Question:
Just crossing the 20 year threshold with the Navy, and as much as I love the smell of JP-5 in the morning, I'm thinking it's time to move on to something else. We'll be settling just below Live Oak, FL (stone's throw from I-10/I-75 junction). Great rural small-town atmosphere, but job market is pretty limited. Greatest demand is for Corrections Officers (no thanks!), but there are a lot of local CDL jobs, all of which want CDL + experience (I have neither). I've got plenty of HAZMAT experience (JP-5 x 20 years), but seems Uncle Sam has cornered the market on flying airplanes off the roof of ships . Prefer a job where I can work fairly independent vice sitting in an office pushing paper (doing that now; no fun at all ).
Spent a lot of time looking over the various posts here (thanks to all, by the way). Cyanide's tanker post particularly caught my attention. Checked the sites for the various companies under the COMCAR umbrella, and found CTL (tanks), Coastal Transport (flats), and Commercial Carrier Corp (vans/dry bulk) to be pretty interesting. Lots of terminals in FL, and CTL's site offers CDL training at no cost with a one year obligation. Also like the idea of having the variety of experience (tanks, flats, vans) under one corporate roof. And seems like much of the service area stays in the Southeast (if I'm mistaken on that, pls say so).
For the benefit of the "naysayers", I'm not looking at OTR as a second career, but rather a means to an end (local job). Probably a year; maybe two. Unless by some rare chance I actually LIKE it Not looking to get rich, just a supplement to my pension. $30-35k a year would be plenty. Not living out a glorious fantasy, just another J.O.B. As for the lifestyle, 7 or 10 or 14 days out for a couple of days home is no different from pre-deployment training cycles on the ship, except the Navy equivalent leads up to an 8 month visit to the Persian Gulf Living accomodations, well, some of the sleepers I've seen on the road would be accomodations for three in my current occupation. On the positive side, at least the wife and kids wouldn't have to uproot and move every 3 or 4 years like we've done for the last 20. The "War Department" (a.k.a. wife ) is accustomed to running the domestic front when I'm gone, and does very well at it (plenty of practice over 20 years). As for company recruiters, I'll bet that's where ours end up when they retire Suffice it to say I know not to believe everything (okay, anything) a recruiter says. But looking at the COMCAR sites, I don't see the big propaganda push with promises of wealth and glory like a lot of the other (bigger) companys put out there.
BTW, I have read the "sticky**announcement**sticky" thread. More than once. Will probably do so again. Very well written, and makes a lot of very good points, especially if someone were considering this profession for all the wrong reasons or with unrealistic expectations. For those folks, I do hope it encourages them to reconsider their position. Sadly though, there are a lot of parallels between that post and my current occupation......
That said, finally to the questions:
Would anyone out there recommend (or otherwise) the CTL company training? Is CTL the only oufit within COMCAR that accepts newbies (none of the other company sites mention it)? Is it realistic to think one could "float" between their companies periodically for the variety?
CCC appears to be mostly intrastate. How would this differ from OTR in terms of pay, home time, working environment?
Is it necessarily a benefit to limit consideration to companies that have one or more terminals close to the homestead in terms of home time or possibly dedicated routes in the future?
As for MVR, I have 1 speeding (72 in a 55) almost 2 years old. Nothing else in the last 15+ years (accidents, tickets, or otherwise). No criminal record. How much will that ticket hurt me (just under 3 years when I put the plan in motion)?
Still about a year from punching out of the Nav. Is there anything I can do in the meantime to increase the odds of success? How far out should I start talking to companies?
Thanks in advance for all your advice, and if it appears my expectations are beyond realistic, PLEASE let me know. I still have a year, and there's always Corrections

Answer:
Greetings Shipwreck!!!! (j/k and not intended to offend in any way)
USN 86-98 here!!!
I know practically nothing about the Comcar family,but I do know Cyanide fairly well and have spoke to him at length about his experiences with that outfit(there are other posters as well that have Comcar experience)
You have an advantage going into this in that you are not going to rely soley on trucking to support your family (your gonna get military retirement ? yes??)
That in and of itself will allow you to be very selective and to do research "out the wazoo" and find a company that will meet your needs..............they do exist ,yes even to newbies,but they are not gonna walk up and shake your hand,you have to go find them.
My one suggestion to you as you still have some time left until your EAOS......Use the resources avaible thru military and gov't channels to get your CDL and possibly a little bit of experience prior to jumping in fulltime.
Company paid training is okay,but IMHO is a last ditch effort to obtain a CDL,many other avenues available that will not obligate you to a particular company that you might absolutely hate for a year or even two!!!
Best of Luck
Kittyfixer recovering dweller..........oilfield trash division

