Lots of Questions From A Noob

1. Yes, you will still have to go with a trainer. Training usually lasts anywhere from 4-8 weeks.
Getting your CDL is only a small first step, so be patient. There is a lot more to learn than just how to point and steer the truck.

5. You put in a home time request, then the planners try to get you a load to that area as close to your requested date as possible. Doesn't always (usually) work out to be on the exact date.
You can usually bobtail home if you are close enough (with Swift it is generally 45 miles) and have a secure place to park the truck.

6. The driver gets the fine, and the driver pays the fine. It is the drivers responsibility to ensure the load is within legal limits - both gross weight and axle weights.
If you have an overweight load you would need to bring it back to the shipper to either rework the load or remove part of it.

 

1. Not necessarily......not all companies require this.

 

Most likely yes, you may find one or two that you don't have to or a local company but for the most part yes. With no experience in trucking you will still have to learn how to do the paperwork, how to plan a trip, etc... all the stuff that you will not be taught at a CDL school. The school will just teach you how to pass your DMV test and hopefuly get you on the right path to being able to handle a tractor and trailer.

It is up to you if you want to ##### and eat in the same place go for it. I personally don't want the smell in the truck and don't really see a need for it.

No need to worry about this when you first start out. Learn the industry first and see if you like it then think about trucks and O/O options. Get 12-18 months under you first and you will make more informed decision as where to go next.

There are some companies that have thier own training that give discounts to veterans but this would not affect you as you are going to a different school. As for ones that prefer I'm not sure about that.

Depends on the company. Some pay dead head miles but not very many (maybe around 50miles). Most will try to make your last load before time off as close to your home as possible. Makes no sense for the company to send you to New York for your last run when you live in CA, they will give you a load to CA or Nevada before they let you go home.

The driver is always responsible for the load once he accepts it. It is your job to make sure the load is legal to travel over the highways. So you get a load and weigh it before you go. If it is not legal then you work it out with the company and the shipper. That is part of what you learn with a trainer how to check loads and how to keep yourself legal and on the road.

 

If you're attending an 185 hour class,

and have a good head on your shoulders,

anything is possible.

Your biggest obstacle may be your location.

 

185 hours and good to go?

good luck with that.

I did 380 hours and have a good feel for the truck naturally and it still was just enough to get me out there and find out just how much I DON'T know. My 6 weeks with my trainer were more valuable than the entire 8 weeks, 10 hours a day, and 750 miles in the seat that I got in preparation for the CDL test from my school.

The license you get fresh out of school better be looked at as no more than a license to learn. And take advantadge of all the time you can get with a trainer and hope to hell you get a good one like I did. There's sooooo much more to this business than just knowing how to back, shift and make a turn without rolling the tandems over the curb. your first trip to the northeast will sure be an eye-opener, as well as trying to find somewhere to park for the night when you're short on hours and choices are few.

as for weights, you'll get a feel for when you should weigh and when you should be okay, but in the beginning, scale most of them, just to get the experience and learn what weights end up with what wieght distributions....and if possible, look in the trailer to see not only where, but how, the load is distributed in the trailer because some loads will be nose heavy, some will be tail heavy, some will be nuetral, and that will have a bearing on where you set your tandems, or whether you weigh or not, no matter if the load is light, medium or heavy wieghts.....it's not always possible because most loads are already sealed, but th eonly way you'll know and learn is to scale most of them to start with. and yes, if you're over, it's on you. it may not be right or fair, but that;s the way it is so if you're the least bit unsure, scale it and CYA.

It's only going to take 1 day out in the real world on the real road and you're going to see just how much you don't know and how far you still have to go.

Having said that, good luck to you and all the best. It isn't glamorous, it's long days and longer hours, but it is without a doubt one of the better choices I've made in my life and for my personality as a career choice. it certainly isn't for everyone, but for some of us, it's suits us the best.

 

IMHO, a CDL just like a Pilot Certificate is nothing but a license to learn. In three years (~400,000 miles) you won't be green anymore. In seven years (~1,000,000 miles) you'll be a veteran. I'm still working on my veteran status. Since you're new I'll offer my standard copy and paste advice. Take it for what it's worth to you. I developed it based on the horror stories we read every week here on TTR.

You need to research and find out what the important questions are. You can make an above average living but you will make sacrifices that other jobs don't require. Read the "good companies" and "bad companies" section on this forum and get an idea of what company you want to work for and what kind of trailer you want to pull. Don't just go to school and then try to figure out where to go.

I don't know your financial situation. Don't take training from a company if you can afford it or get it with financial aid. You will be their slave for up to year. If you leave they will trash you DAC and credit record. Check out your local community colleges and employment office.

Just know that most training and trucking company recruiters will do nothing but lie to you. They will let you talk about what you want and then tell you what you want to hear. Trucking is about moving freight to make money for the company. Your home time, family, paycheck and everything else comes second.

It is not like any other job. Local is usually backbreaking delivery work 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Often you unload dozens of times a day or you are a salesman. In my area most dump truck jobs pay less than a good factory job. Regional is lots of loading and unloading time, fewer miles than OTR and not as hard as local but will wear on you and push your HOS limits. OTR is out 3 - 5 weeks with 3 - 4 days home, less manual labor and more miles.

You'll probably have to pay your dues before you get the gravy job. Weekends off, if you are lucky enough to get something like that starting out, may be home Thursday afternoon and leave Saturday night or home Friday night and leave Sunday afternoon. Loads deliver on Monday early and you leave in time to get them there. Often your home time will be in the middle of the week.

Regardless of your driving choice, after school you will go through company training. For OTR this can be six weeks to three months with little or no home time. The first phase is usually $400 a week and the second phase is $500-550 a week. Some pay less. One company pays 12 CPM for training.

One last thing, you don’t want to wait around too long after training or you’ll have trouble finding a job. If you get out before you have a year in, when you try to come back a few months later you will find they want you to start over.

Welcome to TTR and good luck.

 

If you have a truck stop guide you'll know where the state scales are for the most part and where the truck stops are at to scale the load. Some shippers have scales on site as well for you to use. This isn't definite because there's the possibility to run into a random scale. However, as long as you aren't driving on roads you shouldn't (aka non truck routes) the cops shouldn't give you a problem. It's just the fixed DOT scales you have to worry about and they are clearly marked on maps.