Team Truckin' Wanna-be's

catshavestaff · Oct 23, 2006

Hello All,

I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, reading all over the forum. My husband, Wayne, has worked for 3 years for Halliburton, in Afghanistan, and wants to come home. I am a former Ambulatory Surgery Center Administrator/RN, and we have no children to be home for. We are very interested in team driving in a straight truck in expediting. Married for 22 years, we figure we're pretty stable, and have always wanted to travel more to see the country, have our own business, and be together. We live in Lubbock, TX, and are currently looking into driving schools.

We sure would appreciate any information and suggestions from more experienced folks regarding this new venture.

Where should we go to school?
Which companies are good to drive for in our first year?

We've both been reading everything on the Net we can find as well as a couple of books.

If there's anything you'd rather not post, please PM me. I'll keep it confidential.

I've sure enjoyed reading this forum, and look forward to getting to know everyone.

Tks,

Chrissie Stewart

cheri1122 · Oct 23, 2006

>>Where should we go to school?
>Which companies are good to drive for in our first year?

Welcome, Chrissy! First the good news: as a stable, one income team, you & your husband are in about the best position for expediting - every carrier and owner wants what you offer, so you will have lots of choices, when the time comes to choose for whom you will drive.
Now the bad news: the two questions you've asked cannot be answered by anyone but yourselves - because the "best" school or carrier or owner is a relative term - there will never be a 'one size fits all' answer.
If you continue to read, and research, especially here, you will find much of what you need to determine which is best for you, so it's good that you don't mind doing it, lol - it will pay off, though. Best of luck to you both, and if you don't find an answer you're seeking, ask, ok?

catshavestaff · Oct 23, 2006

Thanks for the encouragement. I agree with the idea that what's right is relative. I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of avoiding the really bad situations. Are there schools you wouldn't send your best friend or your worst enemy to? Or types of schools - you know, schools that do this or that, or don't do this or that... On the same note, what about companies you wouldn't want a rookie to drive for, or that you wouldn't drive for again because of bad experiences? Companies that you wouldn't recommend, again, to your best friend or your worst enemy?

I've read enough descriptions to figure out that there is more than one driver on this forum that has been in unsafe equipment, or cheated of rightful compensation, or other negative experiences. My husband and I would like to avoid those things, and get quality training, and work for an upright company that treats us fairly. We're like so many folks, we just want to put in a good days' work and get paid fairly for it.

Thanks all,

Chrissie

RichM · Oct 24, 2006

I would not spend money to go to a school in order to drive a straight truck. I would get the CDL manual from your state and study it carefully. Then I would rent a small U Haul or Ryder truck for a weekend. Do your pre trip as the manual instructs you to.Drive it around for a while,go to a industrial park where there are closed up buildings and practice backing into a loading dock,both straight in and at a angle.
The next weekend rent a larger truck and play with that till your comfortable and keep going up in size. Take a 100 mile round trip using highways and city streets.
Finally post up here on EO where you live and you just might get a Expediter to work with you on a Saturday or Sunday who would be happy to help you learn on his/her unit for the cost of a meal.

Now learning to handle a T/T is a different cup of tea.

Good luck and welcome to EO.

nighttrain · Oct 24, 2006

best bet is go get the manual and get your class b w/hazmat endorsements its better to go that way than to say pay for 5000 dollar cdl school or to go witha company that would pay for your school but you would have to drive for them for a year
good luck with this and get posting on here or looking on here and there are alot of people on here who will give u great advice

greg334 · Oct 24, 2006

This thread leads me to a question, why isn't there any schools that will teach you staight truck skills? or is there?

To add to the advice, I think RichM's advice is the best. You can rent under CDL trucks (GVW <26K) with air brakes to get air brake experince. I would also say if you never driven a truck before, you didn't mention that, I would put at least 250 miles behind the wheel to get that experience.

TeamCaffee · Oct 24, 2006

I agree do not mention your lack of experience. I believe to rent the truck with air brakes you have to have a CDL holder actually rent the truck that has the air brakes endorsement. Since you have lack of experience I know with FedEx you will have to take a drive test. I would also highly suggest that with what ever company you choose you try to find a mentor you can email back and forth to. That seems to work very well to just email specific company questions. It is also nice when you have general questions if you can post it on the forum as there are several others wondering the same thing that you would post. Good Luck

greg334 · Oct 24, 2006

TeamCaffee said 'I believe to rent the truck with air brakes you have to have a CDL holder actually rent the truck that has the air brakes endorsement.'