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Thanx CD, and no offense taken
Yes, the pension will be there. Actually exceeds the median family income in Suwannee County by 2-3% .
Initially planned to do National Training in Green Cove Springs (rock-throwing distance from my home town). Could have done that while still active. Used to be funded in full with TA/DANTES. Now they only cover the "non-resident" (book learning) part. I'm left to eat the resident training, to the tune of about $2800. School recruiter seems convinced there's a work-around, and I'm not ruling that option out as yet. Just thinking it might be simpler to go through a decent company training deal for the "basic training" and avoid the recruiting hassles (again, if I'm livin' in a dream world, wake me up ). I wonder if CDL prep training varies a heck of a lot anyway; just the basics to get past the test and move on to the REAL training. And if I could work in the tank and HAZMAT endorsements in the process (say with CTL), all the better. Might lead me to believe 20 years of bulk petroleum experience could be marketable on the outside

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Before you go with a commercial school like National or Roadmasters, check out Washington-Holmes in the panhandle and I think there's a cc in the Starke area that has a driver training curriculum.
Getting your CDL thru a community college will be cheaper than the commercials and VA Ed benefits may cover the cost although you'll also be able to deduct the training cost on your income tax.
I earned my CDL thru a truck company and pulled flatbed for 'em for a year for payback (had too much fun).
You're right about truck sleepers, the Navy would have 3 or 4 Sailors living in the same space. lol. BOL

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Ya know,if you already have experience pushing a clutch and jamming a stick,formal training may not be required. I know that out here in my area there are companies that will allow you to rent their truck and trailer soley for the purpose of taking the test.
Better yet with your experience you might be able to parlay that into a job with a local propane or LNG outfit that would let you use one of their rigs to take the test and get your CDL!!
I am actually applying for a fuel truck driver job at the air force base here in town on monday....................any advice???recovering dweller..........oilfield trash division

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No automatic - No problem Learned to drive in an ol' Ford w/ 3 on the tree. LPG companies are among the local op's I mentioned earlier, along with a lot of distribution/delivery stuff. Concrete, building supplies, trusses, fuel distribution, logging, bay delivery, even a sweet job with Division of Forestry (forest ranger). But alas, all advertise wanting CDL + experience and I'm a little too far out of the window to be negotiating with them on requirements (I think).
As for the fueling job, it's not rocket science but anal on QA, assuming it's actually an aircraft refueler job. Not sure about AF, but Nav you only operate the truck. The aircraft line folks do the hose-humpin' and connectin', and tell you when to start and stop. You do grounding and QA preps and run the pumps with a deadman control. Lots of filtering, sampling and testing. Car gets bad batch of gas and rolls to the shoulder. Airplane gets bad batch of gas and falls out of the sky. Pretty sure AF still using the low-flash stuff, so major emphasis on fire hazard reduction. GOAL (Get Out And Look) a big deal as well. Bumping another truck in a crowded truck stop is one thing. Bump one o' those airplanes and you'll see just how proud they are of them $$$$ . Sure would be tough to beat the pay though. Nothing like a DOD contract job to keep the wallet fat I'd do the same thing myself if I 1) had CDL w/ endorsements; 2) felt like driving 90 miles each way to work at NAS Jax.

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Even though they may advertise that they require a CDL + experience,you might be surprised at how many would let that slide because you are retired military(especially if the hiring mgr is also retired mil.) You really dont know till you ask!!??recovering dweller..........oilfield trash division

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Hurry up and get your miles in Walmart DC is coming to Alachia next year. They have already broke ground and love to hire former military

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jetfueljunkie.................thank you for serving our country..........as far as Live Oak........what a great place to settle..........aka: here is Jacksonville as "God's Country" by some...................if I'm not mistaken, there is a Badcock Furniture Distribution Center near you...........also, there a quite a few plant Nurseries in the Lake City area......they might make an exemption for you being in the military........PM me if you have any question as who to talk to if you go that route.........I pull for a wholesale nursery here in Jacksonville............run, no more than 5-South Eastern States................Josh
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Thanks for the positive response, Josh. Hadn't really thought about the nursery angle. You're right, there's a ton of 'em around Lake City/Live Oak, but never figured them for Class A CDL-type work. Wouldn't that be more likely to be affected by season? Think Pepsi has a DC out that way too; might look into that as well.....
As for Jax, it's OK, but then I grew up there (Switzerland area ) back when 295N ended at Pritchard Rd and the Buckman was a four-lane that really went nowhere. Looked up "urban sprawl" in Websters and found a map of Jax. Hopefully we'll be safe in Live Oak for a few years anyway........
Rick

