60+ days not smoking weed and I still came back positive.

[GFED]

Any suggestions? I had to tell the Roadmaster recruiter I needed more time.

[Bladewire]

Are you on a weight loss streak?

THC & THC-COOH are stored in your fat. If you were a heavy user, and gaining weight during that time, THC is stored in your fat. If you start losing weight, as you lose the weight the THC goes back into your blood stream as your fat is metabolised to energy.

I've heard that you want to be inactive, or on a weight gaining trajectory, to not have fat stored THC going back into your system.

Only the urine THC drug test picks up your THC-COOH (metabolized THC from fat stores)

This site has what seems like some good tips.

Water

There is no reason to start drinking excessive amounts of water weeks or days before your test. It’s a waste of time as it only temporarily dilutes your urine. Your best bet is to drink 2-3 liters throughout the day before your test, and then around 1-2 liters several hours before your test. Don’t drink too much water though, as it can be dangerous. Start with 2 liters max and be sure to know your limits.

After drinking this much water, your pee will be colorless and have low levels of creatinine. These are both red flags for any testing lab to indicate diluted urine, so there are some additional steps you need to take.

Vitamin B

You’ll need to make your pee yellow, and the best way to do this is by using vitamin B. Vitamin B-2 or B-12 seem to be the most effective for this purpose, so stop by your local drug store and take 50-100mg several hours before your test.

Creatinine

Creatinine is a chemical waste product produced by muscle metabolism. Creatinine is naturally occurring in the human body and is one way labs determine if your urine is diluted. It has a half-life of three hours, so no reason to start taking it more than a day or so before your test.

You can buy creatine supplements from almost any health food store. Creatine then gets broken down into creatinine by your body and is flushed out in your urine. You should take an above-average dose several hours before your test.

[GFED]

Originally Posted by Bladewire

Are you on a weight loss streak?

THC & THC-COOH are stored in your fat. If you were a heavy user, and gaining weight during that time, THC is stored in your fat. If you start losing weight, as you lose the weight the THC goes back into your blood stream as your fat is metabolised to energy.

I've heard that you want to be inactive, or on a weight gaining trajectory, to not have fat stored THC going back into your system.

Only the urine THC drug test picks up your THC-COOH (metabolized THC from fat stores)

I've been a heavy user for 30 years. I think my metabolism is slow as well. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks and test again. Do you know of any natural products that will help along? Not talking about drinking vinegar and stuff like that.

[GFED]

Originally Posted by Bladewire

Are you on a weight loss streak?

THC & THC-COOH are stored in your fat. If you were a heavy user, and gaining weight during that time, THC is stored in your fat. If you start losing weight, as you lose the weight the THC goes back into your blood stream as your fat is metabolised to energy.

I've heard that you want to be inactive, or on a weight gaining trajectory, to not have fat stored THC going back into your system.

Only the urine THC drug test picks up your THC-COOH (metabolized THC from fat stores)

This site has what seems like some good tips.

Water

There is no reason to start drinking excessive amounts of water weeks or days before your test. It’s a waste of time as it only temporarily dilutes your urine. Your best bet is to drink 2-3 liters throughout the day before your test, and then around 1-2 liters several hours before your test. Don’t drink too much water though, as it can be dangerous. Start with 2 liters max and be sure to know your limits.

After drinking this much water, your pee will be colorless and have low levels of creatinine. These are both red flags for any testing lab to indicate diluted urine, so there are some additional steps you need to take.

Vitamin B

You’ll need to make your pee yellow, and the best way to do this is by using vitamin B. Vitamin B-2 or B-12 seem to be the most effective for this purpose, so stop by your local drug store and take 50-100mg several hours before your test.

Creatinine

Creatinine is a chemical waste product produced by muscle metabolism. Creatinine is naturally occurring in the human body and is one way labs determine if your urine is diluted. It has a half-life of three hours, so no reason to start taking it more than a day or so before your test.

You can buy creatine supplements from almost any health food store. Creatine then gets broken down into creatinine by your body and is flushed out in your urine. You should take an above-average dose several hours before your test.

Oh wow, thanks. You're awesome.

[crockett]

Don't go to a school to get your CDL, go to one of the mega companies, you will get stuck driving for one anyway for your 1st year unless you have a job lined up. Also in most cases the companies that will hire you from these schools will pay you shitty your 1st year. Best to go somewhere like Prime, Maverick or maybe Tribe but avoid Swift, CSRT, CRE or KLLM.

Also, if you do get your CDL, make sure you don't plan on going back to smoking. Random tests are real and if you do get into a wreck and get tested and are positive you are fucked.

[geedub]

Buy some synthetic piss.

