Profile For Gary W.

Well the day has come,and as of monday the 22nd,i start my orientation with may trucking. Am excited,but there just that little tinge of nervousness. I know i will be ok. They told me to pack enough cloths for 7-10 days,and to be prepared to be on the road for 30 days.This will be a new chapter in my life. Now i get to find out what all you long time mentors are talking about. I am really geared up for this literally! Hope my trainer is cool. Will find out. Now my second thought for the day was,do truck drivers park and sleep in their trucks,or do they rent hotel or motel for the night? Just curious. Not that big of a issue for me. Anyway's,will keep all informed on this next chapter in my life for my new career. Will talk soon,Gary

As we come to the end of the year,and what a year,especially for myself,starting out in a new career that i thought was never possible. I wish brett and mike all the best now and in the new year ahead! I also wish all the people that have joined TT and have been actively involved in the forum's,thank you,god bless you all, and thank you for all your input,advice,help!! You all are true mentors!! The more i read articles on the trucking industry,the more it tells me that we have to stick together as a whole. We need to support,guide,help one another through the good and the bad. And as i have read many a articles, i do not always believe everything i read or hear. So, with that and the rest of my message,here we end another year,and start a fresh new year,which i can only guess will be real interesting!! Thanks again to one and all!!! Take care of yourself's,your family's,friends!!! I always say,you do not know what you got till it's gone!!! Merry christmas & Happy New Year! Gary

Just needed to get some feed back from everyone on when on the road for weeks on end,in this day and age,do drivers do bill pay or if they are single,have the post office hold the mail till they get home? I know of people that have used bill pay for years,and others say they prefer to do it the old way,mail it. So, i just had to ask. Something that i was curious about and just wanted to see. Thanks,Gary

Regarding the industry going total auto transmission's is ok. I am old school,all i have ever known,is everything from 3 on the tree,to 10,13,18 speed trannys. When the ultra shift,and the auto shift starting coming out in the last few years,my thought was you got to be kidding! They will never last or hold up. But as i have read, many pro's and con's about them,and has been said in the TT forum,that it seems like the wave of the future. It's kind of like what we grew up with,and were taught is now going by the wayside. Kind of like everything else that changes. I do not mind change,as long as it is good change,and benefits the industry and the drivers. So we go on!!!!!!! One day at a time!!!! Gary

Ok,i have a question,and it's kind of eating at me,after reading some of the general discussions from the guys on the forum about starting at a trucking company. Now that i have passed,and got my cdl, what kind of procedure do the trucking companies put you through,and is it the same that i learned at trucking school, more or less? Will there be any money that has to be put down for anything? I know every company is different, but always like to be prepared! Thanks much,Gary

After 4 weeks of cdl school, and failed backup and road test, 3 weeks later i passed everything. It took me a day to vent,and realize i made it. Now,trying to decide who i want to go to work for. Have been looking for the last 4 days,and put in some apps online to gordon trucking,may trucking,werner trucking, and will put one more in. Now i know ya can't be a nit pick when your starting out,but i would like to do 11 western states if possible. If not,then i go for OTR to where ever. This is going to be a little wearing to see who call's and offers what. I know that in the end,and after reading several forums,that things will work out one way or another. After all, i am aware you have to start from the bottom and go up. So with that,any input or suggestions would be great!

I'd say it depends on the type of freight you want to haul. But definitely pick a state with no state income tax lol.

Oregon has no state sales tax. That's why i moved out of California after living there all my life, it just got terrible. Before i moved to oregon, i looked at oklahoma. Oklahoma is a possible down the road.

Just wanted to thank everyone on the site for the support and encouragement. Was supposed to start at Prime on 2/2, but found out today that because I have a defibrillator I cannot get a CDL. Thanks for the great site Brett.

Sorry to hear about this. But, remember,do not give up,pick up the pieces and carry on!!!!!! Life does not end because of something like this,and like i always say, life is to short for any reason. Hang in there,and good luck!!!!!

It certainly does raise the spirit when your company recognizes your hard work. Congrats!

That is really great!!!! It really gives a person that boost of confidence in what they are doing day by day. Like i have seen many of times in my years, there are good loving people in this world,and then there are some, well you try to figure out why,and then just don't even bother trying. I always say thank god for our trucker brothers and sisters,and family's that we have to talk to and turn to in our every day lives driving truck.

