CDL license in Texas

[Semper Fi Huck]

I have been full time for almost two years now and my Military Retirement + disability is not quite enough to cover all that we need, so I’m looking into delivering motor homes for a little extra money.  I am looking at driving for Horizon Transport, but they require at least a CDL Class B license.  I didn’t think it would be any problem getting that license, so I started the process back in January.  I had no problem getting the permit, but my issue is taking the driving test. 

In March I scheduled the driving test in El Paso and rented a Penske truck to use for the test.  I got to the testing site with my truck and was told I could not take the test in the truck I rented because the GVWR WAS 25,999, and it had to be 26,000 or higher to use for the test.  Even though they have the EXACT same truck with a little higher rating they would not let me take the test.  My dilemma comes because I cannot rent a truck with a GVWR over 26,000 lbs because I don’t have a CDL.  What I need is someone with a vehicle such as a diesel pusher or a diesel box truck with a GVWR over 26,000 lbs that wouldn’t mind letting me drive it for a road test when I can schedule it.  

I am from Jasper, Texas, which is not far from Lufkin the home of Escapees,  but since I am full time I can go to any of the 25 places in Texas where the test can be administered to meet someone with a vehicle to test in.  As far as scheduling the tests are one to two months out depending on where you go.  

I know this is a strange request, but I’m hoping someone can help me out in some way.  I just extended my permit for another six months today, so I have a little more time to get this done.  Thank you for any and all assistance!

[podwerkz]

Wonder how this turned out.

It's kindve a chicken and egg situation.

 

[Semper Fi Huck]

I have pretty much given up on getting my Class B since no one until you has responded to this.  I have determined that the way things are set up now it’s mandatory that you attend a school to get your license or you have to know someone with a vehicle that’s 26,000 lbs or higher that will let you borrow it.  Since I cannot find anyone with a diesel pusher or anything else that meets the weight requirement, I’m just going to go to truck driving school and get the full Class A CDL.  Next week I’m going to take the combination vehicle test to upgrade my permit to a class A then I’m off to school for the driving portion.  

[Twotoes]

Have you checked out how much money you will make delivering motor homes. I have been told but have no personal knowledge that you do not make that much. You can not sleep in the RV or 5th wheel you are delivering and must get a hotel room, plus your food expense. Not sure if you pay for your own fuel. I think you are paid by the mile and are an independent contractor and have to cover all expenses. Again I have no personal knowledge, just going by what I have been told by others. 

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, Semper Fi Huck said:

I have pretty much given up on getting my Class B since no one until you has responded to this.

The lack of a reply has most likely been because nobody on the forums has an answer for you. 

[Semper Fi Huck]

8 hours ago, Twotoes said:

Have you checked out how much money you will make delivering motor homes. I have been told but have no personal knowledge that you do not make that much. You can not sleep in the RV or 5th wheel you are delivering and must get a hotel room, plus your food expense. Not sure if you pay for your own fuel. I think you are paid by the mile and are an independent contractor and have to cover all expenses. Again I have no personal knowledge, just going by what I have been told by others. 

Yes I have looked into it thoroughly.  You do get paid by the mile at a pretty good rate, but all expenses including fuel are paid by you.  You can sleep in the motorhome, but you can’t use anything in it like the bed, toilet, shower, or sinks...basically you’re just sleeping on the floor.  I do agree that you would have a hard time making a living doing this and it being your only source of income, but since I only need an extra $1-2k per month to supplement my retirement it’s great for me.  All you have to do is one delivery every 30 days to maintain the job, and once I get some debts paid off that’s all I’ll do.  I already figured out that a run from Indiana to SoCal would get around $1k after expenses plus while in Indiana I could make a quick run into Canada for a little extra.  The biggest expense doing this is getting to the pick up point (ie. Indiana) to get a rig to deliver, because a lot of people will fly and take a cab or Uber and that’s where they loose a lot of money.  I have a towed that meets the requirements, so I will drive myself and sleep in the car or at friends and families houses on the way to the pick up point.  

[Semper Fi Huck]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

The lack of a reply has most likely been because nobody on the forums has an answer for you. 

You are probably right on that one.  I never said anything about why I hadn’t got a response, nor was I just speaking about lack of response on this forum, just that I hadn’t gotten any response.  

[coachmac9]

If you are going to go ahead and get your Class A you can make a lot more money with a lot less hassle in the oil industry. They are desperate for Class A drivers and you can work as much or little that you want to work. I have a Class B and am presently getting it upgraded to a class A to supplement my retirement also.

[Semper Fi Huck]

55 minutes ago, coachmac9 said:

If you are going to go ahead and get your Class A you can make a lot more money with a lot less hassle in the oil industry. They are desperate for Class A drivers and you can work as much or little that you want to work. I have a Class B and am presently getting it upgraded to a class A to supplement my retirement also.

