved every minute of it.
Anyway, I'm starting this thread in all honesty just to track and record this chapter in my life for my own personal satisfaction although hopefully it will bring some entertainment to members of the forum as well.
Like I said my first day in Springfield, Missouri is August 11th. I'm currently studying for my CDL permit because I want to obtain it before I even arrive in Springfield. I already have my DOT physical and certification out of the way and am good for 2 years. I plan on testing for my permit either Tuesday or Thursday of this week. I'm also going to be packing sometime this week, I used lists I've obtained from this website to finish purchasing and gathering everything I'll need to take with me, I'm good to go just need to pack it all away.
Anyway, I look forward to the experience and keeping a record of it all here!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
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.