Comments By Tim L.

I don't know how your trainer is recommending you do it, but there's no reason to downshift through the lower gears when approaching a stop. If you downshift to 6th and keep slowing down you should be able to just about come to a stop before the engine starts getting bogged down by the low RPM's. Then you can kick it out of gear and stop. I know they obsess about "never be out of gear" so do whatever your trainer says right now. But once you're on your own you'll be able to do it any way you like. Coasting a little while out of gear in reality doesn't hurt a thing.

Oh, and you'll also be floating gears, not double clutching once you get on your own so shifting will be 1000 times easier.

Glad you get along well with your trainer though! That's really huge!

Actually, Brett, it was at the academy that they kept saying that we must be in fifth or lower to make a safe stop. If it were up to my trainer, I would already be floating, but we have to do it the way we are told. I am sure I will get better with time and polish. I am also very happy I got a trainer I can get along with for six weeks.

Been ruuning hard and covered a lot of miles in 10 days. In that time we have gone from Dallas to Denver, Amarillo, New Caney, TX, Baytown, TX, Cactus, TX, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, CA, and we are now in Pauls Valley, OK. After unloading tomorrow, we are headed to Missouri, then to Miami. We have been running up to sixteen hours per day, with each of us doing about half the driving, then both sleeping the other eight. My trainer is always in the passenger seat while I am driving.

As for my driving, I am enjoying the experience for the most part. I am not happy with my low range downshifting at all. It just seems like I can't get downshifted fast enough before coming to an intersection, etc. I get down to 7th or 6th, but just can't seem to get whoa'ed up enough to get to 5th or lower. I stop safe enough, but just can't seem to get through all the gears. My backing is also not good, but I believe both will improve with more time. I got experience mountain driving, and did several mountain inclines and steep grades without problem. I was very cautious, and was probably the butt of granny jokes on the CB, lol. I was the one laughing at the one dummy flying by with smoking brakes though. I was also shocked to see just how bad some truck drivers are while moving in truck stops.

My trainer has been really great. I have no problem at all getting along with him. He goes out of his way to try to keep me happy. Space is very tight, as we are both big guys, and that gets a little frustrating at times. The top bunk I sleep in is uncomfortable and tight, but barely tolerable. Nothing I can't handle though for a few more weeks. Once in my own truck, I will have plenty of room for my stuff, and will be happy to have it organized the way I want it.

I will post again soon.

Old School is right.  KLLM is merging with FFE.  Both companies will benefit and will become overall one of the largest refrigerated carriers in the country.

The pay is actually going up a bit for the FFE drivers with the merger, and the equipment is fine.  The training academy is very good.  Personally I would choose FFE/KLLM over Raider, but that is just me.  I wanted nationwide OTR, and with Raider you won't get that.

Congrats on the CDL Tim! By now you may be on the road with your trainer while I am finishing up (actually already finished but I need a ride home lol) with mine. I will tell you now on top of my posts that you will have times where you will want to flip out on the dude (or lady) in the jump seat. Don't. There is a method to their madness. I read somewhere here that trainees will be tested on much more than the driving. That is true. All you need to remember is keep your cool, know that there is an end and every day gets you closer to it, AND no matter how bad you screw up, keep telling yourself that you will improve and be driving your own truck real soon.

good luck and make it fun.

RT, thanks. Congrats on finishing your training period and getting your own truck.

I have few worries about getting through the training period with my trainer, at least up till this point. I have been out a week now with him, and am doing fine. I probably got lucky with my trainer, as he is an older fellow, patient with me, level headed, good natured, and has 29 years driving experience. He is a good ol boy from the Kentucky hills. He never bites my head off when I make mistakes, he just calmly coaches me in ways to correct them. I respond well to that approach.

The company I am with, FFE, loves husband and wife team drivers. We had a married couple in my recent Academy training class, and I even heard them being told how much they are appreciated by the company. Unfortunately, they left due to medical issues, but FFE is a good reefer company to go with, and they will not lead you astray. They tell it like it is. With the recent merger with KLLM, the company will be even stronger. You and your spouse agree to a year, and you will not see a single nickel taken out of your pay for the Academy training. There are other good reefer companies that love husband/wife teams as well, as successful teams tend to maximize profits.