Doing what?  I am a full time RVer with a 4 year old child, and we go all over the country.  I haven’t heard of any other driving  jobs that I could do form wherever I happen to be in the country, could you tell me about this oil job?   

[Ray,IN]

You will find it difficult to  deliver RV's when you "go all over the country". Deadheading will eat up profits rather quickly. The time involved  will make scheduling a task, plus your delivery/tow truck must have a USDOT number on the side, which means stopping at open weigh scales and maintaining a log-book, driving hrs are limited. A CDL holder has many different rules to follow. for instance have one beer-you are over your legal limit to drive anything for 24 hrs (limit is .02) breathe .04  is a CDL DUI.

Not throwing water, just information.

[Lou Schneider]

20 hours ago, Semper Fi Huck said:

Doing what?  I am a full time RVer with a 4 year old child, and we go all over the country.  I haven’t heard of any other driving  jobs that I could do form wherever I happen to be in the country, could you tell me about this oil job?   

If you have a Class A license, look into delivering buses, 26,000 lb. commercial trucks and new semi-tractors.  All of these pay quite a bit more than delivering motorhomes, and since you aren't using your own vehicle it doesn't need a DOT number, commercial insurance, etc.

[Semper Fi Huck]

9 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

You will find it difficult to  deliver RV's when you "go all over the country". Deadheading will eat up profits rather quickly. The time involved  will make scheduling a task, plus your delivery/tow truck must have a USDOT number on the side, which means stopping at open weigh scales and maintaining a log-book, driving hrs are limited. A CDL holder has many different rules to follow. for instance have one beer-you are over your legal limit to drive anything for 24 hrs (limit is .02) breathe .04  is a CDL DUI.

Not throwing water, just information.

First off I don’t have a truck and will not be towing anything except my Mini Cooper behind whatever it is that I happen to be driving for delivery.  Secondly there’s no worry about any kind of DUI for me, I would be perfectly happy if prohibition was still a thing and I would probably be the guy pulling the trigger on everyone that had anything to do with alcohol...

[Semper Fi Huck]

1 hour ago, Lou Schneider said:

If you have a Class A license, look into delivering buses, 26,000 lb. commercial trucks and new semi-tractors.  All of these pay quite a bit more than delivering motorhomes, and since you aren't using your own vehicle it doesn't need a DOT number, commercial insurance, etc.

I totally agree especially now that I’m getting a Class A.  I never meant to limit it to just motorhomes.  I am just going to hire on with Horizon Transport, and drive whatever they have for me to deliver.  The whole reason for this thread was to try to find someone that could let me use or rent to use a vehicle to take my Class B driving test in.  Now since I have been unsuccessful in getting a vehicle I am upgrading to Class A hiring on to a trucking company and using them to get my license. 

Tomorrow I am going to take my combination vehicle test to upgrade my permit to a Class A.  Then it’s off to school for the driving portion.  

Edited September 3, 2019 by Semper Fi Huck

[Ray,IN]

I hope your test goes well!

[MidMOTraveler]

If you get your Class A something to consider would be seasonal driving. UPS,FEDEX put on lots of drivers for about 2 months. You can probably make half a years pay compared to shagging rv’s . 

[Twotoes]

1 hour ago, MidMOTraveler said:

If you get your Class A something to consider would be seasonal driving. UPS,FEDEX put on lots of drivers for about 2 months. You can probably make half a years pay compared to shagging rv’s . 

FedEx and UPS hire seasonal helpers as loaders but I don’t believe they hire seasonal drivers. Not sure but worth looking into. Amazon Prime is looking for delivery drivers but I don’t think you need to have a commercial liscense because they are using mini vans. 

[coachmac9]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 10:28 PM, Semper Fi Huck said:

Doing what?  I am a full time RVer with a 4 year old child, and we go all over the country.  I haven’t heard of any other driving  jobs that I could do form wherever I happen to be in the country, could you tell me about this oil job?   

There are many different types of driving jobs in the oil fields...and they all pay very well right now. You didn't mention having a four year old son along with you in the original post. Yes, that definitely will limit your job choices...good luck with your test and job search.

[Semper Fi Huck]

23 minutes ago, coachmac9 said:

There are many different types of driving jobs in the oil fields...and they all pay very well right now. You didn't mention having a four year old son along with you in the original post. Yes, that definitely will limit your job choices...good luck with your test and job search.

I have a four year old daughter, and I’m not taking her driving with me.  She will stay home with mom when I go for my once or twice a month trip.  I just don’t want to be away from her for very long!  I waited 42 years for my daughter and I don’t want to miss very many moments with her, she is my life!  😃

[podwerkz]

This whole thread makes me wonder if there might be a need for CDL holders to 'rent' themselves out for situations where a future Class A or Class B licensee needs someone to provide some personalized guidance, be legal and qualified to rent a truck if needed, and then to actually drive the truck or large RV to the DMV.

