Ok, so is it worth it?

Yup your dad is right. I was told I needed a TWIC card with my company but once I got hired on it wasnt needed. I go to Canada so much I dont even need a GPS any more. Personally I would avoid Hazmat but that is just me. I dont want the hassle of stopping at every train track, more DOT harassment, and avoiding tunnels with hazmat loads.

 

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It's nothing but a headache going in and out of canada and the ports are twice as bad.
Neither one is worth the hassle.You won't get paid a penny more for dealing with that crap so why bother.One plus for having hazmat,a lot opportunities for you to get a local job if you decide to go that way.over the road I wouldn't touch it. We get harassed enough as it is.

 

Hazmat, yes, Twic, no, Passport? Why not. (but you don't need to tell the company)

It depends on the company on whether Canada is worth messing with., where you are going, which border, which broker, etc.

 

My view is different; I say get passport and TWIC and hazmat.
I know from experience if I didn't have hazmat, I would have to sit and wait for a non-hazmat load. When I was pulling reefers, I was the only driver in the division with hazmat and picked up some good loads of paint, car batteries, etc. while the other drivers had to wait for loads. Yep, placard loads in a reefer, but at least I was moving and making money. I remember the other drivers complaining one time when I got a load of spray paint in Nashville going to Los Angeles because I was the only one with hazmat. Happened many times. Making good annual pay! Unloaded the paint, picked up a canned goods load to Laredo, TX then ceramic tile to Jacksonville, FL. The hazmat load put me in position for the other two good loads.

Canada driving is OK, just remember the speed there is in KPM not MPH.

 

I pull out of ports all the time so the TWIC is a must for me. A lot of people gripe about running Canada, but there's money to be made on Canadian roads. I also recently picked up my hazmat so I can pull the tempature sensitive hazmat stuff.

 

The more you limit what you are able/willing to do, the more you will wait. If you will use them, get them.