Comments By Nathan S.

Thank you Anne and tell the hubby that I said thank you as well! Can't wait to report the good news tomorrow.

Nathan S.,

Prayers abound from 2.5 hours south of ya, from Anne & the hubby person Tom.

He's actually on his way to Perrysburg with a delivery, NOW!! :)~

I'm ALL UP in your corner, man!!!!!!!!!!

~ Anne ~

Day 12 End of school....

When I arrived in Perrysburg, OH on May 9th, I didn't know what to expect. I was nervous, excited, hesitant, optimistic, and concerned. Wide range of emotions to say the least. I've never done anything quite like this before. Going out of state, away from friends, family, and my comfort zone. Taking a chance on finding a new career, a new beginning, a chance to find happiness, and let's face it, more money.

I found the last 16 days to be a roller coaster of emotions and success. Learning to drive a truck was actually the easy part. Learning how to control the truck, especially in reverse, well...that's another. All I've learned, all I've seen, heard, and experienced is only the tip of the iceberg. Knowing the learning will not stop or at the very least, slow down for many months to come is both exciting and motivating. It's cool learning a new skill. Knowing that you have a skill set that not everyone does/has. Driving an 80,000 lb truck is nothing to take lightly. My life and those of the ones around me are literally in my hands. I know that I can't take a day off mentally ever again. I must be alert, ready, focused, and engaged at all times when I'm moving down the highway.

I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to go to CFI. The few people I've been in touch with so far are genuinely so kind and welcoming. CFI is taking a chance on me and that is also something I don't take lightly. I look very forward to working hard, and keeping their customers, and property in the best of care!!

Tomorrow is the biggest day in my life that I've had in about 21 years. (when my daughter was born) I'm not going to lie and say that my nerves are settled or that I'm cool, calm, and collected. LOL Do I feel ready? 100% YES!! Do I know what I have to do tomorrow? 100% YES!! All I have to do is execute what I know to do. Seems so simple on my screen, yet...so complex at the same time. I know I have to get out of my own head. I know I have to have the confidence to succeed. I also know that I've done everything I'm going to be asked to do tomorrow, at least 100 times now. So I have to just do it. Plain and simple!!

If you are reading this tonight, I appreciate the prayers. If you are reading this on some other day down the road, I'll still take a prayer HAHA

I will keep posting updates as I move from school to orientation at CFI as well as my finisher/training time with a driver mentor. After all...this isn't the end but rather the beginning of all I have to learn.

Thank you to those that have contributed to these posts. For those who have encouraged me, taking the time to help me. Sincerely, THANK YOU!!! Please do not think I take that for granted. It means the world to me!

Have a wonderful night, stay safe, and here's to a future CDL holder in roughly 16 hours from now!!

Day 11 Start of the final week

Man does time fly! It literally feels like yesterday when I checked into my hotel room and pondered what lay before me in the coming days and weeks. Here I am, 12 hours away from walking through the doors for my last day of schooling. It's really bittersweet actually. I'm SOOO ready to be done with the training school. I just want to head to Joplin, and get started with CFI. ON the other hand, I've met some really really great guys and I'm gonna miss seeing them. LOL I know it's not super trucker-like to be all in my feels but...I'm kinda built that way.

Today, they threw us a curveball. Instead of heading out on the road, we started on the range/pad for backing practice. I decided that it would be a good idea to start at the beginning and do all the maneuvers that I've learned. So I did a straight-line back. No issue. Followed it up with roughly 5 offset back reverse lane-change maneuvers. Two or three to the right and the same on the left. Not as smooth as I would have liked but I literally haven't done this maneuver since day two of class, 15 days ago. The great thing about today is, I was able to correct and get the trailer into the lane without blowing the whole maneuver. So in short, I have been able to take all I've learned and successfully apply it to fix poor set-ups.

I then moved to my old nemesis the parallel parking maneuver. Started with the box to the driver's side and it was a rocky start. However, after a few attempts, I got it in the box. Very shallow finishing park job, but passing, nonetheless. Did both sides (left and right box) a few times and moved over to the alley dock maneuver. The particular tractor they had in the alley dock spot had these flared out fairing just behind the doors and the mirrors even fully pushed out, did not allow me to see the rear of the trailer. I couldn't even see the rear of the trailer looking out the window. I told them if I were to win the lottery, I'd come back and burn that tractor to the ground and purchase the school a new one!! (extremely frustrating experience) So yes, I got the maneuver done three times but took many pull-ups and even a couple of cones paid the price.

I'm ok with struggling when it's caused by me. I'm ok, knowing I'm new and can't nail every single maneuver with ease. However, I have NO patience for crappy, poorly maintained, and old outdated equipment. That is my number one complaint about this school. The range/pad trucks are absolute garbage. It made everything SO much harder than it needed to be to perform the maneuvers.

I digress....

We did get out on the road today and I almost died at the hands of an amazon prime semi-truck. I was driving down north I-75 in early rush hour traffic. (around 3:30pm) I just merged onto 75 from I think 475? I was working my way over to the right, as the interchange comes in from the left side of the highway. A very nice 4 wheeler let me get over into the right lane as my exit was coming up within a mile or so. Up ahead I noticed a semi on the shoulder with 4 way flasher on. I looked to my driverside mirror there was no way I could get over. This amazon prime truck started rolling down the shoulder and started to merge into my lane roughly 500 feet ahead of me while I was slowing down from 60 mph. He had all his driver's side wheels over the white line when I started to pass him, now I'm pushed into the middle lane with cars on my side. Still braking, now harder than I was before, I desperately was riding between a semi and 4 wheelers who were freaking out about my abrupt lane departure.

