Congratulations on the pre-hires!
Hey, I wouldn't drop the cash on a physical unless you have serious doubts about passing it. Once you go to a school, or to a training program they will usually have included in the price a physical that you will take with their chosen physician. If you have gone through the High Road Training Program, then you will have no problems passing that permit test. I recommend you go ahead and get that out of the way before you go to school or a training program. You will realize why after you get there and see the other students stressing out over all the information they are trying to cram in all at once.
Thanks so much! I'm so excited I'm having a hard time taking it slow and making sure I do things in the "right" order. There's a company out there that's out of a town near me who seems too good to be true and I just want to jump on it. 34 hr reset would be at home, tuition reimbursement if I stay with them for a year, no pet policy but free rider policy, etc....The irony would be that me, the vegetarian, would be hauling livestock to slaughter! Ha! People gotta eat....rofl-3.gif
This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I would not start out hauling livestock if I were you. It takes a special person to do this job. Depending on the length of haul you may need to unload the beasts and let them get water and then reload the trailer. The weight of these animals when they arrive at the auction house is critical, and the stress of the trip and the lack of water effects them very negatively weight wise. It is critical that they get there on a timely basis, this is why the bull haulers, as we call them, are always passing us on the interstates in the middle of the night looking for all the world like they are going a hundred miles and hour. I was in the cow business at one time and I hauled my share of cows to the market - it's interesting to say the least!
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Old School is dead on about the physical and the permit test. I paid for my own physical and it turned out the school did another one and the company that hired me paid for a third one. All were good though. As for the HRTP I did exactly as Old School suggests and was glad I did. Just like he said, everyone else was freakin' out 'cause they only had a few days of class before taking the test and mine was already done.
Good luck!
This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth. I would not start out hauling livestock if I were you. It takes a special person to do this job. Depending on the length of haul you may need to unload the beasts and let them get water and then reload the trailer. The weight of these animals when they arrive at the auction house is critical, and the stress of the trip and the lack of water effects them very negatively weight wise. It is critical that they get there on a timely basis, this is why the bull haulers, as we call them, are always passing us on the interstates in the middle of the night looking for all the world like they are going a hundred miles and hour. I was in the cow business at one time and I hauled my share of cows to the market - it's interesting to say the least!
Great news! I would be doing regional hauls so no live hauling! I was really nervous about that because I've heard just a few things about it, your words confirming and adding to my concerns. If a cow was standing in front of me, you'd barely be able to see the top of my head! So loading and unloading would be a chore especially if I was under a time crunch. I'm really wanting to just focus on getting "basic" experience before graduating to more specialized hauling. Reading through these forums I've learned that having a big ego can get you into tight spots, so I'm aiming low and hoping I come out on top.
The school I'm looking into has set me up with a free physical which I'll do at the end of June. Still waiting to hear back from some companies and figure out my enrollment strategy. I'm also a business owner so I'll need to phase out of that before I start school. I greatly appreciate your opinion, Old School and it's worth a lot to a newbie like me.
Old School is dead on about the physical and the permit test. I paid for my own physical and it turned out the school did another one and the company that hired me paid for a third one. All were good though. As for the HRTP I did exactly as Old School suggests and was glad I did. Just like he said, everyone else was freakin' out 'cause they only had a few days of class before taking the test and mine was already done.
Good luck!
Thanks Steve for the heads up! I hope to only have to do one physical, but I guess if the companies want it... :) As for the HRTP, I love the set-up and am so grateful that it's available to us. I've had some home life stuff come up that has taken priority for about a week now, but so far I have a 97% overall. I have a tentative schedule for all of this thanks to your feedback.
Thanks for the well wishes and happy driving to you both!
Melly
Usually refers to a driver hauling freight within one particular region of the country. You might be in the "Southeast Regional Division" or "Midwest Regional". Regional route drivers often get home on the weekends which is one of the main appeals for this type of route.
Commercial trade, business, movement of goods or money, or transportation from one state to another, regulated by the Federal Department Of Transportation (DOT).
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Hello all!
I'm excited to say that I've received 6 pre-hire letters! I then emailed all the companies some questions (how long is training, pet policy, rider policy, tuition reimbursement, how long would I have to wait for a truck (one company kind of freaked me out when they said that for female drivers the wait is longer because they wanted to make sure that I was placed with a "safe" trainer - female or male approved - while I can appreciate their concern and sensitivity, I would hope that there wouldn't be ANY unsafe trainers!), etc) just for clarification on what would be expected/required of me and what I could expect. Waiting for the responses. Just figure that these companies are willing to potentially spend a lot of $ on me so it wouldn't be very nice of me to not do my research. Want to make sure we'll be the best fit.
Anyways, now that that's done, I scheduled a tour of the school I'm looking at and have been studying to take the test to get my CDL permit. I still need to get my physical done though. Should I do that before I drop the $ on the permit test? And if so, and all goes well with that, I then take the test? What should I add to my list after that?
Thanks so much! I'm so excited I'm having a hard time taking it slow and making sure I do things in the "right" order. There's a company out there that's out of a town near me who seems too good to be true and I just want to jump on it. 34 hr reset would be at home, tuition reimbursement if I stay with them for a year, no pet policy but free rider policy, etc....The irony would be that me, the vegetarian, would be hauling livestock to slaughter! Ha! People gotta eat....
Melly
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.