Comments By Jared McClure

Just finished up my second week with Swift's academy in Phoenix today. First week went by very smoothly, passed the pre-trip evaluation with flying colors and found the straight line backing practice to be considerably boring (too easy :P).

Second week was a bit rougher with "offset parking" and parallel parking. I didn't quite catch on with it until the very last day of practice, but when I took the evaluation this morning I didn't make a single mistake (didn't lose a single point!) on any of the three backing maneuvers they evaluated us on (straight line, offset and parallel).

Now the class gets a day off tomorrow and we will start on the road training portion of their program. I'm a bit nervous about it but I'm confident that I will get through it and pass the next evaluation and then pass my CDL test.

Woo, that took forever. Brett, you really got to up that character limit for me!

Anyways, a few general tips:

If its rubber - ABC

If it has fluid/air going through it or in it - Not leaking.

If its mounted (almost everything is)- PMS

If its metal or some other hard surface- CBB

Memorize this and you'll ace it! Any questions?

Thank you Daniel! Especially for these particular tips which should be invaluable to keep in mind while going through the process!

Good luck... Just started at Swift's Phoenix location earlier this week myself.

But did he ever explain who this Mexican guy named Jesus is to his former employer?

I just returned from a sleep study. I will say its the most miserable thing in the world next to my ex wife. at about 1230 they came in told me I met the criteria for a cpap. They placed it on and immediately I felt as if I couldn't breathe. I tried it 3 times before I said enough. I went back to sleep slept on my stomach like I normally do and no issues. The tech said that there were dental devices that worked for those who cannot wear a cpap. By not being able to wear the machine does this spell the end before I even get started?

I'm assuming when you felt like you couldn't breathe, that you had difficulty with exhaling.. In that case, you need to try a CPAP machine with a "C-Flex" or "A-Flex" option that will decrease the pressure during exhalations, which makes breathing with a CPAP mask on much easier for some people.

I have planned on losing 10 to 20 lbs or so, just to be healthier, plus the benefit of dropping the blood pressure, as well.

Having sleep apnea is no joking matter: it is certainly contributing to your high blood pressure and possibly to your weight issues as well, because it can lower your metabolism. Sleep Apnea and Related Health Conditions

If you truly have sleep apnea, you need to get treatment for it regardless of whether or not you wish to get into the trucking industry.

Trucking Companies That Hire Inexperienced Drivers

It seems to me that would depend on your location and on whatever specific issues are important to you.

This site does have a list of companies offering company sponsored training, which can be found here.

I would click on that link and take a look at what it says about each school and decide which one is best for you.

That's a lot better... I had a hard time looking at the map the other way and I like how you click on the persons name and it highlights them on the map.... Thanks brett

You bet!

Yeah, the old version obviously wasn't mobile-friendly at all. Useable in an emergency, maybe. This new template we're putting across the website is super mobile friendly. The tracker was a tricky one to get functioning on mobile but it works pretty darn good now. I dig it.

Any possible way to be able to go to a user's profile or send them a private message from the tracker? This way if you find someone in the same area as you and want to ask to meet for a lunch stop, you have an easy way to contact them.

Thanks Jared, figured I wasn't the only one that has had issues. Fortunately my machine has the SD card, so that part is just a matter of getting the report printed out. It just bites when things are going along smoothly and then you hit a snag. But I guess I need to get used to that if I'm going to make it in trucking! LOL Good luck with your training.

Yeah, it was pretty frustrating for me.. I had quit my previous job and gone to Swift's academy, to be told on my second day I'd have to get a new CPAP machine.. and use it for 30 days. So I got to play the waiting game, while unemployed, for the past month or so.. I am glad that I'll finally be back at it tomorrow (2/9).

I had the same issue with the CPAP machine.. I had to purchase a new machine with data capability... And then use it for 30 days before I was able to complete the physical. So make sure you have at least 30 days worth of CPAP data on your machine... and that your machine has a SD card so that you can remove it and connect it to computer to print out the information.