is having all 7 endorsements the way to go?

The only thing you gain by having more endorsements is spending more money renewing your liscense. Normally when you apply somewhere they will tell you what endorsements are required to be hired. Then you get that endorsement. No need to have them if your not using them like P or SB. Hazmat is really dependant on your job. I havent ran for a for hire freight carrier in over a year so let my hazmat lapse because it was time for a full renewal (background and refingerprint) so it would cost me another $300 to keep it. If I was go back to a for hire carrier I would probably need to get it again.

 

Get the tanker/hazmat so you will have many more options to choose from. Depending on the hiring area you live in, those endorsement could mean $20K more pay per year as a new CDL school graduate.

 

Then your scope is too narrow. I had hazmat from 02 - 10, and never used it. I've used my tanker endorsement a grand total of four times... twice to haul loads of AC (asphalt cement) oil for the road construction company I was working for, and twice to run a water truck for a landscaping materials supplier I worked for.

It's required for any carrier which runs those, whether LTL companies, or even big box carriers.. Swift runs doubles and Rocky Mountain doubles, my company (Navajo Express) has a division running Rocky Mountain doubles, there are companies in the midwest which run B-trains, etc.

That exemption only applies to military personnel serving in the course of their duties... civilian DoD employees or contractors still require a CDL as appropriate to the vehicle's Gross Vehicle Weight Rating/Gross Combined Weight Rating.

Get what you feel you want to get. Just know that passenger endorsements will require a road test, which means you'll need a vehicle for it. Hazmat requires a background check, and it was some $96 last time I checked.

 

All you need is T and X.

 

Just remember having the endorsement doesn't mean you can actually drive. I for one drive way too fast to haul gasoline safety. In ice storms you will see a higher rate of doubles and triples in the ditches.

Plus, I have always wondered why anyone would pull triples and put two other drivers out of work.

 

Two others?

Say what?

 

For real??

 

isnt there an endorsement for steel coil?

 

Better to haVE THEM AND BE ABLE TO BE TRAINED FOR A SPECIFIC JOB...THAN TO BE AT AN INTERVIEW FOR A GREAT JOB , ONLY TO LOOSE THE CHANCE TO SOMEONE WHO DOES HAVE THEM....