Getting a CDL????

[hammersley]

Hey - for us old guys - is it realistic to get a CDL and do some driving PART TIME???? I mean it looks like verybody wants 2-3 years experience... . where do you get started?????

 

[RyanStewart]

I donno about everybody wanting 2-3 years experience. I know there are plenty of places that will hire you as soon as you get your CDL, although they're usually not the best places to work. As far as working part time, I donno. I worked part time for a trucking company for years, but that was after I had worked for them full time for a while and they knew they could count on me. I don't know about someone hiring you part without any experience.

 

[TFucili]

Hey - for us old guys - is it realistic to get a CDL and do some driving PART TIME???? I mean it looks like verybody wants 2-3 years experience... . where do you get started?????

I have been flirting with the same idea. I kick myself now for not having an articulated endorsement on my license before the CDL stuff hit the fan, 'cause they sure make it a big rigamarole to obtain one now. Are you thinking of attending a school to expedite the process, or do you have someone whose equipment you can borrow?

 

[donnier]

Im thinking in the opposite direction.

Iv had a CDL since early 70 s but being retired now I wonder whether to keep renewing it of let it lapse.

Im leaning towards keeping it in force just in case.



Define "old guys"??:-laf

 

[CDonaldson]

I had a CDL for years, while I did not drive commercially for others, only my own trucks, it was too much trouble after the laws changed towhere they are today. In New Mexico they offer an 'E' license for those who are not commercial but exceed the 10K towing limit of a regular license. It was just the right license for me, can drive any combo in excess of 26001. If I were to need to regain my A-CDL it is just a matter of getting the DOT physical and the license converts with no testing whatsoever.



CD

 

[Bob4x4]

Hey - for us old guys - is it realistic to get a CDL and do some driving PART TIME???? I mean it looks like verybody wants 2-3 years experience... . where do you get started?????

Try looking at hauling hay for a farmer to get your time on the books. That was a pretty popular thing to do in Oregon a while back.



Bob

 

[TFucili]

Define "old guys"??:-laf

How about old enough to remember when power steering was an option, and work trucks had a block-off plate where the radio would have been, and the windshield washer was a rubber bellows hooked to a plastic bag on the fender?

 

[Grumpytrkr]

Hey - for us old guys - is it realistic to get a CDL and do some driving PART TIME???? I mean it looks like verybody wants 2-3 years experience... . where do you get started?????

Well, here in Illinois, I just got my CDL renewed. I had the old license, and was grandfathered in to the CDL. Yep, I'm an old timer.



I had to take SEVEN written tests. One for general driving knowledge, and one for basic CDL, one for combo, one for air brakes, one for haz-mat, (oh, and don't forget to get fingerprinted, and pay the $100 so the Sec of State and TSA can do a background check on you) one for double/triples, and one for tankers. And pay another $60 for the license.



Anybody need a fork lift driver?

 

[hammersley]

Well, here in Illinois, I just got my CDL renewed. I had the old license, and was grandfathered in to the CDL. Yep, I'm an old timer.



I had to take SEVEN written tests. One for general driving knowledge, and one for basic CDL, one for combo, one for air brakes, one for haz-mat, (oh, and don't forget to get fingerprinted, and pay the $100 so the Sec of State and TSA can do a background check on you) one for double/triples, and one for tankers. And pay another $60 for the license.



Anybody need a fork lift driver?

Yep - all those tests but yet for the love of the almighty $$$$ you can go buy a zillion $$$ Motorhome and need NOTHING!!! Wouldn't want to disrupt any sales would we????

 

[MMeier]

How about old enough to remember when power steering was an option, and work trucks had a block-off plate where the radio would have been, and the windshield washer was a rubber bellows hooked to a plastic bag on the fender?

Thats old allright!!

 

[FYarcho]

Well its kinda up to you!! I had got one several years back when it was just a single written test and a short driving test. Kept it for a few year while working for a moving and storage company. Then I went to the military and when I got out I had a job which didnt require it, so I let it go. Well as time went by jobs changed then I needed one again. What a pain it was to get again with all the tests and such. So now that I have it back, but again not in a career which I need it I think I will just keep it just in case!! I did let my Haz Mat go I really didnt feel like paying the extra money and background check for something Im sure I wont need.

 

[Cummins Pilot]

Yep - all those tests but yet for the love of the almighty $$$$ you can go buy a zillion $$$ Motorhome and need NOTHING!!! Wouldn't want to disrupt any sales would we????

They put air brakes on those things too! Some of those people aren't hardly capable of keeping a Cadillac on the road but hey they can drive one of those big buses. A fair number of them have one foot in the grave but don't need a medical to drive them.

