You too can drive the big rigs

[johnday]

rs; Sounds like I should check out FedEx in a couple months. Am I right in assuming they train you to the point of getting your Class A CDL? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[johnday]

RedDog and Boomerang; How much additional training does a HazMat endorsement require? And does it help you to market yourself better relative to the effort? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[dummy]

Did you ever notice that little device with numbers on it attached to the hub of a truck? That records actual mileage driven and some co's. use that for pay purposes. Household mover miles are when the co. decides for you how long the trip was. And let's not forget the latest driver's nightmare -GPS tracking and linking.

 

[RedDog]

<font color="blue"> How much additional training does a HazMat endorsement require? </font>

Not much. Read an additional section in the CDL manual.

<font color="blue">And does it help you to market yourself better relative to the effort? </font>

Yes. All of the above companies that I mentioned will require this.

RedDog

 

[Gatorboy]

How about transporting RVs, Firetrucks, UPS trucks, etc? Not sure how easy this is to get into, but for a retirement income it sounds like a pretty good thing:

How to Get Paid $30,000 a Year to Travel* *Without Selling Anything

 

[budman72]

Interesting thread,

My company has openings for about 40 drivers at this time, all across the country. Requires a decent amount of experience and Hazmat endorsement to haul liquid oxygen and nitrogen. These guys make $60 - $70 thousand a year and are home about every night.

Not bad for a high school education.

Budman

 

[Taylortractornut]

John I drive trucks on a daily absis running the landfill for my boss. dad had a small trucking company that moved the rubbish for the same landfills previous owners. I started driving for my brother when i was 16 hauling gravel in his 2 ton trucks and offroading his 10 wheelers. Then dad got into the rolloff business when i was 18 and had alot of short hauls lol. I mostly drive DM Macks aka sidewinders with maxitorque sixes or the old 2 stick sixes. When i took my CDL test when i was 24 I was at the back of the line of a bunch of 15 nd 4 day old trainees. Man they were nervous at their walk around. I had gone in a 4 days earlier and done my written test then brought my friends boom truck to test in. The ladies in the office told me that the testing officer doesnt usually pass folks that take the written then come back a short time later. I did may walk around the whole time the officer was impressed with the condition of the old C65. He told me i missed 2 questions in my walk around and they were book questions not something i had to worry about. He smirked and said that it wouldnt look right for him to give the 100 on it. When we did the cone driving he marked 100. especially through the backing Had tol learn how o drive on a dead end road so backing up and shifting with the 2 stick made that easy.
About 35 minutes into the driving test through some tight spots the officer asked me to be truthful and it wouldnt affect may score. His question was how long have ya been driving with out CDL's. I grinned and said since i was about 15 after that he says no sense in wasting my time or yours go on back to the office youll have liscenses. For the most part i like to drive and in traffic id rather be in a large truck but folks in cars scare me. I had a lady today run a stopsign talking on the phone. had to duck over into a parking lot to miss her. I was moving on at about 30 mph. I met a guy today that was having some difficulty in a local factories truck. he had class A liscenes but couldnt get the truck to move other than a few bounces in the wrong gear.. he had been to a driver trainee school that advertises around that area and got CDL's in 5 days but the kicker was they taught only how to drive automatic trucks. his first 2 problems were never had been in a strightshift rig and that was a 13 speed and he had the splitter in overdrive and gear 11 or 12. He came in got hired at that factory to ferry trailers and they didnt ask him about the transmission. Had one driver even tell me that they didnt know to grease the fifth wheel plate. I have alot of friends that transfer Rv's for my boss Bob Tiffin at Tiffin motor homes. I forgot what they get a mile but have a company car in tow. I went to knoxville a few months ago with a couple friend to drive back a concrete truck they bought. actually they bought 5 of them just needed an extra driver. got a good dinner out of it saw some nice scenery and 100 bucks not to mention a relaxing ride.

 

[Moon]

Wish I could give you good news, but just the other day it was announed that a local trucking company suddenly closed it's doors (Gasel Trucking). The company had had it's problems and was in the process of being bought out, the deal fell through and next thing you know it's closed down. 300 drivers & some mechanics out of work. Higher gas prices played a big role in it according to the newspaper.

Here's a link to the story from the local TV station:

News Story

 

[Boomerang1]

When you get paid buy hub miles, you get paid for every mile you put on the odometer. When you get paid by household or Rand McNally miles, you get paid for the shortest possible route. Also with the latter, you get paid from the outside of the starting city to the begining side of the ending city. If you have to drive 60 miles across the city to deliver, you won't get paid for those miles. With my job, we get paid by the load. If you figured it out by the mile, it could be as little as .70 cents a mile up to 30.00 dollars per mile for the driver, depending on what you are hauling and where it is going. I believe most companies want you have to have 2 years experience to haul hazmat. If you pass the hazmat section of the driving test, you get your endorsement. You have to recertify every 3 years for hazmat. With our company, we also have to be MSHA ( Mine Safety and Health Administration) certified every year. Also, most companies won't hire you to haul hazmat if you don't have a clean driving record for the previous 5 years.

 

[johnday]

You guys have given me some good advice and ideas. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif The way things are going at my regular job, I think I'll make some calls this week to a couple of the local companies. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif It seems there is a slight advantage of not going OTR. Since my family is grown and gone, OTR does hold a certain amount of romance if you will, but can see how it could get old fast if you're not in the mindset for it. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Now that I know a little of what to look out for, maybe, and that's a big maybe, I can make an intelligent decision. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

OOps, Jan just read this, she said not to hold my breathe!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif