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Post by dallasskip on Jul 10, 2004 8:14:49 GMT -5
I want to pursue a career in truck driving.I have passed the written portions of the CDL, and I know of a local company that I can practice with their truck and take the CDL Road test. My question is.....Is/ Are there any companys out there that would hire a person with a CDL and no experience. I know it sounds crazy , if I could team with someone for a couple of weeks to a month. I am scheduled to start "training",in a couple of weeks, with a one yr commimtment to them, and lower pay, Do I Really need a trucking school? Thanks in Advance, Skip
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Post by Fozzy on Jul 10, 2004 10:52:48 GMT -5
Hi Skip, I want to pursue a career in truck driving.I have passed the written portions of the CDL, and I know of a local company that I can practice with their truck and take the CDL Road test. IF this company is the one that you will hire on with, AND you plan to stay with them for a while, AND they run OTR trucks then I'd say yes. However you still are not too sure about what the examiners are specifically testing for and the cDL manual will tell you VERY little about what specifics the CDL skills tests involves. Just be able to get the truck into gear and giude it down the street is not enough. There are specific things in turns and other maneuvers that they are real score killers. You can complete the whole test thinking that you've done well and fail it miserably. While they will critique your performance and tell you why you failed, its strictly hit or miss and trial and error. My question is.....Is/ Are there any companys out there that would hire a person with a CDL and no experience. Not really, and most that do, are so close to the bottom rung that working for them could end your career or even your life before even getting started too far. Due previous problems of poorly trained drivers who have cost trucking companies millions of dollars in legal fees, the insurance requirements and common sense has made certified training in certain courses and for certain amounts of hours a requirement for hire for most companies. I know it sounds crazy , if I could team with someone for a couple of weeks to a month. I am scheduled to start "training",in a couple of weeks, with a one yr commimtment to them, and lower pay, Do I Really need a trucking school?Teaming with someone really will not teach you much other than how to operate while fatigued and funky. While its almost a sure bet that you WILL end up teaming with your "trainer" (real training programs and real trainers are getting harder to find), but at least the "training" will give you the required paperwork and proven experience to get hired by a company Fozzy
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Post by truckertom on Jul 10, 2004 23:04:49 GMT -5
We have trucks in the area that have "Rent me for a CDL roadtest" all over them. They have auto trannies, and a 25 foot trailer on the back and passing a CDL road test in them is easy. The problem is that many that have gone that route cannot get an entry level job in trucking anywhere because they have never set foot in a REAL TRUCK in there lives.....even though they have a fresh, brand new CDL in their wallet.
The industry is filled with scam artests and easy roads to success. The truth is, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. Do your homework before jumping into a company/rent a truck training program. You could live to regret it.
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Post by Minrath on Jul 11, 2004 13:00:12 GMT -5
I tend to dissagree, i went to shippers choice and paid over 5k for my course.By the time it was all said and done i had paid more for my liscense.I havent been able to get a job doing it tho and wish I had rented the truck and did it myself.I'd say more or less you need to know someone in the industry to get a foot in the door and its a fickle crooked industry to begin with.The hours alone seem fun if that was the biggest hang up no problem < very anti social by nature i dont even like talkin to my mother unless she forces me > however..thats not all there is to it.If you know someone you got a job, if not your left to your own devices like in anything else and while most ppl in the industry seem nice up front.Dont trust what they tell you because generally its bs.Until you see it for yourself, its myth and faith kinda like the bible.Im not saying all truckers are liars tho either.Alot of people base everything on there expieriences i guess and there expierience isnt nessecarily what yours will be.
as for the remark about getting thr truck in gear isnt enough, that is true to a degree.My first time at dmv, I backed up and just touched a cone, then failed.Second trip np got thru the whole thing then got on the road in a truck that was a pure pos < wouldnt go into gear, it had a fubar tranny > the dmv examiner tried to fail that truck on the spot but the instructor talked her outta it saying the hubs werent leaking he had just put oil in them right before we went to dmv wich I knew was a bald faced lie and there were 3 tires with gashes, nails and other crap in them they were told to change < they just rotated them and hoped they wouldnt be noticed the next trip to dmv >.Anyway i failed that one for coasting thru a intersection.I kept goin from 4th to 5th and it'd hang goin into 5th so i had to keep goin back to 4th.I musta failed that driving test 20 times, everytime I failed it i felt like i was using the driving test as a practice course.Finally I got thru it by the skin of my teeth, i got a instructor who looked the other way on the truck.Do i got a cdl? yep with all endorsements you can get, i can now legally drive 4 wheels 2 wheels and 18 wheels hauling stuff that goes boom.Do I feel as if i know wth im doing? Nope.As far as im concerned im still nowhere near where i need to be to do it proffessionally.Wherever I get hired on will have to finish my training.
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Post by truckertom on Jul 11, 2004 18:12:48 GMT -5
Sounds to me like you went through a CDL mill. If they don't have carrier recruiters falling over each other trying to hire the schools students, something is wrong. The fact that you failed the driving test so many times tells me something is wrong. You should have been able to come out of school and get a job right away.
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Post by dallasskip on Jul 12, 2004 6:56:04 GMT -5
To all those replied, I greatly appreciate all your wise and sage wisdom.I am going to continue on with my training (starting 8/9/04). I am going into it with an open mind and a closed mouth, I hope to absorb as much as I can and become a good, smart, safe driver.I hope it comes easily and I hope to "get" it befores it "gets" to me.
Thank You Again to all, Skip
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Post by Pcuthbert on Sept 15, 2004 14:08:55 GMT -5
Good luck Skip;
When you complete the course, and get your new steering papers, you will be a fully qualified learner.
As the miles start to pass beneath you and you come across new situations, you will start to become a truck driver.
17 years with my current employer (my choice, I could have moved on many times) and 10 years previous experience and there is not a day goes by that I cannot learn something new, or see a new solution to an old problem.
Take care, and be sure to tell everyone on the road what you are going to do. As a pro, you will be expected to "do it right".
Pat
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Post by truckertom on Sept 15, 2004 21:28:43 GMT -5
I tell my students all the time that the day they stop learning how to drive a truck, they had better step out and walk away.
Just about the time you think you have seen it all, something new happens that you have never had to deal with in the past!
The day you think you know it all, do us all a favor and go sell cars for a living.
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