Comments By Bush Country

To anyone watching this thread:

I failed my permit test miserably! i spent 3 hrs trying to get my paperwork in order while dealing with surly DPS bureaucrats. when I got to the testing area, i was all frazzled having been there as long as i had wearing 2 masks and dealing with no less than 6 different people trying to get tested.

I sit down and the first 7-8 questions look nothing like what I have studied so far across three different testing platforms and multiple youtube videos.

I dragged my ass out of there with feeling pretty frustrated, but I will be back!

Have you been back to re-test? If not -

Be sure to download the Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook from the DPS. There is an additional chapter (Section 14) that is specific to the Texas test. It is the first section of the test given, and you have to pass it to continue to the other sections. If you did all of your studying for the permit online, even the High Road program, you will not have seen this information.

I failed my written permit test the first time I took it because of this section. I saw it and read it but didn't really study it. Live and learn as they say.

Thanks for the update; I hear ya!

Any chance of going BACK to Knight, at some point??

~ Anne ~

Anne,

Isn't your plan to get back on the road in a little over a month? Are ya counting the days?

If I were to have to go back to driving, then Knight would be my first choice. I have no complaints about them.

But (ain't there always a "but"?) -

I cannot see going back to driving unless the oilfield has a repeat of March, 2020. With the current regime trying to kill the oil business, I reckon that's always a possibility.

Any new updates this quarter, Bush Country?

The training was great. I went solo for awhile, then the oilfield called. As we say in the oil patch - cash talks, bs walks.

So I'm back in the oilfield for now.

(By the way, what is your governed speed with your company?)

FWIW - Davy, Old School, and I are at Knight. 63 on the pedal, 65 on cruise.

I am finishing up my time with my trainer and have set my initial goal to be 2500 a week. If I can do anything over that it’ll be lagniappe.

While I have little experience, and Im not a flatbedder, My DM specifically made sure that I request my home time in writing both over the Zonar (qualcom) and via text to him. He also said to remind him as I started getting close to it. In addition, barring an emergency, they need at least two weeks notice if possible so that they can get it routed that way. I also let him know if Im flexible on the dates or if they are hard dates.

Guess what Im saying is that perhaps to prevent that type of thing from happening again, communication is the key. I was vague and ambiguous the first time I requested home time and as a result, they just kept running me until I clarified the protocol.

Thanks for posting this Davy.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mom, B.C. ~ Sincerely.

Glad training is going well for you, tho! I'm excited for the next 'week' coming up, for ya! Pix of the truck, when you get it!! :)

~ anne ~

Thank you Anne.

She had vascular dementia and had been in decline for over a year. She was almost 92 years old. It has been said that dementia is “the long good-bye”. I agree with that. I chose to go ahead and get my CDL when I did because I had no way of knowing when she would go. It could have been a couple of more years.

In training news - I had a 610 mile day yesterday followed by 550 today. Since my trainer has been driving a little too, I’m running on recaps and getting good miles. Four days to go!

Hi. I know you are busy with training, any updates if you have a moment to squeeze them in? Hope all is going well.

Yep, staying busy.

I got started later than Stephen T. because I ended up with an extra week off. I finished in Phoenix on a Friday and got home Saturday morning. My Mom, who had been in memory & hospice care passed away on Sunday. I spent most of the week dealing with that.

Week 1: El Paso to Memphis, back to El Paso, back to Memphis, then Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, back to Memphis. Currently on a local run and live unload. After this, it is over to another customer and a live load going to Cheyenne, WY.

I have an excellent trainer. After reading so many horror stories about trainers I realize I have been fortunate. We got to the terminal early last night and spent a little over an hour practicing backing, before laundry & a shower. We set out some cones to give me a restricted space instead of using all the room available. One of the backs I did, which is sort of non-standard, is a 180 back into a space three truck widths over. Set up is everything!

One more week with the trainer, then I test out and get my own truck.

I am 63 and starting my second week on the road with my trainer.

Any updates, Mr. Bush Country?

Hope all is 'moving right along,' good sir!!

~ Anne ~

It seems there's a shortage of trainers so I am - finally - meeting up with my trainer in El Paso tomorrow. First load is going to Fontana. Yay! Los Angeles on 10 for my first load. What could be better?

Is there any place on this site where i can find how exactly how the process of getting a sponsered trucking company works from start to finish? I need to start getting my ducks in a row. I dont know if they do all checks on a potential driver before I make the journey or when I get there? Will I know if im accepted before I get there? f I am do they give me time to go back home and finish closing my life b4 I actually start? I need to know because I have to let go a disabled man I take care of who lives with me but I cant until I know for sure if i am accepted by the company. once I let him go theres no getting him back. If I have to be at the company for all the process and accepted or not I could always put him on respite for a couple weeks tillI find out and be able to come home straighten things out here then start school. Thanks

Here's how it worked for me at Knight Transportation: I applied online. I talked to a recruiter. I was hired (accepted into CDL school). I went to Phoenix, did the three week school, and passed the CDL exam. I did an additional week of training that Knight calls Top Gun. I went home, went to the DPS (other states - DMV), and got my paper CDL. I am now waiting on a trainer. It looks like it will be 3 - 5 more days until I get with one. I think the wait is usually shorter. I have used the additional time to study for and pass the written exams for Hazmat and doubles/triples.

When you are going to Knight, you are hired as an employee. Your first day of employment is the first Monday of CDL school. The current rate of pay is $480 a week. It defrays your expenses but does not cover them completely, unless you figure out something cheaper than staying in a hotel. The company does not pay for your transportation to school, the hotel room, or meals. Since you are becoming an employee, all of the background checks will be done before you are hired. This also means you have a job as a driver upon passing the test for your CDL. I would advise having everything in your home life taken care of before going to Phoenix because, depending on availability, you may be sent out with a trainer OTR as soon as a day or two after passing the CDL exam.

I hope this helps. It will at least give you a comparison for what other companies do.