Comments By Just 'G'

Thanks for the updates! Doing all this in the snow must make it extra "exciting"! It seems like a lot of people overcorrect, so that's interesting that you were undercorrecting at first. Just a matter of dialing it in, as you say. Good luck as you continue!

Yes and no on the snow. It's been the warm wet and sloppy kind so far and even with empty trailers the trucks are heavy enough to get good traction. Not to mention that I haven't taken it over about 3 MPH yet. On the plus side it's real easy to tell exatly where the tires have been.

That said we had enough melting today I discovered the practice lot is mostly gravel. By lunch time the backing lane was getting pretty polished.

Thanks Anne.

Day 2 started with pretrip practice in fresh snow while we got the backing range plowed and reset. We were able to start on backing about 1000 and then we cycled between doing up and backs through an aisle of cones and pretrip review. Veriha just runs automatics so no time wasted on shifting.

I started out undercorrecting on the backs, then had a couple good runs, then got in to overcorrecting. Hopefully I'll dial in correct-correcting in the next couple days, although I think we're going to start offsets tomorrow. Maybe overcorrecting will help for that? :)

Just don't make your next tank of fuel last 8 days or they'll start expecting everyone to do it.

Enjoy the holiday.

Day 1 started with HR paperwork. Then we went to the classroom to start logging our time and learning the pretrip.

In the afternoon they walked us through a pretrip, but it was a little cramped because we were trying to stay out of the snow. We get to go back and start doing it on our own first thing tomorrow. Then they'll start us on backing as soon as the range gets plowed. Doing this in December is going to have some intresting implications for weather.

The instructors have been very clear that they're going to push things along because Veriha is trying to make money on this. They've also been clear that the first 3 weeks are going to be all about passing the CDL exam, and other concerns will be covered later.

Psyching myself up for pretrips in the snow.

It'll be interesting to read about your experience, and all the best to you!

"Weird assessment test": Like a personality test?

Kinda, but not really. It was 100 "pick the option that best describes you", but the options were things like:

Check your mirrors regularly.

Be polite and courteous with law enforcement.

I was never really sure what they were going for with those, but they said I passed so I'm OK with it. Just for anybody else who applies, don't read too much into it.

Yeah, you'll probably be looking at some regular snow up there this time of year...

Yeah we're getting more right now. The first 2 things they gave us were refletive vests and snow cleats for the lot. Tomorrow morning we get to start the day pretripping the trucks in the fresh snow and then probably wait for the range to get plowed so we can start backing.

Since there don't seem to be any first hand accounts for Veriha's training program I figure I'll write one.

I just got the hotel in Marinette, WI. Training starts tomorrow Nov 29th at 0700.

They require you to have your CLP, DOT physical, drug tests, a physical capacity test, and basically all the paperwork out of the way before you show up. Early on they have a very weird "assessment" test that you have to pass, but everything since then has been pretty straightforward.

Week 1 will start with 3 days of paperwork and classroom stuff then it looks liket its out to the range/simulator from there.

When I got to town I found out they apparently got some snow in fresh, so that will be interesting.

If anyone has specific questions feel free to ask.

Lo K.:

I have a question. I am used to driving an automatic truck, have driven manuals before but I was never great at downshifting. My question is with rpms dropping so fast I feel that I am going to miss a downshift going up a steep grade. what is the proper technique to use going up a steep grade?

First of all I don't have my CDL yet, so feel free to ignore me, but from the CDL manual the proper gear technique for grades (up or down) is to pick the right gear before you start and just stick with it until the end. In other words: Don't shift on a grade at all. Get in the right gear before you start.

It is hard to tell how much room thete is. My first thought would be to drive through the parking lot between the building and fuel lines, then make a right, drive around, straighten the trailer and back to the door. I doubt though there is enough room for this :-) The whole setup is obviously built for box trucks.

That was basically my first thought too.

From the first pic it looks like the hashed area on the near side of the dock is full of pallets which wouldn't help any, but there's enough room under the roof of the fuel station to clip quite a bit of corner, which should make it pretty doable.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I think I'll start out with Visible for now. If that's not enough for me I should be able to upgrade to Verizon fairly painlessly.

Pacific Pearl: Since, Visible apparently gives discounts for invites do you have an invite code you'd like to share?

Thanks again,

I use Visible. Unlimited, uncapped, unthrottled 5G data on Verizon's network (Visible is 100% owned by Verizon) for $40/mo. You can also connect one device (at a time) to your phone with a bluetooth or cable connection and use your phone as an unlimited, unthrottled, uncapped hotspot. I connect my iPad Pro with a bluetooth connection. With the Xfinity app I can watch all the cable channels and movies in my truck that I get on my home cable. No satellite dish required.

The test for any mobile carrier is will they have coverage where I need it? Who cares what their coverage is like in Tampa if I drive in Seattle? On my route the true test is Wyoming/Nebraska on I80. Most networks don't have coverage there or even roaming agreements with the local carriers. I can get a great signal on Visible most of the time.

Back when I started driving I knew a driver who like to play Xbox with his friends on his down time. Unlimited data wasn't available then. He paid ~$500/mo. for a 100 GB plan!

From the FMCSA website:

On June 1, 2020, FMCSA revised four provisions of the hours of service regulations to provide greater flexibility for drivers without adversely affecting safety. Motor carriers are required to comply with the new HOS regulations starting on September 29, 2020.

Laura

And here is a link to their official summary of FMCSA HOS rules.