[GFED]

Originally Posted by crockett

Don't go to a school to get your CDL, go to one of the mega companies, you will get stuck driving for one anyway for your 1st year unless you have a job lined up. Also in most cases the companies that will hire you from these schools will pay you shitty your 1st year. Best to go somewhere like Prime, Maverick or maybe Tribe but avoid Swift, CSRT, CRE or KLLM.

Also, if you do get your CDL, make sure you don't plan on going back to smoking. Random tests are real and if you do get into a wreck and get tested and are positive you are fucked.

Thank you for the solid input Crockett. I'll check out each of the companies that you've listed.
Yes, I plan on changing my lifestyle. No more drugs for me.

[hottoddy]

Back in college, people swore taking Goldenseal helped expel THC faster.

I don't want to get Bladewire excited, but there's always this ...



or



The Whizzinator - Official site of The Most Realistic Synthetic Urine System

[crockett]

Originally Posted by GFED

Thank you for the solid input Crockett. I'll check out each of the companies that you've listed.
Yes, I plan on changing my lifestyle. No more drugs for me.

Well reason I stated don't do a school, is the school will cost you anywhere from $5k to $8k on average and "hopefully" the companies that hires you will pay back that cost if you stay a year and have no driving issues like backing into another trailer or whatever (shit happens no matter how careful you are as a beginner). Added to this, while you are training you are getting no pay.

On top of this as a new driver once you get hired somewhere, they are going to make you train with another driver for a while and you will not make much during that time. Then they will pay you less your 1st year most likely.

I went through Prime to get mine.

With Prime as example, you do a week in house at their facility to get your learner's permit. During that time, they feed and house you on their dime. Once you get your learner's permit, you get a trainer which is another driver. He takes you out on his truck and you are driving most of the time under his supervision. You don't get paid during this period, but Prime will advance you $200/week for food if you want it. (it gets deducted from your future pay)

After being out 2 to 3 weeks you come back to test out for your actual CDL. If you pass your 1st try they give you a bonus of $200 if I recall and your trainer gets like $800 so he wants you to pass that 1st try..

The day you pass the CDL, you start getting paid $100/day while doing rest of your training. It's a base $700/week while you do the rest of your training but that's based on X amount of team miles per week ( I think it was 5k miles) if your truck does over 5k miles then you make more. I had a few $800+ weeks while I was in training as example.

Essentially, you drive half the day your trainer drives the other half, usually 10 or 12hr shifts so the truck is almost always moving. Training sucks ass so does team driving. I hated it, because it feels like jail in a sense. This will last about 3-4 months. The truck you're on has to do 30k miles before you can upgrade to your own truck with them.

Meaning if you look at the math.. Drivers school you pay $5k-8k then get hired somewhere where they will put you in training for another 3 months on average with you making crappy money. You then need to stay a year to get them to cover any of your schooling. If they don't you still have to pay the cost of schooling unless you are getting a grant or something.

Meanwhile, go somewhere like Prime.. at the base $700/week for roughly 3 months that's $8,400 that you made while in training. You have to stay a year with them to get the training fees covered but with them, the year starts the day you get your CDL. Meaning by the time you are in your own truck you probably only have 8 months to cover your CDL schooling. If you leave early, they charge you the $4,5k ( I think it is) for the training.

To me, it made more sense to go that way, because I was making more while training and in the end if I didn't stay a year, I was going to owe the same amount or less actually than if I went to a school. (school by me wanted $8k to get you the CDL.)

Now, Prime isn't perfect none of these megas are but IMO they are probably the best mega to go to for training. Some of these other companies like Swift or CRST will try to training you in a week or 2 then stick two brand new drivers in a truck together and wish them well.. (needless to say other drivers don't like these companies)

What I will say though, is Prime is more of a lease company. They do have company drivers, but they are set up as a owner op/lease company if you want to make money.

When I did it, I did my training, I drove company for a month before I turned that shit in and went lease. Lease is a shit deal, but you can make money with it if you run hard. A lot of guy bash it and I do agree with it, but as a new driver if you do it right you can make pretty good money in their lease program.

For my self, I can buy my own truck but I prefer the lease set up because I can turn the truck in at anytime and walk away. (once your 1st year is up for the training). Like right now, I'm home because I got hurt which is a different story, but I turned my truck in, they charge me to clean it, do oil change fix anything that needs to be fixed and I'm free of that truck.. (cost me like $1k because it needed 2 of the brakes replaced which I thought was BS but WTF hard to argue once they do it)

If I go back before 59 days I can just grab another band new lease truck and go back to work like nothing happened. If I wait till 60 days or longer, I have to sit through their orientation again and do a skills test. For me, that's why I do the lease is it lets me go fuck off if I want to then go back bust ass make money again.


