Truck Driving?

Anybody on here got there cdl in the past several years? I have done some driving for farmers but am thinking about getting my cdl and start driving local. Every company I have talked to needs 1 to 2 years experience before they will even talk to you. Anyone have experience with going to a private school then buying a truck and running owner operator. How hard was it to get a job?

Our company will send you to their school an pay while your there only thing is you have to work for them for a year. Not a bad gig...

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I got my license on my own and it's not too hard to do if you have a connection to borrow a truck to take the test in. In ohio you just take a written test to get a learners permit then you can go the next day and take your pretrip, maneuverability and driving exam and get your license. If your confident in your driving ability tell a few companies you worked for a farmer and maybe they'll let you work for them and as you gain more experience you can find something you wanna do more permanant. I got my cdl driving service trucks, hauling small equipment trailers, applied with a company to drive a heavy wrecker and they trained me in everything tractor trailer related, soaked up as much knowledge as I could and moved onto hauling fuel locally. It's about as easy as good as it gets in the driving business in my mind.

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You could always work for Swift

j-mox said:

You could always work for Swift

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Watch those bridge heights! Just had a truck stuck under one of ours the other day.

Nice thing about farming is they are exempt from a lot of the regulations. All we really have to have is a current DOT medical card. It's nice to gain some experience driving and I know we take our trucks in some pretty tight places and culvert crossings so you learn to manuver in less than ideal conditions.

There is a place local to us I have seen that says a CDL in one day. They will give classroom training and short driving instructions, refresher day of test and drive testing course and provide you with a day cab auto transmission truck with back window, and short lowboy trailer for the driving test.

Yes its a double edge sword. You get shitty drivers out on the road, but if you already have knowlege it can get you the licence you need without long training.

yea the swift thing is what I'm wanting to stay away from. Yea I'm pretty sure I could get my cdl without the training I just think it would help with getting a decent job. I've talked to two smaller fuel hauling companies and a container hauling company that acted like it wouldn't be a problem getting on if you just had that paper that says you have been properly trained.

The walk around will fail you before you even start the engine :****: and also the truck you take the test in should be in great shape because if not the DOT Officer will issue tickets and make you come back I know from experience

The haz mat is a whole different ball game these days! I had one when I first got a CDL but you have to renew it and retest more often than just the license itself. I finally quit taking it and dropped it. Costs more to have also.

Re: Re: Truck Driving?

j-mox said:

The haz mat is a whole different ball game these days! I had one when I first got a CDL but you have to renew it and retest more often than just the license itself. I finally quit taking it and dropped it. Costs more to have also.

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But if you're using it, it pays for itself very easily and makes you much more valuable. Fedex, UPS, and a bunch of LTL carriers require it and it sounds like some of those are pretty good gigs.

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After you get your CDL post up a resume in sites like jobsintrucks.com and you'll get all kinds of offers. Yea, they say they want 1-2 years experience but apply anyway, they'll hire you on. Most don't want any accidents on your MVR and no recent DUI's. Only local jobs as in home every night would be jobs like food service and that is after a 14 hour day, which is the norm in trucking. Any company is going to push you to the limit as this is how they make money. Don't fall for trucking companies that train you and pay for your CDL as then you are beholden to them. I got my class A CDL at Calhoun Community College, really relaxed teacher that made it fun and she did the third party testing in the truck you learn in which made you more comfortable instead of a state trooper . Check out this site for some insightful info http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/

It's not to hard to get in Arkansas, written test then driving test. The cdl testing place you go to here has a truck you can rent for $200 if you don't have one. I got mine several years ago when I started trying to get a job with BNSF. Having one will definitely help to get some jobs

In pa now if you test in a automatic you can not drive a stick tractor. Regulations got a **** ton more strict in December of last year. The new skills test takes an avg 3 hrs to do. For the pre trip u have to name like 128 different things. It sucks major ass. Hazmat you must get finger printed an a background check done very 4 years when you renew your license.