r/Truckdrivers

I had 3 choices to go to school. Florida Truckers institute, Tampa CDL Academy or Fleetforce.

Seems Tampa CDL Academy has some "testing out issues " with some students waiting weeks for the school to get there Sh*t together and making students wait, then Fleet Force told me word for word " we don't train in manual trucks, but at end of course we can test you in manual so you won't have that restriction.... " 😳😳

I replied " how can I pass the manual test if you won't and can't train me to learn how's to drive the manual truck, I'll end up failing...." They replied " that's not our problem "..... 👏😤

So I should be getting approved for WIOA grant, they train with 30 ft day cab single axle truck/ pup trailers but if requested can use a 53 ft trailer to train at certain times.

Im very excited but also lots of reading has taught me there is a lot of " CDL MILLS " out there, some believe these schools purpose is to get you to pass the test to get you your CDL cause your job trainer is the one to really teach you.

others believe the schools is supposed to teach you almost everything and thoroughly.

I've never been to Cdl school so guess I'll find out how well I was taught when I get my first job.

Im not doing this in hopes to make as much money as possible, Im doing it so I can achieve something in my life and hopefully can make my kid proud and be able to possible find a decent paying job, even if its driving a dump truck, maybe even buy my own trucks few years down the road.

Alright, let me be straight with you.

I'm a freight broker. I spend my days on the phone and in front of a screen trying to match freight with the right people to move it. And right now, I've got a customer with a solid lane that needs reliable carriers — not a one-and-done, but actual consistent volume over the next few weeks.

Here's the load:

Picking up out of Bedford Park, IL 60638, delivering to Beloit, WI 53511. About 90 miles, straightforward run. The freight is palletized bundles of treated wood boards, up to 44,000 lbs. Standard dry van, nothing exotic.

The schedule looks like this, 2 loads this week, 9 loads next week, and 5 more the first week of June. That's 16 loads total. My customer needs this moved and they need it done right.

I don't have a target rate to throw at you. I'm not going to lowball you with a number and see who bites. That's not how I like to do business. So instead, I'm coming here and asking you directly — what's your best rate on this lane?

If you're a carrier running Illinois or Wisconsin and you've got the capacity, I genuinely want to hear from you. Drop your rate in the comments or shoot me a DM. Let's talk.

Trying to solve a problem for my brother in law and looking for insight….how are you tracking your fleet P&L today? Spreadsheet, paper, accounting software?

Trying to figure out what people actually stick with vs. what gets abandoned.

My brothers been heads down w paper and excel, so im working to build him a tool but very curious what’s a common way most folks are tracking all the trips ($ coming in) and all of the expenses per truck

I have the tool, I can share a link if anyone is interested especially if folks are willing to share feedback

I’m freshly graduated from highschool turn 18 in june and i’m want to get my cdl im in the houston area but i dont know what is a good program for me to join i want to learn and get payed but i know those are hard to find, thought about going to hcc and pay 4k to learn. Any tips?

I’ve noticed there are so many online stores selling commercial truck parts, and even the same heavy-duty truck replacement part can have very different prices.

It’s hard to tell which sellers are actually reliable and which ones might send low-quality aftermarket or rebuilt parts.

How do owner-operators, mechanics, or fleet managers usually decide which online commercial truck parts stores are safe to buy from?

I'm not a driver. I own a diesel emissions shop and I work on commercial trucks every day. I'll keep this short because I think this community gets the short end of more sticks than most people realize — and this is one more of them.

Monday the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that freight brokers can now be held liable for choosing carriers with bad safety records. Big ruling. Changes a lot.

Here's what nobody is talking about.

You've been competing against deleted trucks for years. Those operators didn't find a smarter way to run. And a lot of them got taken by the very people who sold them the delete before they ever hit the road.

Here's what we see in our shop regularly. A driver brings in a truck that's running rough, losing power, throwing codes. He already paid a tuner — cash, no receipt, no warranty — to delete it. The tuner told him it would fix his problems and that deletes are totally legal now. It fixed nothing. Because the actual problem was a failing turbo. Or low compression. Or an air filter so clogged it was starving the engine. None of that has anything to do with emissions. The delete didn't touch it. But now the driver is out thousands of dollars in cash, his factory warranty is void, his ECM has been overwritten with software nobody can fully account for, and he still has the original problem sitting on top of a federal violation.

The tuner got paid and walked away clean. The driver got left holding all of it with no warranty, no recourse, no documentation and all the liability.