Now if you don't want to lease but still like Prime (they honestly have the best terminals in the industry) you can look at a company like WillTrans or Jim Palmer. They haul mostly Prime's freight but not exclusively. They will train you similar to Prime but you get much nicer trucks as a company driver than what you get at Prime but it's harder to get on with them as they are a smaller company.

Maverick also has a good training program but they are mostly a flatbed company, so you'd have to be ok with chaining/strapping down loads tarping them and so on.

[GFED]

Originally Posted by crockett

Well reason I stated don't do a school, is the school will cost you anywhere from $5k to $8k on average and "hopefully" the companies that hires you will pay back that cost if you stay a year and have no driving issues like backing into another trailer or whatever (shit happens no matter how careful you are as a beginner). Added to this, while you are training you are getting no pay.

On top of this as a new driver once you get hired somewhere, they are going to make you train with another driver for a while and you will not make much during that time. Then they will pay you less your 1st year most likely.

I went through Prime to get mine.

With Prime as example, you do a week in house at their facility to get your learner's permit. During that time, they feed and house you on their dime. Once you get your learner's permit, you get a trainer which is another driver. He takes you out on his truck and you are driving most of the time under his supervision. You don't get paid during this period, but Prime will advance you $200/week for food if you want it. (it gets deducted from your future pay)

After being out 2 to 3 weeks you come back to test out for your actual CDL. If you pass your 1st try they give you a bonus of $200 if I recall and your trainer gets like $800 so he wants you to pass that 1st try..

The day you pass the CDL, you start getting paid $100/day while doing rest of your training. It's a base $700/week while you do the rest of your training but that's based on X amount of team miles per week ( I think it was 5k miles) if your truck does over 5k miles then you make more. I had a few $800+ weeks while I was in training as example.

Essentially, you drive half the day your trainer drives the other half, usually 10 or 12hr shifts so the truck is almost always moving. Training sucks ass so does team driving. I hated it, because it feels like jail in a sense. This will last about 3-4 months. The truck you're on has to do 30k miles before you can upgrade to your own truck with them.

Meaning if you look at the math.. Drivers school you pay $5k-8k then get hired somewhere where they will put you in training for another 3 months on average with you making crappy money. You then need to stay a year to get them to cover any of your schooling. If they don't you still have to pay the cost of schooling unless you are getting a grant or something.

Meanwhile, go somewhere like Prime.. at the base $700/week for roughly 3 months that's $8,400 that you made while in training. You have to stay a year with them to get the training fees covered but with them, the year starts the day you get your CDL. Meaning by the time you are in your own truck you probably only have 8 months to cover your CDL schooling. If you leave early, they charge you the $4,5k ( I think it is) for the training.

To me, it made more sense to go that way, because I was making more while training and in the end if I didn't stay a year, I was going to owe the same amount or less actually than if I went to a school. (school by me wanted $8k to get you the CDL.)

Now, Prime isn't perfect none of these megas are but IMO they are probably the best mega to go to for training. Some of these other companies like Swift or CRST will try to training you in a week or 2 then stick two brand new drivers in a truck together and wish them well.. (needless to say other drivers don't like these companies)

What I will say though, is Prime is more of a lease company. They do have company drivers, but they are set up as a owner op/lease company if you want to make money.

When I did it, I did my training, I drove company for a month before I turned that shit in and went lease. Lease is a shit deal, but you can make money with it if you run hard. A lot of guy bash it and I do agree with it, but as a new driver if you do it right you can make pretty good money in their lease program.

For my self, I can buy my own truck but I prefer the lease set up because I can turn the truck in at anytime and walk away. (once your 1st year is up for the training). Like right now, I'm home because I got hurt which is a different story, but I turned my truck in, they charge me to clean it, do oil change fix anything that needs to be fixed and I'm free of that truck.. (cost me like $1k because it needed 2 of the brakes replaced which I thought was BS but WTF hard to argue once they do it)

If I go back before 59 days I can just grab another band new lease truck and go back to work like nothing happened. If I wait till 60 days or longer, I have to sit through their orientation again and do a skills test. For me, that's why I do the lease is it lets me go fuck off if I want to then go back bust ass make money again.


Now if you don't want to lease but still like Prime (they honestly have the best terminals in the industry) you can look at a company like WillTrans or Jim Palmer. They haul mostly Prime's freight but not exclusively. They will train you similar to Prime but you get much nicer trucks as a company driver than what you get at Prime but it's harder to get on with them as they are a smaller company.

Maverick also has a good training program but they are mostly a flatbed company, so you'd have to be ok with chaining/strapping down loads tarping them and so on.

I had no idea you was a trucker. I've had a lot of time to think since selling my house and being in this RV. Shit keeps breaking down and money doesn't go far.

