As I stated earlier, in 1992 I became an over-the-road truck driver. In the fall of that year, my father passed away. When you're driving down the road in a big truck, you have the opportunity to do lots of thinking. One day, as I recall, my JD Truck Training Centre was out in the great northwest, Montana to be exact. Thinking of my past, my dad, and where I was, I started to create a poem. I call it This Great Land Of Ours.
Also, most good schools have a job placement program. There is a HUGE demand for drivers nationwide and their job placement department will have a long list of companies willing to hire you the day you graduate. You can tell them the type of job you are looking for and they will have several choices for you. Believe me, getting a job coming out of school is very, very easy. But getting the right job for you at the right company will be much more likely if you have some experienced help with good contacts.
I remember when the Truck driving school was teaching me how to meet all the CDL requirements. They taught me how to back up, shift and do lane changes and everything. But the real deal of getting loaded, to driving through the mountains is another thing.
Tracking your trips can be the key factor in making more off of each load you haul. Looking at your daily logs will help you recognize areas of opportunity and help you see where you may be losing money.
Just one look at the Ram 3500 tells you it's a real work truck -strong body lines, big wheels and tires, heavy duty rear springs and high ground clearance. The only problem seen here is that you might want to leave the wife or girl friend home, or add on some custom step bar. Of course that's a good rationalization for a custom upgrade. But the Ram 3500 Quad Cab Turbo goes well beyond functional to pull double-duty as a HR Truck Licence that can move two rows of passengers in decent comfort.
Now second and lastly I like to talk about your experience. Some of you may have already been in a truck and know what it is like. Others have not a clue what to expect and are eager to know. So breaking the ice of the unknown will greatly increases your chances of survival of going through the school of hard knocks.
In any case, CDL training in the yard might consist of spending hour upon hour practicing highly specific maneuvers on a course with cones and lines. Or it Lr truck licence might be spent learning how to shift and turn and control your speed. It could even be something in between. It's all a matter which state you're in.