Comments By Joanna

Congrats, Max! You just never know where you might end up. Good on you for sending out those apps :-)

So I am in the middle of reading Brett's awesome book and I'm at the part where he talks about knowing your chain of command at your company. It definitely sounds like working for a company where the driver managers are in control of the load planning is the best option vs companies where they are just the middle man and have less control over where you go. What companies let their DMs do the load planning? It would be nice to have a list or to hear from folks who work for such companies. Or if there is a section of this website that covers this and I missed it please let me know, thanks!

You couldn't pay me to go scuba diving. At least we can choose whether or not to be around sharks. Tornadoes though, that's a different story!

So the in the past week I have had a couple random dreams about tornados and it got me to thinking, what do truckers do if they run across a tornado? I grew up military brat and lived in some states that had tornados pretty frequently. I remember taking shelter in the bathroom or basement a few times. Pretty scary! But what would a trucker do? Anyone have any tornado stories?

Thank you 6 string! I had no idea about LTL and how it works. Great post!

I have seen female drivers who work a second shift as lot lizards...And it took all the willpower I could muster to keep from getting out of the truck and pounding them into the parking lot. Its bad enough that they are prostituting themselves.....but to pull up in a truck, get on the cb and ADVERTISE that they are there and "open for business"...yup...I have to thank God for not going to jail..... Hey Daniel.....dude...you must look like "jail Bait" to those lot lizards......Heck...even I have been propped by them !!! I learned never tell them that your hubby is in the truck....they just offer "twofers" !!!!!!

Lol, gross! I have heard they will prop anybody. And I can't believe female DRIVERS would do this! Do those no lizard signs actually work or do they bother you anyway?

Actually Daniel never say never. My company picked up a guy with 20 yrs out of trucking without having t9 go through a full blown course. Although many many things have changed and it might not be a bad idea to take the course. From eha5 I hear though its just like riding a bike:-)

Haha, thanks RG. Where's the Fun N' Games company that will hire me after a 15 year absence to ride my bike all day?

Seriously though, I'll take as much retraining as I can reasonably get. If that means I will have to redo school then I am willing and may actually prefer to do that. I have no desire to get into a rush and fail.

Dianna,

I dont have much to say on the funding for private schools as I went through Swifts program. I can say this though, Swifts program is fast.

Break down of swift:

1St Week Mon - Wed paper work and class work Thurs Straight line backing (you have to pass this to continue on, if you fail you are out) This was at the phoenix academy, not sure of others Fri-Sun Straight line plus Pre-trip

2nd week Mon - More Pre trip Tues - Pre-trip test (after lunch those who failed the first time will be given another shot, those that passed will start skills/shifting) Wed - Skills (Straight Line, Off Set backing and Parallel parking) you will also be learning to shift mid after noon or on thurs/fri + pre trip Thur - More skills and pre trip Fri - Skills test + more pre trip Sat - Repeat skills test + pre trip + practice more skills Sun - (this may be differerent now) my group got the day off for a "34hr reset"... off at 4pm thurs tell 5am Mon

3rd week Mon-Wed Driving and shifting. (they start you out slow. hwy with little traffic and then by mid day take you into town and what not) Thurs Pre exam for driving. Tell you what you need to work on. Fri Final exam. Combines everthing, Pre-trip to start, skills and then driving. Upon completion you will get your CDL. you will also be going home that night or next morning depending on bus sched.

that is what I went through. You being in OR you may have the option to go to Lewiston, ID. I've been there a few times as a driver, they have a scalle house on top of a large hill that they let you guys practice going through. you also learn hills there too. unlike Phoenix which was flat.

as I said, I cant say anything on private schooling, but If the classes are smaller, and slow then perhaps that will be a good route to go.

Good luck, hope this info helps you,

David

Hey, David, thanks for breaking down Swift's driving school. I am thinking about attending in Lewiston, ID since it's the only company sponsored program in my area. That is if they allow folks who already have a CDL to go through it. How long do you get to practice before they test on the straight back? It looks like it's the first thing you do out of the classroom. Do they at least let you practice first??

Hi and gosh thanks for the information about the scholarship that you know. i am excited and ready to get started, as I assume you are to. Oh and I am only down the road a little from you. I live in Albany. Ladydi/Diana

Hey, almost neighbor! I am excited to get started, although my situation is slightly different than yours. I used to drive OTR a long time ago but it has been so long (15 years) that even though I still have my Class A CDL, I will need to be re-trained. I am currently debating if I should go through truck driving school again (if that is even an option for me) or if a refresher course will be enough. I certainly can't afford to fail a driving test and I wanna make sure I get it all locked back in before I have to pass a company road test.

We should definitely keep each other in the loop since we live in the same area. I will let you know what I find out. Feel free to PM me anytime.

Wow, thanks for all the beautiful pics! That looks so amazing. I bet the bike ride back down was a lot of fun. I can't wait until I can start doing this myself. Until then, I will have to live vicariously through you.

It's not all fun and games though. Yesterday was a 16 hour work day for example. You have those fun days, but the typical day is long and tiring filled with obstacles and challenges at every corner.

I used to drive OTR many years ago. I remember having to sit in the middle of Nebraska for three days once because it was Labor Day weekend and there were no loads. Having a bike at times like that this time around would make a world of difference!