I've applied for a WIOA grant through a place called CareerSource Tampa. Hopefully I get accepted so that I won't be out of pocket or indebted to a company. My next steps are to pass this drug test and get my learner's permit.

I checked with Prime and they have a 50lb limit for pets. I'm going to have to find a company that will let my dog ride with me after my training is done. I plan on selling the RV and living in the truck full time.

[crockett]

Originally Posted by GFED

I had no idea you was a trucker. I've had a lot of time to think since selling my house and being in this RV. Shit keeps breaking down and money doesn't go far.

I've applied for a WIOA grant through a place called CareerSource Tampa. Hopefully I get accepted so that I won't be out of pocket or indebted to a company. My next steps are to pass this drug test and get my learner's permit.

I checked with Prime and they have a 50lb limit for pets. I'm going to have to find a company that will let my dog ride with me after my training is done. I plan on selling the RV and living in the truck full time.

Yeah, if you can get schooling paid for by all means go that way. As for dogs, I've seen people at Prime with pits as example. I dunno how big your dog is or what type though.

On one side they say 50lbs, but they have no idea what you have in your truck. The only time they will ever see your truck, is if you are at a terminal and even then it's not like they search it. They also say no guns, but I carry mine..

I mean if it's obviously a huge dog then someone might notice or if it's overly aggressive and other people notice at a terminal. Biggest thing would be having a place to keep it while you train, as you wouldn't be able to take it with you but that would be any company.

As for driving, I had my CDL a long time ago but let it go, so I went through Prime to get it back. I got a bit bored doing my van stuff and the ebay/amazon so I wanted something I could walk into/out of for a bit and still make decent money.

I duno how long I'll keep doing it, my plan b4 I got hurt was to drive until the end of the year then go travel around then come back and push my ebay/amazon really hard.

Right now I'm still looking to do that, but getting hurt cost me some money and I also lost money from not working. I now can't hit the money I was wanted to have saved by the end of the year so I'm unsure if I'll stop in Dec or go a bit longer.

[Grapesoda]

Originally Posted by GFED

Any suggestions? I had to tell the Roadmaster recruiter I needed more time.

seems like hair will be the real 'tell' on how much time has passed

[Grapesoda]

Originally Posted by crockett

Don't go to a school to get your CDL, go to one of the mega companies, you will get stuck driving for one anyway for your 1st year unless you have a job lined up. Also in most cases the companies that will hire you from these schools will pay you shitty your 1st year. Best to go somewhere like Prime, Maverick or maybe Tribe but avoid Swift, CSRT, CRE or KLLM.

Also, if you do get your CDL, make sure you don't plan on going back to smoking. Random tests are real and if you do get into a wreck and get tested and are positive you are fucked.

love it when you lay out the real stuff... great stuff... this is why GFY was created

[8pt-buck]

Originally Posted by crockett

Don't go to a school to get your CDL, go to one of the mega companies, you will get stuck driving for one anyway for your 1st year unless you have a job lined up. Also in most cases the companies that will hire you from these schools will pay you shitty your 1st year. Best to go somewhere like Prime, Maverick or maybe Tribe but avoid Swift, CSRT, CRE or KLLM.

Also, if you do get your CDL, make sure you don't plan on going back to smoking. Random tests are real and if you do get into a wreck and get tested and are positive you are fucked.

True

[GFED]

Just picked this up from the Walmart. Also, how long does it take to pass a hair follicle test. I'm seeing 90 days but I'm told up to four months? What's the maximum?

[pimpmaster9000]

Originally Posted by GFED

I've been a heavy user for 30 years. I think my metabolism is slow as well. I'm going to give it a couple more weeks and test again. Do you know of any natural products that will help along? Not talking about drinking vinegar and stuff like that.

it accumulates around and in your brain if you are a heavy user...the brain is like 60% fat...it may take a few more months for you to be clean...if you are naturally low fat you will have an extra hard time cleaning up...

30 years of heavy use is an interesting case study...let us know when you are clean again I would be interested to know how long it took...

[MindWaste]

isent it up to 3 months anyways??

[Bladewire]

Originally Posted by GFED

Just picked this up from the Walmart. Also, how long does it take to pass a hair follicle test. I'm seeing 90 days but I'm told up to four months? What's the maximum?

How is the cleanse going?

[GFED]

Originally Posted by Bladewire

How is the cleanse going?

It's making me shit more often. Besides that I'll find out Monday when I get another test.

[Profits of Doom]

I owned an expedited freight/trucking company for several years, and your absolute last option should be going though a mega carrier's school. Besides being stuck working for them for a year if you fail the class or they kick you out for any reason (and you'd be surprised some of the reasons they'll kick you out), then you'll be stuck paying the entire cost of the school. Not to mention that you are at their mercy and will get the shittiest of the shitty loads and routes. Think the northeast in the winter running icy back roads because the company doesn't want to pay for toll roads (all the mega carriers do this and it's a huge cause of first year accidents and people getting frustrated and quitting), and known problem shippers that will have you sitting in their docks for hours until they decide to load you, all while your ELD is running and cutting your day short.

