Curiousity Has Got The Best Of Me
Topic 6776 | Page 1
Welcome to TT! You have come to the right place! We have folks here that have done private and company training. I am at a Prime. Went through their company training( I have 2 weeks left till I'm on my own) and it is very thorough. I went with Prime because their training is longer than just about anyone else, and they have a good starting wage for company drivers.
I looked into a private training school but couldn't afford the up front cost, although I think it's a good way to go.
Any questions you have, just fire away.
I was in your spot not long ago. I decided to go with a company sponsored school through roehl transport. I did this for a few reasons one they offered a flatbed program which was what I was interested in second they have a fleet that allows me to make a decent wage I currently earn 50 cents a mile which is a good wage for a rookie and still be home on weekends which was important to me being that I have a 10 month old daughter. I attended cdl school at the roehl driver training center in Marshfield Wisconsin and I thought it was a good program it was 3 weeks long and they have small class sizes and almost the entire 3 weeks is spent in the truck getting drive time good pre and post trip inspections and lots of practice on the backing exercises required to pass the exams. Following rdtc if you pass and get your license they pair you up with a trainer in whatever fleet you choose and you go out with them on the road for 2 weeks and they then take you to a terminal to take your driver skills evaluation which is a three part exam in which you display your skills on the pre trip inspection, road driving , and one backing exercise. If the evaluator feels comfortable you pass and are assigned your truck and if you go flatbed at that time you will outfit it with all the necessary securment equipment. Now as long I choose to stay with this company for 120000 miles I will not be responsible for the cost of the schooling. I am not here to plug roehl I am only speaking of my experience with them and I enjoy working for them my fleet manager treats me well and is very understanding to the fact that I am still very new and don't move as fast as those that have years of experience. But if you truly want to drive truck there are many options out there for you to make it possible.
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.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Fleet Manager:
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
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.
Hello L1RM!! If you're interested in seeing some sites trucking may just scratch that itch. I was going to recommend looking at Prime Inc as they have a dedicated walmart route out of Lewiston ME BUT...seeing where you're located that may be a bit of a stretch for you as Lewiston is on the opposite side of the state. A dedicated route means you would be driving out of the same distribution center every day and returning with an occasional overnight here and there. It would mean you would stay within a 200 mile radius of Lewiston as well. It would be a good start in driving as you wouldn't have to deal with as many bigot truck drivers that are plentiful at the truck stops across the country. I think that would be one of the hardest things to deal with as a woman driver. It's hard for me to deal with and I'm male! (and a big apology for assuming you're female but your avatar highly suggests that)
I mentioned Prime Inc. as they have a program that will train you to get your CDL basically for free but that requires a 1 year commitment of driving for them after you get your CDL. I don't have the exact amount but if you leave before that 1 year, you'll be paying for the class which I'm reasonably sure is over $3500. Alot of money to pay if driving doesn't work out for you. There are several trucking companies that offer paid training and I think pretty much all of them have a commitment time with them after training.
I caution you not to get caught up in the glory side of trucking stories as first and foremost it's a job with more rules and regulations than being an airline pilot. It's one of the most highly regulated jobs in America. And the variables of the job change from day to day. I can't compare the job to any other job I've held in my 44 years.
If you have questions ask away. Don't worry about taking up space, YOU started the thread, ask all you want! Hopefully one of the woman drivers here can get back to you with more gender specific question I'm sure you have. I would be happy to answer any questions I can!
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.
Dedicated Route:
A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."
Hello hello Hello there my fellow mainah! Welcome to TT, the site that was one of the biggest influences in me getting my cdl and driving a truck. So you've got some questions I see. Well let me first say that I attended private school. I went through NTI which I imagine the Bangor location would be closest to you. Fair warning about nti. Because the class is so short you can't apply for any financial aid or student loans, and it isn't cheap. I had money in retirement account that just about covered it all. I will say this though.... I am beyond happy I chose that route. I looked having the options when i got out and company sponsored training wouldn't have allowed me to pick and choose, or even go local like i wanted. The obvious benefits to the other method would be that you don't have to pay anything.
Here's a link to my training diary so you can check out how things went for me during school.
Feel free to pm me on here if you have any more questions!
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.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 lil1ragamuffin!
We have a section of this forum called "Training Diaries" and it's exactly what you're looking for. Everyone shares their experiences during training and you can follow along and ask questions. You can find that section here:
In our Truck Driving Blogs we also have a category of articles called On The Road In Training where people share their experiences from their time in training on the road.
That should get you started!
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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HI! I have thought about driving for a few years. Im 44 years old, kids are all grown. I have always wanted to travel and be able to see sights. Not talking week vacations,,,just a few hours here and there.... I live in Northern Maine,,,,,so the CDL Training Schools are not near me. I do not have the funds to pay for schooling up front, and I have thought about scholarships, however, that can take some time to get through the paperwork. I have researched the different driving schools. There are positive and negatives to all of them......I was just wondering if anyone would be willing to share with me their personal experiences......I really would like to get going soon...... I have tons of questions that I would like ask but don't want to fill up the stream. Would love it if a couple of individuals wouldn't mind adding me on facebook to chat so I can ask questions.....
Thank you all for your help! lil
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: