Well, I Did It.....
Topic 796 | Page 1
Best of luck to you. I'm sure the training from this site will help ease the load while in school.
Best of luck! 
Going To School. Well' good and the best time on the road to you. I love seeing all the various towns. It's nice
Ryan.
Good Luck, Michael....I'm glad the VA was able to help you !!! Its great to be able to go to a CDL school and not have to pay for it, or spend the next year driving for a company to pay them back. not alot of people are aware that the VA has this benefit for their veterans....I'm glad you were able to take advantage of it. I think you'll have internet where ever your staying for your school. If your gonna stay at home and go to school, check out the library, they all have free internet. Keep us updated if you can.....no go do what you have to do to get you out on the road. Its adventure time !!!
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.
Hello everyone! I got in touch with a Veterans Representative who sent me to the VRAP program (Veterans Retraining Assistance Program), and will be enrolling in the Wichita Truck Driving School this coming monday. Wish me luck, I studied hard on Brett's materials, checked out books from the library, passed all of the sample tests in the book, and I'm going. See you on the road!
PS: I'll try to leave updates as I go through school, but I finally lost my internet, couldn't pay the AT&T bill, so I will only be able to see replies to my posts if I go to the library.
Sincererly, and much hopeful, Mike Kashkin Salina, Kansas
Sounds like you are in a somewhat similar situation that I am in. I should look into VRAP as well, as it might give me a little slower pace of training going through a driving school, yet still offer enough support to scrape by until I am on the road. It would also allow more leeway in choosing an employer. I am going to call them tomorrow and get some details.
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.
Good Luck, Michael....I'm glad the VA was able to help you !!! Its great to be able to go to a CDL school and not have to pay for it, or spend the next year driving for a company to pay them back. not alot of people are aware that the VA has this benefit for their veterans....I'm glad you were able to take advantage of it. I think you'll have internet where ever your staying for your school. If your gonna stay at home and go to school, check out the library, they all have free internet. Keep us updated if you can.....no go do what you have to do to get you out on the road. Its adventure time !!!
Well, they're not paying for ALL of it, I'm going to be out of pocket for about 1400 dollars or so, but I've already spoken with them about financing the rest of it, and they've got me scheduled for my DOT physical for this coming monday at 8:00 am, I'm pretty excited about the whole deal, can't wait to get down to wichita and get started though - Mike
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.
Good Luck, Michael....I'm glad the VA was able to help you !!! Its great to be able to go to a CDL school and not have to pay for it, or spend the next year driving for a company to pay them back. not alot of people are aware that the VA has this benefit for their veterans....I'm glad you were able to take advantage of it. I think you'll have internet where ever your staying for your school. If your gonna stay at home and go to school, check out the library, they all have free internet. Keep us updated if you can.....no go do what you have to do to get you out on the road. Its adventure time !!!
Well, they're not paying for ALL of it, I'm going to be out of pocket for about 1400 dollars or so, but I've already spoken with them about financing the rest of it, and they've got me scheduled for my DOT physical for this coming monday at 8:00 am, I'm pretty excited about the whole deal, can't wait to get down to wichita and get started though - Mike
Michael, I am glad it is working out for you. I found out that I qualify for VRAP as well. I am also looking into a TPEG (Texas Public Education Grant) as well, that would cover 3/4 of the $3500 tuition for the school at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, TX. If I could get both, it would cover my costs. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
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.
Hello, All;
Just a quick update...
Took the Greyhound bus from Salina, Ks, to wichita on Friday morning
was supposed to leave at 0320 am, had electrical problems, helped the driver troubleshoot it down to one of the switches he had to push up on his dashboard, didn't seem to be doing what it should, FINALLY got out of salina at 0620am, into wichita, found the city bus terminal within two blocks of the greyhound terminal, applied for a 2nd shift position at a temp agency and will get the job if I can come up with transportation (no car down here, spun a rod bearing in the van....geez, what a great time for this to happen, right?)
Took the city bus to 37th and broadway, then walked two miles with tote bag and laptop case in sunny weather (95 degrees or so, now I'm having some fun), made it to the school, filled out app, ran MVR (clean record, whoo-hoo!!!), school will be 10 weeks for me instead of 5 so that the VA can pay for all of it instead of only half, but same tuition price, so I'll come out ahead about 300 dollars or so.
Am staying at the Union Rescue mission for the time being until I can find 2nd shift employment for after school.
And no, it's not going to be easy for me, but I'm telling folks that I'm too dumb to quit, and too stupid to fall over dead, so I might as well get up in the morning and go to school, LOL
cant wait to start on monday, they were really impressed with what I'd already learned from Brett's course (somebody keep a close eye on the size of his head after comments like that hee hee), said that with a little more work that the Pre-trip inspection and the HazMat section should be no problem for me since it looked like I had a good handle on the rest of all of the other modules.
Please wish me luck, I really need to find a night job and it's going to be tough enough as it is, if anyone has any ideas feel free to post them I don't know how to private message on here yet
Typing fast on this library computer because I only have sixty minutes, still trying to get ahold of wife on facebook, everyone have a great day, I'll post when I get the chance, but will keep a diary of every day from school
Mike
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
MVR:
Motor Vehicle Record
An MVR is a report of your driving history, as reported from your state Department of Motor Vehicles. Information on this report may include Drivers License information, point history, violations, convictions, and license status on your driving record.
Please wish me luck, I really need to find a night job and it's going to be tough enough as it is, if anyone has any ideas feel free to post them I don't know how to private message on here yet
and stay off that end of Broadway at night...too early in your new career to find out there are Lot Lizards there as well.
New Reply:
New! Check out our help videos for a better understanding of our forum features
Preview:
This topic has the following tags:
Becoming A Truck Driver CDL Test Preparation Getting Your CDL Paying For Truck Driving School
Why Join Trucking Truth?
- The High Road Training Program
- The High Road Article Series
- The Friendliest Trucker's Forum Ever!
- Email Updates When New Articles Are Posted
Apply For Paid CDL Training Through TruckingTruth
Did you know you can fill out one quick form here on TruckingTruth and apply to several companies at once for paid CDL training? Seriously! The application only takes one minute. You will speak with recruiters today. There is no obligation whatsoever. Learn more and apply here:
TT On Facebook
Hello everyone! I got in touch with a Veterans Representative who sent me to the VRAP program (Veterans Retraining Assistance Program), and will be enrolling in the Wichita Truck Driving School this coming monday. Wish me luck, I studied hard on Brett's materials, checked out books from the library, passed all of the sample tests in the book, and I'm going. See you on the road!
PS: I'll try to leave updates as I go through school, but I finally lost my internet, couldn't pay the AT&T bill, so I will only be able to see replies to my posts if I go to the library.
Sincererly, and much hopeful, Mike Kashkin Salina, Kansas