The other problem with mega carrier schools is you will be getting very little individual instruction time. They usually have one instructor per 5-10 people, and you will be in the truck driving with the instructor in the passenger seat while other students are sitting in the sleeper waiting their turn. So if you can't pick up shifting or straight line backing right away you are shit out of luck, it's an assembly line and they treat it as such.

It sounds like you are in a difficult financial situation, so you should have no problem getting approved for a grant by the state to pay for your school. And I wouldn't recommend Roadmaster either, as they are also a bit of an assembly line school. When I got drivers out of there they were never trained properly. If you are in Tampa go to Sage Truck Driving School Tampa Truck Driving School – Florida CDL Training at SAGE – Sage Truck Driving Schools out of Hillsborough Community College Plant City campus. They are the best of the best in terms of schools, and it will always be one instructor per student. So all of your instruction would be individualized and they will work with you until you get it right. The drivers I got out of there were trained professionally and knew their shit.

The last piece of advice I can give you is don't settle for working for a mega carrier your first year. With the new ELD mandate the trucker shortage is getting even worse, as many longtime veteran drivers quit because they couldn't make the money they used to make when they could cheat their logs. The old rule that you had to work your first year for a shit carrier is just that, an old, outdated rule. If you see a good company asks for a year experience apply anyways, and you'd be surprised how many will waive that. If you can pass a background check get your tanker and Hazmat and stick with tanker trucks, there is way more money there than there is in bumping docks and running freight...

[crockett]

Originally Posted by Profits of Doom

I owned an expedited freight/trucking company for several years, and your absolute last option should be going though a mega carrier's school. Besides being stuck working for them for a year if you fail the class or they kick you out for any reason (and you'd be surprised some of the reasons they'll kick you out), then you'll be stuck paying the entire cost of the school. Not to mention that you are at their mercy and will get the shittiest of the shitty loads and routes. Think the northeast in the winter running icy back roads because the company doesn't want to pay for toll roads (all the mega carriers do this and it's a huge cause of first year accidents and people getting frustrated and quitting), and known problem shippers that will have you sitting in their docks for hours until they decide to load you, all while your ELD is running and cutting your day short.

The other problem with mega carrier schools is you will be getting very little individual instruction time. They usually have one instructor per 5-10 people, and you will be in the truck driving with the instructor in the passenger seat while other students are sitting in the sleeper waiting their turn. So if you can't pick up shifting or straight line backing right away you are shit out of luck, it's an assembly line and they treat it as such.

It sounds like you are in a difficult financial situation, so you should have no problem getting approved for a grant by the state to pay for your school. And I wouldn't recommend Roadmaster either, as they are also a bit of an assembly line school. When I got drivers out of there they were never trained properly. If you are in Tampa go to Sage Truck Driving School Tampa Truck Driving School – Florida CDL Training at SAGE – Sage Truck Driving Schools out of Hillsborough Community College Plant City campus. They are the best of the best in terms of schools, and it will always be one instructor per student. So all of your instruction would be individualized and they will work with you until you get it right. The drivers I got out of there were trained professionally and knew their shit.

The last piece of advice I can give you is don't settle for working for a mega carrier your first year. With the new ELD mandate the trucker shortage is getting even worse, as many longtime veteran drivers quit because they couldn't make the money they used to make when they could cheat their logs. The old rule that you had to work your first year for a shit carrier is just that, an old, outdated rule. If you see a good company asks for a year experience apply anyways, and you'd be surprised how many will waive that. If you can pass a background check get your tanker and Hazmat and stick with tanker trucks, there is way more money there than there is in bumping docks and running freight...

You pick the right company, like Prime as example they wont be having you do stupid shit. They have a NE division so guys in that division do most of the NE loads as example. Sure you take loads into the NE, but it's usually to somewhere in PA or maybe NJ or DE. Also they don't tell you to avoid tolls.

In fact as lease guy I try to avoid tolls at all cost because that comes out of my money, but for company guys they are always riding toll roads.

You are missing the important factor as why I said go to a mega, it's because no one but a mega will hire a brand new driver because insurance rates cost to much. The megas are all self insured which is the reason they all take new drivers. No mom and pop or small company will hire a driver unless he has a year or 2 of experience. It's not like it used to be back even 15 or 20 years ago where you could get your CDL working for your dad's construction company. Now days insurance rates are fucking insane.