Hmmm....

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by podwerkz

[Semper Fi Huck]

1 hour ago, Twotoes said:

FedEx and UPS hire seasonal helpers as loaders but I don’t believe they hire seasonal drivers. Not sure but worth looking into. Amazon Prime is looking for delivery drivers but I don’t think you need to have a commercial liscense because they are using mini vans. 

Yes, before I joined the Marine Corps I worked for UPS, and I originally hired on as Christmas help.  I actually joined the Marine Corps during the UPS strike in 1997, that was how I got out of Waco, Tx which is where I was living and working at the time.  

Also unless you’re driving the semi’s a CDL is not required to drive any of the delivery trucks aka package cars.  

[Semper Fi Huck]

3 minutes ago, podwerkz said:

This whole thread makes me wonder if there might be a need for CDL holders to 'rent' themselves out for situations where a future Class A or Class B licensee needs someone to provide some personalized guidance, be legal to rent a truck if needed, and then to actually drive the truck or large RV to the DMV.

Hmmm....

 

 

 

That would be awesome if someone could do that!  I could’ve rented a diesel pusher for an outrageous price as long as no one else was renting it for a longer period of time, but technically I would’ve been illegal driving it to the test.  

[podwerkz]

I've actually helped friends do this, just never thought about trying to make a little bit of cash doing it.

 

Double Hmmmm.... 

 

 

[Semper Fi Huck]

4 hours ago, Ray,IN said:

I hope your test goes well!

It went very well as far as taking the test, it was easy and I did well.  The part that sucked was being the fourth person in line when they opened the door, and then despite bringing EVERYTHING to prove who I was, where my address is, that I was born, that I have a registered vehicle in the state, and that I have insurance they needed to see my social security card or a passport.  I had to run back home to get that, but luckily I grabbed a new number before I left and was again fourth in line when I got back despite their being many more people than that in that in there. 

[gjhunter01]

When I got my CDL in Mich 10 years ago, I found a local company that performed the road test and for a extra $100 they rented you their truck for the test. It worked out great cause the guy let me practice with the truck in the yard and showed me what to look for before the test began. I passed the driven test 100%. I then drove Hot Shot for a couple of years and met many RV Transporters. RV Transport was not a good job, they drove their trucks into the ground and had little money after expenses. MH delivery may be different, but if they were making money, the RV Transporters would have moved in.

As far as workamping, try Sugar Beet Truck driving, get $25-30/hr for about 150 hours in early Oct. Check out Craigs List in Grand Forks, ND under Transport. https://grandforks.craigslist.org/d/transportation/search/trp

In ND, farm truck drivers don't need a CDL. But the farmer would probably be glad to let you borrow his truck for a DL test and then transfer your new ND DL back to Texas. Might work!

Another friend has a CDL and drives for UPS seasonal, Nov/Dec and makes $18/hr as a temp driver. Just Google search.

Another job is selling Christmas Trees in Texas, just google search.

Edited September 8, 2019 by gjhunter01

[Semper Fi Huck]

1 hour ago, gjhunter01 said:

When I got my CDL in Mich 10 years ago, I found a local company that performed the road test and for a extra $100 they rented you their truck for the test. It worked out great cause the guy let me practice with the truck in the yard and showed me what to look for before the test began. I passed the driven test 100%. I then drove Hot Shot for a couple of years and met many RV Transporters. RV Transport was not a good job, they drove their trucks into the ground and had little money after expenses. MH delivery may be different, but if they were making money, the RV Transporters would have moved in.

As far as workamping, try Sugar Beet Truck driving, get $25-30/hr for about 150 hours in early Oct. Check out Craigs List in Grand Forks, ND under Transport. https://grandforks.craigslist.org/d/transportation/search/trp

In ND, farm truck drivers don't need a CDL. But the farmer would probably be glad to let you borrow his truck for a DL test and then transfer your new ND DL back to Texas. Might work!

Another friend has a CDL and drives for UPS seasonal, Nov/Dec and makes $18/hr as a temp driver. Just Google search.

Another job is selling Christmas Trees in Texas, just google search.

Thanks for the tips!  It’s good to know there are more options out there!  My wife and we’re going to work the sugar beet harvest last year, but our child care aka grandparents backed out just before we were going to go.  I didn’t know there was a truck driving option, now I will look at that too.  I didn’t know that UPS hired seasonal drivers. When I hired on with UPS about 25 years ago everyone just moved up the seniority and all the seasonal hires did the crap jobs but I never really knew how the tractor trailer jobs worked. 

The thing that limits us most as far as workamping jobs is having a four year old.  Also I’m pretty sure next year we will settle down somewhere so the little one can go to school.