Soon To Start At CRST - Training Starts Next Month - WOOT!

Looking forward with a positive attitude toward starting my training. I am sure I will do well and complete the training relatively easily. I wish to solicit any advice, information, do/don't lists - ANYTHING that might be of use. Anything any of you have learned and made you think "Gee I wish I knew that before I started this thing" or "I don't remember seeing THAT in the brochure" or "There was this classmate in my class that [insert act(s) of stupidity or awesomeness here]".

I begin in about a month, and intend to post a diary here. I have already begun the "High Road" online reading and tests, and gathering the items on the packing checklist. I intend to study such that I shall be thoroughly bored through classroom time, but since I have never driven an articulated truck before, I expect just the opposite during the range/road time.

I can hardly wait to get started putting some paid miles on their odometers!

Welcome Kolibri.

A couple of thoughts; I appreciate your positive attitude and confidence. Just be prepared for this to be one of the most difficult things you have ever attempted and not let yourself to get too high or too low.

Second; there will be information covered during class that is not part of the permit exams (High Road Training). Things like hours of service (HOS) and map skills are two sets that come to mind.

There have been a few drivers to go through CRST, type CRST in the search box found in the upper left corner of this page and press enter. It will return all of the threads matching your request. You can also check out Trucking Company Reviews to see how CRST compares to other carriers.

Not sure if you have read Brett's book : Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving. It's a great primer as you begin your journey.

Good luck to you.

Thanks, G-Town!

I am very confident in my ability to succeed academically, and have attended much training for the various career paths I have traveled in the past. My main concern is with the practical parts. Especially backing, but these are acquired skills, and I am sure I will be afforded the time to practice, as well as being able to acquire the skills within the allotted time frame.

I have take your suggestion, and been researching CRST both here as well as other places on the web, getting the good and the bad. It's really tough to sort out the crap, though sometimes. For example, someone complains about getting dropped from their school. Who is REALLY at fault? Is it really set up to scam people into thousands of dollars of debt, or did this person do something stupid that they do not share in the complaint?

Well, I intend to find out for myself, first hand. I intend to make a vlog of my experiences and share with the community here.

Again, thank you very much for your advice and encouragement!

Thanks, G-Town!

I am very confident in my ability to succeed academically, and have attended much training for the various career paths I have traveled in the past. My main concern is with the practical parts. Especially backing, but these are acquired skills, and I am sure I will be afforded the time to practice, as well as being able to acquire the skills within the allotted time frame.

I have take your suggestion, and been researching CRST both here as well as other places on the web, getting the good and the bad. It's really tough to sort out the crap, though sometimes. For example, someone complains about getting dropped from their school. Who is REALLY at fault? Is it really set up to scam people into thousands of dollars of debt, or did this person do something stupid that they do not share in the complaint?

Well, I intend to find out for myself, first hand. I intend to make a vlog of my experiences and share with the community here.

Again, thank you very much for your advice and encouragement!

I do not believe the Company-Sponsored Training Programs are scam.

Many of us on the TT forum attended and graduated from a company school. Does everyone graduate? No. However I believe if you focus and apply yourself during school, you significantly lower the risk of failure.

I do not believe the Company-Sponsored Training Programs are scam.

Many of us on the TT forum attended and graduated from a company school. Does everyone graduate? No. However I believe if you focus and apply yourself during school, you significantly lower the risk of failure.

Excerpt from Ripoff Report Website of 22AUG2012 :

" My class had 115 students enter Kirkwood at the start of the second week. What they don't tell you, is it's an accelerated course with students dropped daily and it's supposed to be a 12 week course in 2 weeks. So here's how it works: You drive for maybe 30-45 mins. per day, but you have to log a certain amount of hours. How do you get these hours you ask? Make you stand outside in the 100 degree Iowa heat and pre-trip, basically pointing at parts with a broken stick. After the "training" was over my class was down to 15 students! 100 people cut in 12 days. Then after all this they check your background and MVR report. We lost another 7. So out of the 115 students, we had 7 to sign a contract. Great pass/fail ratio eh? "

My recruiter said that the pass ratio was about 70% last week. I found the above yesterday.

Anyone who attended CRST that can confirm or refute the accuracy of any of these claims?

