Profile For Veeblefetzer

Thanks for the great feedback. I live on a bunch of property with my wife and mother-in-law. It's a lot of upkeep in regards to plowing and mowing, which is a big reason why I tried to remain local and also they of course would rather me be home every night, as would I. However, my family will support me in whatever I need to do, to make this work. Going OTR with a good company is the way to go, I know that. I knew that before I enrolled in school from this website. I'm hoping I might be able to leave this job open ended if they will have me back later down the proverbial road.

Having said that, the driver I was with Friday called today and wanted to apologize for being hard on me. He wanted to let me know he is making a commitment to get me training for at least a week or two, depending on what the owner says. He believes we should stay in my truck for consistency and go to every difficult place we go, one by one until comfortable. He said he had his troubles at the beginning and this employer gave him a chance and that he wants to be able to give me that chance as well. Also another driver is willing to take me OTR as well. The OTR driver knows very well that 3 or 4 days will not suffice and would be happy to have me along. This company is a lot of work when not in a truck, reefer van and food regulation wise. After a week and close to 14 hr days, I'm hoping the paycheck is well worth it. Even then I'm thinking really hard on just doing it right and going OTR with a larger company. I'll make better money, have the chance to get tuition reimbursement and above all get the training this career requires.

I'm 48 years old and don't really have the time to **** around. I need to get crackin'. I talk with the owner tomorrow hopefully and also receive my first paycheck. I'll keep posting in this thread to keep you updated and most importantly anyone else considering trucking as a career. Maybe this will serve as a testament and reinforcement regarding this sites "best practices" approach. Thanks for your thoughts today. :-)

We went up and delivered the load. I drove down into a very tight alley and backed up to the dock with one pull up. We unloaded and then had to drive up top to another dock to load, which was a 90-degree alley dock. This dock had a car parked at my left trailer axles and was not supposed to be parked there. He took over and couldn’t get it in there himself, without sliding the axles forward. We got done loading and asked the shipper if we could go around the block, so I could try it again myself now that the car had vacated. I drove around the block and setup, then backed it in there perfectly on the first shot.

After that we went back to our yard and he used his truck and I with mine to shuttle trailers the rest of the day from the next town over. I had a couple crappy backups, and more than a few crappy downshifts. The last two loads we used my truck only. We docked at a place neither him or I had been and I took 2 pullups to get it down the ramp. Not great, but not terrible either. This came with more crappy downshifts though.

As we were running the last load and almost 13 hours later I was getting tired and yet more crappy shifts. He proceeded to tell me I may want to do some “soul searching” over the weekend. He said he would expect I should have been further along out of school and should be further yet with the last 3 days I had drove with him. I explained that my perception from the program was, that they get you prepped to gain employment and then the company you go work for will typically take you through driver training that lasts for usually 2 to 6 weeks. He stated that he didn’t think the owner was setup for that or even have the budget for it. He indicated that he believes that the owner probably has a higher expectation for somebody out of school as well. He said my first day was pretty impressive and he told the owner that, but also that I have not made very much progression in the last few days and that he has to tell the owner that as well. He suggested maybe I should go drive straight truck at another outfit for a while until I get my shifting down. I was kind of crushed, offended and very much discouraged. We wrapped up the day and here I sit waiting for what comes next. Dispatch already told me mid Friday I’d be running with him again, but I don’t think he is really up to it. I know he didn’t sign on for it in the first place and he probably drew the short straw.

Is this a common scenario? Should I hang it up? I just feel like I need more time and consistency with the same truck, shifting technique and practice.

Hello all, I hope everyone is having a good playoff Sunday.

A couple weeks ago I graduated from a great 16-week program in Alexandria, MN. I did a lot of research before deciding to go there. It was a longer course than what I could have took elsewhere, but a lot of the other programs were what you might call "driver mills". The instructors were thorough, stringent and provided an excellent learning experience. I graduated at the top of my class of what started at 12 students and ended up at 8. Like most, I struggled with shifting and backing right off the bat and feel I still have quite a bit of fine tuning to accomplish. We learned 10, super 10, & 13 speed transmissions. We were in a different truck every day, so getting one or the other mastered was difficult. The thought is that you would be able to drive everything and ultimately you become a better driver by switching it up.

Originally, I went to school to drive passenger bus and soon found that tractor trailer felt like a good fit. Also, I didn't want to let my training go to the wayside by just driving passenger bus, since most of the education had to do with combination vehicles. My plan was to go over the road for a year or more to gain experience and perfect my skills. My home situation does not really permit me being gone 2 or 3 weeks a month though. So, I decided to start looking at local companies that I could drive local for and I found one.

