FFE Training Academy....My Journey Continues

Day 7. Today we were given our evaluations for PVIM, straight line backing, and parallel parking. A couple of students excelled, but most everyone graded average (me included), and nobody failed.

It was incredibly hot today, with the temp in Fort Worth hitting 106 degrees, and I am sure it was much hotter on the asphalt range. Today was the first day the heat began to bother me some, but I made it through the day and felt better after a cool shower. Most of the day is spent spotting for your team of three per truck, so you spend a lot of time in the sun awaiting your turn.

Tomorrow we have the day off for the holiday, and FFE is throwing the students a barbecue. I thought that was thoughtful of them. The day off will give my aching left leg time to heal. Feathering a heavy spring clutch for three straight days will make it ache until you get used to it.

On Tuesday, we start learning how to shift using double clutching. We will be taken out of the road for the first time. I am really looking forward to the challenge.

Hello Tim, How is it going now? I,m 50 and about to start my journey. Looking forward to it.

Darrell, I am great. Are you going to the FFE Academy, or if not, who?

Tim I haven,t made up my mind? Im looking at Raider Express in Ft Worth. I have thought about FFE. I see they were bought out? How does that look? Do you know what they start out new drivers at pm? Are they a solo driver co? I prefer to run solo. How is there equipment? Have a good one for you. My Dad drove for FFE back in the late 50s. He run with a fellow driver and they had a load of bananas going from west coast to east coast during summer. They didn't know but the reefer didn't work and when they got to there destination you got it they stunk real bad. How does there training work once you start driving with the trainer and what is that Pay? Thanks Tim

Darrell, don't let that buy-out even be a concern. People get all up in arms about that stuff, but it really shouldn't even be a concern for the drivers - life goes on for them with out even feeling a ripple of those effects usually. I certainly wouldn't let it influence your decision in choosing a company. To be honest with you, there is a possibility that someone is looking to purchase Raider Express, but you wouldn't know about it.

These big wheels in the trucking industry move money around all the time, but they don't dare interrupt the flow of freight or cause negative effects for their drivers. That goes hard for them against their bottom line, and that's what they are working hard to maintain.

Personally I think the change in ownership of FFE will be very beneficial to all concerned.

Congrats on the CDL Tim! By now you may be on the road with your trainer while I am finishing up (actually already finished but I need a ride home lol) with mine. I will tell you now on top of my posts that you will have times where you will want to flip out on the dude (or lady) in the jump seat. Don't. There is a method to their madness. I read somewhere here that trainees will be tested on much more than the driving. That is true. All you need to remember is keep your cool, know that there is an end and every day gets you closer to it, AND no matter how bad you screw up, keep telling yourself that you will improve and be driving your own truck real soon.

good luck and make it fun.

RT, thanks. Congrats on finishing your training period and getting your own truck.

I have few worries about getting through the training period with my trainer, at least up till this point. I have been out a week now with him, and am doing fine. I probably got lucky with my trainer, as he is an older fellow, patient with me, level headed, good natured, and has 29 years driving experience. He is a good ol boy from the Kentucky hills. He never bites my head off when I make mistakes, he just calmly coaches me in ways to correct them. I respond well to that approach.

Old School is right.  KLLM is merging with FFE.  Both companies will benefit and will become overall one of the largest refrigerated carriers in the country.

The pay is actually going up a bit for the FFE drivers with the merger, and the equipment is fine.  The training academy is very good.  Personally I would choose FFE/KLLM over Raider, but that is just me.  I wanted nationwide OTR , and with Raider you won't get that.

Been ruuning hard and covered a lot of miles in 10 days. In that time we have gone from Dallas to Denver, Amarillo, New Caney, TX, Baytown, TX, Cactus, TX, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, CA, and we are now in Pauls Valley, OK. After unloading tomorrow, we are headed to Missouri, then to Miami. We have been running up to sixteen hours per day, with each of us doing about half the driving, then both sleeping the other eight. My trainer is always in the passenger seat while I am driving.

As for my driving, I am enjoying the experience for the most part. I am not happy with my low range downshifting at all. It just seems like I can't get downshifted fast enough before coming to an intersection, etc. I get down to 7th or 6th, but just can't seem to get whoa'ed up enough to get to 5th or lower. I stop safe enough, but just can't seem to get through all the gears. My backing is also not good, but I believe both will improve with more time. I got experience mountain driving, and did several mountain inclines and steep grades without problem. I was very cautious, and was probably the butt of granny jokes on the CB, lol. I was the one laughing at the one dummy flying by with smoking brakes though. I was also shocked to see just how bad some truck drivers are while moving in truck stops.