Well a lot of places, like Penske and ryder have trucks that are under 26K with air brakes. Rented one not too long ago and the girl gave me a really bad look like I was nuts.

nighttrain · Oct 24, 2006

well i know at the tds school i went to here in medina ohio they did have class b classes u could take
but alot of testing centers i think have trucks there that u can rent to take your tests in but i know the couple of ones here in ohio that i know of it was like 100-200 dollars to rent there trucks
best bet is to find an owner or if u know someone who would let u use their trucks and let the driver ride with u and take the test

ATeam · Oct 24, 2006

When Diane and I got our Class B CDL's, we had no previous truck driving experience. I agree with RichM and the others who say to rent a truck and teach yourself. That's what we did and it worked out just fine.

When time for the road test came, there was a company we used that every day brings a few air-brake straight trucks to the testing station to rent out. We got one hour each of practice driving on our permits with a licensed instructor in the truck. The next hour we took our road test in the same truck. You might want to check around to see if a similar rental company is near you.

catshavestaff · Oct 24, 2006

Thanks for all your input, folks. The more I read on EO, the more I'm sure I don't know anything, but I know who to ask!

cheri1122 · Oct 25, 2006

I beg to differ: when you know where to get the answers you need, that's ALL you have to know, lol.

Paul56 · Oct 26, 2006

Before entering into the business have your finances in order.

Upon entering have an exit plan in case trucking doesn't turn out to be quite your "cup of tea".

Depending on your particular circumstances, you might want to consider getting tractor/trailer training and licencing. Having the licencing and experience enables both Nicole and I to occasionally jump into a TT.

Operate someone else's rig for minimum of one year prior to getting into your own rig. This gives you some space to learn the business without the additional pressure of looking after your own rig. It also gives you some time to decide what specs are important to you in your own truck.

catshavestaff · Oct 26, 2006

Thanks, Paul..We've been talking about getting trained in the t/t as well as the s/t. We'd like to have as many options as possible, that way we're versatile, and can do anything.

pelicn · Oct 27, 2006

If the only trucking you are considering is Expediting in a straight truck, (Class B CDL) then save yourselves the headaches/expense of getting tractor trailer training. Most CDL mills (commercial driving schools) are in it for the money. The community college route is usually cheaper, but will take more time to complete. Also, if you decide later, after getting a class A CDL, that you want to drive tractor trailer, most companies won't hire you without at least 1 year recent over the road experience. So you'd have to go through training all over again.

Paul56 · Oct 28, 2006

Well, one never knows what life is going to throw their way.

Nicole and I both started learning on a tractor/trailer rig from her father. When we obtained our licences he provided us with a truck out of the fleet and we started hauling double pot belly chip wagons during our summer breaks from university. He came with us the first few times to show us the ropes and just to be there as general guidance. After that we were on our own although he was always only a phone call away and there were the other drivers in the fleet that would always be willing to lend us a hand. Not only that but the regional route we were on would take us through home base a couple of times/day. Help was never far away.

After university we worked in our respective fields for a few years but then an opportunity came along to go into partnership with Nicole's father. Not only that, but we also found ourselves missing the driving and have an increasing dislike for the 9 - 5 world. We started out team driving a straight truck on I suppose what could be called a wide regional basis through Quebec/Ontario. That side of the business started to build and we also started signing on more and more customers with some fairly special runs. At that time we built a custom rig (class 8 based straight truck) to handle all this and then some and haven't looked back since. We've since become known as the folks that can get the job done.

On a regular basis there are still times where we jump into a tractor/trailer rig from the fleet for whatever reason. The only reason we are able to do this is that we have both the background, ability and qualifications to do so.

I have never in my life regretted obtaining education no matter what the subject matter is; however, there have been times I have very much regretted not taking advantage of educational opportunities as they have presented themselves.

Now, having said all that, everyone must decide what is best for themselves.

silverdollar · Oct 28, 2006

In other words, Marry the bosses daughter.:+

Paul56 · Oct 28, 2006

Nicole is such a cute sweet thing that resistance really was futile!

We've been an item since we were both 15 years old.

Everyday is a real adventure! I'll never forget the first time we pulled up to the staging area with a b-train chip trailers in tow, Nicole jumps out to get the paperwork done. Dolt behind the counter tells her to have the driver pull it up. Nicole looks back, smiles and says "Baby, I am the driver." She got it all done like a pro, made the old man proud!

cheri1122 · Oct 28, 2006

Awww, that's so sweet!
But remember, when Nicole "gets it done like a pro", it's more than just her old man she's making proud: all drivers, and especially the female drivers, appreciate the positive image. Thanks to you both for doing it, and sharing it, and long may you run!

TeamCaffee · Oct 28, 2006

Bob went to this school http://www.tdt-ok.com/ This school is accredited with all the big carriers. If you do your research a lot of the vo-tech schools do not have the correct certifications and the large carries will not accept that certificate. Bob went to this school several years ago and felt he learned a lot and the school had excellent instructors. He stayed in the housing which where mobile homes with kitchens and to bad. Bob has recommended this school to others.