Class A Truck Driving Questions

[Troublco]

Tricavscout has good advice. If Werner will hire and train you, then you can get some experience and then move elsewhere and you won't have to pay for the training. I drove for a little while (almost all OTR) and it's the only time I was away from home more than I am now. However, once you have some experience you can look for local gigs. I liked the driving part, but I hated dealing with the various state DOT's.

My F-I-L and B-I-L are/were both drivers, both owned their own companies at one time. The F-I-L is now retired and the B-I-L sold and went to work for Safeway, driving. But he stays in-state.

[JohnTRourke]

I liked the driving part, but I hated dealing with the various state DOT's.

.

this!!!!!!!!!!!!!
me too
fucking diesel cops are just frustrating as hell.
Ask 3 different diesel cops the same question and get 3 different answers.

[husky390]

this!!!!!!!!!!!!!
me too
fucking diesel cops are just frustrating as hell.
Ask 3 different diesel cops the same question and get 3 different answers.

Aint that the truth. I do miss the driving part. I really enjoyed hauling equipment up and down grades. It was a lot of fun.

[Great-Kazoo]

If you're a vet check out coloradowrokforce. backslash whatever. The VA reps for work force e-m me daily if not 2x a day with jobs, training etc. As a vet (if you are one) there are numerous CDL courses you can take for next to nothing. If not a vet and not signed up with the COWF do it.

[DFBrews]

And do not lease a truck from stevens swift transam and the like right out of school. 3000 a week just to drive cuts it real close

[DSB OUTDOORS]

I took mine through a 3rd party tester if you can find someone to hook you up with a truck. They came out to me. But that was 20 years ago.

[Metalhed]

DFBrew beat me to it, dont Lease.

Driving has its moments. people in cars suck.

[husky390]

Driving has its moments. people in cars suck.

Unless they're hot and wearing a mini skirt. Summertime in Phoenix had its perks.

[RJLou]

Have you checked with workforce in your county? I don't know if they have an adult program but I got my cdl schooling paid for by the youth to work program when I was 20. They may have some kind of adult re-education / re-schooling program. Boulder county workforce (or you, the tax-payer) paid for my GED + $50 to get it, paid for 100% of the schooling and $50/week in gas vouchers to get me back and forth to school. I could have chose any school on their list up to 2years. I chose Sage technical, it was the only truck driving option.

[Bailey Guns]

I got my CDL a little over 2 years ago through the US Truck Driving School in Wheat Ridge, mostly for something to do. It took less than a month and they were pretty thorough. I did negotiate about a 30% discount for paying cash. Also, like others have said, try signing up for the Colorado Work Force thing. At least one guy in the class did that and they paid most, if not all, of his tuition. The schools are a pretty good route because they give you a lot of theory you may not otherwise have and recruiters from various companies will come and pass out info and have a Q & A session. Plus you take the test, medical and all that through the school and it's included in the tuition cost. You just go to the DMV to pick up your license.

When I went to pick up my CDL I also (on a whim) took the Doubles/Triples, Tanker and HazMat tests. Passed them all pretty easily. I started with an OTR truck company and lasted all of a month. I HATED OTR. But, if you want a good local gig (that's where most of the good money is) you pretty much have to do OTR for at least a year. Most local companies won't hire you without at least 1 year OTR experience because they can't insure you. Most OTR trucking companies are experiencing a 100%+ turnover rate right now...the job isn't for everyone. Demand is VERY high for drivers but the pay doesn't seem to match the demand.

I got lucky and got a local driving job in Conifer driving a propane truck. Decent pay, great benefits. It's a Class B driving job but I don't care about that. It's close to home and I don't have to live out of a truck at truck stops.

If you choose to pre-hire with an OTR company, from what I heard from some of the other guys I talked to, Watkins/Shepard is a great place to start. They send you to a driver "boot camp" in MT. You learn everything you need to learn and you don't have to drive for 6 weeks in a trainer's truck. Living out of a truck is bad...living out of a truck with another guy is REALLY BAD.