Worried CDL Student

I'd try flatbed if I was a new driver. I'd probably look into hauling hay from farms. Then advance from there, bull racks and hoppers and such.

Mega trucking companies suck donkey balls

 

There are 6 DG's in my area, about a hour or so around. 3 of them had people shot dead in broad daylight. All of them have been robbed multipule times. Two in particular I keep an eye on because to get a big truck docked into side dock requires crossing a dividied highway against active traffic next to a large interseaction and also forcing your trailer backwards against a constant flow of junker cars coming out around you knowing if you hit them and take them out... it's christmas for them courtesy of you and your company via settlement.. and so on.

Why they continue to rob the DG a few hundred dollars is beyond me when there are stores taking in a million plus with two or three rifle men wearing armor twice a week at the same hour each week day across town.

 

I wonder if anybody knows anything about Birchwood Transport out of Kenosha Wisconsin?
It kind of sounds like a decent outfit

 

Very very true, the warehouse people who load the trailer never seem to give s### about loading the trailer, I don't miss those 6 feet stack high waters and Spending the night at stores dealing with stupid manager who won't take you in early because they power trip or they don't have there stores in order.

 

Another thing about Dollar General that I learned after a little research was that yeah, Werner will take you right out of CDL school for a Dollar General job. But for first 6 weeks you are with a trainer learning how to be a laborer unloading a huge truck all day day long by hand. Trainee pay. Very few miles, lots of stops, and lots of thankless grunt work. Probably a sweet deal if you are the actual Werner Dollar driver getting normal pay for all these stops plus training pay plus have a personal assistant to do the heavy work. Every 6 weeks you get a new slave. If anyone isn't aware of this scam, I found hilarious vids in YouTube of unhappy CDL grads at werner doing this.

 

My DG experience.

For my training it was basically a team operation from day one. My average nights rest was 5 hours. Rarely six. Never ten. I wanted to get it over with so I stuck with it.Knowingly logs were being fudged. Eventually they cut me free early with 175 hours drive time. They only count drive time,so it took forever considering o was wore out when it came time to drive at night.


Finally solo and I learn the hard way that these stores aren't meant for big trucks. Stores connected to shopping malls were almost always the worst thing ever. The new updated stores were nice except some had door ramps that were too steep. There's a lot of risk for back injury. And I mean a lot.

No matter what type of neighborhood your store is in keep a knife on you. It's against company policy but its your life.

Dispatch had it out for me after I told him I never planned on doing DG long term and the first chance I got for a local gig I'm taking it......man was that dumb. I got short runs and dunnage runs for weeks. As well as having to edit my logs to get home for my 34. Thankfully I got a local gig,but then I got fired from it for the window breaking


DG doesn't teach you to be an otr driver. And when I switched it was learning a new system but I got the hang of it.

 

I just read first post and it has nothing to do with DG lmao wtf

 

Old Dominion Freight Lines hires new cdl grads. Try to get a line haul job; they're terminal to terminal, drop & hook.

 

When i unload at sygma i see a OD driver there breaking down his load. Its really not big of a deal and its good exercise. The plus thing for that driver is he sleeps in his own bed every night.