need advice

every company will have different procedures and paper work that you have to do.

Even I would be a fool to say I can go to ANY company and not spend 1-2 weeks training with someone for that company.

Heck, I'd rather have that training than be tossed to the wolves.

For me, I'd never like to go to one of those mill companies like Swift, Prime or Schneider. I much prefer the smaller 10-100 truck companies.

Best thing I can suggest to find something like that is to pull out the phone book and start cold calling or walking into the offices with a nice employment pack of resume, physical long form and certificate copies, a MVR record of your drivers license and a copy of your drivers license for them.

Don't ask them if they are hiring....

Simple tell them you'd like to talk to them about driving one of their trucks.

 

Just keep in mind that these companies are only starter companies. Gain experience and keep your record clean. Don't be a hero and try and get 4000 miles because these companies don't care nothing about you and chances are they will short change your miles and find excuses not to pay you. Get experience and get away. Leave on good terms and let them know you will not be a nice guy if they foul up your dac report. That's what these companies do. They will have you driving for minimum wage forever.

 

CRE might be a way to go if you feel you need a refresher. As long as you don't succumb to the pressure to lease.

 

There are a lot of companys willing to hire you with a cdl and no exp. You will have to do oreintation and go out with a trainer for a specified period of time. The list of these companys is looooong. I know of Gordon out on the west coast, but theres so many and most will hire from about anywhere in the country, some do have specific hireing zones so you will have to check their websites. Don't just take any single company and figure they are good enough for training, you really need to stay at least a year, so make sure the company fits you and you fit the company. Maverick, Roehl, Conway, Crete, Marten, ect,ect,ect, ect. Check the section about different motor carriers, and you will find a lot of reveiws. Make your list and check their websites. Figure out if you want to run reefers, flatbeds, tanks, vans. And also figure out your long term goals, where do you see your self in 5 years. For example, I plan on eventually hauling the higher levels of hazmat (explosives, munitions, radioactive, toxic waste, ect.) so I went with a company that hauls alot of hazmat. At this present time I'm not hauling the really dangerous stuff but I'm getting experience in that line of work. So if you want to haul specialized like tractors, heavy equipment, ect, then you need to start getting flat bed exp. Do you like to run at night? then maybe reefers are your choice. I think you can see what I'm getting at here, theres no cut and dry answer for your question, but if you start out just looking for good enough, thats what your going to end up with, something thats just good enough. and good enough is never good enough in my opinion.
Hope this is some help.
Be safe,
b

 

Just wait till you have what some of us have at 25+years of driving. There ARE STILL things many of us, do not know. AND anyone saying he "knows it all"??

Ought to turn in his keys and retire, as he knows NOTHING at all.

 

all of them are good answers i have heard from a friend who went to cre that thier road trainers dont even have 6 months of experience themselves so its a rookie training a rookie situation...i worked for schneider for 10 yrs, i even trained for them and i learned alot from them and still use my knowledge from there today, my complaint with that company is that it changed so much, the company thinks of only the bottom dollar now, and the drivers or just tools of the industry.

 

CRE is going to run you through their refresher ... it's "free", in the sense you come no money out of pocket. You will have to pay them back by working for them ... Essentially the refresher is the exact same training they give those getting their CDLs.

Try getting on with a company that will send you directly out with a trainer after orientation, no refresher required, no debt to the company.

 

Cre will offer weeks where it is actually free, no strings attached. I delayed going there a week to get that, I didn't want to owe them anything, and I didn't. However I cannot say I got the same training as new cdl students, we did zero backing, basically all we did was to truckstop to truckstop and hang out for a few days before I was sent off to a phase 1 truck.

I am happy enough here, in February I will has been here a year and I will look for something else more local than my home weekly dedicated position.

For otr stuff, I would stay away.