Pro North - Have Questions.

I spent 2 separate years in Iraq and Afghanistan for the US. I am ready to retire this in 10 months as well. I am going to be going to truck driving school in Canada after I get out. My wife has family in Montreal and wants to be closer to them so we are going to invade Canada. Looking forward to my next adventure.

 

Is it different than a class A? Someone told me there was difference. How long is the schools up there?

 

The z is just an air brake endorsement, you'll have to do a written test every 5 years after you get your license to keep it. If I remember correctly I think school was 6 weeks when I went.

 

You have to go and get your AZ license first. Nobody has to go to a training school to get training but who else is going to take the time to teach you how to do logbooks and other technical stuff??
Get your driving license and then big carriers like ProNorth, Erb or Kriska will train you to the specifics of their work.

 

Manitoulin is affectionally known as "The Red Army" as they have a rule book second to none. If you can work on their terms you should have a successful career with the. They have terminals across Canada. Their local trucks peddle ltl freight and their highway trucks run between terminals either regionally or across the country.

ERB is a family owned refrigerated carrier that does both TL and LTL freight. They operate in both Canada and the USA. They do have several terminals in Ontario that their straight trucks deliver from. ERB is a well run organization with real family values.

 

When I was at Erb they paid 42 a mile in Canada 45 a mile in the U.S. (5 years ago, don't know what it is now). Manitoulin pays you based on experience when you start, if you're brand new I'm not sure what they would pay you, I don't think it would be less than 38 a mile but some people have told me they started at 40. I make more at Manitoulin working 4 days a week and then having 4 days off than I did working 5 days a week at Erb, it's also 98% pin to pin. Don't let people scare you with the stories about all the rules its not that bad. You'll learn quickly that all trucking companies are basically the same, they just shovel it differently lol.