Question:
hey ya'll,
I am from NC, me and my wife are planning on starting training, thinking of going to Sage in Brevard NC. The kids are finally big enough to take care of themselves, and trukicng has been in our family for years her father and my father both use to or still do drive.
We wanted to go to Sage because they say they train one on one and some other good points that I liked and got some good pointers from here as I have been reading for a good while and just recently registered.
Now as far as my questions go I have always been partial to peterbuilt and Kenworth trucks and seems from what I have read that these trucks are going down hill same as cars ? And I know this will be very broad but what is the brand and model of truck you prefer ?
Also if I didnt want to go O/O can a person still purchase there own truck and then lease to a company or am I going about this the wrong way ?
Thanks for your help and drive safe.

Answer:
best piece of advice i can give you: drive as a company driver for a year before you buy a truck, keep track of all the expense that go into the truck(fuel, tires maintence, major repairs, etc.) those will be your responsibility once you buy a truck(or lease as some companies "encourage" you to do).
taylor
p.s. as for the type of truck i prefer: one with a nose.
Answer:
Thanks for the reply, I guess maybe I asked this the wrong way. I dont want to lease from a company I ment I buy a used truck and go work for another company, reason I said lease is because I remember when my uncle had a truck he was driving for east and west and his truck said leased to.
As far as the comment about the one with a nose, I like conventional over a cab over myself, reason I was askin is because I seen a post that said that Pete's and KW still have the best trade value but always had problems. Was just wandering what if any was better ?

Answer:
Not trying to sound rude or anything, but You should get some miles under your belt BEFORE you even THINK about buying a truck.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a nice used truck and leasing it on with a carrier, providing that you do NOT sign on to one of those .85cpm carriers.(AFTER you get some miles under your belt FIRST.)
Aslo, like the other poster mentioned, for at least one full year as a company driver you should keep track of ALL expenses that are done to your company truck.(fuel, tires, PM services, A/C work, road service calls,etc.)
Since you'll be paying your own INSURANCE on the truck, you should call around and get a few quotes on the many types of insurance.
Most carriers say they will buy your TAG, the problem with that is: What if you get on the other side of the U.S. and decide to quit and the carrier demands that you send THEIR plates to them from wherever you are?
How Do You Get Back Home with NO Plates?
ALWAYS Best to buy Your OWN Plates!(same goes with insurance and having your taxes done by someone YOU Choose.)

Answer:
Thanks for the advice, me and the wife plan on driving for a company for a while, that is how I plan on purchsing the truck. I just wanted to ask.
Also seen on some other posts that said you guys and ladies dont get any visitors any more so this was only thing I could think of to ask..
Anyway thanks...

Answer:

I hope like hell you are NOT thinking of doing a Lease Purchase deal! Those are nothing but a scam! The ONLY party involved with these deals is the one that leases you the truck!
NEVER buy from the people that you work for!!!!

Answer:
...NOnono...Have read enough here to figure that much out. Think I just asked it the wrong way....
Have been looking around and have seen some nice trucks for like 45 - 50,000
with me and the wife both driving even for a company should be able to save that in few yrs with of course part of a trust fund that was left to me. Save some money and get experience is main focus right now.

Answer:
Hmmm...another Wannabie running around "Fantasy Island".
Do yourself a favor rethink your "Dream"because it isn't,it's a job.
Worry about actually attending and passing "school".
Find a Carrier that just might suit your needs(not likely)and actually
try the "Lifestyle"before giving any thought of what might be in your future.
I would suggest more than one years experience before contemplating
any equipment purchase. Invest that "trust" in something that will
actually make money not lose it.
Answer:
Well thats what our plans are, but you never know till you ask ? After I posted this I found the info I was looking for.
Guess I should of known better than to ask that one question..

Answer:

