Location:
Auburn, GA
Driving Status:
Company Driver In Training
Social Link:
If you have been in trucking for a while and have been through the weigh stations in south Georgia or North Florida then you crossed a scale that my dad either worked on or installed. That was my first exposure to the trucking industry when I was a kid. When I was in my early 20's my dad drove for a few small outfits and even worked as a driver manager for a while. That was when the traveling bug bit me. I spent about 20 years in EMS around Atlanta before getting out of the business.Now after 10 years in transportation and logistics I found myself without a job and no good prospects thanks to the economy. A couple of months ago A sign caught my eye outside the local truck driving school. "18 days to 18 wheels" is what it said. My wife and two sons talked it over for a couple of days before I made the commitment. So here I am 49 years old, married with two sons ages 13 and 10, getting ready for another career change. According to my wife this is my last. We agreed that I would put in a year with a regional carrier that had more home time and then reevaluate our position. It won't be easy for my youngest. He is a daddy's boy. I know that God has a reason for sending me down this road. In the end I hope we all figure out what it is.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Starting a new career with Averitt Express
I really meant to post about the remaining days of orientation but got busy with other things. Anyway, I am back home for a couple of days. The rest of orientation went pretty smooth learning policies, procedures, safety, truckload specific information, safety, payroll, safety, and other stuff. Oh! did I mention we covered safety quite a bit? :) I will be contacting my trainer this afternoon to find out when to report. For now, off to Wally world for a few supplies.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Is it truly hard to learn to drive a manual transmission rig?
Yes and no. A big rig's manual is different from one in your car or pickup. First, as you ease off the clutch with the transmission in gear the engine will automatically provide the fuel and rpm's to keep the truck running and moving forward. In order to shift you will need to learn to double clutch. search YouTube and you will find some examples. Unlike cars the transmissions are not synchronized so you have to watch your speed and rpms while shifting. I hope this helps. Some instructors will say it is easier to teach someone to shift an 18 wheeler if they have never driven a regular manual transmission.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Ron, Have you checked out Swift? I know they allow riders but I dont know about pets. I am pretty sure they are Arizona based.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Starting a new career with Averitt Express
Tracy, thanks for the words of encouragement. I will be watching my diet in the weeks to come. One of the great things about Averitt is many of their service centers have workout facilities as well as showers. PJ, good luck in Wisconsin I do not envy you.
Today's orientation was all about benefits. The short of it is they offer excellent health, dental, vision, etc. They are very family oriented. There is a husband and wife team running for the company and both of their sons are employed by Averitt as well. I like the idea of uniforms. It presents a very professional look for the company. Oh well tomorrow is another day. I can't wait!
Posted: 11 years ago
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Ronald, on of the channels I follow on YouTube is "Nrs aventures". This is a husband and wife driving for Swift. I have heard them mention in the past that they don't have a physical home, just a PO Box that they get to every month or so. Hope this helps.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Starting a new career with Averitt Express
I arrived in Cookeville, TN last night for orientation starting today; checked in met my roommate and settled in for a good nights sleep. We are at the Clarion Inn. It is not a 5 star but it is a clean facility with several amenities including an indoor pool and exercise room. I will say this,if you have the option of driving to orientation, take it. In the case of Averitt and Cookeville, things are kind of spread out and having your own wheels is nice.
The first day went well. DOT physical done as well as computer training. Since I am overweight and new the issue of my sleep apnea would come up, I decided to be proactive in the matter. I brought copies of my most recent sleep studies and the data card from my CPAP machine. The data card shows compliance with using my machine, which they really appreciated.
Posted: 11 years ago
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Dewey, I will be starting with Averitt Express this coming week. This is my first truck driving job but my reason for going with them was in part due to the business relationship I had built with them over the past ten years as a warehouse manager. Everyone I dealt with was courteous and professional. When I was in school I met a couple of drivers at a truck stop we went to while doing our road driving. They had nothing but good things to say about the company. You might also look for posts by Rolling Thunder and Trafficjam. They posted about their experiences with orientation and training.
Posted: 11 years ago
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On my first day of school I told the instructor I was considering CR England. He looked at me shook his head and said England stands for "Every New Guy/Gal Lasts About Ninety Days". Take the other advise and call Swift.
If every driver lasts ninety days then CR England wouldn't be as successful as they are now. How would they satisfy their customers with every driver having less than 90 days experience? Sorry, but you are terribly misguided. Basing your decision because of an acronym is just about the worst thing you can do.
Daniel, my comment was a little short sited and I apologize for that. More completely I did investigate multiple companies including England. One of the resources I used was the company reviews on Indeed.com.
Posted: 11 years ago
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On my first day of school I told the instructor I was considering CR England. He looked at me shook his head and said England stands for "Every New Guy/Gal Lasts About Ninety Days". Take the other advise and call Swift.
Posted: 10 years, 1 month ago
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Starting a new career with Averitt Express
Henry, I have been with Averitt for the past 10 months and I am pretty happy. I don't know much about our flatbed division but those guys do work hard. You might be interested to know that some of our larger service centers have exercise equipment in them. Nashville just finished a refurb of the driver lounge that included the addition of a treadmill, elliptical, and free weights. Other service centers have Nautilus style machines. When you think about the distance to the service center remember you only drive there once a week. For me that means I drive 30 miles a week round trip. Since you are just starting CDL school the only option I believe that will be open to you is regional truckload. you have to be in that position for one year before you can transfer to dedicated, flatbed etc. I hope this helps.