New Driver

So what you are saying is...You have your CDL but no formal training? None ???

Check the forums for good and bad companies. You'll find it very informative.

 

Hey Adam welcome to the forums. I am a little bit confused if you already hold a CDL A why would u go to truck school if you already have it. Thats what i am confused about. As far as a good company i would check in to Roehl or schneider, Roehl being my frist choice becasue they seem to be a very good company to go with, I wanted to sign on but they would'nt take me becasue of a prescription i take.


But hey give em a shot and good luck

 

A lot of times companies won't touch you unless you have experience or go to a school so maybe that's what it means. In any event there are many good companies so just look.

 

By the way if you have no experience driving an 18 wheeler, please go to school. If just to make us all fell better. No company is going to want to train someone from the ground up.................maybe swift.

 

The consensus here places the following companies at the top:

Roehl
Crete
Watkins & Shepard
deBoer
Schneider (mixed)
Old Dominion (if you're East Coast?)
Transport America

Some have different views, but most agree these companies are good in themselves, or good for beginners. In general, companies emanating from Wisconsin and Montana seem to have the highest standards; whereas those emanating from the South seem to have the lowest (CR England being the best example). If you have your CDL and just need training, a lot of doors are open to you, and there is no reason to walk through the wrong one.

I think PGT Trucking Inc. looks cool: http://www.pgtlikefamily.com/home.php

I haven't seen it discussed on here, probably new, and you can't judge what you'll get out of them by how friendly they are, but it's usually a good indication that you won't be treated like dirt.

It is safe to say you should, even must, stay away from companies not in the above list. I'm sure there are many I've missed, or many satisfied drivers with other companies, but I've read fairly consistent good reviews about those in particular.

 

Better advise has never ben spoken.

 

The fellow above who points out - not incorrectly - that many companies won't hire you without experience, addresses one side of the issue. The other side is that many very good companies will take you on and train you, meaning send you out with a trainer, not let you languish in a classroom. I have found more than a dozen companies who state on their websites: "We accept graduates from trucking schools." Some will say from "approved" schools, others don't seem to mind which. The companies I list above will get you the experience.

Here's a short list from a larger one I have compiled of companies accepting those with a Class A, but no experience:

http://covenanttransport.com/drivers/
http://www.atsinc.com/joinATS/drivertraining.jsp
http://www.transamtruck.com/ta_driver.html

I am not endorsing any of those, just illustrating that plenty of companies do accept student drivers. Go with the companies I list above, in roughly that order. If one won't take you, go to the next. Look around the web. Just start googling "truck jobs" and find lists of companies with their qualifications. Once you've found one that seems good, run it by the people here. Trucking is a good job, but the industry in which its caught is fraught with difficulty and malfeisance. Trust the companies others trust.

 

It's strange. I feel bad for people who want to get into this job. I myself haven't yet seen the inside of a cab, nor looked under one for more than a few seconds. But, as with any potentially rewarding profession, or really any job at all, you start at the bottom and have to eat a little dirt. Not too much -- don't be a slave and don't grovel. Just be polite and very, very flexible, but if they try to bend you too far, snap back at them and become firm.

The biggest complaints on here are:

1. Pay (amount, system, or delivery)
2. Lack of miles
3. Home-time (amount or timeframe)
4. Dispatch attitude
5. Quality/availability of equipment
6. Company ambiance/training partner
7. Time spent in dock
8. Slip-seating (?)

This indicates that more drivers are concerned with being on the road than with being off (which may seem contradictory to some!). So, take your cue from that, and don't let your eagerness flag if you don't get home enough.

 

Just in case this wasn't clear: GET EXPERIENCE WITH A COMPANY. DO NOT GO TO AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL. Good companies will take you on.