Newbie - Questions
Topic 5138 | Page 1
Welcome Darwin. You'll need to start doing the leg work and utilizing the resources on this website. You'll get lots of answers, which will make you think of more questions, to which you'll get more answers - just reading the material that the gracious folks on the website have provided. You'll also get plenty of feedback and answers on the forum, but the place to start is to read the material provided for you.
Once you've gained a better understanding of how to start, and you're ready to commit to the new career, don't waste any time in starting:
In regard to leasing - stay away. Leasing in general is a questionable practice in the industry. You'll need knowledge of the industry as well as a good business sense. There are some success stories, but more often there bad experiences. Suffice it to say, better to stay away, especially as a rookie driver. Some companies push a lease program - don't allow yourself to be pressured.
You'll also find on this forum that nobody will tell you what to do - short of stay away from leasing. You'll need to do the research yourself to figure out whether you go company paid schooling, or private schooling. It all depends on what fits for you - just like choosing a company.
I can't recall the required time needed to already have a regular driver's license before you begin your journey. Somebody will chime in soon enough.
Best wishes to 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.
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.
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Welcome aboard Darwin Z.!
Follow those links that 6 string gave you and you'll learn a lot. Don't be shy, there's always someone available here to answer your questions. You will need to hold a regular driver's license for one year before you can apply for the CDL.
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.
Thank you guys for offering these great resources, Looks like i will be busy for the next few hours reading all of this. Great site!!
As a new guy to this site myself i have found with the direction of many on this site that you can type almost anything into the search bar on this site and it will pull up anything related to the subject or the subject itself. welcome to the site its great
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Hello everyone, I stumbled across this community after doing a few Google searches. About me i've had an interest in trucking for quite sometime and i had a few questions i was hoping some of you more experienced folks could answer for me.
- In order to qualify for CDL training under any school, Is it required to have your driver license longer than an certain period of time? - How exactly do i break into this career, I've been researching and some people suggest going to a trucking school first, while others suggest finding a company that does the training; I'm quite confused about this... Which is best for a complete newbie such as myself? - Are you required to own/lease a truck when you work under these companies? or will they just assign the drivers a truck? - If i do to go trucking school, i'm assuming they'll provide a truck to use? is this correct?
Last but not least, How long approximately does the training take? Am looking forward to your responses, Thanks in advance everyone!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: