Greetings from N. GA

Ritual Aftermath · New Member Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

Hey yall. Figured I'd introduce myself.

I'm Joe, 23 years old, ex-military. Was a 63H in the Army (all things diesel basically).

I'm not a trucker yet. . .

I've been doing as much research as I can before I unload the cash to get my CDL.

This is the first forum community I've found with real life truckers, so if it's ok I'd like to hang around and soak up knowledge?

And prolly pester yall with questions. . .

swissy · Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:44 pm Post subject:

Welcome to our little Group.

We have a few ex-military among us, so we all know the drill Wink

We hope you hang around and enjoy and participate in our forums and discussions, they can become quiet lively.

Again, welcome and feel free to ask whatever you need/ want to know.
_________________
Dan "Thunder" Doyle 8-21-1974 - 6-24-2009 RIP Buddy, I Miss You!!!

Ritual Aftermath · New Member Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

lol thanks. not sure how into discussion i'll be able to get until i'm actually driving tho.

admittedly like half the threads i read through so far I ended up having to go look stuff up so i knew what was being discussed =P

and i guess my first question for the community would be how do i pick a school?

I don't want to get screwed. . . and I don't know anyone personally who drives professionally, so I have limited resources to get "insider" knowledge from =/

sunshine · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:28 am Post subject:

Welcome to the board. There are some very good schools out there.

Do your homework very carefully. Some of the colleges even offer
CDL training. Do beware of the big box comanies(Swift, Werner etc)
that have their own training schools. As a rule you will have to sign a contract stating that you will stay there at least a year and work for
them to fullfill your schooling obligation.

Trucking is a way of life not a career. You must have some street
smarts. There's some unsavory characters out here trying to scam
you out of your money buy selling their wares. Which probally most
of them will burn your fingers Laughing

Panhandlers always have a sob
story. Then there's some things out here that penacillin won't cure
and ajax won't scrub off Laughing

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BADTIMING · Member Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 30

Ritual Aftermath · New Member Joined: 07 Feb 2008 Posts: 3

Awesome! Thanks for all the tips and encouragement folks.

Right now I'm considering just taking my CDL training at a local college, I'm not sure how "quality" the school will be, but really I don't need the school to be super intensive.

As for a company to work for, I'm not sure what to do about that. I guess I'm going to be fairly restricted, being that I live out in the middle of nowhere in North Georgia.

Anyway, thanks again for info and tips. I guess I'm just gonna hope I get a little bit of good luck =P

BADTIMING · Member Joined: 16 Jan 2008 Posts: 30

Most schools will get you "prehired" even before starting classes. But beware , these are usually a big company where you are a number and not a person.
To be honest , in school , you will learn the basics to pass the driving test. But check (here) to see if students are accepted.

Mississippi · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:15 pm Post subject: truck driving skools

I think I'd recommend something at the local Junior college/vo-tech if that's available, and your being a veteran might qualify you for some assistance.

Like the other folks say on here, there's a lot of stuff they're NOT going to teach you in school....you gotta learn it first hand.

Don't hesitate to ask questions of the people here.....there's a lot of knowledge on this forum.

Good luck!

Blank_doubt3274 · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:03 pm Post subject:

WELCOME ABOARD!!
Man I dig your screen name!
I got this Avatar from: http://avatars.jurko.net/

WE here WELCOME Newcomers as well as Vets from ALL wars.
Truck Driving is a war in and of itself yet this isn't to scare you, it is just what it is or at least from MY points of views.
----
There are "schools" that charge as much as $6,000.00 for THE SAME TRAINING one can acquire at any other Driver Training School.
I paid, well not actually, $4,000.00 for my training which was basically all the answers to all the questions that were presented on the CDL written test.
This was in late '98 in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. The "training" was a mere two weeks.
My Wife paid $2,000.00 and learned far more in four weeks and her school was/is in Thomasville, NC.

BEWARE as stated by ALL here that there are unsavory characters about that claim to be a Driver Training Facility when in reality they're simply Vampires to suk you dry, monetarily speaking.
----
Now for the fun part:

What do you want to drive:

1) Flat top?
2) Midroof?
3) Walk-in Condo?

Freightliner FLD, Century Class, Columbia?
Peterbilt, Kenworth, Mack, International, White/Volvo?
Cabover or Conventional?
8, 9, 10, Super 10, 13, 15, 18, 21 speed or Automatic?
Six or Ten wheel Tractor?
Does color matter?
Solo or Team?

Trailer:
53' Dry Van, Reefer, Flatbed?
48' Flatbed, Reefer?
Covered Wagon?--Flatbed with removable siding usually of Aluminum and Tarps. Looks better'n just a Flatbed.
Stepdeck?--a variety of uses.
Dropdeck?--used mainly for hauling Construction Equipment.

There are a vast amount of things to learn and ignore in this field and you'll discover them as you travel about.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING AND REGISTERING and do drop in as you are able.
Please feel free as swissy stated to participate in any of the forums.
One need not know what one is talking about to participate as I should know.
Making up stuff is 3/4 of the fun!!

Remember:
The ONLY stupid question is the one that isn't asked!!
_________________
All Women are Ladies till they prove otherwise.

Russellmania · Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 7:28 am Post subject:

Hi Ritual Aftermath and welcome to the boards. Like Mississippi stated as a veteran you probably qualify for financial assistance to acquire your "schooling". Many state and municipal programs pay for job training and are funded by the feds. All a school is going to do is get you a CDL. Once you have it you need to go out on the road with a trainer who will teach you some of the ins and outs of driving and surviving. The first week that you finally go solo you'll learn more than you did in school and with a trainer combined.

My recommendation is to get the CDL before you apply to any of the large training companies. The best programs are as Mississippi said, through a local junior college or a vocational/technical institution. If you go to any of the large companies' schools then you'll have to commit yourself to working for them for a year or more but if you already have your CDL you can quit any time you want to. Just make sure that when you quit a company that you do it on good terms. USIS, formerly known as DAC (Drive-a-Check) services maintains a database on millions of drivers and is used by most major carriers in hiring. It's like a consumer credit reporting service and if you get too many "dings" in your file you could find yourself virtually blackballed in the industry.

Good luck in your endeavors and thank you for your service to our nation. Feel free to post here often with any and all questions you may have.
_________________
Who is John Galt?

Mississippi · Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:09 pm Post subject: R.A., I have a question

Being trained by the military in all things diesel, what's your professional opinion on biofuels? I had an Air Force generator operator tell me a couple of years ago that the enzymes in the bio-diesel will eat up the seals in the lines and the pump, and eventually you'll have to rebuild the system with components that are resistant to those enzymes.

So, what do you think?