In Ark. you pass the written tests and ur eligible to go take the pretrip and driving skills test. Also farmers have an exemption and farm to market just requires a reg. license plus DOT medical. Course u can't hire out or get more than 150 miles from home. I also haul in La. and laws are basically the same. Also in La. the sugar cane farmers pushed a bill thru so we can permit haul 100,000 pound loads everywhere but the interstates. We have to respect bridge laws too and that's hard to do. I haul soybeans, rice,milo, and corn. In Ark. rumor is this fall bill comin to require farm drivers to have CDL. I've never figured out why they're exempt anyway. Political pressure I guess.

 

Are you thinking about driving for Valley Farm or Valley Ag?

 

I was looking into Morningstar Trucking out of Las Banos or Williams.

 

Man this prejudice is getting THICK! And you don't know WHAT you are talking about! :roll:

Ohiomohawk is trying to give a good answer, but unless you have spent any REAL time in Cali, you are in a different "league."

I deal with produce sheds in Cali EVERY week! MOST of the office personnel, AND the forklift drivers speak better ENGLISH than I speak Spanish! Field truck drivers are a bit of a mixed bunch, but even THEY deal with supervisors in the field who speak English!

What the poster is considering, is driving a Field truck a few miles back and forth between the "shed" and the field. He will usually NOT be on major highways or interstates. He really needs only minimal understanding of the mechanics of his truck. And almost NO understanding of what it really takes to be an OTR driver.

HE rarely even needs to know how to BACK into a dock, as MOST of the time, they just "pull thru" and are offloaded by a forklift.

MOST of what they need to know, can easily be taught in ONE DAY, and 16 hours of road training is more than MANY of US actually get in a CDL school!

To get his permit on his own, he will need to read and UNDERSTAND the info in the CDL manual. I know this would be difficult for SOME here! But, he will have to pass the SAME written tests as YOU did!

And MAYBE, he won't be "confused" by instructors like the one I had, who didn't even understand what they were teaching!

Other than that, a few hours in the seat with a trainer is all that someone SHOULD need, IF they have any skill or aptitude for driving a big rig!

NO logging required for most "field trucks." No scales to cross *usually." What he NEEDS to know, I'm SURE they will teach him!

And if he LIVES in Cali.... he probably KNOWS more Spanish than MOST of you will ever learn!

[And for THAT matter..... probably is a BETTER, more EXPERIENCED driver! I LEARNED to drive on the L.A. freeways! Unless you learned on the same.... or somewhere like New York.... you are at a CLEAR disadvantage in this business!]

 

Ive been driving in the Lost Angeles area since 1969. And I have spent more time in Bakersfield in the last year than I have at home.

I dont think we have a seperate license status for field trucks here in California.

And forget the prejuidice crap, I live in California and I know who I do business with every day.

Except at Bolthouse, they have a few non hispanics working their loading dock.

But, if you go to Grimmway and hear English over their in house walkie talkie system I will kiss your ass and give you an hour to draw a crowd.

 

Bumper said:

Good for you. All the more reason NOT to make prejudiced statements against Mexican Americans. [And I will RESCIND my remark about whether or not you know how to drive! If you've been driving in the L.A. area since 69... you are qualified! :lol: ]

I didn't say you DID! Read my post! I said they would have to pass the SAME tests as YOU!

Your response spoke for itself! I speak very LITTLE Spanish, and have NEVER had a problem. Most of THEM speak better English than some drivers I know! I have often considered taking such a job MYSELF, and would look FORWARD to learning more Spanish..... but I know it is not necessary!

Been there, done that. MANY others have the same. WHAT is your point?

Been THERE, too! WHY should they speak English over their in house comm system?? I tell you what..... you get 10 truckers outside Grimmway or Bolthouse that can understand more than 4 words of Spanish, and I'll kiss YOUR ass!

Do you KNOW the poster? Do you KNOW if he is of hispanic descent? Or just cared enough to learn the language? NO.... I don't think so! You are just making prejudice statements about the people who help provide YOU a job!