I'll refute your claim. Just when I read you stopped at "Ripoff Report" I knew the claims you copied were written by a loser.

The only parts of your quote that are believable are the "100 degree Iowa heat" and maybe that pre-trip exercise with a stick.

Maybe you misunderstood the log book practice (this is only a guess) where you got 1/2 hour driving but you had most of the day On Duty Not Driving for class.

As you mentioned, if someone is dropped from a school, "who's REALLY at fault"? Trucking is a tough game, and it's good to find out on the third day of class rather than in a driver-at-fault accident.

Kolibri, these company-sponsored programs are really more like a tryout to make the team. They bring in anyone who qualifies and would like an opportunity. They put everyone through the paces to see who is taking the training seriously and has a chance to go on to become a safe, professional driver.

Believe me, when you get there you'll be able to identify a nice chunk of people who have no chance of making it through, mostly because of their attitude. You'll hear the rumors flying, you'll see terrible attitudes and total laziness, you'll see arms folded in skepticism, and you'll see people get booted for doing things they were just told not to do like going out drinking in the evenings.

A ton of people show up with horrible attitudes because of all of the garbage they read online. Quite a few more show up even though they really don't have what it takes to make it in trucking but they don't realize that yet. Trucking really is not a career that's well suited to very many people. You really have to be a certain type.

So go in there with the approach that you're going to prove to them you're one of the keepers. Work hard, have an awesome attitude, learn all you can every day, and listen closely to what they tell you. Take advantage of every opportunity you can to learn something new or practice something they've taught.

And just as importantly, avoid the classmates with bad attitudes. Find a few students who are taking the same approach you are and work together to help each other out. Avoid the lousy attitudes as if they have a contagious disease, because they pretty much do.

If you want it bad enough then go make it happen. Our forum is filled with stories from people who have done exactly that.

You'll see that people have a lot of ups and downs and the challenges are endless. But if you'll take the right approach things will work out great. Go in there with the wrong attitude, like many will, and you'll be on the bus home in a couple of days with a much worse attitude and of course without a shot at a new career. It's totally up to you. Seize the day.

I'll refute your claim. Just when I read you stopped at "Ripoff Report" I knew the claims you copied were written by a loser.

The only parts of your quote that are believable are the "100 degree Iowa heat" and maybe that pre-trip exercise with a stick.

Maybe you misunderstood the log book practice (this is only a guess) where you got 1/2 hour driving but you had most of the day On Duty Not Driving for class.

As you mentioned, if someone is dropped from a school, "who's REALLY at fault"? Trucking is a tough game, and it's good to find out on the third day of class rather than in a driver-at-fault accident.

Thank you for the reply, Errol - your last statement pretty much says it all. I couldn't agree more!

So go in there with the approach that you're going to prove to them you're one of the keepers. Work hard, have an awesome attitude, learn all you can every day, and listen closely to what they tell you. Take advantage of every opportunity you can to learn something new or practice something they've taught.

And just as importantly, avoid the classmates with bad attitudes. Find a few students who are taking the same approach you are and work together to help each other out. Avoid the lousy attitudes as if they have a contagious disease, because they pretty much do.

If you want it bad enough then go make it happen. Our forum is filled with stories from people who have done exactly that.

You'll see that people have a lot of ups and downs and the challenges are endless. But if you'll take the right approach things will work out great. Go in there with the wrong attitude, like many will, and you'll be on the bus home in a couple of days with a much worse attitude and of course without a shot at a new career. It's totally up to you. Seize the day.

Thanks, Brett! I shall take your advice to the letter. Safe miles!

Started trying to understand HoS today (in High Road and elsewhere) - I get the feeling that these are going to be the bane of my existence for my entire trucking career. I know that both the company and I are going to want to run as many safe miles as possible, and I will likely go over due to a miscalculation on my part, an overzealous dispatcher , or a gung-ho driver (me - pushing myself too hard) or some combination of these. Right now, the rules and cycles seem like so much random noise to me. I fully understand the point, the spirit of the laws, but trying to work with them feels to my brain like I'm trying to put a pair of gloves on the wrong hands. Taking a break from studying now. I'll pick it up later tonight or tomorrow. I am sure it will click for me by the time I need it to. :)