Any truckers out there?

[NobodyHere]

I'm thinking of getting into the trucking field and need advice on picking a good school. Does anyone have advice on how to pick a school? Can anyone recommend a good school (I live in the Toledo Ohio area)? Any thoughts of the industry in general?

Thanks in advance!

[irisblue]

1. PM Tobin

He has been a trucker for a while now.

[NobodyHere]

2. Thanks for the reply

I'm wary about sending cold PMs but I'll keep him/her in mind.

[irisblue]

3. Tobin is in the Lounge, I'm sure he will see this.

My ex went to trucking school in the 80s, I remember alot of complaints about learning how to back up a 2 trailer truck.

[JonLP24]

7. Backing a trailer is difficult as hell

You turn left to move the trailer right or vice versa, you make small turns and minor corrections but I've seen a pro do it fast.

[A HERETIC I AM]

25. Not really. It's just something you get used to.

But truthfully, there are guys out there with 20 years + experience that can't back up to save their lives!

When I first started I was "bumping docks" 20 to 30 times a day, so I got pretty good at it.

It's a piece of cake if you understand certain fundamentals.

[JonLP24]

26. It was hit or miss for me

In training I backed up easily the first-time but the 2nd time I was lost. Trying to backup into little cones I ended up in a 45 angle (lost my sense of direction). I didn't have many opportunities to backup, we normally just drove them forward. 99% of the time we had shipping containers that was lifted or put on the truck, never had to backup into loading docks or anything like that.

[A HERETIC I AM]

27. Like a lot of things, practice makes perfect!

If you don't do it very often then it is understandable you might have difficulty.

[JonLP24]

28. I haven't driven since 2008

I was an 88M for the Army, I recall many people struggled backing up except for the driver/trainers. Outside of deployment we rarely drove the trucks (Freightliners M915) so we never really had opportunities to practice. After AIT the first-time I drove was in Kuwait/Iraq. Stateside we mostly kick rocks at the motor pool.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

4. I can't recommend a specific school, although

A friend of mine went to one, (the one?) in St Louis, Mo., had a great experience, and got a decent job right away with the school placement assistance. He paid over 2 grand and that was in 1988-9.

Myself, I got my CDL through one of the big companies, which have their own schools and I definitely do NOT recommend that path.

What I can say is do some deep and thorough research. Ask lots of questions. If there is a truck stop near you, go there. Sit at the restaurant counter with a coffee, ice tea whatever. Listen to the driver chatter. Work yourself up to speaking with an OTR driver. Tell him what you want to do. Ask how to go about it. Which companies to shoot for, or avoid. You can easily get in way over your head and legally commit yourself to a year or 2 long royal screwing, if you aren't careful.

Be very careful and thorough Good luck!

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

5. There are also trucking forums/message boards

which you may find informative. Maybe even eye opening.

[link:https://www.truckersforum.net/forum/|

[JonLP24]

6. I don't know if they're in your area

But there is Swift Transportation who send you to school & cover the cost then take it out of your check over the first year. Not a bad deal, a few others are like that.

I couldn't recommend schools as I learned to drive in the Army and never had the desire to pursue a career in the industry. There is quite a demand for drivers so I'd explore options.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

8. I have a nephew who, just a few years ago

Checked into getting a "free" CDL instead of paying for a school. Swift was one of those he communicated with. Of the big companies who who have their own school, Swift being one of them. They all require you to work exclusively for them, for a year, while paying you as little as 23 cents per mile. One year of near slavery. Not repayment through payroll deductions. Unless they have changed terms during the past couple years. If you leave early you are legally bound to , THEN, repay them.

It was explained to my nephew that the cost would be comparable to trucking school, split into 12 for the months of the year you owe them. Leave in 6 months, you owe half, and so on.

It is, in fact, a bad deal. Under the conditions and guide lines OTR driver are required to operate within, it's a very lucky newbie that will rack up 1600-1800 miles in a week. Times 23 cents and essentially eating out 2-3 times a day doesn't leave much after expenses. As in 1800 miles= $414- taxes- expenses

The prospect of being out on the road for weeks at a time, at those costs, and the real likelihood of not being able to afford his own place to come home to, put him off OTR trucking.

He went to work operating a loader at a gravel pit and is much better off. Makes the same amount every friday. Sleeps and eats at home.

The best offer he could find, among the big firms was 28 cents per mile from Prime Inc.

[JonLP24]

9. Thanks

If I got into trucking Swift was the company I was going to get into but they didn't want me because THC was my reason for discharge (I used my Army record for experience). There was another one that did but I forgot the name(they were a big firm as well) and never followed up on them. I guess it was a blessing in disguise.

[NobodyHere]

11. From what I've read one should be wary in signing up with a company like that.

You get locked into a contract and if you quit you have to pay back the cost of schooling. On the other hand you're promised a job.

However I have about 10 months left on the GI Bill. A school I talked to they accept it and I should get the BAH benefit in the process (which means I get up to a $1000).

[mnhtnbb]

10. Du'er denbot is also a trucker.

You might PM him, too.

[denbot]

12. Sitting in a truck stop in Gary IN

Gotta touch up my logs and git, but here is something to think about..

