Comments By Phishtech

At Schneider's HQ in Green Bay, Wisconsin, someone dropped the ball and quit using Houston Community College as their go-to training school for this area because they checked on-line and found it took 6 - 8 weeks after completion to schedule a road test at any DPS location. They didn't check with the college and see that they were certified to give the road test on campus.

So I put a bug in my GB recruiter's ear and informed her of the facts.

Got a call from GB yesterday and they had set me up to start school next Monday. I'm on my way!!! WoooooHooooo!

That's exactly why I live in the South!!

Thanks to all for the advice. After Yuuyo said what he did I called the HCC truck driving school and sure enough they DO give you your driving test on-campus. Makes me wonder why Schneider would drop them with the excuse that it takes too long to do the road test ??

Anyway, I still need to be trained to drive a big rig before I test out, so it looks like I'll sign up with HCC for the August 9 start date and let Schneider pay me back. I'll also be looking at other local carriers now.

Unfortunately, Schneider has stopped using HCC for their training. I suppose I could pay for it myself and Schneider could reimburse me.

Thanks for the help.

As some of you know, I've been waiting for Schneider to give me the go-ahead to start school at a local community college about 10 minutes from my house.

Schneider HQ called today to say it's a no-go because after completing the school it takes 6-8 weeks to get in to DPS for the road test. I have to say I can believe it since Houston is a MAJOR transportation hub. They offered to send me to Minnesota for a faster turn-a-round. I'd have to pay for meals and personals and they don't pay during training.

Did a web search and there are plenty of small towns within 150 miles of here that would be easy to get in for the test, but that's probably not an option.

Any suggestions someone can throw at me? Other local companies would have the same problem.

Been studying here on TT, doing the practice tests over and over to get ready for the TEXAS Class A combination exam.

Finally got into the DPS office today and the test only had 20 questions, go figger. I actually think they don't want anyone to fail.

What was weird is that I only recognized 6 questions from the TT tests that I studied, the rest were worded to imply some event that might happen while driving and you had to figure out what best to do to mitigate it. I only missed 3 and now am waiting for Schneider to tell me when to show up for their school.

Phishtech, I had a guy go through my permit class a week or so ago. He was a 20 year city bus driver (with air brakes), so by taking the Combination Vehicle test, all 20 questions, he got his CDL-A permit and stepped over to the CDL school.

You should have no problem.

And no, that's not me in my avatar either.

I kinda figured you weren't that handsome.

That's a great idea!!

My dad was born in Nacogdoches way back in 1900. I've spent many a day on Sam Rayburn catching White Perch and bass. He's gone now and I really miss those days.

Yes, all the school busses I drive have air brakes.

Schneider wants to hire me and I was a little confused about how to make my B class license into an A class. Brett put me on the right path.

The biggest problem I'm having is getting into a Texas DPS office. The Houston area is BOOMING BIG TIME and so many people are gravitating to this area because of the abundance of jobs. I tried 3 times this week to get in, once I showed up an hour before they open only to find about a hundred people already waiting to get in the door. The DPS super centers are even worse.

I dearly love my cpap machine. I don't even know I have the mask on at night and my whole life changed for the better when I started getting a REAL nights sleep.

If you are a military veteran the VA will hook you up with a machine and all the gear for free and you can get a new mask and hose every 6 months.

Like Rainie said, keep the mask clean. I wipe my mask down inside and out every night before bed time with alcohol wipes. Also, the filters they give you are not worth the effort, they let too much dust through. I cut a square of blue shop towel (from Walmart) and snap the little air inlet window over it and since they're a tighter weave than paper towels they stop 100% of any dust that might get in other wise.

Once a week I take the mask apart and soak it, the hose, and water dish in warm bleach water with a little dish soap solution for 30 minutes.

Don't be bummed out, be glad they caught it in time.