Sharing A Hotel Room During Orientation

Is there an edit post feature? I have not poked around enough to know.

Nope, sadly, no *Edit* or *Like* buttons lol

Or they will find him/her duct tapped to a light pole out in the middle of the desert.

Hahahaha!!! Careful, they might like it!!

Yah haaaaaaaad to go there didn't you? LOL

Since I have been to about four or five orientations I thought I would explain something to those of you who are "freaking out" over this strange phenomenon of sharing a room with strangers. I'll admit it is kind of weird, but it is buffered by the fact that each of you shares a common interest in either pursuing your CDL , or a new trucking job. Really it only takes about five minutes to kind of "break the ice" and get at least a little bit comfortable with each other - the fact that you are both there for a common purpose makes a huge difference. I'll tell you what I often did and that was as soon as I would meet some of the other people in our first class I would invite some of them over to "our room" on that first evening and help them "cram for our first test." It would build some camaraderie among the strangers and it would really help ease the tension.

The other factor that people don't realize is that usually three fourths of the people who start out with you will be gone by the third day. I remember well all the time that I worked at Western Express, they would usually bring in about 150 new drivers each week, and by day three that group would almost always be down to around thirty or forty. I think this is fairly typical industry wide, perhaps a little more common at Western due to their less stringent qualifications, but typically drug tests and physicals send a lot of folks home, and every trucking company I know of gets those two things out of the way right up front. Often times I would share a room with one person the first night or two, and then suddenly they would just sort of disappear without me ever even knowing what became of them. The other thing is that your days at school or orientation are long and stressful. Typically everyone is wiped out at the end of the day and all they want to do is crash into the bed so they can get enough rest to get up and do it all over again the next day.

Most companies will give you the option of rooming by yourself if you are willing to pay the difference. They spend a tremendous amount of money on recruiting, and this sharing of the rooms is one way they can keep those costs from skyrocketing out of control.

I head out for orientation soon for Schneider also. I am not happy about sharing a room with a stranger if that happens. But I will be able to get by it for a few weeks. I know the first week I will be in the hotel, then after that out with a trainer for a week, then back at the hotel. But I am sure once meeting them you will start conversations and get a better feeling about it. I am not going to trust them by any means but I am also not bringing anything valuable either. And my personal things like my wallet and phone will be in my pocket when I sleep. Just a speed bump in the road. Once you are over it then you are out on your own with no worries. Also if something does come up missing, its not like you don't know who took it, and if they disappear, I am sure that if you contact the company they will have there information that they can forward to the police should you file a report. Maybe I do not know how that exactly works but I have not really heard much about problems at orientation. Most people just say that people made it or not.

To me it's actually not so much about my stuff disappearing, but more of having my own privacy, specially after a long day, I want to be able to relax, not have to worry about what I'm wearing to bed or walking around my room (or NOT wearing), and I sleep VERY lightly, therefor I wake up at every little sound someone makes. I also CANNOT sleep without white noise (a fan) and a lot of people like complete silence. I also can't sleep in complete darkness. That's not even mentioning how I'd get annoyed/grossed out by some other aspects of sharing tight quarters with a stranger.

I guess this is why I'd never do good in an emergency shelter (I have a big generator so I can stay home) and I already told my kids to never send me to a retirement home. Just give me a kill pill! lolllll

R.V. - we have so much in common. I too am a very light sleeper and have been sleeping with a fan in the background for over 26 years now. It's what relaxes me and gets me to sleep. This is a big factor when I go to orientation soon. I need a room by myself so I can sleep at my own pace. I know I will have to at some point go out with a seasoned driver for about 2-4 weeks so they can evaluate me. But at least I get to tell who ever wants to go out with me if they like it quiet and don't mind a small fan on in the truck. Then we are gonna be good friends and work well together. I hope you find someone that fits your lifestyle while doing your mandatory hours for your new company. Because I can certainly go there with you on a few things. Good luck.

R.V. - we have so much in common. I too am a very light sleeper and have been sleeping with a fan in the background for over 26 years now. It's what relaxes me and gets me to sleep. This is a big factor when I go to orientation soon. I need a room by myself so I can sleep at my own pace. I know I will have to at some point go out with a seasoned driver for about 2-4 weeks so they can evaluate me. But at least I get to tell who ever wants to go out with me if they like it quiet and don't mind a small fan on in the truck. Then we are gonna be good friends and work well together. I hope you find someone that fits your lifestyle while doing your mandatory hours for your new company. Because I can certainly go there with you on a few things. Good luck.

R.V. and BoomShaker (out of respect I won't abbreviate your name for obvious reasons).

Although there are exceptions when you are working through your road-training, after successfully completing the first 50 hours of supervised driving you will likely be dispatched as a "team". This requires you to take your 10 hour "sleep" break in the lower bunk while the truck is moving at highway speeds over at times bumpy and pothole laden roads. For anyone who is a light sleeper, ear-plugs are an absolute must when trying to sleep in a moving truck.

I think I'll do fine in the truck tho. It's just people noises that gets on my nerves (snoring, shuffling around the room, scratching throat, etc.) Usually a vehicle engine puts me to sleep. :) Now if my co/driver wants to listen to music....I'll try to either put the fan noise on high right next to my ears and will only use earplugs if necessary, as these keep me from sleeping comfortably. I'm a side sleeper and the ear plugs don't feel comfy pushing in. Ugh...lol

R.V. - we have so much in common. I too am a very light sleeper and have been sleeping with a fan in the background for over 26 years now. It's what relaxes me and gets me to sleep. This is a big factor when I go to orientation soon. I need a room by myself so I can sleep at my own pace. I know I will have to at some point go out with a seasoned driver for about 2-4 weeks so they can evaluate me. But at least I get to tell who ever wants to go out with me if they like it quiet and don't mind a small fan on in the truck. Then we are gonna be good friends and work well together. I hope you find someone that fits your lifestyle while doing your mandatory hours for your new company. Because I can certainly go there with you on a few things. Good luck.

Boomshaker, where you from? And I assume that's not your first name? lol!!