companies that dont require refresh course

I upgraded from a b to an a after a few years. otr is generally accepted as 5 or more states; and plenty of places don't actually ask you if you were sleeping in the truck. Go for a place that's somewhat local; but does regional stuff. I upgraded to an a; waited a few months so it would show like i had experience when someone ran my license; then went out applying. Found a good company. Ran for them for a few years; bought my truck and found a great company to lease to. Insurance is higher without experience certainly; but having run several states and being familiar with them, you get reasonable discounts. I have bobtail and physical damage up to 30k and ct makes me have uninsured motorist. costs 1300 a year or so if paid in full. It can be done.
Look for a place that does regional type work, that's a good start.

 

I'm not scared to put it out in public. the company i ran for was a small building supply wholesaler just north of bridgeport, ct. they have three combos and two straight jobs. very small; good people. I won't put their name out on here.
the company I'm leased to is George Hildebrandt. They are out of Hudson Ny. great company in my opinion. You can look them up on youtube. they have a decent little website as well. google should find it. Not to sound like a **** but they wouldn't hire you at this point. minimum qualifications exclude you. In the future however, they'd be worth a look see. I run through Mass all the time. deliver in mass a lot as well. Anyways; get your "A". sit on it for a piece; find somewhere good to go. You're thinking right: don't go with just any old company. make a list of what you want, find a company that matches; don't compromise!
You're right on target about not wanting to start something new and get laidoff. being the low man on the totem pole doesn't necessarily mean you'll be cut first, but being the best/hardest/most effective worker won't always keep you in one either.
I feel like I'm telling you thisas an old man lmao guess it's just hard to know what you know; and what little pieces might help you with the puzzle.

 

I think the part that was missed was where I said I already have over a million OTR pulling everything with wheels through every one of the 48.

Why should I have to "sit on it" when I have had it for most of my life, and already know how to use it ???

 

There are companies out there that do not require refreshers (although I cannot vouch for their character). I know someone who signed on with Swift after sitting out for years. Also I know a driver who signed on with May Trucking Co. after sitting for a long while. The guy must have been 80...prolly didn't want to work at Walmart.

I'd go for local, man.

 

It is tough if you've been outta the seat for a while. I was in the same situation myself. I drove OTR for 6 months when my wife came down with some major medical problems and I was forced to get off the truck and find a job where I could stay at home with her and our small children at night. I found a decent paying job with great insurance and benefits and we got through everything. Was tight on paydays, but we survived. Fast forward to now.....almost 5 years later. I too had to have surgery and did not have insurance so I have huge stacks of medical bills. I looked back to trucking since where I live there are not many jobs available now and even if I could find one, I would have to get another full time position elsewhere to be able to pay our bills.
I was in a bind.....short OTR "experience", but did run in 25 states or so then and have driven semi w/hopper for local elevator for the past 4 years. Didn't count though. I had no desire to go to a school for one of the bigs and then be stuck with them for nothing and not getting to come home so I started calling the more local trucks I see going through my town. Luckily I got a good paying job for my area with what appears to be a great local company pulling tankers. I start on Monday. Don't give up, it can be done, just takes some hunting and talk time.

 

For exactly the same reason that if I want to keep my EMS and Fire Service certs (NFPA Certifications) I have to attend continuing education: because things change in this industry as much as they change in Emergency Services.

If you want to drive for a big company and get the benefits that come with it, suck it up, take a class for $300, get in a truck and quit complaining about it.

 

What benefits would those be?

Low pay?

No home time?

Slow trucks?

Treated like crap?

Tracked everywhere you go?

Qualcomm babysitting you all the time?

I'm at a loss here to understand....They don't pay for the crappy medical,dental insurance that they offer and they act like it's a huge inconvenience when you want/need to go home and if you want time off they take your truck away and you wind up with someone elses mess...

So....What benefits are we talking about here?

Companies that require a refresher course for an experienced driver to go back out on the road are pretty much all companies that are not worth working for!
Why would someone that's been driving local need a refresher course to run OTR?

Any MORON can get from point A to point B easily enough....The real challenges are once you get there and it seems to me that someone that's been running local will have the "in town" stuff all figured out!


Find a decent smaller outfit that doesn't reqire a lameassed "refresher course" and go to work!

 

I just have no idea why some of the people on here encourage these newbes attemping to get their CDL without formal school training. Regardless of what you think on the current state of training in the industry, to get a decent job in the industry you need to attend a school. Even if you find a small company to hire you, your locked there for ever.......as none of the better paying compaies with good benefits will ever touch you, even years down the road. If all of the proposed new rules by the FMCSA go through, even the small companie will rethink this hiring practice.
There is just no responsible company that is going to put a newbe in a tractor trailer without some proper training at a quilified school and some OTR training.......maybe 20 years ago, but not in this day. Too much liability They even make a guy with years in the seat, attend a refresher after a couple years off the road.