Top 12 Roll Off Driver Skills to Put on Your Resume

In the roll-off world, the right skills on a resume can tilt the odds fast. Employers want proof you can run the truck, move heavy steel safely, think on your feet, and keep jobs humming without drama. Below are core skills that speak to real work in the yard, on the road, and at the customer site.

Roll Off Driver Skills

1. CDL-A
2. HAZMAT
3. DOT Regulations
4. GPS Navigation
5. Pre-Trip Inspections
6. Air Brakes
7. Load Securing
8. Hydraulic Systems
9. Route Planning
10. Customer Service
11. Safety Compliance
12. Waste Management

1. CDL-A

A CDL-A (Commercial Driver’s License, Class A) permits operation of combination vehicles over 26,001 lbs. GCWR with trailers over 10,000 lbs. Some roll-off operations use straight trucks that require a CDL-B instead. Many roles also require an air brake endorsement. Always check the job posting and state rules—equipment and routes drive the license class.

Why It's Important

It’s your legal ticket to run the truck you’re assigned. The right class and endorsements keep you compliant, employable, and ready for heavier work when the fleet or customer needs it.

How to Improve CDL-A Skills

Sharpen the fundamentals and build confidence under load.

1. Drive with intent: Practice tight maneuvers, narrow alleys, uneven pads, and tricky approaches common to container swaps.

2. Know your rig: Learn hoist controls, PTO engagement, interlocks, and what normal sounds and pressures look like.

3. Safety fluency: Keep current with federal and state rules, hours-of-service, and company policies. Make compliance a habit, not a scramble.

4. Customer interaction: Practice clear placement questions, access checks, and on-site etiquette.

5. Fitness and stamina: Stretching, hydration, and core strength help with tarping, chaining, and long days.

6. Time sense: Sequence stops, landfill/transfer station hours, and turnaround times to hit windows without rushing.

Small gains add up—smoother shifts, fewer mistakes, safer jobs.

How to Display CDL-A Skills on Your Resume

2. HAZMAT

HAZMAT refers to hazardous materials that require special handling, placarding, and documentation. Some roll-off operations never touch it; others handle contaminated soil, chemicals, or industrial waste. If required, you’ll need the H endorsement and strict procedures.

Why It's Important

It protects people, property, and the environment. Proper classification, securement, and response readiness prevent fines, incidents, and harm.

How to Improve HAZMAT Skills

1. Know the rules: Learn classification, placards, shipping papers, and segregation basics. Keep a current emergency response guide in the cab.

2. Train routinely: Drills for leaks, exposure, and containment build muscle memory you’ll rely on under pressure.

3. Inspect gear: Check valves, seals, containment kits, and PPE before you roll. Defects get fixed before dispatch.

4. Label and document: Verify markings, placards, and paperwork match the load. No guessing. No shortcuts.

5. Communicate fast: If something’s off, stop, secure, and escalate to dispatch and safety immediately.

Precision matters. It’s detail work with zero room for casual habits.

How to Display HAZMAT Skills on Your Resume

3. DOT Regulations

DOT regulations govern commercial vehicle operation: hours-of-service, vehicle condition, driver qualifications, cargo securement, and more. They’re the baseline rules of the road for heavy trucks.

Why It's Important

Consistent compliance cuts accidents, tickets, and downtime. It protects your license and the company’s authority—everyone wins when it’s done right.

How to Improve DOT Regulations Skills

1. Targeted training: Refresh on HOS, DVIRs, securement, and incident reporting. Short, frequent updates beat once-a-year marathons.

2. Use the tech: ELDs, telematics, and dash apps make logs, inspections, and alerts straightforward—if you use them daily.

3. Inspection rhythm: Nail pre-trip, en-route, and post-trip routines. Clean records and quick repairs keep you moving.

4. Speak up early: Report hazards, defects, and near misses. Fast fixes prevent bad days.

5. Wellness basics: Rest, hydration, and focus feed safe driving as much as policy binders do.

Compliance isn’t paperwork; it’s a driving style.

How to Display DOT Regulations Skills on Your Resume

4. GPS Navigation

GPS navigation uses satellite data to guide you to sites and facilities, flagging traffic snarls and rerouting around blockages. For trucks, it also needs to respect height, weight, and restricted roads.

