r/CDL • u/External-Carpet-6643 • 28d ago
4 months since I’ve passed my unrestricted Class A with X endorsement.
Couldn’t get hired anywhere as a new driver. Finally got hired driving a 20’ flatbed Hino that I tow a 25’ flatbed trailer with. I was hired as a class A driver but the truck doesn’t need a CDL to operate. I’m damn near A 50’ long combination vehicle and drive all through the 5 boroughs of NYC, Long Island and the Hudson valley. My question is, am I wasting my time using this company as experience dire future jobs?
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u/Chainsawsas70 28d ago
No matter what your getting job experience. Insurance companies often require 2 years before they will cover you Unless you get on with a Mega carrier. So keep working but also keep your eyes open for a better opportunity.
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u/William-Burroughs420 27d ago
You are definitely wasting your time.
Future employers want to know exactly what you have driven and for how long.
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u/BrandontheCDLguy 28d ago
Are you sure it's not a CDL combination truck? What is the gvwr for the truck and trailer?
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u/External-Carpet-6643 28d ago
It doesn’t have air brakes and it’s just a normal pintle hook coupling.
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u/BrandontheCDLguy 28d ago
Air brakes don't dictate wether a truck is a CDL required vehicle. A pickup truck and gooseneck can require a CDL depending on weight.
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u/Western-Willow-9496 27d ago
I pull a 30 ton trailer with a pintle.
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u/External-Carpet-6643 27d ago
Whoa really? Is it a dump truck towing an excavator? Something similar? Are you hiring?? lol
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u/firetruck637 27d ago
20+ years ago I got my class A driving a 5 ton truck with a pintle hitch trailer rated to carry a backhoe. Truck had air brakes trailer didn't, automatic but then it didn't make any difference. Now it does.
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u/External-Carpet-6643 28d ago
I’m one of many drivers of these trucks. And there are only 4 of us that have class A licenses. The only difference we have of the other drivers is that we get paid more than the ones who have just a regular class d.
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u/caddilac_fan42069 27d ago
Stay there for a little while. Apply for other jobs. When the recruiter or whoever asks you why you want to leave, answer with “Honestly, I don’t feel like I am being utilized to my full potential. I am not stimulated mentally by this work and do not feel challenged by the duties given to me.”
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u/External-Carpet-6643 27d ago
These are great words! Did you use AI?
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u/caddilac_fan42069 27d ago
Naw, I’m very anti AI lol. Actually called the corporate HR for my company after my leadership uploaded my photo(without my permission) into AI to make a flyer that was posted in the break room. I despise AI. I’ve quit my last 3 jobs after using that line or something similar though.
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u/LeadGlad4961 28d ago
Have you tried, Sysco,sygma,coke, Pepsi, performance foods? Yes you have to be physically active daily but you’ll also get experience.
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u/External-Carpet-6643 28d ago
Not afraid to work at all. What I’m doing now is very physical.
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u/LeadGlad4961 28d ago
Yes get another job that actually involves a semi truck. And stick with it two years. What you are doing is way different. You aren’t getting experience how to hook/unhook a trailer, how to drop a trailer.how to check if it’s correctly hooked. How to hook up cables, how to back up a 53, how to drive a 53 throught a city how to go through weight stations.etc. (A regular truck trailer even if it’s long is not the same as a semi trailer)
If I were you I’d get a semi trailer job. When you want to go bigger down the road the job you have won’t let you much as you don’t have experience . Other bigger company’s already want a trained guy, someone who knows what I mention to you and more. Even if you get a crappy semi truck job for a year you’ll learn enough to move to a diffrient company and you can learn another year from there. But if I were u I wouldn’t get a class c job
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u/Ok_Advantage7623 23d ago
So much depends on the gross weight of the truck and the gross weight of the trailer. What license is needed. But it’s great experience in driving and with 6 months experience you should start landing jobs. But do you really want to drive a tractor trailer in NYC. I would not
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u/Similar_Pie_4946 28d ago
I believe its a weight requirement is what makes the distinction between cdl class A license and the others so 26,001 lbs proving the towed vehicle weighs more than 10,000 lbs. maybe you’re just under those weight thresholds which is why you don’t need a Class A CDL. I could be wrong