About turnover rate. It can be over 100 percent at Swift and still have many long term veteran drivers working. Remember, the rate is based upon turnover over a set period of time, usually a year. Many, many drivers are lost in the first few weeks because they cannot hack the lifestyle change, then many more that replace the original losses are lost in the first few weeks again, etc etc, and the total for the year can then reflect 100 percent or more turnover, because many drivers are hired and quit well before a year has gone by. I hope I am making sense. In other words, if a company employs 100 drivers. Eighty quit after a few months, and they hire eighty to replace them, and they all quit too before the year is out, you have gone through 160 drivers in that one year alone, yet there are 20 that go on to become veterans. That is an extreme example, but it makes my point, which in this case is well over a 100 percent turnover.

Congratulations Man! I really enjoy hearing the success stories as they come in. I know it's silly, but you feel like your kid just graduated or something. I think it's because of all the misinformation out there for new people trying to get into trucking. When you realize you've managed to help someone find their way through the confusing maze and see them get that CDL and start out on the adventure of a lifetime, well, it's just downright gratifying.

Again, Congratulations! I'm really excited for ya! Can't wait to hear some more about your journey and about FFE.

Thanks, Old School. I appreciate it.

I was just mentioning the driver for FFE that stopped at the Academy today. He is just entering his third year, and getting a ton of miles. He let us know that it can be a little slow in Jan and Feb, but the rest of the year he is really rolling. I was very impressed with what he is getting. He also mentioned that he loves working for FFE. That is solid information right there straight from a drivers live mouth, and, he is a company driver and not a lease operator. Also, there has been no indication whatsoever that the staff here at FFE has mislead us in any way.

Day 7. Today we were given our evaluations for PVIM, straight line backing, and parallel parking. A couple of students excelled, but most everyone graded average (me included), and nobody failed.

It was incredibly hot today, with the temp in Fort Worth hitting 106 degrees, and I am sure it was much hotter on the asphalt range. Today was the first day the heat began to bother me some, but I made it through the day and felt better after a cool shower. Most of the day is spent spotting for your team of three per truck, so you spend a lot of time in the sun awaiting your turn.

Tomorrow we have the day off for the holiday, and FFE is throwing the students a barbecue. I thought that was thoughtful of them. The day off will give my aching left leg time to heal. Feathering a heavy spring clutch for three straight days will make it ache until you get used to it.

On Tuesday, we start learning how to shift using double clutching. We will be taken out of the road for the first time. I am really looking forward to the challenge.

Hello Tim, How is it going now? I,m 50 and about to start my journey. Looking forward to it.

Darrell, I am great. Are you going to the FFE Academy, or if not, who?

Hey Tim - congrats!!! That's fantastic news! There's no feeling in the world like passing that CDL exam and getting your license. It's a huge relief and super exciting. Glad to hear it.

Definitely keep us posted on how things progress for ya. Looking forward to hearing how things go for you on the road with your trainer.

Thanks, Brett. I will do my best to post my experiences during time with my trainer.

It turns out that the new one day orientation still has some bugs to work out, but we should be finished tomorrow. Hopefully, Thursday I will be heading out. We had a driver pull up into the Academy bobtailed this afternoon in a 2013 Pro Star all nice, green and shiny. We thought he might be a trainer here to pick one of the graduates up, but it turned out to be a company driver just stopping in to rest and catch a shower before going to a nearby shipper to pick up a load for New Jersey. He gave us a lot of good info, and let us climb in and check out his truck. Nice for sure, but I don't care whether Cascadia or Pro Star, I just want to be rolling.

I agree with Red Gator. I had a gap in my employment for the past two years, and Prime did not even contact me after I applied with them. Their loss in my opinion. FFE contacted me and only required three letters of attestation from people that could verify that I was taking care of my elderly mother, and had no problems. Swift is pretty liberal in that regard as well. As Red Gator stated, keep trying and applying with other companies.