I need too find a company to go and drive for. the problem is that the traing class i took was back in 2005 and I havent been in a truck since then. mainly because i was 19 and no one was looking for a 19 year driver. now im 21 and looking to start soon. the school i went to is Tractor-Trailer Training at the Kishwaukee College BID Center
which is a great school imo. when i was there we got to train are yardskills in a airport in THe middle Dec-jan lol it was cold.
im looking at companys like
JB Hunt Transport
Schneider National
TransAm Trucking
even Werner Enterprises
and Swift Transportation
I have a perfect driving record "I have a Firebird but I always obey the law"
I dont drink any alcoholic drink "cant stand the taste"
I do my best to stay on the right path.
Ive always wanted to be truck driving ever since i first laid eyes on a semi when was about 5 I guess
I hope to get a job soon.

sound good to me. one of the Swift Transportation hubs is about a 1hr or so from me. I think i want to be a team driver. but then again I just want to get with a company that i can stick with and get good at truck driving.

also I got to renew my Class A CDL on next month.
I cant wait for winter to be over lol I want too get my firebird out its just begging to be driven.

With your extended period between school and starting to drive, I would consider (ready for this?) Werner. They have a long training period (275 hours of driving) that will get you plenty of windshield time, but they also offer the option of letting you have some home time in the middle of your training period. I started out with Werner, but between problems with my trainer and his truck (he refused to go over any hill without an engine brake and the brake on his truck kept going out) I got frustrated and left for another company.

I wouldn't personally stay with any of the training companies like JB Hunt, Swift, Schneider or US Xpress for any length of time, but that's just my opinion. Use them for training and then go to a different company that will treat you better.

I've also heard good things about Roehl and their training program, but don't know much about them.

I've never found anyone that had anything good to say about Covenant, so I'd pretty much write them off without any consideration.

I would listen to the previous people's entries. Team driving is at best, a strain. You really have to trust the guy in the seat when your sleeping. I did it for several companies in the past, but I had known the guys I ran team with before, not strangers. As for the training, the above guys have that about covered. After about a year start looking for something else. I drive for U.P.S. Freight, a new division of ups. We do all the heavy stuff. LTL Freight. Our company will hire after 1 year verifiable experience. They pay well, good benefits, but its like being in the military. If you can stand that, you have a chance at making REAL good money. Good Luck

how much weight do you guys usely have to lift Werner say from 1-125lb?
if so i need to go back to the gym. i could pick up 50lbs tho

The only weight I ever lifted at Werner was myself into the truck. They're almost all drop & hook, live unload or hire a lumper. I never touched freight with them.

thats a relief my last job where i worked in a warehouse that sold steel and aluminum. I was almost good enough but just a little short in the strength department I could do almost everything except spreading 40ft angles which if you do it wrong kills your back or you can loss a finger. lucky I never had a accident when i was there but i just wasn't as good as everyone else so i got fired. I was there almost a month. I really wanted that health insurance.

also any tips on winter driving in the tractor-trailers?
the only experice i had was driving at the airport after it snow a little and that snow melted and became ice which did not make thing easy for yard skills.

With LTL freight, the city drivers and dock guys do all the lifting, stacking etc. As a road driver, all i do is drive. The hardest thing i do is moving dolly's to hook them to my lead trailer, or put them in front of the back trailer, but they do weigh a good deal, some of them are about 3,000 pounds. Most have a 3rd wheel and the one's that don't are really well balanced, so its not too difficult. As far as winter driving, you have to run your own race. If the road looks slick, but the other vehicles are throwing spray from they're tires, your ok. As soon as they don't, be careful. With the single axle volvo i drive i have to be extra careful crossing bridges. I don't accelerate or decelerate on them, just keep steady pedal pressure. If you don't feel comfortable with the road conditions, slow down till you do. If you start losing traction on the pavement, try riding the shoulder with the right side tires. There have been times where i have driven completely on the shoulder in the snow because i couldn't keep from sliding in the right lane due to ice. If other drivers start giving you grief cause your driving too slow, tell them to pound sand because they wont be stopping to help you out of a ditch, tell them you'd rather have them mad at you than calling your dispatcher to tell him you crashed. I do not say my way of driving is the best way, but its kept me accident free for the last 17 years so, take it for what its worth. I've been on the road for 34 years, i don't claim to know everything, cause when you think you know it all, thats when you'll get bitten in the rear end. Be careful out there, best of luck. I will answer any question you have, and if i don't know the answer, i'll find out for you. (kinda makes you wish you wanted to be a doctor, don't it. lol

Whenever other drivers griped at me for going to slow I just told them I'd rather be a slow amateur than a dead professional. It usually shut them up.

Driving on slick roads is always dicey and about all I can say is watch your trailer and stay off the brakes as much as possible. You want to start out on hills good and slow so you can be actually pulling your trailer down them rather than having the trailer push you. Try to stay under slow steady pulling or acceleration if at all possible.

If you're not comfortable driving in the conditions, stop! Nothing you haul in that trailer is worth your life.