The best of luck to you when you get back to the usa!! Thank you for your service to our country!!!!! Good luck and hang in there!!!!

I had the best experience at IITR while getting my CDL... I now have my class A with no restrictions and am able to drive doubles, triples, tanks, Haz Mat and even passenger buses... I never once felt there was anything missing in my training... They even have a double clutch simulator that was awesome off the road training. I give IITR two thumbs up or 5 stars or however you rate them.

Nick

Hi nick!! Hope i can say the same here after attending the 4 week training in albany,or. Just finished on the 21st november. Had backing and shifting problems. Will continue this week and brush up on this stuff. Not giving up. Good luck to you,and glad you had a great experience with IITR .

OK, do not give up. I just finished my 4 weeks,and failed my drive test and backup test. I need more practice,and nothing comes easy to everyone. Some do, some don't. But be patient,calm,cool!!!!!!!! Have patient with yourself,and instructor. Like the people from this wonderful website,and others have told me,practice makes perfect. And in do time you will be,and i will be professionals in this business. Got to have the strenghth,and backbone,and the will to do it.Hang in there and the best of luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whippersnapper is to me the young kids who are 30 and under. When you get to 40 maybe someone will call ya a whippersnapper. And when your over 50, it's all over!! Beginning stages of old fart!!! Hope this adds a little humor for the day,and please, don't take anything seriously!! If whippersnapper is the only thing that offends ya, your darn lucky,especially in the trucking industry!!!!!!!!!!

I heard a lot about this happening to truck drivers. My instructor at iitr school told us to make sure after we parked overnight somewhere to check and do a coupling tug test to make sure everything was secure. Then take a flashlight and go and look physically at the kingpin and make sure the locking jaws are around the kingpin. I asked him why would someone want to be rude and pull the latch lever on the fifth wheel. He told me people do it for what ever reason,or they are mad at someone for something or trying to get revenge back at a company. It's really not the smart thing to try and get caught.

Hey all,

It's been 2 or 3 months since I've chimed in, but know that I've been logging in and reading many of your blogs which has helped me to no end. Along with that, I've been studying the High Road and it's definitely built up my confidence as well. It's obvious from the studies that there's a hell of a lot more to know than any non-trucker might guess, and not stuff to take lightly either!

That being said I've finally got my start date at SAGE for December 15th in Colorado and I'll keep you guys posted in the CDL Training Diaries for any of you out there looking to choose a private trucking school that accepts the G.I. Bill. All the best to you guys out there!

Best if luck to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gary in Keizer Oregon

Thank you for all your advice and input on how to deal with the handling results from my test day. I told myself that, Gary, just pick up the pieces and carry on. Remember and study some more,and remember what i have learned from the last 4 weeks. I am really glad that there is a website like yours that i can confide in when there is doubt or questions. And it has been very helpful. So,since my last contact to you, I will start monday morning at the school yard and start practicing backups and road test and shifting. Will be taking the final test again on december 10th. Will be in touch. Thank you again for all the advice and input. Gary

4 weeks later,and i still cannot get it together. Failed road test,and backup. By the grace of god,i passed the pretrip. Shifting a freightliner standard 10speed trans,i can upshift with no problem, but downshifting is a loss. I go back december 10th to take the 2 test with the 3rd party tester again. I will give it another try. Maybe some things are meant to be,and some are not. I do not know. I do not think i have to many options left in this field. Time will tell.

Well,got started the last week of week 1 out of 4 with cdl training. So far so good. The only thing out of the training i had a problem with is the daily trip log book. That can be a real touchy thing if your not right on. So this next week, week 2 will be busy week i am sure. The instructor has already told us to start thinking very seriously about putting our applications in with a trucking company. So again, i ask for some feed back from my fellow short and long time truck drivers for your opinion. They did give us a book,called bumper to bumper,the complete guide to tractor trailer operations. I have gotten half way through the book,and will say it is very knowledgeable and informative. So with that,will keep in touch and let all know how week 2 will go. Thanks much,Gary

Just looking for some feedback about may trucking company in oregon. Have had a few people tell me their a great company to work for. Always like to get some input. thanks for the information. Gary

Hate to bother you again. Gary need's the email from Daniel B on the in cab pre trip test for air brakes. Got the email from Brett or Daniel on Oct. 14,2014. If possible, send it to me again. Want to make additional copies for my record folder at home. Thanks so much!! Really appreciate it!! Gary