That same driver is now out on the road competing for loads where the broker picks the cheapest bid. He broke the law, spent money that solved nothing, and he's still losing lanes to the next guy who did the same thing last week.

The delete is rarely the only shortcut. The same operators running gutted emissions systems tend to run the same philosophy through their logs, their pre-trips, their weights, and their hours. The delete is just the part you can see from behind them on the highway.

Monday's ruling says brokers are responsible for which carriers they choose — and draws no line around which rules have to be broken for that to matter.

The drivers who run legal, maintain their equipment honestly, and compete on merit are the ones this ruling eventually helps. That's the story nobody is telling.

Full breakdown here: https://dpfguys.com/supreme-court-montgomery-v-caribe-transport/

Not trying to sell anything. Just thought this community deserved to hear it from someone who sees what the delete culture actually does to drivers — not just to their trucks.

I hate to be this person

I’ve been driving over 10 years yall,
Im a 34 yr old black lady who started her career back around 2015ish. I can even show yall my driver pulse history.

This is a situation I never thought id see myself in but I’ve been off work for over a year because of a herniated disk and had surgery back in February of this year after initially being injured in June.
Inspite of me not being able to pass a tdot physical or function like I was once able to I have been released back to full status to do work hardening without payment. I haven’t received a check since april 9th and my lawyers have done absolutely f all. I know things are hard for everyone right now but even 5 dollars would help me go a very long way if you’re able to help in the slightest.

Reddit won’t let me link my gofund me without post removal for some reason? If anyone knows how to combat that please let me know.

I have my original work injury report from June attached on my page, if you need anymore proof please reach out. I don’t normally do this but everyone knows in this industry that if you’re not in the truck youre not makin money. Thanks for reading and helping out if you’re able even if its just sharing it, thanks.

$jhaniH

Hey guys, Im new driver i work under a small company that work with Amazon relay i work on truck for about 13-14 hours per day sleep in the truck then come back the next day i work 6 days for 1650$ 1099 .. is that worth?

Alright so what’s your take on the digital mirrors? They give you a wider view while driving but personally I hate them.

Working on an inland trucking move I don't handle every day and want to make sure I get this right for the customer.

27 x 20' High Cube SOC containers moving from Houston Port to Fort Worth (TX 76131). Cargo is heavy industrial equipment — transformers, approximately 17 metric tons per unit. Containers are custom-built but shipping line has already confirmed they move on standard chassis. Not flat rack.

The wrinkle is the delivery site has no unloading capability, so crane coordination at destination is part of the equation. Deadline is before July 8 so scheduling needs to be tight across all 27 units.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

• Which carriers in the Houston area regularly handle SOC container drayage without making it complicated
• Who handles crane coordination at destination — does the carrier arrange it or do I source separately
• Whether a move like this triggers any permit requirements given the weight per unit
• Realistic transit time Houston Port to Fort Worth for a move this size

Not my first drayage move but the SOC angle and crane requirement is new territory. Anyone who's moved similar cargo out of Houston — would appreciate the insight.

I won’t say the company’s name but I got my CDL and started at a company about 2 months ago. I first I was super enthusiastic and excited to start a career in truck driving but the training has been a nightmare. My company requires 240 hours before they give you a truck. I’ve have 2 trainers so far, the first trainer was a complete Ahole, he was constantly negative and disrespectful to the point I had to ask for a new trainer. My second trainer I got along with despite his truck being extremely messy and him constantly yelling on the phone at his wife. The plan was to just get through my hours and get back to the yard to graduate, then he randomly woke me up one morning and said I had to get my stuff and get off the truck because he had take home time. After being stranded in a random city and being almost robbed at a greyhound stop at 10 o’clock at night my company got me back to the yard then told me if things don’t work out with my 3rd trainer they’ll let me go. Even though it was my fault I lost my second trainer. So basically if my 3rd trainer kicks me off the truck for any reason I’m done and now I have a worthless CDL because I have a termination on my DAC and I’m 6 grand in the hole for trucking for school. I’m so discouraged, I heard bad things about this company but I thought it would be a good foot in the door. I’ve worked so hard for this now it might all go down the drain. I only have 50 hours left but my new trainer didn’t sound very nice over the phone. Honestly I’ll put up with whatever he does but if he decides I’m done then that’s it. Now my whole career and everything I’ve worked for is in the hands of one stranger who I don’t even know.

I'm writing a short story about a fugitive and I was going to have him make an escape by hiding in between the cab and the trailer. Is that actually possible or would you get squished when the truck turns?