Starting out I was put with a driver last Saturday shuttling trailers from a packing plant back and forth from our yard to theirs. I did great and the driver I was with relayed that to the owner. I did paperwork and orientation stuff the following Monday and Tuesday I was sent on my own to deliver a load down near Minneapolis. Maybe I should have declined as I didn't feel close to ready after only one day, but I went anyway. The truck I was assigned had an 18-speed transmission and that was tough out of the gate. I know it's the same as 13, except you're also splitting the bottom, but it was still hard to get used to. I got down there and the lot was very busy. While navigating my way through all the chaos, I was spotting the drop trailer area and check-in office. the plan was to loop around to the left pull up and then back in a spot to go check in. Well while doing so, I took my eyes off the right mirror for a couple seconds and ended up scraping the rear of my 53' across the front end of another truck. I was beside myself. I was better than this. it was textbook what not to do. I was trained for this! We exchanged information, insurance company, police report etc. The guy was flaming ****ed at first as I apologize acknowledging that I knew he was trying to make money too and this will now cost him down time for repairs. I guess the only good thing that came out of it is that it was not a reportable. After all that, I got checked in and was told I had to drop the trailer in a door, then pick up another trailer from a different door. I was flustered and it took me 5 or 6 pull ups to finally get the trailer in the hole. Dropped it, hooked the other one and got the hell out of there.

After I got back to the yard, dispatch informed me that they would be putting me with the service manager the next day (Wednesday) to run a load up to Fargo and show me some of the places we go. This surprised me because I thought for sure I wouldn't have a job anymore. While I was driving up there he asked if that is how the school taught me, referring to double clutching. I said yes and that we were not allowed to float gears. He took over driving and instructed me how to not use the clutch and explained that it wears out the clutch to use it. After I got back in the driver seat, I was completely discombobulated, I tried like hell to not grind gears, but to no avail. Before I was fairly smooth on up shifting, but downshifting was still not great. We didn't run in school with completely loaded trailers so my first couple days have been tough with that, as the shifting seems a bit different the heavier you are. Now that I'm not supposed to use a clutch, I'm not sure if I can erase what I've learned and show enough progression to this employer. I got through it though, some smooth and some rough shifts.

The next day (Thursday) it was very crappy weather, sleet, snow and very icy conditions. I was sent to southern MN and in to WI with the first driver I had on Saturday in his truck. 13-speed, which I do much better with. He drove the whole way down and into WI. We saw cars in the ditch and even a jackknife. The weather cleared and I drove back home. He told me to go back to using the clutch and what I was taught. He never asked me not to use the clutch anyway, that was the other guy. He thought that was too much to get into after what I already learned. It seemed like a pretty good day, but with the conditions, not too much in the way of progression.

Friday, I went with the same driver as Saturday and yesterday in my 18-speed. So, three days now with this driver and one day with the service manager. This guy is a nice guy, asks a lot of questions about my schooling and offers a lot of advice. He seems to care about my progression and success quite a bit. Today was different though. He had been quiet the whole way to our first stop. To be continued...

Greetings Mr. Fetzer, or if I may be so bold as to call you Veeble. Minnesota has WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act). A great source of info on that is your area Workforce Center. I believe your closest one is in Alexandria. Good luck in your future endeavors - Don (Big Lake, MN)

Thanks Don, I'll be inquiring with the MN workforce center in Alexandria first thing in the morning. :-)

Since you are recently unemployed you should look into WIAO funding through the unemployment office. It may just be called WIO where you are. It should cover all of the tuition and testing. It's funded by your state.

JJ

Thanks JJ, I just submitted the application today and there is the opportunity for financial aid. I believe I can discuss that once I meet with a staff advisor. I'll be sure to ask about WIAO or WIO.

Hello, Today I signed up with Trucking Truth. Thank you for having me as a part of your community. I've already received a call from Jim Palmer and I also submitted my application to Alexandria Technical & Community College in Minnesota, utilizing the resources of Trucking Truth.

I'm in my late 40's and was laid off 1.5 months ago from the RV industry. Having managed service shops in that industry and also a Peterbilt shop, I've come to the conclusion that it's just not what I want to do anymore. As a younger man, I ran mobile tire service for outfits that catered to tractor trailer accounts. Other than that, my experience with trucking is limited yet I have a good grasp on what is entailed.

My wife and I have always worked towards the goal of owning our own business. Well we're still not even close. Driving and getting paid may be as close as some can get to being their own boss and their are several reasons beyond that, why I've chosen to obtain a Class A CDL.

So that was just a brief background and introduction to let you know where I've been and to help explore where I want to go, here are some brief thoughts:

I'd like to be home every night, so over the road may not be for me. That limits companies that are looking for people they are willing to pay to train. Besides that, I initially had more interest in people transportation, tour, city or school bus. As far as trucking, I think I'd like to stick to more local hauling, dumping and or plowing.

The technical college also provides forklift certifications as part of the professional truck driving course, which can be another great avenue of opportunity, as I am already experienced with warehouse and material handling. The course provides training for the endorsements needed for all of the above mentioned.

The tuition is not too big of a deal, although classes do not start until May. Being unemployed, I'd obviously like to get started sooner than later either way. So here are my questions. If you could do it over, what would you change? Would you enroll in a school or go for the contracted paid training?

Everyone has their own reasons for their decision. I'm asking because I'm interested in hearing diverse reasons I may have not considered.

Thank you for your time and my apologies if that was way too long winded.

Veeblefetzer