Profile For no one

I'm a trucker too, a class A cdl holder, and i must say, it's rare to find a nice trucker, but when i do, i relish the moment and thank my lucky stars. my overall experience with truckers is not good. most have come at me in a negative, narrow-minded, hateful, and/or judgmental way. that's just my experience that i am sharing. it's amazing to me i ever got my license cause i had to deal with so many dill-weeds to get it. happy trucking and i'm glad backing went so well for you. are you a class A cdl holder yet or are you in CDL school? just curious.

So I am just finishing my first week with my trainer and we have covered numerous miles. Today we were 200 miles from our final and we received a message from dispatch that our appointment time has been pushed back 48 hours.

My trainer instructed me to pull into the next TA and pull forward just passed the pumps, so I did as I was told.

He then looks at me with a huge grin and asks me "Guess what we get to do?" My first response was to get a shower to which he said no. Next response was eat to which he said no.

So at this point I was afraid to know what he had planned. He smiled again with a toothless smile and giggles like an evil schoolgirl and said the dreaded words "backing practice". I'm in no way a bad backer but honestly I need a lot of "practice" but I dread doing it in a truck stop with people watching.

Being it was only about 11 AM there were plenty of empty spots. We picked the back row and after screwing up my first three parking jobs with my trainer coaching me through them he had me pull around the row and instructed me to park between two trucks.

Oh crap what do you mean I can't park with two empty spots on the sides. He said good luck this is the real deal now. He said I was on my own for this one but he would spot me so I didn't hit anything expensive. He said if I could get it in without much trouble I could shut it down and go eat and shower.

He got out and about that time I seen three other drivers approaching and I was hoping they weren't mad. One of them had stopped his truck in the isle so I figured he was upset I was taking too long.

To my surprise they all wanted to watch and give me pointers. Next thing I knew I was on my fourth trip around the row and I had parked in about seven different spots.

One of the biggest things that helped was one of them put an orange marker about ten feet straight out from the drivers side line of the space I was attempting to get in. He said when the tandems hit that point crank the wheel and chase the trailer. To my surprise the trailer went straight in.

I was very appreciative that everyone wanted to help coach me and give me pointers. My preconceived notion that all drivers are rude and hateful was totally wrong.

Thanks guys.

I'd contact the company you drive for or DOT for a list of approved meds, i hope you feel better real soon

Will taking Sudafed give you a false positive for Methamphetamine ? I have a bad sinus cold and my nose won't stop running. Can anyone recommend anything ? I test on Thursday 10/1 and want to schedule orientation asap

Thanks and happy trucking !

For all the Veteran drivers, Rookie drivers and those aspiring to join the ranks of Americas truck drivers. The weather is starting to change and along with it comes more rain, wet leaves on the road and the lovely snow and ice. Take your time, Be Safe and be patient.

0h, nevermind i thought you were talking about cdl school, let us know about western express, i'm going to total transportation in mississippi, good luck to ya !

I got tired of waiting to go to is ..still 2 weeks away .. So im going to western express Start sunday.. Im very excited I know they dont have good reviews ..but I got a good feeling im going with my guts . All the reviews are very old

Ask for that info from your recruiter at stevens, they should be able to tell you, but most trucking companies want a 3 year mvr from any state you've held a license in.

To contact a recruiter at prime, here's an email for my recruiter, she was really good.

babrown@driveforprime.com

the reason i went with prime is cause they pay you $200 per week while you are in CDL training i don't know who else is doing that.

i have no interest in getting any financial compensation for giving you this info, i am also not eligible for it since i do not drive for prime, but i trained there.

Hey i sent you a private message about prime that i hope will help you.

Sorry for the title I'm a video game nerd and the note does say make the subject memorable.

Anyway, Can anyone give me a pro/con on Swift and Prime because all I can dig up is what I can find on the Company Sponsored Training section. and I'm kind of leaning toward Swift because they're the only ones to have a recruiter actually get back to me other than a single email. But on the same token My sister (whose father happens to be a trucker for FedEx, and is friends with at least 3 Truckers that I know of) told me Swift is a No no, which directly contradicts the Training review Here and everything else I've read so far. I really want to make a better life for my tiny family and working 13 hours a week at Kmart is not cutting it which has led me to Trucking Truth.

I gotta say prime - but to each his own

In tennessee it's 3 psi with foot off the brake, and 4 psi with foot on the brake after initial air loss, consult your instructor or state manual

I know for sure that prime and total transportation allows pets, and total does not require that you be married if you wanna take a significant other

Everyone i talk to says roehl, hope that helps

just got my cdl, starting training october 5th, any advice for me?

thanks.

Thanks beth, i'm new to trucking, i start my training on the 5th, i guess i gotta wait for the information since no one here seems to have it, thank ya hon

Wow. I consider insurance part of the compensation package and figured they'd have those numbers 'cause if I needed insurance, I'd be asking before deciding where to go. Some phone systems will get you a person if you enter incorrect numbers too many times. Might be worth a shot.

The recruiter gave me an 800 number to call for that info and when i did, i got a request for a driver ID which i don't have, so i was not able to proceed any further with the call, which is why i was asking if anyone else worked for total. thank ya hon. have a great day.

Have you tried asking your recruiter? They should have that info.

Thanks so much, i really appreciate that. take care !

