I Hope I Don't Have to Pay for CDL School Again?

[24hours2go]

I got my CDL-A from a private school back in August and since then only had 2 months of OTR experience in November and December. Since New Year's I have not driven a tractor trailer of any kind due to the fact that my family needed help with their new cargo van expediting business, which I participated in with my 1 ton cargo van. To make a long story short, I miss driving a big rig and would like to go back to driving a tractor trailer OTR. But since I have not driven one for 4 months I am not sure if any company is willing to take me back without going to CDL school again. Does anyone think that I have anything to worry about or would a company like Gainey or Swift still take me on without requiring me to pay for school again?

[fatman]

Others here will no more, but I think a lot of companies offer 'refresher' courses where you just go out with a mentor for a week or so if it's been more than a few months since you've driven but less than a year.

[GMAN]

Have you checked with the company where you started? After several months have passed and little experience, many carriers may want you to take a refresher course. You may find one of the training carriers to be more receptive as long as you work with a trainer for a time. I would check with Swift, Schneider, Millis, Roehl, CRST, and any of the other training carriers to see if any can work with you.

[24hours2go]

Others here will no more, but I think a lot of companies offer 'refresher' courses where you just go out with a mentor for a week or so if it's been more than a few months since you've driven but less than a year.

A refresher course would be fine with me, but I just hope it does not end up costing me a great deal of extra money to do it considering I already paid $4,000 cash to get my CDL-A back in August. Do you think such a refresher course will cost me anymore money or would one of the companies offer it to me for free?

[GMAN]

The best thing for you to do is call those companies for whom you would like to work and ask them directly.

[24hours2go]

The best thing for you to do is call those companies for whom you would like to work and ask them directly.

Alright, that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully everything works out okay and I don't get any "bad news" regarding my dilemma. Sometimes it's tough facing the great unknown, but I guess that's where I'm at again until I make a few calls.

[fatman]

I'm willing to bet that you can find a company that will pay you 'training pay' (usually $350-$450/week) while you shake the rust off. It's really only been a short while sonce you drove, if you were talking 12 months or more then you might have a tougher time of it. Best of luck!

[GMAN]

With a few exceptions, most of us can only speculate as to how some of the larger carriers will look at your experience and training. There are a few recruiters who frequent this forum. They are in a much better position to answer your questions. I don't think any of them are with those companies I listed. Good luck. Let us know what you find out.

[24hours2go]

I'm willing to bet that you can find a company that will pay you 'training pay' (usually $350-$450/week) while you shake the rust off. It's really only been a short while sonce you drove, if you were talking 12 months or more then you might have a tougher time of it. Best of luck!

That would be like a breath of fresh air to get training pay while regaining some of the knowledge I lost. But something tells me I should go outside and find a four-leaf clover before calling tomorrow and hope for the best(LOL).

[24hours2go]

With a few exceptions, most of us can only speculate as to how some of the larger carriers will look at your experience and training. There are a few recruiters who frequent this forum. They are in a much better position to answer your questions. I don't think any of them are with those companies I listed. Good luck. Let us know what you find out.

Okay, thanks for the help and listing the other companies you listed. I'll be picking up that phone tomorrow and dialing a few numbers, hoping that all goes well. I feel like a job-hopper after what happened and learned my lesson about stepping out of the truck for a few months. I've got all kinds of worries and little money in my pocket, but maybe one of the companies I call can help me out. I will post back here tomorrow as soon as I learn of any good or bad news over the phone.

[silvan]

I'm willing to bet that you can find a company that will pay you 'training pay' (usually $350-$450/week) while you shake the rust off.

Depressing thought there. That's exactly what my training pay was 10 years ago. My (base) phone bill is double, my electric is about 30% higher, cable is 50% higher, gas for my fourwheeler is 150% higher, and even starting pay at Whacky World is up by $2 an hour compared with when I was there.

Yet training pay for a truck driver remains the same as it was 10 years ago. That's the worst part of this biz. The longer you work, the more feasible it becomes to earn the same money working double shifts at Burger King.

[24hours2go]

I'm willing to bet that you can find a company that will pay you 'training pay' (usually $350-$450/week) while you shake the rust off.

Depressing thought there. That's exactly what my training pay was 10 years ago. My (base) phone bill is double, my electric is about 30% higher, cable is 50% higher, gas for my fourwheeler is 150% higher, and even starting pay at Whacky World is up by $2 an hour compared with when I was there.

Yet training pay for a truck driver remains the same as it was 10 years ago. That's the worst part of this biz. The longer you work, the more feasible it becomes to earn the same money working double shifts at Burger King.

I don't know about you, but for me the thrill of traveling on the open road is better than working 2 fast food jobs and sweating your ass off behind the grill with the manager over your shoulder. Been there, done that and hope I never have to go back to flipping frozen cow parts again.

[Trucker4Life]

Check with the organization where you got your license...sometimes they will give a refresher course for little to nothing. BOL