I recently got my CDL A and I want to get into driving a dump or rolloff truck but cant find any companies willing to take on a driver with no experience in one of these type trucks.
Anyone have any advise?
How do I get into a dump or rolloff driver position?
Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by jerseyguy72, Sep 29, 2014.
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Hi jerseyguy, that's a common problem, you can't get a job because of no experience, and can't get experience, because no one will hire you.Dump truck firms, it seems, are more selective, as they just can't take a chance on inexperienced drivers. Many dump outfits would like you to have loader experience, as many places , you load yourself nowadays. Rolloff companies would be a better bet, as there isn't as much that can go wrong, and a simple "ride along" for a week, should teach you all you need to know. I'd go and talk to a few rolloff companies, in person, tell them you are willing to ride along to learn the ropes. I don't think rolloff pays as much as dump truck, but it's a start.
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suck it up and get a year with whoever will hire you, then go there.
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Are you trying to get into a tractor-trailer or a straight truck? As far as T/Ts in the private sector, it's just not going to happen without some T/T experience under your belt. As for straight trucks, try your major road builders and waste companies.. the caveat to this is that, if they do take you on, you'll probably be in a truck with an Allison auto... there's a whole lot to learn going into these fields, and they want you to either have the driving part down already, or else make that part as simple as possible. As a dump driver, you need to know when to have the discretion to say, "no, this is too much of an angle, I'm not dumping like this". With a roll-off, you need to know when to tell a customer, "no, I'm not putting the can right against the building, because whoever retrieves it will end up striking the building when they angle it up". They don't want to teach you to drive on top of that.
The other option is to try a municipal position and work your way to it... you might come on as a laborer, get some training in a front end loader, get an EO1 position with some straight truck driving, and work your way up from there.
As for having to know how to operate a loader, depends on the outfit you're working for... a municipality typically will... a smaller excavating/grading outfit or a smaller waste management outfit probably will (for the latter, if your truck goes down for repairs, you'll be expected to do something, so you might end up pushing up piles at a transfer station). For a major outfit, not so much. -
Smaller 10-12 yard tandem straight outfits are likely to higher you with little to no experience, but T:T 20+ yard dump outfits 9/10 won't hire, because of the liability of not knowing...25 tons suspended 30/40 ft in the air isn't for the faint at heart, with no experience and attention to detail...contour, grade, wind, etc. Large outfit roll off, or small outfit straight truck dump services would be your best bet, if any.
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[h=2] How do I get into a dump or rolloff driver position?[/h]
knock on doors .emailing is so obsolete if you truly desire to hire on at company X. -
I started out pulling a 39 foot dump right of CDL school so its possible......you just got to network and get to know the right people.
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I didn't go to driving school and got a job driving a tri-axle dump (Mack Granite CV713) by going to the owner of the construction company and simply asking for a job. It was a small outfit with only five trucks, but he was glad to bring me aboard. I'm pretty sure your best bet is to visit with potential employers and explain your situation. Reply to ads online as well and ignore the experience requirements. At worst they'll say no, at best you've found yourself a job or a potential lead in a year or two.
Just don't snap an axle or forget to unlatch your tailgate. You'll get stuck a few times in your first season, I'm positive of it. Don't get too discouraged. Never dump on uneven ground and pay attention when you're getting loaded to make sure the weight is distributed evenly in the box. Don't get pressured into dumping in a spot where you're not comfortable. A lot of these construction foremen or heavy machine operators can be real jerks at times. Don't take it personally, learn from every experience and put yourself into a position to succeed.
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