Its been awhile since my last post. After I completed the 15 day training period I have to go on the road with a trainer for 28 days. I am in my 14th day and so far everything is going well. I have logged 3000 miles so far and about 25 backups, alot of night driving and city driving.
If you plan on going to school with my company you will have to complete the 28 days and log 10,500 miles running team with a trainer. You need to do at least 40 backups. The sleeping is ok, bunk beds in a truck is working well. We have a tv/dvd, refrigerator, etc. The truck is a KW t2000 and is only a 9 speed but works well, lots of pulling power.
The pay isn’t that great, but its training. The first two weeks you get $425 and the other two weeks of training you get $500 and it is put on a comdata card which is just a credit card. I then take that money and transfer it to my bank account and pay my bills that way. After the training I will get .29 cents a mile which isn’t that good, but its a start, after 6 months its up to .30 cents and so forth. Right now I’m not just doing it for the money, but also for the traveling and to have some fun. So, far driving is interesting, the people you meet and the sights you see are excellent.
I like this company. One of the reasons is that if you want to leave then you leave, there’s no contract. All they ask is that you pay back the $3000 for the school, but after the 28 days of training if you do not like it, you did get paid the $1850 for your time so its not so bad. If you stay for a year you get the training paid for. I guess the reasoning is simple – if you like it then they want you, and if you don’t then they don’t want you behind the wheel of one of their trucks bitching about it.
With the new electronic logs, which I like, you do have some free time, but for the first two weeks Central makes you keep a paper log in case the electronic one goes down you know how to legally do a log. The electronic log basically starts logging you as ‘driving’ if you drive for more than 7/10 of a mile. if you stop, it takes you on duty and not driving, if you want to go into the sleeping birth you need to tell the computer. The key to saving your on duty hours is to use the sleeping birth as much as possible.
Well, time is short, but thats up to date. Hope you all have a safe spring.
Scott
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I liked this blog. I never ever used the comdata card like you are telling about so I am not familar with its use for that purpose. Be sure to get all the truck stop driver payback cards as they will come in very handy for you. It is a pain to have several from the ones who offer it, but it is worth it to have 1 cent per each gallon of fuel purchased put on the cards so you can then get your FREE DRINK/FOOD when you get enough on your account. Does not take long to get enough on there to get a meal.
I used a card one night to get a $12 steak dinner which cost me about 50 cents out of my pocket. And just think of the fun you can have with that when someone asks you “wonder if the steak dinner is expensive here?” You can then say that it costs 50 cents! I had a lot of fun with that when I did it.
The pay is not the best but you have to start somewhere and you do need to remember that you are getting paid a set amount each week during training. As long as the $ come in, that is what counts. You have to look at the bigger picture which will then make it all worthwhile. So many drivers only see NOW and do not look ahead. I would rather get 29 cents a mile and keep that truck moving verses getting paid 38 cents a mile and do lots of sitting and get 1800 miles a week in. This is not worth the pay and you are gone from home for doing nothing and getting paid nothing while sitting.
I would like you to tell us more on the electronic logs as many of us do/did not have that and it is something that is being asked about all the time. In time, other carriers will be going to that by choice or by government rules.