New to the business

[BillChaffey]

Well, I would have to say more power to him. If he's got friends who will lend him a tractor whether it's a day cab or twin screw class 8 with a 53 ft box. He apparently was able to back it up & parallel park from reading a book.

 

[Crazynuff]

This is the thing... I've got the money and the motivation to pay for a Class A CDL. I'm determined to break into this industry one way or another, and I'm relying on that determination to get me somewhere. I know many of you may be looking at this thinking, "He's nuts"... and you're all probably right... I already have a great job... I'm taking a huge risk here, but what's the point of sitting around and not fighting for an opportunity? I wanna be out on the road, busting my *** for a company!!

If I hadn't been like this my entire life, I'd be looking at things from a much different perspective.

Everyone that has given advice so far... it's GREATLY appreciated. It just goes to show how many good people are out there in this industry.

The problem is far too many people are sitting on their *** rather than busting it and it isn't by choice . Look at July's TSI here . BTS | Transportation Services Index then look back and see how long it's been since it was that low -12 years . Many new drivers are lucky to get 1500 miles a week at $.26 a mile . What teams are getting for a week now is what would have been good for a solo a couple of years ago . It's your loss . You can't say you weren't warned . I've seen hundreds like you on other forums . They come in there "whoo hoo , I'm going to trucking school " . Then a few months later it's "boo hoo , I can't find a job ."

 

[jacbrownn]

i went to careers world wide in keenesburg,co. good guys. lots of drive time to learn what i was doing. that was oct 2008. i went straight to stevens transport.they pay for training with 1 yr servitude or $8000. i left them ahead of schedule and owe . that was my choice . they were totally upfront about everything .no harm no foul on their part. they are big on training. 6 wks with a trainer .then another 2 with finish trainer then your solo. downside. during training they pay 50 a day. then .26 cents a mile.seems standard though, couldnt find anything higher .
they always had miles. i had a friend just quit last month to do something else. their a good company and like i said upfront.they preach saftey and live it. makes making the safe right decision easy.
everyone wants one yr exp. i of course dont have it. cant find anything local because of not having it.
this whole thing is to say : get with a company and learn. that is one big honking trailer and little cars are super stupid. the mountains are no joke . after the intial training and a month solo i felt comfortable to do the job. total of about 3 months? or so.
plus i have trainers that i can still call for advise .lots of good people out there.
thinking about going back out. called stevens and midwest expediters

 

[Kmossphotos]

Even if you do the CDL test on your own and find someone with a truck to do the driving test. There is no trucking company around that will hire you intill you go to a school to get training.That is for CDL A, I dont know about CDL B. If you dont believe me call all the companies you want you will find out. I have a CDL A right now for me to go back to work driving a big truck after being out of the pocket for 5 months. I have to go and get a refresh class before they will hire me. That is for a man with no tickets no accidents no dui, dwi, no nothing on his record.

So my point is go to a school get the trianing you need and go drive a truck the safe way. I went to ASU Newport AR got my CDL A for $2500 [that is if you pay for it on your own] Went to work for US Xpress each month they gave me a check for tuition reimbursement. So I paid nothing for my schooling.

ASU Newport AR will not just pass you either.