here i go.... i think

[johnny c]

after a ton of soul searching and trying to figure things i've found that i want to get my class A and of course i have a few questions. i absolutely can't go OTR due to some family obligations. this is not negotiable. i'd like to find myself doing flatbed or tanker work... or even more interesting to me is lowboy hauling equipment.

the first question i have is if you all think i'll easily find local driving work. for this to pan out i need to bring in about 40K a year. i don't really have any interest in freight like i said. i want to do flat bed or tanker work.

and my last question is my choice of driving schools. my first choice is dakota county technical college in rosemount, mn. DCTC Customized Training : Programs - Transportation
it's a 320 hour program. cost is $4800. you drive several trailer styles and lengths. they offer doubles also along with diferent types of transmission and cab configurations.

my 2nd choice is century college in white bear lake, mn. their cost is $3000 and it's a 150 hour school. you learn on songle axle sterlings with 10 spd trannys and single axle trailers that are i believe 23 ft.

is the extra time and money worth going to DCTC? will it give me an advantage when it comes to looking for work? it definitely seems it will give me a better foundation.


well, any ideas will help. lemme have it.

thanks,

sam

[pcuthbert]

Definitely look at the more involved training. Once you get your CDL. you will have a license to learn. There will be a lot of that in the short term.

If you are in an agricultural area, look towards the equipment dealers to see if they can put you to work. It may involve much more than driving though.

You can also look towards the industrial equipment companies for your flatbed work.

A construction company may put you to work hauling gravel, and then moving equipment between job sites.

I seriously doubt that you would be able to get into the fuel hauling or tankers in general until you have more experience. Liquid loads take a lot of experience to handle safely.

Best of luck

[johnny c]

thanks for your input. a lot of that matches what i was thinking/hoping so it's very encouraging to me. i wanted to ask about the training because i learned going through tech school 11 years ago that there was a huge difference between what the school thought you should know and what the real world thought you needed to know. i wanted to make sure the extra money would be worth it.

i live in the "twin cities" so there's quite a few companies i can at least talk to. i wouldn't mind hauling rock or dirt. i know i have to pay my dues and it'll be worth it if i can get where i want to be.

[JLKKLJ777]

I think you will find all the good local jobs are going to ask you how much experience do you have. Most will require several years of verifiable experience before they will even consider your appilcation. Perhaps a small delivery company like an Aarons or a Rent a Center might give you a shot and allow you to be home daily. Other than that I would check into the courier drivers driving the delivery vans.
Finding a "local class A" job fresh out of school just doesnt happen very often.
Good luck (your going to need it).

[brtecson]

it will be difficult to get a "home daily flatbed" driving job without any experience. it will be near impossible to get a tanker job. dump truck season will be slowing to a hault pretty soon too. why not get a city job driving dry vans?

[johnny c]

Originally Posted by brtecson

why not get a city job driving dry vans?

yeah it kind of sounds like i might have to do just that. i wanted to do flats and tanks because it seems challenging and it's something i've always wanted to do. but reading more things it sounds like a brand new driver is going to have enough to worry about without learning the complications of those 2 areas.

thanks again.