Obtaining funding for school?

the tiny door is usually on refridgerated trailers only - it is an inspection port... you can eyeball a load without having to open up the whole door and loose all the cold air... - also I used mine (when I had reefers) to place a temp guage in for a few minutes to get a rear of trailer reading...

also handy to place a 20oz bottle of pop back there or water too...


you are a prime candidate with your situation and living arraingement...


but you have to be able to cover your bills during and after school until you get rolling...

you HAVE to...

a lot of large carriers have schools for "free" - but you end up in a contract that works a lot like a modern day "endentured servant" clause.

you are stuck for a year or two - at a lower wage - while they make $ on you... the amount you make in a lower wage is usually a 20K gain for the company over 2 years - you you are better to finance the 7K or less and get a private school to teach you.

it is a huge step - but for most of us it is one we NEVER regreted.

 

There's nothing silly about asking questions. The little door is a vent door. Some kinds of fresh produce must be ventilated while they're being transported, otherwise they spoil rather quickly from offgassing and excess moisture.

Some people also use the vent door to get chicken for supper... LOL, my grandpa used to send my dad into the trailer (which was sealed) through the vent door to get a chicken, shrimp, lobster or whatever else he happened to be hauling... so they'd have something to eat. I guess trucking didn't pay real well back in the late 40's and early 50's.

Grandpa would tell him to only take a few of whatever it was, from each pallet and he'd hand 'em out the vent door. Dad said times were hard then, and a lot of times they might not have any vegetables or milk to go with their lobster... (just typing that statement cracks me up)

 

Does you job layoff? If so you can go through unemployment to get training But, If your saying your job doesnt pay well then you probably wont get much in unemployment.Its a Option. Look into community colleges in your state and surrounding states for the best price and if need be take out a loan or use a credit card. If you want it do whatever it takes.Thats what I'm doing,unemployment for parcial and credit for the rest. I'm glad I've got the ball rolling and cant wait to graduate in mid Feb. See Ya

 

LOL, I think that might be a little tough now days. The little doors are smaller than they used to be. Probably for just the reason I stated earlier.

 

You have a Flying J near where you live? That's an EXCELLENT opportunity for you to chat up the truckers there and see who's happy, who's not, who's hiring, who's not, etc., to supplement what you can read on this board.

As others have said, DO NOT do the "free" schooling then you owe us a year or two through a company. I've heard nasty, nasty things about that so try not to, if you possibly can.

If you're going to go to a school, try to find out if they do a on-the-job training segment at the end of it where you can get a job with a carrier for a month or so for "training" wages but then hopefully have a job with them.

Also, try to find out if the school they offer you is recognized by big companies as a good school. If you go to a good school and you're willing to run anywhere and do anything reasonable, you should have a job in no time.

A lot of rookies get sent all over the country rather than being kept local. A lot of companies keep the local jobs for their "preferred" drivers who want to be home more.

I hope you have a clean driver's abstract and criminal record as you will require that to get on with a good company. If you can travel into Canada, it opens your opportunities even wider.

Good luck and I hope things work out for you!!!!

 

Before you look at the pell grant ASK ABOUT THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT ACT. THE PROGRAM WILL PAY $3500 TOWARDS SCHOOLING. YOU'LL HAVE TO DO A RESEARCH PROJECT AND ORIENTATION WITH DEPT LABOR AND TRAINING BUT IT WILL BE WELL WORTH IT. This is the program I'm in. As for pell grant you can get those for CDL schools that offer a long program. If you can find a SAGE School they offer 1 on 1 training. Look for an approved PTDI school if you can. Best of Luck.