There is a huge difference in schools, and this is a very incomplete list of non-starters;

How much driving time will they guarantee before you take your test? You need a minimum of 10-15 hours behind the wheel on actual roads and highways before you test. There is a big difference between kicking up dust in a lot, and driving on live roads.
This is a function of how big are the class sizes, vs how many trucks they have available, which is not a bad question to ask.

Will they supply the truck for your test?

Will they conduct the driving test themselves? Granted even if they do, the DMV can demand a certain percentage test through a local branch (They score tougher).

Will they train you using 53' trailers? You will not get a cushie local job right off, so it is likely you'll be pulling a 53' long trailer long haul. Train for that.

Will they guarantee a pass for your fee?

How much are they charging you? Get an idea of market rates by calling around schools not only in your area, but also call Chicago, Gary, Indianapolis, Columbus, etc. to get an idea of the "market rate".

I am going to hate myself for telling you this, but check out companies that train you for free, but obligate you to drive for them for anywhere from 6-12 months or they will charge you for training.

*** If you go this route. avoid at all costs C.R. England, Swift/Central Refrigerated, CRST. There are a lot of horrible "Training Companies" out there so do your due diligence!

Feel free to PM me, or just about any other driver that hangs out here, we're all pretty cool with helping out others.

Above all, keep in mind that driving a truck is serious business, I took this picture last week on my way home, just as I reached Rawlins WY. I don't know if the driver lived, but the co-driver likely did not if he was in his bunk, with or with out a safety net across his bunk. CRST is dispicable, as I have seen them with 3-4 co-drivers, hot racking.

[IMG][/IMG]

[In_The_Wind]

16. It's always good to see you here, denbot.

[denbot]

17. Thanks I_T_W.

It's good to see most everybody that posts around here. Somebody recently asked if MatCom or nothingshocksmeanymore still post, and it reminded me of how much I miss so many inactive posters. Hell, I'm now to the point I miss that crazy bastid RandomThoughts!

[In_The_Wind]

18. Did he ever get his beer or travel money?

[denbot]

19. LoL..

One can only hope..

[jmowreader]

13. You happen to be in luck!

First: Get a DOT physical before you go any farther. It'll do you no good to get all ready to go to trucking school if you're not medically qualified.

Owens Community College in Toledo offers a CDL training program.

https://www.owens.edu/workforce_cs/cdl/

Community college CDL programs will teach you how to drive a truck in four weeks.

Private CDL schools not affiliated with trucking companies will rent you a truck for three or four weeks and hope you can teach yourself how to drive a truck.

Trucking company-affiliated schools will teach you how to pass the state road test so the company you go to can teach you how to drive.

The most important advice I can give you: NEVER go to an out-of-state school! If you do, you will have to surrender your Ohio driver's license to the state the school is in, get a that-state CDL, then go back to Ohio and spend even more money to get an Ohio CDL. And if you do this before you have the permanent plastic CDL card in hand, you'll have to take your written and skills tests all over again.

[NobodyHere]

14. In regards to that last point,

I actually live in Michigan and have a Michigan driver's license (however because I am close I still pay in-state tuition). Should that prevent me from attending an Ohio school?

[jmowreader]

15. If you have a MI drivers license go to school in Michigan

Mid Michigan Community College has it: https://www.midmich.edu/custom-pages/cdl-class-training

Also try here, there may be something you like: http://www.alltrucking.com/schools/michigan/

I got my training in Texas when I lived in NC. NC absolutely hates to issue licenses to new drivers (either commercial or noncommercial) so that colors my view of the thing, but you should go to school in the state you live if you possibly can because it's easier to get on the road that way.

[NobodyHere]

21. The Ohio college you linked tom was 30 minutes away

The Michigan college you linked to was 3 hours away.

Is the hastle really that much?

[jmowreader]

22. It's not so much "hastle" as it is loss of potential earnings

It's going to cost you somewhere between $5000 and $8000 to go to school. It takes several weeks for a state to spit out one of their nice centrally-made permanent plastic drivers licenses. You need that permanent license in hand before you go to Michigan's DMV to convert it to a Michigan CDL. While you're waiting, you still have to pay your tuition bill. And until you have a Michigan CDL, you are not legally allowed to haul freight *by federal law.*

Idaho and Washington both use private companies to administer CDL skills tests, so the community colleges on either side of the border here can train drivers from both states - you take your training then go to your home state to test. That's not all that common though.

[Hayduke Bomgarte]

23. I got my CDL from a big company in house school in

Springfield, Mo., in 1996. The 5 of us who survived from a class of 35, 3 months prior, were allowed by the state and the company to use the companies address as our own, due to their having residence halls. I was allowed to go to work right away on the Mo. CDL., being told that, at my first chance to get home, then Colorado, I needed to switch my CDL to my home state.

Some 3 weeks later they routed me across I-70 and I was able to spend 3 days at home in Glenwood Springs. First day home, I went to the DMV where all I needed to do was pass the written test, which I did with a perfect score. I was issued my permanent, plastic encased CDL within 10 minutes. No muss. No fuss.

When we moved to Illinois in 2010, same thing. Written test. Immediately issued permanent plastic encased CDL.