Decisions, Preparations, and a New Family Member

After deciding on my new career as a truck driver, I had a lot of planning a preparation to do.  First off, I wanted to say that, for me, research is never completed.  To this day, I am still researching different ways of doing things.  I like to begin something knowing all of my options and possible outcomes.  To begin with, I was looking at which was the best way to get my cdl.  There were 3 options on the table:

A) A private truck driving school.  Roadmaster Truck Driving School is the closest school to me, so that is where I went to look First.  Upon arriving, I noticed that their "school" is nothing more than a double-wide mobile home and a few wore out trucks.  After going inside and filling out the application, I sat down with a recruiter.  He was a nice enough guy, but we kept getting interrupted every 30 seconds by his phone ringing and him answering it...and then grumbling about how his phone was always ringing.  I just couldn't understand why he couldn't turn his phone off when he has live body in front of him.  They basically had 3 class options and 2 types of payment options.  For classes, you could go Monday-Friday  7am-6pm for 3 weeks; Sunday-Friday 6pm-12am for 4 weeks; or Saturdays and Sundays 7am-6pm for 8 weeks.  One could either pay $5000.00 to them, or get financing through them.  If you financed through them, it was $6500.00 and you repaid that at 18% interest!  For that price, I better get a gold plated CDL handed to me on a diamond crusted platter!

B) Community College or a trade school.  I really didn't look into this route because it takes awhile to get your CDL this way.  The upside to this route is that you can usually get some kind of financial aid or student loan/grant to pay for it.

C) Company sponsored schooling.  This route usually consists of a trucking company training you for little to no money in return for a commitment from the student to drive for said company for a certain amount of time...usually a year.  If the student breaks the contract before the time period is up, the student will be responsible to pay for the training plus interest.  This is the best route for those that want to be a truck driver, but have no means of getting there.

Initially I chose option A.  I even went as far as to get a personal loan for the cost of training.  I then started to question the logic behind my decision.  I already knew that I wanted to go to work for Stevens Transport.  Since they offer their own CDL schooling, why don't I just go there?  That way I am training in the type of truck that I was going to be driving anyways.  Also, Stevens has some of the best training in the United States.  With my decision now made, it was time to get everything in order. 

Now, let me talk about the family a little.  My wife's First husband was in the military.  He was gone months at a time, so she knows how it is already.  That's not to say that it's going to be any easier on her, but at least she was able to go into this knowing what to expect.  We got her a dog named Zeus so that she isn't alone all of the time.  He is a Great Dane/Hound mix and is a very good "deterrent" dog.

I also have a 5 year old Son from a previous marriage that I get to see for a couple of days every week.  He knows that Daddy is going to go drive a big truck, and won't be home for awhile.  He is taking it pretty well for his age.  He is also excited that he will get to go with Daddy once he is older.

About a week before I was to leave, we started gathering up everything that I will need for driving school and initial training.  With Steven's, the CDL schooling is 3 weeks long in Dallas, TX.  After the 3 weeks, you immediately go out with your trainer for 5 weeks.  After that 2 month stretch, you are allowed to go home for a week before going back out for 4 more weeks to finish training. What we are doing is packing what I need for the 3 weeks of schooling.  About a week before I leave with my trainer, my wife is going to mail the rest of my stuff to me.  This will reduce the chance of things being stolen by other students who "forgot" something of their own. Here is my packing list:
Money and Documents:

    Wallet
    Debit Card
    A few Checks
    Social Security Card
    Driver’s License
    Original copy of Birth Certificate
    4 family references w/ addresses and phone numbers
    2 Personal References w/ addresses and phone numbers
    $26.00 for license transfer
    $10.00 for permit
    $60.00 for CDL exam
    $100.00 cash/money order school registration fee
    Enough Money for food and personal expenses
  

School and Staying Organized:

    Notebooks (1 or 2)
    2 or 3 spiral note PADs 5x3” and/or 6x4” (fits in a pocket type)
    Folders
    Post-its
    Calculator
    Pens and pencils
    Highlighter
    Ruler
    Work Gloves
    Flashlight (maglight)
    Padlock (for school locker)
    Stapler

Personal Items:

    Books
    Sunglasses
    Cell Phone, regular charger, and mobile charger
    Meds
    A couple of photos
    Camera
    Laptop and accessories
    MP3 player
    leatherman
     
Necessities:

    Sunscreen
    Towels
    Wet Wipes
    Kleenex
    Laundry Detergent
    Mesh Laundry Bag
    Shampoo
    Soap
    Toothbrush and Toothpaste
    Deodorant
    Cologne
    Shave Cream and Razor
    Backpack
    Scissors
    Sewing Kit
    Immodium AD, Advil, etc.

Clothing:

    One extra pair of Tennis Shoes
    Flip Flops, to wear in dirty showers
    Jacket
    2 Sweaters
    5 pairs Jeans
    3 pairs Shorts
    10 T-Shirts
    Socks
    Underwear
    Hat

I chose to fly instead of take the bus.  The biggest reason is because it's a 3 hour trip opposed to a 30 hour bus ride.  It was worth the $130 to be able to spend the extra day with my wife.  We also got a wireless hotspot modem from Verizon so that I always had an internet connection.  We will Skype each other quite a bit and they have the video option.  Something that is also important is getting a hands free device for the cell phone.  I bought a Bluetooth so that I can always use my phone.  The next time I will post will be from the hotel room Monday night.  Until then, stay safe!

Starting Off

Hi All!  Some of you might know me, but some of you might not.  Let me take a few to introduce you all to myself, and give you a little info about who I am, and why I chose truck driving as my profession.  I have always loved big vehicles.  Growing up in the mountains of New Mexico, I remember being outside playing with my Tonka trucks (the real, metal ones...not the cheap plastic ones that they make today.)  I used to build roads, plow snow, and of course...crash!

After getting out of high school, I went out to Texas and started operating heavy equipment with my Dad.  He has been running heavy equipment for close to 60 years!  He has taught me all I know about heavy equipment and construction.  I remembered that my Dad was always telling me that I should get my CDL, and that it would help me to get better jobs.  I worked towards it...even going as far as to get my class B permit.  Unfortunately, I could never locate a vehicle to take my road test with.

After I moved to Florida, I worked for a few construction companies.  The pay was horrible, and I had absolutely no job security.  Once the economy took a nosedive, it was even worse.  I decided that it was time for a change.  I went into the aviation industry, and started working for a major airline.  It was a great job that taught me a lot.  I had to quit when my wife and I moved to Las Vegas for her job.  After moving back to Florida, I had a hard time getting a job that paid me enough to keep us afloat.  I was an aircraft fueler for a couple of months, but I was getting paid coal for a job that should have paid gold.

When I was working as a fueler, I started talking to one of my coworkers who use to drive for Covenant.  He was telling me about driving OTR, and how much he got paid for doing it.  He told me that he used to love being in the farmlands of Indiana one day, and in Manhattan the next.  He couldn't drive anymore due to a preventable accident that he got into.  After mulling it over, I decided to take the plunge.  The next big step was get the wife on board and to figure out how I was going to go about accomplishing it...