Congrats Missi. What I find sad is our ladies forum seems quite dead so I typically use the general one. But welcome! Maybe we can change that :-)

i am starting training at total october 5th.

i will need an individual health and dental plan.

anyone know how much they deduct for that?

planning on getting married too.

what is the cost for 2 people.

we're in our 40s one smokes one does not.

can you just ball park it for me or just tell me what you're paying?

i'm just trying to get a general idea.

i can't get through to the insurance line because they ask for a driver ID and i don't have one yet.

thanks

It takes a village to raise a trucker, i went to prime cdl school too, i didn't get my cdl there, i went to another school after i left prime and got a cdl in tennessee. the pretrip i posted him is from the pre-trip sheet they gave me when i was there and i'm glad you posted the links and photos for him too. i'm sure he will be helped by all your info. :-)

For information on Primes Pretrip Inspection click the link below.

Daniel B.'s Pretrip Inspection (Prime Edition)

That's so cool to give him all those pics and links :-)

any advice? i'm starting at total transportation next week. just got my cdl recently.

Hey i'm missi, gettin your permit BEFORE you go is a very good plan. you can just simply transfer it when you get there if it's not from certain states, so call the missouri dmv in springfield and ask them if they accept the permit from the state you will be taking the exam in. i took my cdl training at prime. my advice? start studying for the pre-trip now, before you get there, some instructors won't let you on their trucks until you can demonstrate you know quite a bit of the pre-trip. so when do you start prime? here's part of the pre-trip. it's the most important part, cause if you miss any part of the air brake section, it's an automatic fail. if you wanna pm me i will copy and paste the full pre trip for you. also i will give you a link to a free study guide for the pre-trip. https://knoxvillegirl68.wordpress.com/149-2/ -------------------------------------------- missouri pre-trip [memorize before going to school in missouri] --------------------------------------------

pre trip air brakes and in cab -------------------------------------

memorize this before you go to prime there may have been changes to the pre trip but at least you will have some idea of what to do

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in cab and air brakes

if you miss any thing about the brakes it's an automatic fail on your pre trip

be sure to explain what you are gonna do BEFORE You do it not while you are doing it otherwise you could get disqualified

remember as long as you don't say "this concludes my inspection of [ area of the truck]" you can go back and correct yourself and repeat something if you think you did something wrong, but once you say you're done, you're graded and you can't go back

---------------------------------

mr examiner i will now begin my in cab inspection

my seat belt is properly mounted and secure not ripped or frayed adjusts, latches and unlatches properly

i have a fire extinguisher behind the seat it's properly mounted and secure it's fully charged

i have 3 reflective triangles under the bunk

i have spare electrical fuses in the glove box

i will now perform a safe start i will make sure the transmission is in neutral i will depress the clutch fully i will turn key on and check the abs light then i will start the engine

now i will check my guages

the voltometer is charging to between 13-14 volts

the oil pressure is rising to the normal operating range

the water temperature is rising to the normal operating range

the air pressure should build to 120-125 psi or to governor cut out

the city and air horns work -pull the air horn, press the city horn

the windshield and mirrors are clean with no cracks, breaks, or obstructions and the mirrors are adjusted to my needs

the windshield wipers and washers work properly [ press to get the washer fluid going ] wipers are properly mounted and secured, the blades operate smoothly, and the blades are not cracked or dry rotted

the heater and defroster work properly [ turn them on and put your hands up on the dash to feel the hot air then turn them off]

the lighting indicators work, left turn, right turn, four ways, and high beams, point each out on the dash board

now i will check my parking brakes i will first test my trailer brakes i will set the trailer brake [ pull the red button out ] and i will release the tractor brake [ push the yellow in ] i will then press the accelerator lightly to give a light tug on the trailer the trailer brakes work i will now test my tractor brake i will set the tractor brake [ pull the yellow out ] and i will release the trailer brakes [ push the red in ] i will then press the accelerator lightly to give a light tug on the tractor the tractor brakes work

i will now check my service brakes i will first make sure both brakes are released [ push in red and yellow] i will then pull forward to 5 mph then i will apply the service brake to see if the vehicle pulls to the left or to the right it did not pull to the left or right so my brakes are adjusted properly

if you are on level ground you should not have to chock tires, be guided by instructor

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i will now test my air brakes

i will roll down my windows so i can listen for brake sounds

i will first make sure my air pressure is 120-125 psi or to governor cut out

i will put the truck in the lowest gear

i will turn my engine off, then turn on the electrical only

i will make sure both protection valves are pushed in which will release the parking brakes

i will now perform the applied pressure test i will press the brake pedal hard as i can for one minute to make sure i do not lose more than 4 psi in one minute WHILE LISTENING FOR AIR LEAKS mr examiner will you time me [ then press the pedal while you are being timed] i did not lose more than 4 psi in one minute

i will now test my warning light and buzzer to do this i will pump the brake pedal til the warning light and buzzer come on at or before 60 psi [ then start pumping] as you can see the warning light and buzzer works because they came on at or before 60 psi

i will now test my tractor protection valves i will pump down on the pedal til both tractor protection valve and the parking valve pops out which will be between 40 and 20 psi [ then start pumping ] as you can see the protection valves work

this concludes my inspection of the in cab and air brakes ---------------------------------