Example, I called for a insurance quote for a fucking Sprinter van to do expediting. They quoted me over $30k/year because I'd have a new DOT number. Insurance now days is insane for both new drivers and new companies.

[GFED]

Thanks for taking the time to post all this information PoD and Crockett. I actually checked out Sage first but I told the recruiter about my anxiety and she suggested that I seek a different career.

The recruiter at Roadmaster was determined to let me know I have nothing to worry about. He offered to let me sit in one of the trucks and told me about the three point entry and exit. I felt comfortable sitting in the driver's seat. I think backing up a trailer will be the real test.

He was a lot more welcoming and seemed like he really wanted to help me get through this. Of course I know it's just business.

[Profits of Doom]

Originally Posted by crockett

You pick the right company, like Prime as example they wont be having you do stupid shit. They have a NE division so guys in that division do most of the NE loads as example. Sure you take loads into the NE, but it's usually to somewhere in PA or maybe NJ or DE. Also they don't tell you to avoid tolls.

In fact as lease guy I try to avoid tolls at all cost because that comes out of my money, but for company guys they are always riding toll roads.

You are missing the important factor as why I said go to a mega, it's because no one but a mega will hire a brand new driver because insurance rates cost to much. The megas are all self insured which is the reason they all take new drivers. No mom and pop or small company will hire a driver unless he has a year or 2 of experience. It's not like it used to be back even 15 or 20 years ago where you could get your CDL working for your dad's construction company. Now days insurance rates are fucking insane.

Example, I called for a insurance quote for a fucking Sprinter van to do expediting. They quoted me over $30k/year because I'd have a new DOT number. Insurance now days is insane for both new drivers and new companies.

That's just not true anymore, the mom and pops might not hire you but you also don't have to settle the Prime's and Schneider's of the world. Most companies now are taking graduation from an accredited truck driving school in lieu of a year experience, because they flat out have to. The shortage is just getting worse and worse and most companies have no choice but to take the insurance hit. You don't have to believe me, just go to any of the truck driving forums and ask.

As for the Sprinter van, 2 questions...who in the hell quoted you $30,000 a year? There is only one company that offers commercial insurance for expediters, Progressive, and most everyone uses Commercial Insurance Solutions out of Ohio to get the Progressive policy, since the brokers there know each expedite company's requirements. For the blanket million dollar policy they are quoting $3,000-$5,000 per year, or more if you have a shit driving record. Any why would you get a DOT number? No company is going to award you bids off any of the job boards with your own authority anyways unless you have at least 10 vans. If you are a one man operation you have to work for Panther, Roadrunner, or one of the other big boys...

[Profits of Doom]

Originally Posted by GFED

Thanks for taking the time to post all this information PoD and Crockett. I actually checked out Sage first but I told the recruiter about my anxiety and she suggested that I seek a different career.

The recruiter at Roadmaster was determined to let me know I have nothing to worry about. He offered to let me sit in one of the trucks and told me about the three point entry and exit. I felt comfortable sitting in the driver's seat. I think backing up a trailer will be the real test.

He was a lot more welcoming and seemed like he really wanted to help me get through this. Of course I know it's just business.

I understand anxiety, and it sucks that you got a bad recruiter, but trust me when I tell you to meet some of the instructors at Sage and talk to them instead, since you will never see the salesperson again once you sign up. If you have bad anxiety the worst thing that can happen to you is to struggle at a place like Roadmaster where there are several students in the sleeper waiting their turn and watching your every move. At Sage it's just you and the instructor, and they take their time and don't pressure you. Just something to think about...

[candyflip]

I had this happen once. They still gave me the gig.

[Bladewire]

↑↑↑ Does ethnic tranny anal waxing gigs for a living

[crockett]

Originally Posted by Profits of Doom

That's just not true anymore, the mom and pops might not hire you but you also don't have to settle the Prime's and Schneider's of the world. Most companies now are taking graduation from an accredited truck driving school in lieu of a year experience, because they flat out have to. The shortage is just getting worse and worse and most companies have no choice but to take the insurance hit. You don't have to believe me, just go to any of the truck driving forums and ask.

As for the Sprinter van, 2 questions...who in the hell quoted you $30,000 a year? There is only one company that offers commercial insurance for expediters, Progressive, and most everyone uses Commercial Insurance Solutions out of Ohio to get the Progressive policy, since the brokers there know each expedite company's requirements. For the blanket million dollar policy they are quoting $3,000-$5,000 per year, or more if you have a shit driving record. Any why would you get a DOT number? No company is going to award you bids off any of the job boards with your own authority anyways unless you have at least 10 vans. If you are a one man operation you have to work for Panther, Roadrunner, or one of the other big boys...

Progressive is who quoted that to me.. Reason I was looking to get my own numbers is because I wanted to use expediting as a way to earn money while going back to my van life and travel full time but take loads when I wanted some money vs working for another company full time.

