40 Hour Refresher Course
Topic 6715 | Page 1
Hey Nat, welcome to the forum. Western express has a program with a refresher that you could check out, it comes with a 9 month committal and low pay. I believe heartland does, depending on exp. and also check out Knight. 
I would think most private schools would offer a refresher course,,,, In Chicago I took a shortened course to remove an Air Brake restriction last year, ILL requires you retake a pretrip, skills and another road test to remove that restriction ! I received a 40 training Certificate,, also in school with me was a current CDL A driver from Texas who moved to ILL, ILL requires out of state CDL drivers, moving to ILL, to retake everything to get an ILL CDL ! I see trucking companies on Craigs list offering retraining for non current Drivers, so you have several options
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.
C.R. England and Swift will take you and send you to a 10 day refresher at their school. Not sure any commitment.
Here's a link to the Western Express refresher program. They have a program for both drivers that haven't used their CDL at all and ones who have had a break in service.
http://www.drivewithwestern.com/driving-jobs/refresher-course/not-driven/
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.
I do believe Heartland express has a refresher course as does Gordon trucking. I'm currently employed with Gordon (Hearland and Gordon are one in the same now as Heartland bought Gordon.. We still run as Gordon though) I can get you the email address of my recruiter if you'd like.
Also there may be a local course near you, check local community collages or Truck Driving Schools may have something that help.
Hey there Nat and welcome to TT! I see you're from Florida. Well Earlier this summer I was in the exact boat you're in being out of trucking for 14 years but keeping my CDL. I took an 80 hour refresher course in Lakeland, FL (Stupid me I took an 80 hour course and only needed a 40 for the company I'm driving for now but they reimbursed me about 65% of the cost of the refresher. They had housing available to stay at for free the 2 weeks I was there during the week. I went home on the weekends. (I live in Port Orange, FL) I'm a veteran as well and told the recruiter at the school that and I was able to stay for free. I know they don't charge vets for staying there. Anyway here is the info on the school if you want to call and ask about $ and availability. They were very nice (although the housing was a bit rough but it was free so ce la ve)
Career tech. 1755 West Olive St. Lakeland, FL Contact: Ken 813-763-2078 (not sure about the 2, hand writing bad) if not try 863-688-8800
Initially I contacted a guy named David out of the Tampa office. They have 2 locations: Tampa and Lakeland. They have job placement with many OTR companies. My recruiter at Prime gave me their number as they are accredited with Prime. Thinking about that you may want to contact whatever company you're wanting to drive for and ask them for a list of accredited schools before you throw down 2k on a refresher only to find out the company doesn't take students from that school.
Good Luck!!
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.
Lets see if I can post a link to this site for a little write up I did on it:
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Hey Drivers,,,,I have been off the road for eight years now, and would love to return to the Highway. Every application I've submitted has been rejected due to the huge gap in driving. I get that I have to do a 40 hour refresher course, but where? How? The companies I've spoken with say it's up to me to find a course. Is there a company out there that has training, that would do a 40 hour course, and get me in the cab with s driver trainer?It's like starting from scratch,,,I've done it before ,I'll do it again,,,,,just need a little advice. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again, and HAppy New Year. Stay Off the Zipper, and Keep The Shiny Side Up. Peas Shout!!
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.