Question:
Ok, First off HOWDY.. lol I'm trying to figure out who where to get a job without going to a driving school. I've driven before with relatives, all over the southwest. Their employer wont even verify i was ever in the truck though. I thought I'd save some money and just go get my CDL (with full endorsments) instead of school, but seems now that I've done it, I'm stuck. No verifiable driving exp seems to have put me at the same place as without the lic. If i had to put all the time driving into a single lump of time, it'd be like 10 months. ( was actually over a couple years off n on)
Any Ideas / Suggestions?

Answer:
All I can say is go to a truck stop and pickup the free books with truck company ads and give them a call and tell them your story.You might have to go out with a trainer for a while but it will get you driving.Good Luck
If I did not have bad luck I'd have no luck at all lol

Answer:
The better ones that have their own schools are www.Roehl.Net and www.Schneider.com www.Werner.com is another possiblility. Because you are in Phoenix Arizona include www.Swifttrans.com Since you already have a CDL, www.MillisTransfer.com is unavailable to you until you have a year of experience. If you picked up any bad habits or improper techniques, you may need to un-learn some things.
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You took a shortcut in getting started and now it has come back and bit you in the rearend. Wannabe's should take note that going with a family member or owner operator may leave you without documentation of your experience. Plus you may have learned improper or outdated proceedures. Moral of the story --- forget the shortcuts and go to a real school.

Answer:
Wondering if this is LoriAZ with a name change?
BUMP!
Westline264 - What was that?
Hoss - A Vneck.
From the conversation in Hoss's truck as we cruise the 'Roundtable' Highway.
Official Member Basher - Vneck Section
Answer:
You are going to have to attend a driving school even though you already have your CDL. The reason for this is due to insurance companies and not the trucking companies themselves. After you attend school you will then need to look for a company that hires newbie drivers and go through the OTJ training.
I will always be a mutter trucker at heart.
Answer:
No I'm not LoriAZ, I've seen her posts and think she'd be smarter than changing to a name still ending in AZ to try and be anonymous. (Mine comes from my yahoo name Nomad_az wich I used because Nomad was already taken and I'm in Arizona... who'd a guessed )
I hope I haven't learned any bad habits, my moms been an accident free driver for over 10yrs.
And I sorta went to a school.. lol, was the only ones who would rent me a truck for the CDL skills test. (guess one hour of schooling doesn't count eh?)
With my previous exp with non-cdl car hauling, straight moving trucks, and 5yrs towing here and Chicago I think I'll be fine. like I said I've got OTR experience through all kinds of terrain/weather. Only one thing to remember, Safety First! If any of you see me on the road it wont be with the rubber side up, or wearing another vehicle as a hood ornament.
Swift said with my clean record etc they can probably start me out with a short training period and possibly get me into orientation monday.. We'll see... If not I'll bite the bullet and go Schneider and take their company training.
Comments? dave@sobelman.us

Answer:
is DETAILS! No matter how small it may seem, it will turn out to be HUGE if you don't pay attention to it. Such mundane things as pre/post-trips, clearances (especially at docks), time management, logging (especially with the new HOS), stuff like that.
My career ended because I didn't pay enough attention to detail. I got complacent. Soon as I did that BAM!
So don't let it happen to you...
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I'm not a truck driver, I'm a professional tourist!

Answer:
Gotcha... will remain carefull and observant. Start Orientation tomorrow morning 13hrs from now.. A bit nervous of the driving test, even though been on the road for most of the last year, haven't been in a truck in about 4 and a half months.. AND was as a team with my mom so I never did much backing anyways. as long as they're not going to judge my backing by speed, I'll be fine.. Slowwwwwww, but fine.

Answer:
they use to have a program that if you had your CDL license you did not have to sign a one year contract. Check into that and see if it is still available to you.

Answer:
Nomad you do not need school these schools are just to get a CDL you already have that so no need. Yuo need to talk with your relatives friend or who ever else you know with connections to trucking find out who needs a driver your relitives or friends good ref about you and your ability to drive should open some doors. You dont need to resort to the batroom readers to get a job these companys could not care less about you or who you are they rely on DAC reports to determine your ability. If you can find a company that need a driver and someone you know know someone it is alot better than some moron recruter just looking at a report. I just came back to work for a company I worked for 6 years ago I just called and ask my old boss hey need a driver he said yes come on in I went in peed in a cup filled out a little mandatory parer work and left with a load the next day. What I am trying to say is knowing people and haveing them know you will work better than being a faceless number in a big company computer never know when it will come in handy .
Answer:
He drove for a relative but the company would not document his driving experience. That is how he got in this mess in the first place. So the best answer seems to be to go to a major (real) company and go out with a trainer.

Answer:
Thats one way but calling it the best way I am not so sure I would still rather have real people know me and know I can do the job then someone I'll never meet on the other end of the phone determining my ability by reading a report by someone else I have never meet that has no accountabilty to me. These bigger companys can and will use your DAC report to play you the way they want I was just offering an alturnative way of finding a good job in trucking there is a whole world of trucking out there not just the bathroom reader companys dont limit yourself you have the CDL and can handle the truck you dont really need the hassle these companys will provide.
Answer:
Local union shops. Yellow has been running TV adds in the St Louis area for 3 or months saying no experiance will train. Worth a call to see what it is about. I know the rendering shops will love ya. They can care less if you can drive, how are you at winching dead live stock out of the feild after it has set there for 2 months? Darling National is a good union company that hauls grease. They like you to be over 27 and no accidents. The shop here can care less about your experiance. The pay is ok close to 18 a hour to start. They are home every night here. The are a nation wide company. Good luck.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
is better than nothing. We all started out doing something and worked our way up. (Hopefully) I started out with my Dad driving straight trucks hauling grain/hay and anything else that fitted in the damned truck! $18/hr ain't nothing to sneeze at either.
Better to have it and not need it as need it and not have it!Just remember:If the world did'nt suck, you'd fall off!
The more I see and read about Republicans and Democrats, the more I wish we had an Independent Party.
IMPEACH BUSH!!!!!!!!!!

Answer:
Lol, there were more suggestions after I lefteded! Thanks y'all, got hired at swift, they took a verbal "yeah he drove" over the phone from the company as proof, then the *cough* driving test *coughjokecough*.
SLOOooooooooowwwwwwww trucks, but overall not bad.
being solo is WAY different than team that's for sure. did a couple no-no's..
1) parked on ice in missouri (steelville, 8 miles south of cuba's voss truck stop), um, shoulda made sure the ice was on pavement first. well, it turned to mud by the time I woke up at noon, and you guessed it, had to get winched out.. *sigh* (still better than the slide fest going on at voss that night, their lot had at least an inch of super slick ice over the entire thing.. few accidents, few people plain stuck, thought I was safe once I got out of there.. whoops)
2) well this aint my fault but still happened to me in my first month so, was parked at petro in rochelle illinois, truck has that optimized idle and shakes when it shuts down, so wasn't alarmed when the truck shook as I slept... Woke up to see my passenger side mirrors hanging from their power cords, and no truck in the space next to me.. dang bas#@$%@..
other than those 2 incidents, and a couple curbs in places like small streets in st louis, and houston.. been doing pretty good. aint hit nothing
more than a curb, and been getting better at avoiding them backing's been a breeze with this Columbia, tight turn radius is sweet..
Home for 2 days for christmas, gotta get a laptop! untill then see ya's next month or so! lol