One of the biggest complaints I saw out of sprinter van expediters, was they say they have a lot of down time waiting on loads. My intention was to get a 3500 Sprinter (1 ton) and set it up for towing. The idea was I could run expediter loads, LTL loads from load boards but also haul RV trailers to dealers and I wanted to cover a niche I see almost no one covering and that's hauling motorcycles. Example on uship, there are lots of people that want motorcycles moved but almost no one bids those jobs.

I figure with my own DOT numbers/insurance I can keep myself busy whenever I want by having more than just a single option vs sitting around a lot and having to be in areas that freight is good. Motorcycles as example get moved from anywhere and RV's don't pay a lot but it can be steady filler work. However I couldn't have these options with out my own DOT numbers.

[Profits of Doom]

Originally Posted by crockett

Progressive is who quoted that to me.. Reason I was looking to get my own numbers is because I wanted to use expediting as a way to earn money while going back to my van life and travel full time but take loads when I wanted some money vs working for another company full time.

One of the biggest complaints I saw out of sprinter van expediters, was they say they have a lot of down time waiting on loads. My intention was to get a 3500 Sprinter (1 ton) and set it up for towing. The idea was I could run expediter loads, LTL loads from load boards but also haul RV trailers to dealers and I wanted to cover a niche I see almost no one covering and that's hauling motorcycles. Example on uship, there are lots of people that want motorcycles moved but almost no one bids those jobs.

I figure with my own DOT numbers/insurance I can keep myself busy whenever I want by having more than just a single option vs sitting around a lot and having to be in areas that freight is good. Motorcycles as example get moved from anywhere and RV's don't pay a lot but it can be steady filler work. However I couldn't have these options with out my own DOT numbers.

You can't really go through Progressive directly, because most of their reps don't understand the expedite industry, and unless you know the exact coverage terms they won't have a clue what kind of policy to offer you. If you ever decide to get into the expedite industry call CIS CIS – Commercial Insurance Solutions – Your Owner Operator Truck Insurance Pros! and let them handle it, there is a reason every expediter uses them. They know exactly what policy every expedite company requires and know the industry inside out.

As far as you own DOT number, wasn't trying to be a dick when I said that, but no single Sprinter driver should ever try to run under their own authority. First off you're gonna have to pay to join any of the load boards like Sylectus, Panther, Active Arrow, etc. and even then they are only going to award you loads if you work cheaper than anyone else (which is almost impossible with all the Russians invading the industry), or if the freight is going to a dead area nobody else wants to go. It literally takes years to build up trust with the brokers who award bids off those boards.

If you work for a smaller company that doesn't require you to label your truck and let's you work for more than one company you don't have to work full-time, you can literally call in when you are ready to take freight and they will look for loads for you, and when you want to be off you can call in again and take yourself off the board. They don't care if you take one load a month, you call the shots.

I'd strongly recommend against the 3500 Sprinter though, with the extra tires the wheelbase is too narrow to fit most standard skids, and most people that drive those have to build a false floor over top of the wheelbase to get standard skids in, and that reduces the height of the skid you can take. In fact I would skip Sprinter's all together and go with a full sized Promaster or Transit. There is nothing worse than breaking down in a Sprinter and desperately trying to find a shop that is qualified to work on them, only to find out that the repairs are insanely expensive due to the cost of Mercedes parts. You can literally put a new engine in a Promaster for the cost of some Sprinter repairs...

[GAMEFINEST]

Did you pass your physical?

[GFED]

Originally Posted by GAMEFINEST

Did you pass your physical?

I didn't go to the actual place yet, just a home test for THC.

[crockett]

Originally Posted by Profits of Doom

You can't really go through Progressive directly, because most of their reps don't understand the expedite industry, and unless you know the exact coverage terms they won't have a clue what kind of policy to offer you. If you ever decide to get into the expedite industry call CIS CIS – Commercial Insurance Solutions – Your Owner Operator Truck Insurance Pros! and let them handle it, there is a reason every expediter uses them. They know exactly what policy every expedite company requires and know the industry inside out.

As far as you own DOT number, wasn't trying to be a dick when I said that, but no single Sprinter driver should ever try to run under their own authority. First off you're gonna have to pay to join any of the load boards like Sylectus, Panther, Active Arrow, etc. and even then they are only going to award you loads if you work cheaper than anyone else (which is almost impossible with all the Russians invading the industry), or if the freight is going to a dead area nobody else wants to go. It literally takes years to build up trust with the brokers who award bids off those boards.

If you work for a smaller company that doesn't require you to label your truck and let's you work for more than one company you don't have to work full-time, you can literally call in when you are ready to take freight and they will look for loads for you, and when you want to be off you can call in again and take yourself off the board. They don't care if you take one load a month, you call the shots.