Why It's Important

Time matters. Fuel matters. Wrong turns with a 20-foot box on the rails can turn expensive fast. Smart navigation keeps you efficient and on schedule.

How to Improve GPS Navigation Skills

1. Go truck-safe: Use navigation configured for vehicle size, weight, and hazmat restrictions where applicable.

2. Pre-plan: Review satellite view, site approach, and turnarounds before you leave the yard.

3. Stay updated: Keep maps, restrictions, and software current. Outdated data costs time.

4. Cross-check: Compare the planned route with local knowledge from dispatch or seasoned drivers.

5. Adapt live: Traffic spikes, closures, and weather happen. Reroute early, not late.

Know the plan, then read the road.

How to Display GPS Navigation Skills on Your Resume

5. Pre-Trip Inspections

A systematic check of truck, hoist, hydraulics, tires, brakes, lights, pins, and container locks before the first move. It’s your early-warning system.

Why It's Important

Find issues in the yard, not on a blind corner. You prevent breakdowns, violations, and unsafe surprises when the container’s mid-air.

How to Improve Pre-Trip Inspections Skills

1. Use a roll-off specific checklist: Include hoist rails, retainers, hydraulic lines, PTO function, winch/cables, hook/arm wear points, and tarp systems.

2. Go electronic: Electronic DVIRs prompt each step and timestamp defects for faster shop responses.

3. Train on the why: Understand failure modes—leaks, cracks, heat, wobble, abnormal sounds—so small clues get noticed.

4. Close the loop: Report, repair, re-inspect. Don’t roll until fixed or officially deferred.

5. Reward thoroughness: Accuracy over speed. Rushed checks miss the one bolt that matters.

Consistency breeds safety. Same order, every time.

How to Display Pre-Trip Inspections Skills on Your Resume

6. Air Brakes

Compressed air activates the braking system on heavy trucks. Understanding the system—compressor, reservoirs, valves, chambers—keeps you in control, especially under load.

Why It's Important

Heavy rigs demand reliable stopping power. Properly maintained and correctly used air brakes shorten stops and prevent runaway situations.

How to Improve Air Brakes Skills

1. Test thoroughly: Daily build-up rate, governor cut-in/cut-out, applied-leak and static-leak tests, low-air warning, and spring brake checks.

2. Adjust and inspect: Verify slack adjusters, drum/disc wear, hoses, and fittings. Out-of-adjustment brakes sideline trucks—and risk lives.

3. Use quality components: Replacement parts should match spec. Mismatched components lead to uneven braking.

4. Lubricate on schedule: Grease points per manufacturer guidance to reduce wear.

5. Know the symptoms: Pulling, fade, weak response, or air cycling too often means stop and inspect.

Trust your feet and your gauges. They talk if you listen.

How to Display Air Brakes Skills on Your Resume

7. Load Securing

Securing containers and materials so nothing shifts, slides, or spills. Proper pins, locks, chains, binders, straps, and tarps—matched to the weight and geometry—keep everything where it belongs.

Why It's Important

Unsecured loads cause crashes, injuries, and costly claims. A tight load rides steady and keeps you off the evening news.

How to Improve Load Securing Skills

1. Know the rules: Working load limits, tie-down counts, anchor points, and container lock requirements.

2. Inspect gear: No frayed straps, bent binders, cracked hooks, or damaged chain. Replace on the spot.

3. Match method to load: High center of gravity, odd shapes, wet debris—each needs a tailored approach and edge protection.

4. Double-check after movement: Re-check securement after the first few miles and after hard stops or rough roads.

5. Tarp right: Tension evenly, avoid sharp edges, and confirm visibility isn’t compromised.

Secure it like you’re the one driving behind it—because you might be.

How to Display Load Securing Skills on Your Resume

8. Hydraulic Systems

Hydraulics power the lift, tilt, and set-down of containers. Clean fluid, tight hoses, and responsive controls are the backbone of smooth hoist work.

Why It's Important

Heavy steel moves safely only when the system is healthy. Precision placement, fewer leaks, less downtime—good hydraulics make it all possible.

