Profile For Zach

When I first started I noticed I was always oversteering. Often times I would have a great set up but I would mess it up by immediately cutting a hard right before I started to even back in to the spot which would cause me to either be too close on the drivers side or the nose of my tractor would get too close to whatever was in front of me and I would have to re set up. I realized it was easier for me if I set up for my back and then cut the wheel straight, start backing, and then watch the trailer and turn as needed. Getting good at backing takes time, it took me about a year to get good at it, now I hardly ever have to back lol.

If he has the opportunity to learn on a manual I would take it, I'm not sure how it is but where I live most local jobs and smaller carriers still have manuals. When I left OTR the company I drove for had a mix of manual and autos but required you to road test in a 10 speed before you were hired.

I've invited radio Rambo to pull over hundreds of times, no one has ever once took me up on the invitation.

If you can't find any flatbed gigs and are willing to give reefer a try JCT over in Sapulpa might be a good option. They have plenty of company drivers now even though they are still set up to be a more of an LP carrier but you don't have to lease if you don't want to.

Melton is on my radar as well as they are out of Tulsa which is only a couple hours away

Have you considered Melton? I guarantee you Swift or Knight would be happy to have you on there flatbed division too. You might have to go through retraining since you have been out of a truck for more then a year. Plenty of carriers are still looking for drivers you just can't afford to be as picky right now as the freight market is crap and alot of carriers are either laying off drivers and downsizing trucks or closing doors completely.

If you only live a couple hours away from Tulsa Melton might be a great option. A buddy of mine lives in Arkansas just outside of Waldron and drives for Melton and he is pretty happy with them. I think he's home every week too.

Have you considered Melton? I guarantee you Swift or Knight would be happy to have you on there flatbed division too. You might have to go through retraining since you have been out of a truck for more then a year. Plenty of carriers are still looking for drivers you just can't afford to be as picky right now as the freight market is crap and alot of carriers are either laying off drivers and downsizing trucks or closing doors completely.

What part of California do you live in?

The Flying J in Avondale AZ, I learned that was one of the truck stops to avoid real quick or atleast stay in you're truck

One thing to consider with C.R. England is that you will be running teams. You might really enjoy it, but what if you don't? I sure didn't and many other folks on this site didn't either and after whatever time period you are on a truck with a trainer you may be longing to never have anyone on you're truck again. Swift is a huge company with ALOT of options, if you find out you hate OTR chances are Swift has something else for you, and contrary to what you may hear about Swift they invest in their drivers and work hard at driver retention

Andrea, put manuals out of your thinking. If a school doesn’t train you on AMT (Auto Mated Transmission, aka ‘auto’, just move on to training that does. The vast majority of training trucks will be AMT.

I trained on manual exclusively and have driven manual vehicles since I first started. When I was issued my first truck, I got an AMT. I would never go back to manual. When I got that truck, I was qualified in driving manual, so I had to get qualified in AMT. it took an entire 30 minutes of instruction from my trainer. Then off I went with my AMT and it was to my benefit. You DO NOT need to learn manual shifting to drive a truck.

Except if she decides to leave the OTR world and find something local finding a job with an automatic restriction could very well be a challenge. Away from the world of mega carriers many companies are still using manual transmissions. The carrier I'm at has some automatics but won't even consider you if you have a restriction and you need to be able to pass you're road test in a 10 speed.