I'd strongly recommend against the 3500 Sprinter though, with the extra tires the wheelbase is too narrow to fit most standard skids, and most people that drive those have to build a false floor over top of the wheelbase to get standard skids in, and that reduces the height of the skid you can take. In fact I would skip Sprinter's all together and go with a full sized Promaster or Transit. There is nothing worse than breaking down in a Sprinter and desperately trying to find a shop that is qualified to work on them, only to find out that the repairs are insanely expensive due to the cost of Mercedes parts. You can literally put a new engine in a Promaster for the cost of some Sprinter repairs...

ok, TY for the tips.. Everyone told me to go to Progressive because they gave best rates, then when I did they told me the ridiculous $30k quote.. As for Brokers, I have at least one contact with a broker that does a lot of flatbed & LTL loads. I know him from the other side of the biz where I used to use him a lot for shipping freight.

As for the 3500 Sprinter, you're right, I wasn't thinking about the inside wheel well issue due to the dual rear wheels.

[The Porn Nerd]

Dude why not get your girl, a friend or your mom too piss in a baggie? Get a hose, snake it down your leg....boom, pass. Don't put yourself through the physical strain of trying to cleanse.

Thank me later.

[kane]

Originally Posted by The Porn Nerd

Dude why not get your girl, a friend or your mom too piss in a baggie? Get a hose, snake it down your leg....boom, pass. Don't put yourself through the physical strain of trying to cleanse.

Thank me later.

While this is funny, it is a sure fire way to get caught. Don't do this.

[crockett]

Originally Posted by The Porn Nerd

Dude why not get your girl, a friend or your mom too piss in a baggie? Get a hose, snake it down your leg....boom, pass. Don't put yourself through the physical strain of trying to cleanse.

Thank me later.

Because things are much more serious when you are talking a CDL. Its no longer just a state regulated driver's license but its also federally regulated. Once you have a CDL, if you ever test positive, you are finished because its on a permanent record. Even things like DUIs are diffrent because the blood alcohol levels are lowered even when you are not driving a commerical vehicle.

Example with a CDL you're getting a DUI with a BAC of 0.04%
With a normal license you get a DUI with a BAC of 0.08%

[Sly]

Originally Posted by kane

While this is funny, it is a sure fire way to get caught. Don't do this.

It worked for Vinny Chase!

[kane]

Originally Posted by Sly

It worked for Vinny Chase!

But do Turtle and E have GFED's back?

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by The Porn Nerd

Dude why not get your girl, a friend or your mom too piss in a baggie? Get a hose, snake it down your leg....boom, pass. Don't put yourself through the physical strain of trying to cleanse.

Thank me later.

the test determines gender as well.

[The Porn Nerd]

Originally Posted by dyna mo

the test determines gender as well.

What if you are transgender?

[dyna mo]

Originally Posted by The Porn Nerd

What if you are transgender?

i have no idea about transgender stuff!

[GAMEFINEST]

Gotta pass the dot physical as well.

Good luck bro

[GFED]

Originally Posted by GAMEFINEST

Gotta pass the dot physical as well.

Good luck bro

Thank you.

[GFED]

Just took another home test.
STILL POSITIVE.

[GFED]

I reported in to my recruiter. He said talk to the clinic.
I called the clinic.
They recommend I go to GNC and get a flush from there.
They will run their test for $30 for without sending to RM.

[CurrentlySober]

Originally Posted by GFED

It's making me shit more often.

Me makes mental note to purchase the same cleanse...

[GFED]

So I'm at GNC now and the guy tells me they dont sell any products like that. >.<

[GFED]

Just ordered this from Amazon.

Herbal Clean QCarbo32 Fast Cleansing Drink Grape Flavor - 32 Ounce - Same Day Detox https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005P0SI36..._kTltBbZQRG5J4

[GAMEFINEST]

Damn, how much did you smoke lol

[GFED]

Originally Posted by GAMEFINEST

Damn, how much did you smoke lol

Almost every day for 30 years.

[Colmike9]

Is one of your friends giving you laced snacks without telling you or blowing smoke in your face when you're sleeping? 60 days of not smoking and still coming up positive is weird unless it's a hair test. I've smoked and passed drug tests the same day, but it was one of those mouth swab tests and those are easier to pass with...

[GFED]

Originally Posted by Colmike7

Is one of your friends giving you laced snacks without telling you or blowing smoke in your face when you're sleeping? 60 days of not smoking and still coming up positive is weird unless it's a hair test. I've smoked and passed drug tests the same day, but it was one of those mouth swab tests and those are easier to pass with...

I have dreams about smoking weed?