How to Improve Hydraulic Systems Skills

1. Preventive care: Inspect hoses, fittings, cylinders, and seals. Fix weeps before they become gushers.

2. Fluid discipline: Correct oil type, clean filters, proper levels, and contamination control. Keep air and water out.

3. Temperature control: Watch for overheating; allow cool-downs and confirm fans or coolers work.

4. Operate smoothly: Feather controls, avoid shock loading, and stabilize ground contact before cycling.

5. Lockout and PPE: Chock wheels, use props/locks, and wear gloves/eye protection during maintenance.

Quiet, smooth operation is a good sign. Noisy hydraulics are crying for attention.

How to Display Hydraulic Systems Skills on Your Resume

9. Route Planning

Choosing the most efficient path to deliver, swap, and pull boxes while threading through traffic, access limits, and facility hours.

Why It's Important

Good routing squeezes waste out of the day—less fuel burned, more stops completed, fewer late arrivals. Customers notice.

How to Improve Route Planning Skills

1. Optimize stops: Cluster jobs by proximity and time windows. Avoid crisscrossing the map.

2. Respect restrictions: Bridge clearances, truck routes, seasonal weight limits, and municipal rules can reroute your plan.

3. Mind facility clocks: Transfer stations, landfills, and scales close—and lines build. Plan around them.

4. Build buffers: Weather, construction, and delays happen. Leave room without wrecking the day.

5. Review and refine: Track actual vs. planned times and iterate. The best routes evolve.

Great routing feels boring on purpose. That’s the point.

How to Display Route Planning Skills on Your Resume

10. Customer Service

Delivering, swapping, and removing containers with care for property, timing, and communication. You’re the face of the company at the site.

Why It's Important

Smooth, courteous service builds repeat business and referrals. It also prevents callbacks and conflicts that drain time.

How to Improve Customer Service Skills

1. Confirm placement: Verify access, overhead clearance, surface strength, and exact spot before you set down.

2. Communicate clearly: Call ahead with ETAs, notify of delays, and explain constraints without jargon.

3. Set expectations: Contamination rules, load limits, weight overages, and lock/tag policies—explain the boundaries up front.

4. Document: Take photos of placement and condition. Notes and signatures reduce disputes.

5. Professional presence: Clean cab, tidy gear, respectful attitude. It travels far.

People remember how you show up as much as the box you deliver.

How to Display Customer Service Skills on Your Resume

11. Safety Compliance

Following procedures that protect you, the public, and the environment—on the road and on site. From PPE to backing protocols, it’s the daily discipline behind safe work.

Why It's Important

It prevents injuries, keeps equipment in service, avoids fines, and builds a culture where everyone goes home in one piece.

How to Improve Safety Compliance Skills

1. Train to reality: Backing with a spotter or GOAL, three points of contact, lockout/tagout, and spill response—all practiced, not just posted.

2. Inspect relentlessly: DVIRs done right, immediate defect reporting, and no rolling with unsafe conditions.

3. Follow the rules: Company speed limits, no-rider policies, seat belts always, zero distracted driving.

4. Wear the gear: Hard hat, hi-vis, gloves, eye protection, steel toes where required.

5. Engage and report: Near misses and hazards get documented and fixed, not ignored.

Safety isn’t a meeting. It’s how the job gets done.

How to Display Safety Compliance Skills on Your Resume

12. Waste Management

Transporting and disposing of waste streams—municipal, construction, industrial, and recycling—in line with environmental rules and facility requirements.

Why It's Important

Cleaner operations, fewer rejections at the scale, safer jobs, and a smaller footprint. It’s the core promise of the business.

How to Improve Waste Management Skills

1. Know the streams: What’s allowed, what’s prohibited, and what demands special handling or manifests.

2. Reduce contamination: Educate customers on acceptable materials and load limits to avoid surcharges and rework.

3. Plan for site rules: Follow landfill and transfer station policies, traffic patterns, PPE, and tarping requirements.

4. Maintain equipment: Leak-free hydraulics, good tires, and tight tarps keep the route clean and compliant.

5. Use data: Track weights, rejects, and cycle times; adjust routes and education efforts where patterns emerge.

Smart handling means fewer surprises and smoother days.

How to Display Waste Management Skills on Your Resume