Profile For Old School

Eugene, I'm not a fan of learning to back a truck from YouTube. It is an eye hand coordination issue. You've already confessed to being a confirmed klutz. I think you just have to realize that backing is something that takes a lot of time to master. I'm talking years. My best advice is to purposely practice. Repetition sets the visual and muscle memory that you are needing. I'm not just talking about the practice you get at a customer's location. You need to find truck stops with space available in the middle of the day. Pull in and spend at least an hour or more practicing. The only thing I know of that helps at all with backing is just doing it. I could watch a thousand videos on backing a semi and still glean no help from them. I could spend the same amount of time actually setting up scenarios and practicing them and master it in a much more valuable way.

You may not think you have time for that kind of practice. Maybe your trainer is pushing hard for the miles. If that is the case, they need to do something to help you with your final testing before upgrading. Look, none of us were experts at backing when we went solo. You have got to focus on getting yourself set up in your own rig, and then you can figure out how to set up some time to practice. Don't let it control your mind with fears of failure. You can get this done. You just need to make the time to practice properly.

Congratulations Daniel!

You and Olga are truly blessed. I'm going to get out your way one of these days, and I expect to get to meet that little guy when I do.

Any information in that program for the tests is up to date. I know the section on logs (HOS) needs to be updated, and that is in the works right now. I'm not sure when it will be complete, but it is being re-worked. The sections you will be tested on are all up to date.

Marcin, I think you have to ask yourself why you went into trucking in the first place. Were you looking for the adventure that trucking can provide? Were you just looking for a job that paid well? I can't answer those questions for you, but I can honestly say that I would be digging my eyeballs out from their sockets if I had to make the same run every night. I know there are some folks who like stuff like that, but it's definitely not on my bucket list. I love the adventure that trucking provides me while also giving me a great income.

Old Dominion is a great operation, and they have great opportunities for those who want that sort of job. One of the great benefits is being home a lot more than an OTR driver. I get it. I just always recommend that a new driver start out as an OTR driver. It is such a well established path to gain experience. Everyone will recognize it as experience. I have seen drivers right here in our forum start out in a local job and get fired for a minor accident. Then nobody wants to touch them. They have no driving experience that counts to anyone, and they have an accident on their record. Suddenly their career is over just because they thought they had found a great opportunity.

For me, the better choice is obvious. I would accept Schneider's offer, get in one full year of safe driving and then decide if I wanted to try a job at Old Dominion. I realize that my advice is counter to most of the others who responded, but I'll just say that I call them as I see them. Prudence would cause me to go with the OTR job first, develop my skills, and then take a second look at ODFL. You want to build this into a career. I am just saying to take the safest steps to get there. Daniel B is killing it over at ODFL. He is making great money. He didn't start there. He worked into that position by spending years developing himself into a professional. I think that is the best way to go about it.

One more thing Crispin... you would probably enjoy our "Diaries" section of the forum. It is where new drivers chronicle their experiences at company sponsored training programs and private schools. You will find some good diaries in there from folks who have gone through Prime's training program. Here it is...

CDL Training Diaries

Timothy, I am truly sorry about your predicament. There is just so much in your statement that sounds odd that I don't even know where to start.

You say you've been driving for 20 years, yet you make it sound like this drug test was unusual because you didn't get to observe it! I have never observed any of my drug tests. They are always "sent off." They have to go to a lab for the actual test. That is standard procedure.

You say you can't even appeal it. That's not true. You can request a re-test. Typically they set some of your first sample aside for a re-test just in case something goes wrong (like a false positive result).

Was this a hair test or a urine test?

I know most people say don't sign a contract but I plan on staying with Prime for at least a year anyways.

Welcome to our forum Crispin!

I don't know where all you've been looking around on the web for information, but your above statement couldn't be more wrong when it comes to us. We highly recommend prople attending the Paid CDL Training Programs. In fact we have a great article on why we believe these paid training programs are the way to go. Take a look at it if you please. Prime is a great outfit and we have some of their top drivers right here in our forum.

Why I Prefer Paid CDL Training

Midnight Fox wins the clown of the day award! That was funny!

Eugene, just as much as learning to back properly takes time, it also takes time to learn to manage your lifestyle out here. It can be done. Most truckers don't give it a thought and just eat fast food at whatever truck stop they happen to stop at. Others give it a lot of diligence and make a practice of eating and exercising properly. It's just as difficult as learning to back a semi, but it's also just as rewarding when you get it right!