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Hey Rick.................I was from Mandarin, when if you were from Mandarin, you were considered poor.................I have lived in Switzerland over 30-years.................right down past the Fire Station by the River. The begining of the end of Mandarin was the "Buckman Bridge".
As far as Nurseries.............I sure wish it was Seasonal, unfortunately, people LOVE their plants................BTW..........have I ever told you how much I hate "Poinsetta's".............after delivering about 4000 per week, a person can begin to hate those damn plants.
Rick..............................do you remember the "Hippies" who use to live at Ronnie Brasch's off S.R 13, here in Switzerland..........well, I was one of them. I know you've been to "Emma May's", the old bar near Lake Dwellers and knew Shorty Bishop or stood drinking a beer helping solve the world's problem at Leonard Hartley's store across from the Old Fire Station on S.R 13.
Rick............as far as getting your CDL-A, I suggest you do as I did.........years ago I drove OTR while going to college........always LOVED driving a "Big Truck"......went to work with the NFL, MLB and NASCAR for 22-years, retired in late 2002............played golf,fished and traveled for a year and a half........got old.......I refused to pay someone else to teach me how to do something I already know how to do.............went to the DMV, got a book, studies, took the CDL-A test, passed............went to "National Truck Training" in Green Cove Springs..........rented their truck to take my "Road Test" in..........they are certified.......passed............the rest is history..............I have maybe a total of $225.00 in my CDL-A with Hazmat endorsemet...........that's the ONLY way to go in my opinion............if you already know how to drive a truck.
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Wow, what a small world! Knew the Brasch's, Shorty & Rocky, and the Tavern (first job was at the marina next door to Emma's).....Lived 3 streets up from Hartley's and volunteered w/ Station 2........Even worked at the Jiffy w/ Libby for awhile before the Navy.......

That'd be great if I had any previous experience to draw on. As it is, starting from nothing as far as the "mechanics" of operating a rig. Goal is to either find a third-party school that I can knock out while I'm still on active duty (original plan with National) or opt for company training with a company I can live with, at least long enough to satisfy the obligation (simpler-less "moving parts"). Trying to eliminate - or at least minimize - the income gap period between active duty and new job.
As for company options, I do the I-10 run from Pensacola to Live Oak a few times a month. Really don't see a lot of COMCAR's trucks out there, other than a token few flats from Coastal. Odd considering their concentration in FL. Sadly, don't see much from Roehl, and their company training seems to get pretty good reviews. What I do see a lot of, besides the "unmentionables" is CFI, Crete, Shaffer (reefer division of Crete?) and SRT (Southern Refrigerated Transport). Would the presence (or lack thereof) of a given company's equipment on nearby corridors be an indicator as to what to expect in terms of being able to get home somewhat regularly?
Rick

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Schneider will train you and put you in a tank. They need good HAZ MAT drivers. They haul some nasty stuff.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

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Thanks - hadn't really given them much thought. Did a quick search of the forum and found pretty mixed reviews. One mentioned an 18 month obligation for the company training. Would hate to get into a bad situation and be on the hook that long Visited the pumpkindriver site and found some info, but kinda' leery of dedicated company forums in terms of reliable info.
One other question that's come to mind - If I do the CDL training outside of FL (where my license is, and will remain), how do I do the road test? Surely FL DMV won't do 3rd party testing with an out-of-state facility, or will they?
Rick

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You will test in WI or PA may be NC for the lic. While on the road with trainer you can set a appointment in your home state to transfer lic and take any needed road tests.
The training they offer is very good. I attended their school after I already had a CDL. I had years of experiance, but didn't have "OTR EXPERIANCE" So I had to take their little school. They paid me to take it since I had my CDL.
Mine was in Greenbay. All the tanker drivers were required to take the skid pad. I loved it. I wish all CDL drivers had to do that every 3-5 years.
The pay they started me at was .34 many years ago. Not to bad for my first ever OTR job. I .was starting as a newbie.
My miles were good. The extra pay items added up. I liked going to the diff chemical places and refineries. I thought it ws neat. Had lots of resonsibility.
Loved runny down south alot.
Hated the heat wereing the nomex and rubber suit with face mask in 102 heat202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!