CDL

captain chad

captain chad

Well-known member
I have been trying to find someone to help me obtain a CDL class a License. Anybody know someone who can help with that? I have called all the schools.
 
There's a lot involved in getting a CDL anymore. After 911 you have to go through a lot depending what class you're going after. You need to check with license's bureau. I could have grandfathered in,in the 80's but thought i wouldn't ever drive a truck again since I was in the coal business mining and marketing it. I sold out to my pardner and bought a truck in 1996 and it was easy then. After 911 they changed a lot of law's. If I can help you feel free to pm me and I will do what I can. You have to take the written test and driving test also.
 
I really don't like to recommend the schools for someone trying to get their CDL but unless you know someone with a truck to use for the driving test it is going to very difficult to get it done without school. The schools are very expensive because most of them are training grounds for the big carriers and the carriers will pay for the classes after you sign on with them. The hardest part in passing the test if you have some past driving experience is passing the pre-trip inspection, they have a very detailed waya nd pattern most tester want you to follow and if you deviate from that they will usually fail you on it. Unless you want Haz-Mat you won't have to do a background check and you will get your license for 6 years, if you need Haz-Mat you only get them for 4 years and have to pay for a new background check every time you renew. Hope this helps some and I will check with a few friends to see if they know of any more reasonable options
 
If you are looking to start a career in driving (i.e. you're not trying to get a CDL for your own purposes, such as buying a lowboy to move your equipment around), you almost have no choice other than signing on with a big carrier and doing your penance. Nobody reputable will sign on a new driver with his own truck so put that idea out of your mind. It can be a lucrative job if you get on with the right company. I have a friend who is a company driver for Walmart and makes well over $100K on top of excellent benefits. He's also been a driver for twenty years, though. It can be very lucrative with your own truck but better have good financial backing. There's an old saying in trucking that if you want to become a millionaire in this business, take two million dollars and buy a couple trucks. You'll have a million dollars in no time at all. :wink: It takes a particular kind of person to be a truck driver. It is not an easy profession; you're not just driving around the country looking at all the pretty sights. You have a schedule and damn little time to get the job done. Don't be surprised if you're out on the road for 6 - 8 weeks at a time without ever seeing your home. Better have the patience of Job. Between traffic, dispatchers, lumper and pallet services, dock managers and crowded truck stops (or worse, no truck stop), it can wear you thin. One last thing; if you live in Florida, better hope its Orlando or north. If you live in South Florida, don't expect to get home very often. South Florida is kind of the end of the line. Lots of freight comes down, damn little leaves so any truck coming here is stuck with no freight home. No freight, no money; you're dead-heading hundreds of miles to your next pick-up or you're hauling freight for free at best. With that in mind, nobody likes to send their truck down. Just my two cents (I used to own a small trucking company hauling refrigerated goods out of Florida and back).
 
We use Key Power in Miami and they also have an office in LaBelle located at 250 E. Cowboy Way La Belle, Fl 33935. The local phone number is 863-675-0755.
 
What ? Anther new job adventure ' :shock: you better stick to airboat rides bud ur adventures don't seem to work out . They always sound good in theory .
 
There's a guy in Dade city that dose the test and provides a truck for $400. Takes about two hours. Just got my class a about a year ago
 
Thanks guys. I just wanna get my class A. Wife and I are looking at retirement in the next few years. There is a op to run a Duck (Amphibious Bus). You gotta have a class A and a Master License.
 
I used to drive and own truck in the 70's and 80's. I would ask dispatch to send me to Miami about every 6 months. That was the first thing they would tell me is that they had trucks setting down there for a week or dead headed them out of there. I told them it was OK I needed a few days off. Then after I would get unloaded I would go out in the afternoon deep sea fishing on one of the Helen-C boats and would have to call in about 5 in the afternoon. Dispatch would always ask where I was at and I would tell them about 8 miles east of Miami deep sea fishing. They would always get me a load out the next day. Guess they did not want me to have too much fun.
 
Captain Chad,
I cannot talk about Florida, but here in Nebraska you can take the driver’s test in the vehicle you will be driving from the company you are going to be working for.
If the state requires you to have a class A for that vehicle and you can get someone to drive it over to the DMV then they have to administer your test in that vehicle.
One other option would be to rent a tractor trailer and have someone you know work with you to get you enough experience to pass the test if you do not have any experience in a tractor trailer. If you do have the experience then get someone to drive it to the DMV and take the test in the rented rig.
Just trying to come up with some options for you if these are some you have not thought of. I hope it works out for you.
 
diggin fool hit the nail pretty much on the head, i have been driving for 21 yrs as a company driver and as an owner op and i believe i work alot harder now and make less. there is someone here in webster that gives you the test and he lets you use his truck.but he doesnt train you.
 
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