Your life will be your own to control as a solo driver. Don't let the career control you and manipulate your lifestyle. Learn to embrace it in the way you want it to be. You can do that, but it is a choice you make. Right now it is impossible because you are in training and you don't have the kind of control you will have when on your own. Life is about choices. As a solo driver you will get to make your own choices. All you have to do is balance your career and your health choices in a way that works for you. It sounds simple the way I just put it, but it definitely has its challenges. You'll figure it out, or you will give it up. That is going to be up to you. I am pretty sure you've got the wherewithal upstairs to figure it all out. Keep trucking my friend!

I’m still having a BLAST. It’s been an incredible personal growth experience for me.

Jared, if you are like me you will still be saying this years from now. Trucking has been one incredible journey for me. I absolutely love it. My life has been changed through trucking. It is one of the first things I ever did that made me feel, "I was born to do this stuff." I hope you continue to enjoy the journey that trucking takes you on.

Congratulations Sir! You did good!

A big Congratulations Christine!

Have they got you connected with your trainer yet? It is about to get seriously real.

Are they keeping you busy Dave?

I know they are. It can be a little overwhelming, but we'd love to hear about it!

Hey Aaron, as a general rule we believe the Paid CDL Training Programs provide the most likely path to success. That isn't just a personal belief, it is something we have watched over the years in our forum conversations. The folks who have gone through those programs are generally more prone to make it through their rookie year. That first year is a tough one. When you go through a training program where the company paid the bill for your training, they have a vested interest in your success. They have skin in the game.

They don't train people in hopes of taking them to collections for the bill. They do it because they need serious drivers. If they think you might work out, then they will get behind you and help you all the way. It becomes a win win situation. They underwrite your career and they keep you up to date with safe operations because they want you on their team.

Both Brett and I went to private schools. Since then we have developed some pretty strong feelings about why the company sponsored programs are better. That is our experience. Here is a great article that shows why we feel the way we do. Pleas take the time to read it and keep us posted on how things are developing for you.

Why I Prefer Company Sponsored Training

Good job Chris. You earned a third of a day's pay and worked a whole day to get it. Next time it will go better - I'm sure! Tarping is a bit of a trick. It takes some practice to get fast at it. Doing it well is always better than just doing it fast. If you can manage both you are really killing it!

I JUST FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR... OR SAW A GHOST !!!

Sorry to startle you Anne! I have been without water, electricity or internet for over a week now. Apparently our Texas electrical grid was not prepared for a winter storm of this magnitude. I am coming back slooowly!

I'll be back soon, but right now I am still working on getting things back to normal around here. My wife will be a lot happier when she can take a bath!

Try going to thetruckingstore.com. It is about a thirty dollar book, but they had it last time I checked.

No problem Pete. We will manage it sometime.

Why would we want our employer to be taxed for having us on the payroll? There is already a shortage of drivers and now you want to create an incentive to hire less drivers? Why does the private sector of truck stops need subsidization? They are already gouging us each time we need to make a purchase inside their stores or restaurants. The prices they charge are exorbitant.

There are a lot more privately owned cars on the road than trucks. Why don't we tax them a 100 dollars each for some additional truck parking? That makes about as much sense to me. They would like having less of us on the road at a time anyways. That makes about as much sense as what you are asking.

I feel taxed enough already. Besides there is no way of knowing if that money would actually go to truck parking or not. I still remember Barak Obama claiming he had boots on the ground for infrastructure improvements and he needed billions from congress to put those people to work improving our infrastructure. He got the money he requested and our highways are still in shambles. There never has been an accounting of that money to this day. Maybe we should just do an investigation into where all that money went and retrieve it for a taking care of a perceived truck parking shortage.

Congratulations Eugene! I am so glad to hear you managed your way through that potentially dangerous scenario.

For clarification and for those reading this in the future I'd like to point out that it isn't obvious from your post what type of jackknife situation you were in. There is a situation where the tractor's drive tires break loose (a tractor jackknife) and there is another situation where the trailer tandems break loose and begin to slide (a trailer jackknife). That second scenario is best handled by letting off the brakes and getting on the throttle. Steering will do little to correct it. The tractor jackknife is one that happens so quickly that it is not common to save it. About the only way out of one is an immediate response to the steering. I think you experienced a trailer jackknife, which is best controlled with your feet on the throttle, not with the steering wheel. I'm not picking at you. I just want to take the chance here and make this a teaching moment for anyone reading along.

We've got a great little article on this with accompanying video to explain these differing scenarios and how to handle them. I hope each of you will check it out at Dealing With Jackknifes.