I know I probably should have slowed down sooner. I was distracted in my attempt to merge into the right lane and probably noticed the semi later than I should have. I also probably should have blown my horn at the amazon truck in case he didn't see me?? (doubt that was the case) Anyway, no damage done, but much learned about NEVER allowing yourself to become so singularly focused on ONE task on the road that you neglect the ever-constant need to be proactive, and alert to everything else going on around you!!

Ended the day with more pre-trip and in-cab inspection w/ mandatory brake inspection. This I can do, and actually do, in my sleep now. Every night before bed I rehearse the full pre-trip in its entirety before falling asleep.

One last day boys and ladies...then testing on Wednesday. My nerves will probably be the main topic of my post tomorrow night.

Stay safe and have a great night!!!

I'm currently enrolled in a company-sponsored trucking school and you shouldn't be worried about looking silly. We ALL are going to make mistakes during the training period and I'm sure while out in the real world driving. The biggest point of trucking schools (other than obtaining your CDL) is to make sure your mistakes aren't safety mistakes that cause an accident.

I personally have stalled the truck more times than I could count my first week. I've crushed cones and even asked some pretty stupid questions in class LOL (I conveniently left those out of my training diary LOL)

I'm in class with a 42-year-old man that has never looked under the hood of his own car let alone a semi-truck. So he struggled for 5-7 days learning the pre-trip because he had no idea what he was looking at or being able to relate part names to certain parts of the vehicle i.e. suspension, brakes, etc. He overcame that and is now performing the whole pre-trip with passing accuracy.

If this industry excites you and is what you want to do, go for it!!! If it's a passion, you'll succeed!

I think the biggest advantage of paying for a private trucking school is the time of the training. Most of the schools I've read about are 4 weeks to 4 months long. That is WAAAAY longer than company-sponsored training programs. I'm currently in a company-sponsored training program and my class is 12 days total of training. Then 21 days with a driving mentor through the company I'm committing to.

Some people say that isn't long enough to be safe. Some feel that is more than enough time to learn to drive a truck as most of what you're going to learn is hands-on, on the road anyway?

I'm not sure which school of thought is most correct. I guess it depends on your personal financial situation and comfortability with driving an 80,000 lb semi. Also, how quickly you want to obtain that CDL? The right answer I believe will lie with your answers to those questions. Either way is a good way to get a CDL IMO.

This made me laugh harder than it probably should have

*axles. At least I assume that's what he meant. There may have been 3 guys named Axel on the truck who had trouble with backing, but that seems less likely.

Hey Chris!! Welcome to the CFI family!! I’ll be there Monday and Tuesday in class as well. So if you think of it, don’t be a stranger and say hi! Trainco has quite a few great instructors. Soak up the info they provide. Take what you can from each of them cause you will hear different things but it all works together. I’m always available for questions or support if you need someone to talk too.

Thanks for following along on the thread!

Hey Nathan, it's been great reading through your progress the last couple weeks. I'm sure you'll do great testing out, good luck!

I'll be starting my training at Trainco in Ohio for CFI on Monday!

I could never forget you Anne!! Glad to have you on Team Nate!! Hehe seriously tho thank you!! Means so much

I'm still with ya too, hun! You GOT this.

~ Anne ~

When you test out, DO NOT think about anybody watching you. Be in your own head though, thinking one step ahead. Think but don't overthink it.

After you've been driving a few years, then you can relish having others watch you do the really tough backs, or screwing up the easy one some days at the truck stop. Both will happen.

Like Pack Rat said stay in your own head. It's similar to me finding a spot later than I planned. Trucker Path says some spots. Well all I need is one. That's my thought. Keep positive thoughts in your head. So many people have come before you and passed. You get 3 tries on each portion. Piece of cake.

Thanks, Packrat and BigScott!! I promise I'm trying very hard on staying positive mentally. I haven't practiced this much in my life. However, it's something I try to do each day. I have made a friend down here and he is right there all day long telling me to shut up or get out of my head if something comes out negative or doubtful. Having someone walk through this with me is more valuable than I ever would have imagined. I'm so grateful for all the support and we are going to get this done boys!!!!

I've debated responding to your post since I first read it a day or two ago. I'm literally still in CDL school, so I can't comment on much of what you're curious about. However, being someone who is NOT from a trucking family, or very experienced in the lifestyle of a trucker. I had concerns too.

What information I can provide to you is this.... Getting a CDL has been single-handedly one of the hardest things I've ever attempted to do, and it's not done yet. I test out on Wednesday. From what I can tell, you NEED to be committed to doing this, if you're going to do it. Don't come at it half-hearted or you probably won't make it through school and you'll have an extremely large new debt.

What others think about the decision, shouldn't matter. Does your wife approve? Is this something that can enhance or better your quality of life for your family and yourself? If the answers are Yes to this, then that's all that matters! Will it be hard on you and your family, HELL yeah!! Most rookie truckers don't typically jump right into daily hometime jobs. (it's not impossible but I don't think its the norm) So you'll be on the road for potentially weeks at a time.

There are so many things you can buy to help ease your back pain or make the seat more comfortable for yourself while driving so. I don't think trucking naturally ruins your body unless you are flatbed or a full-touch freight driver. (lots of companies or mostly, if not all, no-touch freight)

My point is this, do what is best for YOU and YOUR family. Leave the rest! Research, research, research!!! Watch youtube videos, devour all the GREAT info on this website provided free by great members and the owner of this site. If you still think it's what you want to do then good luck!! We are all here to help and provide sound advice (hopefully)