Newbie needing help finding the right path

[hotrodguy]

I have been reading everything I can on here for the last few days and it has been really informative.
I have been a automotive painter for the last nine years and I'm ready for something different. My dad has been in the trucking business as an owner operater since I was about 12 or so, he just hauls locally though pulling a end dump. I have went with him a lot and from the time I was 16 I started working for him part time driving a tank truck off road....it was an old freightliner cabover with a 350 big cam and 13speed. So that taught me how to shift, back up, and pull a tank trailer.

I don't have a CDL so I need to find a company that will pay for training. I really want to pull flatbeds or tankers, I was looking at maverick but after talking to them I guess they don't pay for training anymore?

Can you guys please point me in the right direction? I might like dry vans ok, but I would rather not load or unload them, I would prefer to just drop one off and hook up to another one if that's a common thing. Also time at home on the weekends is important, I have a 2 year old little girl so I want to be around her as much as possible.

Thank you all very much, even if you don't reply I have probably read something on here that you posted anyway. Oh and I'm not sure how many companies run cabovers but I really dont want to drive one again. lol

[grocery thrower]

Study the CDL manual and go take your written test, after you pass, borrow your dads rig to take the driving part, you will then have your license, you have experience so someone is bound to hire you, when I started, I took my written then my driving with the help of the co. I was working for at the time, doesn't sound like you need training to drive a truck, but there are logs and regulations and such I forgot about that, I learned that from the guys I worked with, seems your license can be had without training if you want especially with your pop having his own truck, thats a plus cuz you won't have to rent one!!

[hotrodguy]

Yes I thought about using my dads truck to get my cdl but if I do that will the company still train me? I mean, I don't know the first thing about over the road driving, logs, or any of that stuff.
Plus I don't know if I could use my experiance working for my dad since it was off road....it was in a quarry.

Thanks for the help!

[JLKKLJ777]

Be careful of "do it yourself" cdl's. Alot of companies today want drivers that have been trained through an accredited truck driving school. It would be a shame for you to get your CDL and then have to go through a school anyway because noone would hire you.

The insurance companies usually call the tune as to who these companies may consider for employment especially in the case of a new driver with no "verifiable" experience. Working for your dad probably wont be considered unless you were licensed and you have some pay stubs proving you were employed as a driver.

A good school will teach you not only logging but safe driving techniques (such as the SMITH system), map reading, and trip planning in addition to backing maneuvers and driving in general. The cost is truly a pittance compared to what you will earn the first year of driving.

Who knows maybe you will qualify for state assisted re-training and not have to pay anything out of your pocket for the training. Best to check with your local job development office to see if you qualify.

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by hotrodguy

Yes I thought about using my dads truck to get my cdl but if I do that will the company still train me? I mean, I don't know the first thing about over the road driving, logs, or any of that stuff.
Plus I don't know if I could use my experiance working for my dad since it was off road....it was in a quarry.

Thanks for the help!

working in a rock quarry ain't no experience for OTR trucking. BUT if you were to apply for a job at a construction site/quarry, you might get a job easier.

now as for training, i usually recommend that you go to a private school and pay for it yourself. if you go to a trucking company, and they pay for it, you are then indebted to them for a period of time, usually 1 year, sometimes up to 3 years.....do you want to be held back that long, if a higher paying job comes along...?? i don't.......

as for everything YOU need to learn, a regular school is better. THEN, after you grad-E-ATE, you get a job at a trucking company that will "hone your skills" furthur. we never stop learning, really, its an everyday thing, but you need a "BASE" or "FOUNDATION" to build upon first.

"do-it-yourself" learning is great, but the insurance companies run the trucking companies..what they say, GOES........

a proper education will be better for your chances of a good job.

[MIKE-FROM-IL]

HotRodGuy, You can get the CDL using your dads truck. However you still won't have the experiance, INSURANCE COMPANIES REQUIRE to operate on interstate or intrastate roads. This is my advice if you don't want to go though these huge companies to get experiance, or training. Use your fathers truck to get the CDL than go to work for a moving and storage company. These moving and storage companies need help all the time, IT'S HARD WORK, but it is one way to avoid these huge companies, and their huge tuition's they charge. I started like that in 1982 for Allied van lines.