Comments By Mark C.

What attaches the mirror to the truck?

thick plastic mounts. Had similar on my Silverado.

Looks like I'll have to use the factory mount on the back of the cab, was thinking I'd rather not take off the factory antenna but I reckon it will store under the bunk.

I've been looking into tuning a CB. should be home tomorrow so I'll get to fiddle with it.

thanks.

So I upgraded on Friday, or started upgrading to first seat on Friday anyway. Someone forgot to finish the job giving me an entire weekend in the yard to scrub down the inside of the truck, take a cab to walmart for a tv and microwave and food, and shop for what I want on the truck at Amazon.

Among the list of things I ordered is a CB radio. The 2019 Peterbuilt I was assigned has a factory antenna, but I'm told it only has about a one mile range. I haven't spoken on a CB since I was a kid and Smokey & the Bandit was cool, but I'm thinking a better antenna would be nice to pull in info from further out. Not sure where I'd mount it though.

Most after market antenna I've found mount to the mirror brackets. That's fine if you have the tube steel type, but I've got the big plastic bracket like I had on my old Silverado. I can't find a bracket made for these, possibly cuz i'm using the wrong search terms. Or perhaps theres a better place to mount one. I'm not thinking zip ties and duct tape is a company authorized modification to the truck.

Anyone seen a solution to this?

I reckon it's 64 on cruise and 62 with your foot....

OK, I'm just goofing a little on my company's trucks being governed at 64 AND 62 depending on whether you're using cruise control. I just finished my mentor phase and since his truck was "D" rated for something or other, I got excited if I could pass another truck going uphill. Usually meant we had an empty. It took 3 days before passing my first truck. Passed by hundreds.

I did find myself asking the same question while driving through NM with wind gusts pushing me all over the road. I was never so glad to have 40k lbs in the back. I found myself watching how the wind was affecting the trucks that passed me by (they weren't concerned at all) and realized that even though it felt at times I was 20deg off vertical, I'd be ok. wind was a steady 29 mph. I slowed enough to ensure I was comfortable with my reaction times keeping my lane.

I have to agree that there is no universal safe speed, but knowing what the truck can do helps you/me define that comfort zone. Each load gives me a different feel on the brakes and I-10 going into TX (westbound) makes me want to crawl. So even the condition of the road matters to me.

I know it's nothing new, but I thought I'd let you know you're not the only one asking yourself how fast you should go.

Yes, necessity drove me to this industry. I recently graduated and while there I met many who's businesses or industry were shut down. Even a helicopter pilot from the tourist sector. People in their 50's and 60's for whom a new career wasn't on the horizon just a year ago. 2020 brought lot of things I didn't think I'd see.

but I truly would have liked to known qaulcom trip planning and time management a lot more

This is interesting, when I think of sponsored or self-pay school, i'm only thinking of the school to get the CDL. You're still stuck with zero experience so you're bound for a big starter company, which all have their training programs. Even if I took the private route and went to work with PAM, I'd have to complete their training program with a mentor. I assume the same with Prime, Swift, Werner, etc. I've got a cdl, but have never hooked or unhooked a trailer. I had an hour class on keeping logs and zero instruction on elogs. I'm getting all that from my mentor in the true "paid" part of training, where I'm paid to be there.

You noticed i said USUALLY.

yes I did.

Argue all you want

Ok, but we're not really arguing since I agreed with you in principle.

Anecdotal evidence is the least reliable, so I'm not trying to say you're wrong.

MY evidence is also anecdotal. You've nothing to prove to me. There is no tone font so if you think I'm being crass, it's not my intent. If driving or medical history is the main reason people don't get jobs after school, then maybe focus on that instead of who paid for the school.

I went to, what I would call, a bad school. It was company sponsored. It was bad based on simple academic standards not my personal test result.(yes, I did have a state teaching certificate and feel qualified to make that statement) It's also one of many schools contracted by driver's solutions so it can't be assumed to be the rule. I'm really having a hard time with the idea that paid training is universally superior to self-pay. While not worthless, your experiences on this forum are not statistically significant enough to make claims for the industry, for that claim I rely on my statistics classes. its complicated.

In the end, we have always agreed that the individual circumstances dictate which is the best route. Personally, I'd say focus on helping define criteria for making that decision over steering generically towards one or the other. And if we disagree, don't take it personally. I ain't mad.

Old School, is it bad that I was thinking you too could do some editing too??

My on again/off again freelance work was in web development. Usually mods have some admin tools to move things around, this site looks custom coded with an old grid style css, but I can only see the html.

And I'm prone to a meandering conversation.

Old School, I think this is a really good topic that's evolved into more than trucking school, and I've plenty to say, but I'm as opinionated as you and no less prone to defending my my words, and I can match your wordcount ;) As much fun as it would be, I don't want to fill this thread with such a back and forth. The proper thing to do would be to move our entire exchange to its own thread, or delete it and let sleeping dogs lie. The one thing this forum lacks is the ability for creators to edit their content, making poor grammar and misunderstandings stand for all time.

Godspeed

Company paid usually helps more than local schools who could charge you additional fees to retest after failing or for extra practice.

Drivers Solutions requires retest fees be paid by the student. Six students, two who were among the best, failed their tests. Those who retested paid the fee.

Anecdotal evidence is the least reliable, so I'm not trying to say you're wrong. What I am saying is the "woulda/coulda's" can apply to either path. The best advice I've seen on this thread is pick the job first, then the best way to achieve it, be that paid or private. Then never quit going forward.

Old School, I believe you that you want the best for people just starting out. I think your experience gives color to the phrase I used which I don't perceive the same. I expect there will be folks who read it the way you did, and other how I would. It's my opinion that no one should make that decision based solely on a single forum post anyway, and I think I've said as much.

We will continue to disagree on the value of a self-paid cdl class and the meaning of free agent, but I don't have a problem with that. Anyone thinking of trucking should weigh the pro's and con's of each according to their own needs, not what we think anyway. Hiding one perspective does no one any good, but by all means make your strongest argument for what you hold true. I'll do the same, likely we'll agree far more often than not.

Very few things in life are one size fits all. I've got a wardrobe to prove it since age and chocolate have taken their toll. The best value you, or I, can offer future readers is the full range of perspective. Never presuming our own experience will be that of another, even under similar circumstances. As they say, past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

So I wish you well and hope you get to know me, we share the same passion for helping others. Sometimes that means backing up and letting them choose. Tough love is great, but "tough" is just the adjective, the real power is in the love.

Safe travels,

Mark