My trainer has been really great. I have no problem at all getting along with him. He goes out of his way to try to keep me happy. Space is very tight, as we are both big guys, and that gets a little frustrating at times. The top bunk I sleep in is uncomfortable and tight, but barely tolerable. Nothing I can't handle though for a few more weeks. Once in my own truck, I will have plenty of room for my stuff, and will be happy to have it organized the way I want it.

I will post again soon.

I don't know how your trainer is recommending you do it, but there's no reason to downshift through the lower gears when approaching a stop. If you downshift to 6th and keep slowing down you should be able to just about come to a stop before the engine starts getting bogged down by the low RPM's. Then you can kick it out of gear and stop. I know they obsess about "never be out of gear" so do whatever your trainer says right now. But once you're on your own you'll be able to do it any way you like. Coasting a little while out of gear in reality doesn't hurt a thing.

Oh, and you'll also be floating gears , not double clutching once you get on your own so shifting will be 1000 times easier.

Glad you get along well with your trainer though! That's really huge!

I don't know how your trainer is recommending you do it, but there's no reason to downshift through the lower gears when approaching a stop. If you downshift to 6th and keep slowing down you should be able to just about come to a stop before the engine starts getting bogged down by the low RPM's. Then you can kick it out of gear and stop. I know they obsess about "never be out of gear" so do whatever your trainer says right now. But once you're on your own you'll be able to do it any way you like. Coasting a little while out of gear in reality doesn't hurt a thing.

Oh, and you'll also be floating gears , not double clutching once you get on your own so shifting will be 1000 times easier.

Glad you get along well with your trainer though! That's really huge!

Actually, Brett, it was at the academy that they kept saying that we must be in fifth or lower to make a safe stop. If it were up to my trainer, I would already be floating, but we have to do it the way we are told. I am sure I will get better with time and polish. I am also very happy I got a trainer I can get along with for six weeks.

Downshifting into 5th isn't too bad. Any lower than that gets really difficult. Those lower gears are spinning so fast that the window of opportunity to get it into gear gets smaller and smaller as the gears get lower.

You will certainly get better with time. Nobody ever gets to a point where they never grind a gear. You can drive for 100 years and you're still going to grind gears sometimes.

Downshifting into 5th isn't too bad. Any lower than that gets really difficult. Those lower gears are spinning so fast that the window of opportunity to get it into gear gets smaller and smaller as the gears get lower.

You will certainly get better with time. Nobody ever gets to a point where they never grind a gear. You can drive for 100 years and you're still going to grind gears sometimes.

Well, here I am 8 days later at the three week halfway point on the road with my driver trainer. All is going very well. I have been a part first hand to some of the issues that plague drivers. We sat at one stop for a load of frozen turkeys for 11 hours waiting to get loaded. We have dealt with surly shipping/receiving clerks. We have dealt with mistakes by our dispatch. We have had two breakdowns that required the truck going into the shop. I am dealing with living with another big guy 24/7 in a very small space. My tail end aches from long hours sitting. I am sleeping in a top bunk that is hard as a rock. You know what? I am still loving it. I knew this was what I was cut out for all along, and I wish I had got into this many years ago. In just three weeks, I have already been to thirteen states, seven of which I have not been.

As for my driving, it has progressed nicely. My shifting is finally getting where I want it. I am much smoother now, with both up and down shifting. I had a tendency to apply too much throttle when upshifting, and my downshifting is better because I am giving myself more room when slowing down for intersections and turns. I no longer worry about getting down below fifth when downshifting either. My turns could still use more work as well, but I have not run over any curbs yet, although I have nicked two of them. Backing is improving as well but I know that will take a lot longer to become truly comfortable and/or fully proficient (if that is actually possible).

I had my first very close call on the highway today. We were eastbound on FL 60 not far from Vero Beach which is a two lane at that point. I was driving down the road chillin' when a car that had been following me for miles comes flying by passing me, with another car oncoming west bound. The idiot passing me missed a head on literally by inches at high speed that would have happened right in front of me. There was not time to apply brakes. All I could do was make a small move to the right because there was no shoulder. That was a very frightening experience. Inches were the difference in multiple fatalities occurring because of a drivers extremely poor judgement. I hope I never see that again, but it is just wishful thinking I am sure.

All for now, but more to come.

Hey, sounds like things are going great for ya!

That near miss really shows the importance of watching your mirrors. You'll hear people foolishly say they can't do anything about what's behind them but that situation is a great example of why it's so important to know what's going on all around you. I've been in that same spot a hundred times where someone tries to pass me when they shouldn't. Normally you'll know someone is going to do that if they're tailgating you. When they pull out you get on the brakes to help em get past you as quickly as possible.

It's tricky out there. Being safe for a day or a week is no big deal. Doing it month after month, year after year takes a really special person with some incredible defensive driving skills.