Do you just drive LOCAL in Cali? Or do you get out of your cage every now and then and experience the REST OF THE COUNTRY?? :roll:

Do YOU speak any Spanish (after all those years there?) Or do you fly a Rebel flag and have the gall to scream that ALL Americans must speak English ALL the time? Have you EVER been OUT of this country? I bet you decry the BBC (IF you've ever listened to it) for reporting the news with a British accent! :roll:

NOTE: Yes, I got Ohiomohawk confused with Redsfan! My computer is so slow, sometimes my memory fades before I can answer! :lol:

 

 

I don't think so. What you implied was that he BETTER speak Spanish, or he couldn't function in the job! You may not SEE it that way.... but that is a racist statement.

I didn't say you DID!

NO ONE has such a different "standard." You KNOW a CDL can be had by passing a written test and a road test.... anywhere in America.

Been THERE, too! WHY should they speak English over their in house comm system??

But, you didn't SAY it that way. I agree with you that it would be an asset. But, you made a statement that is heard all too often on this board, that IF you want to work in Cali, you BETTER speak Spanish! Is it a true fact?? Yes... probably! But, it still sounds racist the way you said it! I speak un poco espanol! And when I do... I get "special" consideration from these guys! They are "amazed" that a TRUCKER is making such an effort.... considering the YEARS of effort THEY have made to try to learn even a little bit of English! [one of the hardest languages in the World to learn!]

No, I DON't! But, I'm not the one who made the statement in total IGNORANCE of his heritage, or language capability. I've learned that it is not smart to "assume" too much about who we are talking with on this board! Better yet.... it is even smarter to NOT have prejudices that will "trip you up" IF you find out someone you "like" on this board is of a different background!

Do you just drive LOCAL in Cali? Or do you get out of your cage every now and then and experience the REST OF THE COUNTRY??

That is a point in your favor. But, I was thinking MORE of LIFE experiences gained from LIVING elsewhere!

Then you should ALSO realize that you don't have to be really GOOD at it to "get along." You IMPLIED that the poster BETTER have good Spanish language skills to do so. Obviously, you KNOW that is not true!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I, personally, am not "from" the South! My father's SPERM was.... but the EGG it fertilized was of PURE pioneer Western stock! I am a decendant of the Rocky Mountain Man. Those who settled the West, understood the "Value" of a man, regardless of his race or heritage. Character is what mattered! I have no patience for petty racial discrimination! The fact that I NOW live in the South, is a bane to my existence! Not that I want to be prejudiced against them, but they have yet to evolve completely. Perhaps, this gives you some insight to my ANTI-racist mentality.

Then, you should KNOW better! :wink: Although, I have found that SOME who have "travelled" become more enlightened. And OTHERS have only become more Nationalistic and prejudiced. :shock:

I don't KNOW you, or WHICH of these types you ARE. I DO know you are a Patriot (from other threads) and I appreciate that. But, I can only HOPE that you have not given in to the prejudice that often comes from living in an area such as you do! For YOU it is Hispanics. For me... unfortunately, it is STILL the Black population. I say that ONLY in the way that I feel it is "unfortunate" that WE sitll live in a prejudiced society!

WHEREVER there is a concentration of a minority in this country.... prejudice raises its ugly head! I feel strongly that we MUST rise above this "failing" or we will NEVER be a WHOLE country!

If I misread your comments, I apologize! But, I don't think I did. A driver asked about driving field trucks in Cali, and you told him he BETTER be able to speak Spanish. I understand where you are coming from, but it is NOT a factual statement. I've spent enough time around them to KNOW it is NOT a prerequisite!

There are MANY "prerequisites" in this job.... but knowing Spanish is not really one of them. Don't tell a "newbie" that it IS..... if it is NOT!

Hobo

 

about Agricultural Trucking...

I saw a driver try to cross the soft divide between I35 nb to get to a service road during a traffic jam caused by a 3 truck accident. He got right in the middle and got stuck. The tractor pinned under the nose of the trailer weight. He looked VERY silly and stupid.

 

And your point IS???

Was the driver agricultural? Was one of the THREE "so called" professional drivers that caused the accident "agricultural"???

I've seen MANY drivers "stuck" in a median or somewhere they shouldn't have been because they TRIED something that they SHOULD have known was impossible! MOST of them were "major carrier" drivers who obviously weren't "experienced drivers."

I doubt I'll EVER see Skywalker or WindWalker or many OTHERS on this board in such a situation!

Oh yeah.... WHAT was your point? :shock: