Comments By Matthew K.

Thanks so much for setting up this site, Brett. You and the other vets have been so helpful on my quest to become a driver. I'll do my best to remain confident in my abilities.

Unholy, I see you went with Schneider as well. Stupid question, its mostly pointless, but I still want to ask: Do all the rookies get a white truck? For some reason I really want an orange one. (Favorite color, would make me feel totally cool cruising down the roads in a bright orange tractor.)

I leave for Charlotte, NC tomorrow for my first driving job, and my nerves are all jacked up. Its the first job I've ever driven more than an hour for (made house calls as an HVAC tech) and I've never been to Charlotte before.

I'm scared of what could go wrong, but also optimistic about what the future holds as a "professional driver." I guess I'm just looking for some last second confirmations that I've made a good choice, to help calm myself down.

I'm pumped guys and gals! This is gonna be fun! -nervous laughter-

Matthew, let me ask you something. What do you mean by "a respectable length of training?" Why do you say that? At TruckingTruth we always give a nice list of ways to compare companies to each other so you can pick the one that's right for you, but we never recommend looking at the length of the training to determine where you should work. I think your answer to this question is important because I want to know your approach and your mindset right now.

And by the way, Schneider has one of the shortest training periods of any of the major companies. When I started driving I graduated from a private school and only went out with a trainer for two weeks before going solo and I was fine with that.

So I'm curious about your take.

Besides that, I don't think anyone's personal experience should matter when it comes to you choosing the right company for yourself. You can do great with any of the major companies. That goal should be to pick the company that you feel suits your goals and lifestyle. Look for:

• Pay & Benefits
• Home time opportunities available
• Types of freight they haul
• Type of equipment they have
• Areas of the country they run
• Opportunities they may have available down the road

It sounds to me like you've been surfing around the Net and reading some scary stories. Now you want reassurance from someone who's recently started with a company so you won't choose a bad company. Is that the concern?

I looked at all of this, and wound up going with Schneider. Even with the short training, their equipment, area of operations, and freight are the way I wanted to go. Ive also -lightly- checked up on the benefits and they don't seem bad.

I should be able to kick myself into high gear during that short training span, and in a few years here I'll be hauling 40 tons like a pro.

Forgot to mention: Orientation is in Charlotte on Tuesday :)

Matthew, let me ask you something. What do you mean by "a respectable length of training?" Why do you say that? At TruckingTruth we always give a nice list of ways to compare companies to each other so you can pick the one that's right for you, but we never recommend looking at the length of the training to determine where you should work. I think your answer to this question is important because I want to know your approach and your mindset right now.

And by the way, Schneider has one of the shortest training periods of any of the major companies. When I started driving I graduated from a private school and only went out with a trainer for two weeks before going solo and I was fine with that.

So I'm curious about your take.

Besides that, I don't think anyone's personal experience should matter when it comes to you choosing the right company for yourself. You can do great with any of the major companies. That goal should be to pick the company that you feel suits your goals and lifestyle. Look for:

• Pay & Benefits
• Home time opportunities available
• Types of freight they haul
• Type of equipment they have
• Areas of the country they run
• Opportunities they may have available down the road

It sounds to me like you've been surfing around the Net and reading some scary stories. Now you want reassurance from someone who's recently started with a company so you won't choose a bad company. Is that the concern?

I looked at all of this, and wound up going with Schneider. Even with the short training, their equipment, area of operations, and freight are the way I wanted to go. Ive also -lightly- checked up on the benefits and they don't seem bad.

I should be able to kick myself into high gear during that short training span, and in a few years here I'll be hauling 40 tons like a pro.

I've talked to recruiters, I've read what a lot of the companies SAY they do, but I still want to get some information directly from people who started their careers with these companies, namely Swift, Schneider, and US Express, but any company works.

I have standing offers from Schneider (conditional) and US Express (invitation to orientation) and I'm debating where to go. I got my CDL officially on Monday, and I specifically want to go d a company that has a respectable length of training time.

Does anyone have personal experience to share from starting your life as a truck driver with one of these companies?

A little off topic, but I never noticed how much of a staple Mexican food was in my life until I started driving. To be honest I would kill just for a bowl of beans with a tortilla on the side haha.

On another note my cheapo self usually gets a chopped steak with eggs, became my new staple. Gotta slow down though, it's costing me haha.

The Petro in Sparks, NV has a restaurant that isn't your garden variety Iron Skillet. Their porterhouse is simply to die for. It's spendy, but oh GAWD is it worth the money.

I love that petro. Our yard is next door.

If you like good queso, there's a Moe's at the Pilot in Flatwoods, WV. Never been through in a truck, I just live close enough to go there every now and then.

I am scheduled to test on Tuesday and although the school KNOWS I cant pass the pad maneuvers they are forcing me to go. I apparently have become confused. I was told by another classmate that if I cant get the parallels or ally dock that I could do my 2 pull ups and 2 get outs, when it came time for those and blow the horn, knowing I couldnt get them. Depending on passing both straight back and offset without any points, I would still pass the pad test. Does anyone know if thats the truth or is it considered auto fail, when I'm pretty sure I wouldn't pass to begin with. Not being on the negative side, but I just can't learn from watching those before me, when I watch for 20-30 mins of a mess. Unfortunately I have been there too long and they want me out, as I believe they have overbooked and the one chance a day we get just doesnt seem to be enough. Any opinions?

I tested today, and I contemplated doing that when I pulled alley dock. However, according to our teacher, if you try to cut corners on our examiner, he's going to be looking extra hard for ways to fail you because you dodged something you were told to do. So in the end, I dealt with it and took 7 points on my alley dock (1 encroachment, 5 extra pull ups.)

Is it a case of more practice needed? Our class had a guy that couldn't grasp the concept of how a trailer moves in reverse. He's scheduled for retraining, but if he hasnt got the basic idea down after 2 weeks I just don't see it happening for him.

I'd say to just give it your best shot, and don't quit if you think it's not going in.

So just out of curiosity, what does the station do about that? Do they pump out the tank, or just figure that no one's going to notice if they get a tank full with the wrong additives? Does anyone ever make a mistake and mix gas and diesel, or are there different connectors or something?

From when I worked at a gas station: For mixing two (marginally) different types of diesel, I believe it depends on how mad the two companies get about it not technically being THEIR diesel, and how one essentially paid to fill the other's tank. Odds are its getting pumped and tossed, likely at the expense of the shipper. For mixing gas and diesel, it is entirely possible, the hookups are the same, and yes it has happened (not when I was there though.)

Either way, somone is shelling out money to pump it out and dispose of it.

Success!

It was ugly, a lot uglier than I would have hoped, but as of this moment I am a CDL holder!

The examiner said I still need lots of practice on my clutchwork (I expected this, but it's still a lot better than when I started.) I also came about 6 inches of failing on the last turn back into the lot, I missed 5th gear and lost track of the trailer while trying to catch it, but the trailer stayed off the curb.

I know I'm not ready for 40 tons, but with the right training program at an employer, I'll be ready to hit the road.

Doubling up cannot possibly be good, can it? Down I understand, if you need to slow it down quick you can brake down from 45 to 25 and hop it from 9th to 7th. But jumping a gear when going up? Wouldn't that have to be a pretty beefy 4th gear to get you going fast enough for 6th?