My Second Week Of Driving With A Trainer...
Topic 11649 | Page 1
Travelyon, thanks for your post. My training was with a dedicated account where we did maybe two pickups or deliveries per day. You do easy more than that on your local runs.
You have discovered the great secret for a short run account: lots and lots of real truck work! The things you need the most training on (you listed them) you get big time.
People who drive OTR for training see a delivery and a pick-up maybe every other day, meaning they don't get so much "truck work" training. When you get your own truck, Tree, you'll be ready to rock and roll!
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
@Errol, I'm trying man. They said it's more to trucking then just driving and I am sure finding that out to be true! But it's not bad. Might be a little tedious but I'm sure once I get a hang of it all, I'll be good. Now if I can just figure out these log books and hours of service part,lol!!
Travelyon, This is really awesome. You will be so far ahead of the game by the time you are finished; backing and navigating through tight areas will be "just another day" for you. Invaluable because you are meeting the challenges and details that typically slow an entry level driver, head-on and learning the ins and outs of being a truck driver in-the-moment with your trainer. Great preparation for your career. Definitely a great post that others can hopefully learn from.
Safe travels. G
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So it turns out that since the company doesn't have otr trainer they sent to train with a local driver on local routes...at first I was hesitant thinking how is this preparing me for an OTR career? Well it turns out It's preparing me ten fold it seems. !!! I've driven(and backed) into some strange situations but my Trainer assured me I was good. He taught me how to float(which I'm not too fond of) and how to deal with shippers and receivers properly. Most of this is probably nothing major to most of you but to me it means the world because the company sponsored training program didn't teach us the basic things we would be using every day like, DEF, sliding tandems(still not too clear on the whole adjusting weight but I'll get it), sliding fifth wheels, hours of service and etc. so while I was a little uneasy about the whole sleeping in a sleeper berth at the truck stop for two weeks(Bills truck stop North Carolina), this experience to me is invaluable. Today I drove 407.2 miles(didn't know you drive that much on local routes)(we deliver loads for Lowes and RJ Reynolds)(also never knew they were that serious about a truck load of tobacco!). I can honestly tell you, I'm having fun. Might not be a word you would associate with trucking but to me, I'm having the time of my life behind the wheel of a big rig, and the best part? I know it only gets better. So in 4 days of driving with a local trainer I've driven 1,045.2 miles. Not much by most of your standards but for me it means so much more. Living my dream and loving it. Just had to share with you guys.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Sleeper Berth:
The portion of the tractor behind the seats which acts as the "living space" for the driver. It generally contains a bed (or bunk beds), cabinets, lights, temperature control knobs, and 12 volt plugs for power.
Tandems:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Tandem:
Tandem Axles
A set of axles spaced close together, legally defined as more than 40 and less than 96 inches apart by the USDOT. Drivers tend to refer to the tandem axles on their trailer as just "tandems". You might hear a driver say, "I'm 400 pounds overweight on my tandems", referring to his trailer tandems, not his tractor tandems. Tractor tandems are generally just referred to as "drives" which is short for "drive axles".
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.