 

[Grizzly]

Define "old guys"??:-laf

Anyone who has CRS. :-laf

 

[Grumpytrkr]

Yep - all those tests but yet for the love of the almighty $$$$ you can go buy a zillion $$$ Motorhome and need NOTHING!!! Wouldn't want to disrupt any sales would we????

I do think that RVers should have to get a license to prove they can handle what they have. I have a RV, 33 foot tow behind. And I have seen both RVers AND truckers do some really stupid things.



My favorite thing about the air brake test was that they wanted to know how far a part could move before the unit was out of service. My shirt does say "mechanic" is says "truck driver. " Silly, silly questions.

 

[Bob4x4]

My favorite thing about the air brake test was that they wanted to know how far a part could move before the unit was out of service. My shirt does say "mechanic" is says "truck driver. " Silly, silly questions.

As a pro truck driver who is legally bound to do a pre trip inspection,you don't think that is a worthwhile question ?



Bob

 

[dpuckett]

I agree, Bob4x4, that IS something one should know (max movement for slack adjusters). Being a driver involves more than just getting in, turning the key, and pressing the go pedal. God forbid one have to get out and see if his 80K vehicle would be safe for other traffic :-laf That'd be too much like work.



I got my CDL, found out companies wanted 1-3yrs experience, or go through a mickey Mouse training program for their insurane company. Then you sign a contract for 1-2 years driving, or reimburse them for the "training" (some ungodly amount- $6-8K). I am going to farrier school in March, so that wouldnt work. I had a job with a local guy driving a dump truck for $9/hr, but the truck should have been reitred to a junkyard 10 years ago (brakes, steering, underpowered, oil burning, etc, etc). I quit him mainly because if he cant maintain the equipment, I dont want to lose my license and be criminally liable for anything that may happen as a reult of his shoddy upkeep. That was a tough one to explain to my g/f, as the guy and her boss are good friends. Her boss still doesnt understand.



I went back to building BBQ pits, making $3/hr more than I was driving a dump truck. I have all the endorsements, didnt have a problem with the written tests (I thought they could have been harder, esp with some of the idiots we have out there), or the driving tests. I also didnt have a problem with the $96 to get the background test for the HAZMAT endorsement to make sure I wasnt some religious zealot with a history of attacks against people. If you cant recoup that cost in your job, you need help. Or a new job.



To answer the original question, there are outfits that will let you work part time or weekends, with little to no experience, just have to get out and talk to people. Someone almost always knows someone.



Daniel

 

[MMeier]

My favorite thing about the air brake test was that they wanted to know how far a part could move before the unit was out of service. My shirt does say "mechanic" is says "truck driver. " Silly, silly questions.

Since it does say MECHANIC, how far is it then !??!

 

[MMeier]

As a pro truck driver who is legally bound to do a pre trip inspection,you don't think that is a worthwhile question ?



Bob

Roger that!!

 

[Grumpytrkr]

#1-I'm sorry I got happy fingers. I meant to say my shirt says Truck Driver, not Mechanic... .



Now, in answer to your questions about slack adjusters. Can I see a show of hands that know how to check the slack adjusters. Can I ask how many people does it take to check this????? How many of the OTR drivers out there have more then one person to help them do their pre or post trip inspections. How many carry some type of wheel blocks so they can check them correctly? So no, I don't think it is worthwile question. I also don't think the question about how far the brake pad is cracked putting a truck out of service is a worthwhile question. How many truck driver carry a jack and the tools required to remove the tire and drum to check the brake pad. A GOOD driver can tell when he/she is checking the air system if the brakes are in need of adjustment. I got in the truck the other day, let the air go on the trailer brakes, and drove it directly to the shop and told them to adjust the brakes on the trailer. I could "feel" the trailer want to roll before I thought it should. So, I knew something was wrong. ANYBODY, male or female that drive a truck everyday knows more by what something feels like, rather then looking at it. You can look to see the glad hands are hooked correctly, but when you release the air, and you get feedback thru the cab valve, you know something is wrong.



Yes, pre trip inspections involve more then getting in and turning the key. As a matter of fact, during the pre trip, the key should be in your pocket, not in the truck. This will keep your fingers from being lost in the belt while you are checking it.



And I also think the tests need more "driver" type questions on them. On all the tests, nothing was asked about the oil lube wheel bearings.



Oh, and just for the record, the Freightshaker that I drive has 458,000 miles on it, and at last spot DOT inspection I got a 100%, nothing wrong.



I've never built BBQ pits. I would love to be able to have that skill. I can't nail two chunks of wood together, and get them square. All I have done is drive truck. From a kid on the farm with a 1959 Mack, to 6 years in the Army driving 5 and 10 ton tractors with low boys, to driving OTR, to my current job driving local. There are mechanic questions, and there are drivers questions. A question that I was glad to see on the test was about steering wheel freetravel. That was a good question.