Well i just went through a bad brake up. :sad: But i kinda knew it was coming. So if there is a time for me to try OTR it is now. The ? i have is. I will be 23 nov. 9th. That is TMC min. age. Can i start there training early so by the time am 23 i am good to go. Or do i have to wait till am 23 to do anything. That's if TMC would even take me which i don't see why not. But you never know. :?: :?:

 

Well it could take a week to process your application and verify your employment history. The hiring committee may turn you down due to your age, in which case you re-apply next week and get a different person to approve you. :lol: Once you are approved give your current employer two weeks notice and you are already at november first or so.

Start the process. Worst case you would have to take the november 13 orientation. If you can get in November 6th I'll be there as well (in Des Moines.) Good luck.

 

well i just got off the phone with TMC am not going there. They don't count my local exp. The only way i could go to work for them is if i go under there training program. Like i never had my class a. So it would be like am getting it twice. Which am not doing that. So it looks like if i want to go OTR i am going to go with this local food grade outfit. With like 30 trucks down the street from me. www.pekramme.com. I went there like a year ago and had the job but turn it down for reason of my GF and what not but that ain't the case no more. Well it was worth a shot i guess.

 

Yeah, it's a stupid deal. Probably insurance I guess. I did OTR for a year and a half, then drove local class-8 straight trucks for two years. OTR companies don't count my local experience though, even though I was doing exactly the same thing. Fortunately for me, my OTR was less than three years ago so I won't have to start from scratch, though I'll probably still have to do a couple weeks of training. :roll:

 

yeah he said it was for insurance reasons. I knew they where not go to take my local exp. But for me to go get my class a and to go to school is just crazy. Even if i wanted to i cant afford the down time. But hey they have there polices i just look as it as the missed out on a good driver. Maybe when i get some OTR exp. i will think about them again. I mean i can drive the truck all they would have to do is teach me the paperwork end of OTR driving like log books and etc. But owell what ya goin do.

 

Are you saying that you need to go back to CDL school? or just the orientation and training. If you have a CDL and can pass the road test all you need is to take the two week load securement orientation and then spend 4 to 6 weeks with a finisher. Probably 6 in your case with no OTR experience, same as me. This is more to learn how to properly secure loads than anything else.

Call Matt in recruiting if you didn't talk to him before. Call the student recruiting number and press 3 (instead of 1 or 2) Good luck and I hope you try again.

 

i did talk to matt him seemed like a real nice guy. HGe said i would have to go back to CDL school. Am going to look into this better but thats what he said. I dont mine takeing the load securement orientation i knew i would have to take that. Well i also email fred so maybe he can help but i will see what i can do. But rules are rules. I did call the student number and i geuss what they mean by student is some one who never been in a cab of a truck before.

 

Did you go to CDL school at some point? Or are you one of these magic people who took the tests and borrowed a truck to get your CDL? There is a lot of book learning about laws and stuff that you would learn in CDL school.

 

I guess you chould say that. I got my CDL when i was 18 been driving ever since. My dad is a O/O so i used his truck when he had a T/T now he has a tri axle dump. My uncle is a O/O am the 4th gen trucker in my family i know alot about trucks for my age more then any CDL mill could teach you in 6 or 8 weeks. I have driven alot of type of trucks from dump trucks to non-hazmat tankers to lowboys. But they all want you to come form a cdl school or have exp. All for them damn insurance company's. It seems like its just OTR company's i know local dump trucks and stuff like they could care less about there insurance never had a problem. But hey i got my CDL for nothing i think it beats paying a couple grand like some people. But am paying for it now i guess. But if i sit down with the owner of small family company's and tell them my story the like it and allways hire me. But with big outfits that's not a choice.

 

Yeah - inflexible rules suck. If you really wanted to go with TMC you might see if you could take the classroom portion of a CDL class cheaply and only get a few hours on the truck. Sort of a refresher course type deal.

I say that you should get a job with whoever will hire you with the least hassle. If a smaller company will give you a job then you will probably be better off if the pay is decent. Good luck.