You have to try to understand something. We get wannabe's coming in here all the time talking about going to school, and within 30 days of completing driving school buying their own truck. Some do this and all have the same results. They lose everything within months then they come back on here and start crying about how broke they are and how no one warned them etc. After a while a knee jerk reaction happens.
To answer your question: Yes you can buy a truck from anywhere you want and lease it on to a company so long as the driver(s) and the truck meets that company's requirements.
Please do yourself a favor though. Wait at least two years after you start driving before really looking into buying a truck. The first year is something of a honeymoon period, not to mention a big learning period for just the basics. Then if you are still at it after a year start gathering all the info you can about what it takes to be a successful small business owner in the trucking industry because when you buy a truck that is what you are.
Answer:
Bcordell:
I would question Sage about their one on one training. Being someone who knows the program very well, they use the one on one training selling point, as a way to make it sound as though your going to have an instructor with you for all of your training.
Actually, what they do is if you have two students assigned a training session on the range at the same time, you share one instructor! What does this mean to you? Well if your having trouble mastering the backing manuvers, the instructor can only help you for part of your training session. Sage makes the instructor split his valuable training time between the two students.
So now, he is in the other truck trying to train the other student on your truck training time, and your loosing valuable instruction time that will help you pass your range skills. So without the instructor being able to correct your problems you keep making the same mistakes over and over and just waste your session that you paid for.
Now Sage will do one on one training with you on the road, while your driving. You do get the instructor exclusively for your driving sessions. But guess what, if you can't pass your range backing skills? All of the road sessions mean nothing, because the state skills tester will not proceed with the rest of the skills tests, if you can not first show that your able to safely control the tractor and trailer in backing manuvers on the range first, and pass your range skills test.
Also I would ask Sage about the state skills test itself. Ask them how many times will they retest you if you fail you state skills test the first time. The Sage school that I worked with here, abanded the students after only one test. Basicly , the school director refused to give the students anymore training and refused to retest them. So students who paid thousands of dollors were left out in the cold on their own. Any Dirivng school that would do this is just a CDL mill. There are alot of good driving schools out there that will work with you and continue their training and retest you several times, so that you can acheive your goals.
If I were you I would also look at some other driving schools and compare them!
As for the owner operator issue, there has been really good sound advice
about driving for at least a year before you try to be an owner operator. Get to know the industry and the ins and outs first. Then buy a used truck, not a new one. Payements of $500.00 are more acceptable on your budget then payments of $1500.00. With the price of desial fuel right now you will need every dollor that you can save. Buying used will help you in this!
Also, when you do deceide to become an owner operator, I would, if I were you, sign on with a company for awhile, so that you see how the loads are brokered and how the freight system works. Most commpany's today will pay almost every expense, except your payment and maintenence if you sign on with them.
As for the type of equipment you drive, the new equipment is more arrow dynamic now, so it takes less drag for the truck to move. But that is a question that is for another post.
Catch you on the flip!

Answer:
uturn2001: I completly understand where your comming from, I guess the reason I was asking so early on for me is because my uncle had his own truck my father in-law has his own truck guess I thaught it was a natural step for me to take. My father was a driver as well until he had a slipped disk. But I have been comming here day after day reading and learning as much as I can trying to figure out what the best approach is for me and my wife.
Scalehouse: Thanks for the heads up on Sage, there is just not many choices here in Asheville or the surrounding area like there use to be. Beleieve the only 2 that are left is Sage in Brevard and Alliance in Fletcher NC. I dont think I want to try and do a company training because I hear they only teach you enough to get yourself killed or just to get you behind a wheel. And I also read that on Schnider website that you only get 2 retakes. I had the Alliance guy came to my house to perform his preaching ceremony on me to get me to come to Alliance but told him I wanted to shop somemore. I believe ( correct me if i'm wrong) Sage is supposed to be a certified school which in Brevard it is out of Blue Ridge College. I am not sure and I dont remember if the Alliance guy told me if they are Certified or not, But I do remember them saying they do the tests at there range and they do retakes as many as it takes until you pass. Thanks for all the great help.
Drive safe

Answer:
I can speak for Sage out of Salt Lake City. I attended their most comprehensive course and received 1on1 training in the classroom, on the range and on the road. There were only 2 other students attending the school at the same time I was and both were behind me as far as the course. When I was out on the road with an instructor they'd have the guy who ran the school or their secretary running the classroom videos and whatnot for the other two students. I was also surprised to find out that when I needed to take a refresher course after leaving trucking for a bit Sage offered to provide an entire weekend documented refresher free of charge. All I had to do was get back up to SLC for a weekend, which I did. The instructor I had was an approved tester so I had no problems with anything like having to retest at the state office or anything like that.
I did a lot of research here at Trucknet and elsewhere as far as private driving schools and found Sage offered the best package and I can say that I have no complaints about their training. Of course, again, this was at the SLC, UT school. I have no idea how any of their other schools may operate and can't comment on them.
Answer:
I run a 05 KW 900 Daycab C-13 day cab, yanking a tanker, and think its great, I drove a 03 Pete 379 daycab last year and don't miss it. Around this state (MN) Pete's are a dime a dozen, see more Pete's then even FRT Centuries for petes sake.

Answer:
Well when get to that point I have a feeling my hands are tied about what truck we'll more than likely look at because my wife is 100% Peterbilt..
But I do like some of the KW's as well.
YDSM: I liked Sage from what I have seen about them. The wife and I are gonna go down to there campus and check it out probably one day next week.
Wish my dad was still driving i'd just get him to sponsor me and go that route.
Also I noticed that at times some of you guys and ladies have a computer question, well thats what my career is now, have been a computer technician for 10yrs, so you have a question and need an answer just pop me an email and ill be glad to help, until I start driver training anyway....