Topic 7522 | Page 1

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Ross S.'s Comment
member avatar

ok so I have a question for the road warriors, local boys/girls, ltl , otr , pretty much everyone. I got my class a cdl recently and I applied at some truck companies that sparked my interest in school. I have received pre employment from a couple that I wanted. The problem is I also have a for sure job locally working for a farm distribution store in my town. I will be driving anything from a bobtail to a combo. my concern is that if I go with a company and hate it I will lose my chance at the farm store or vice versa.. I know I am stressing over nothing but I want to make sure I have enough money to support myself and family. I hear stories about some companies promise miles and your sitting most of the time.... idk any advise would be greatly appreciated

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.

Bobtail:

"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.

LTL:

Less Than Truckload

Refers to carriers that make a lot of smaller pickups and deliveries for multiple customers as opposed to hauling one big load of freight for one customer. This type of hauling is normally done by companies with terminals scattered throughout the country where freight is sorted before being moved on to its destination.

LTL carriers include:

  • FedEx Freight
  • Con-way
  • YRC Freight
  • UPS
  • Old Dominion
  • Estes
  • Yellow-Roadway
  • ABF Freight
  • R+L Carrier

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.

Arejay (RJ)'s Comment
member avatar

Here is a thought that I think may help. How many companies do you think can afford to have Millions of dollars worth of trucks just sitting around waiting on loads? None that I'm aware of... what with slim profit margins, trucking companies are just like the airlines, they have to keep the equipment moving as much as possible so that it can pay for itself. An idle truck is not an asset, it's a liability and is losing money, too much of the fleet sitting around too long and it won't be long for the company to go belly up. I think if you read up as much as possible on the great information on this site and follow the good advise, you shouldnt have to worry too much about having loads to run, your worry will be more along the lines of managing your time to get all the loads they will be throwing your way in short order.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

Brett Aquila's Comment
member avatar

Welcome Ross!

Ralph is right and I'll add to that a bit.

Trucking is performance-based. If you're hard working, safe, reliable, and know how to get along with people you'll get great miles anywhere you go because trucking companies rely on their best drivers to get the bulk of the work done and the lazy, unreliable drivers with bad attitudes get the leftover scraps if there are any.

When you hear a driver give a review about a company, the overwhelming majority of the time you're really getting the driver's review of his own performance. If they're sitting all the time there's a reason for it. Because like Ralph said, companies can not survive with their trucks sitting around all the time. A small percentage of them, sure...but not many.

As far as missing out on an opportunity.....companies are desperate for drivers and truth be known there are very few "top tier drivers" out there as an overall percentage. The drivers that can consistently turn the big miles, always arrive on time everywhere they go, stay safe, and get along with people are the ones that can walk in pretty much anywhere and find work. And turnover is so high in the industry it's incredible. It averages nearly 100% nationwide. In other words, on average every company goes through one driver per year for every truck they have. That can vary wildly from company to company, but it shows you how much churn there is.

Once you get a little experience you'll be able to work pretty much anywhere you like. You might have to wait a short time for an opening, but it will come.

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