Advice

Topic 15854 | Page 1

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Adam W.'s Comment
member avatar

Ok after talking to Jim Palmer and Knight Transportation, Knight was a no go.

So after talking to the recruiter at Jim palmer I believe it be a great fit for me. Longer training. Smaller company. Region base when solo. Starting pay good too. So my questions are any advice for a 30 hr bus ride and advice for school training. I have never been in a semi truck and it been over 10 years since school or new job so was anyone else nervous . Any advice how to know a good trainer or advice on living with one for 3 months. Thank you for the help.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Farmerbob1's Comment
member avatar

Ok after talking to Jim palmer and knight. Knight was a no go. So after talking to the recuriter at Jim palmer I believe it be a great fit for me. Longer training. Smaller company. Region base when solo. Starting pay good too. So my questions are any advice for a 30 hr bus ride and advice for school training. I have. Never been in a semi truck and it been over 10 years since school or new job so was anyone else nervous . Any advice how to know a good trainer or advice on living with one for 3 months. Thank you for the help.

Advice for bus trip. Try to limit your total weight to around fifty pounds of luggage, one or two small bags, and one larger bag. Carry at least one change of underwear and socks in the small bag in case the big bag gets misrouted. Please note that you and your luggage will reduce the weight your trainer's truck can haul. If you're a large person, your weight can make a significant difference on the steers. If you're a large person and have a lot of luggage, you might make it impossible to haul some loads. (I'm looking at you, Campbells Soup and Coca Cola!)

If you are going to be training over the winter months, bring winter clothes. If you're from someplace where winter is a fairy tale, do some googling and figure out what people wear in the colder states, and try to get comparable clothing. Your bedding is also important. Winter bedding should, at the very least, be a sleeping bag, not just sheets. If you're going to be in the really cold states, then you might want to invest in a cold weather bag, because if you get stuck on I-80 in WY in January and the heat goes out in your truck, you'll want to turn yourself into a mummy to stay warm, and that's a lot easier with a good, heavy sleeping bag, instead of wearing all of your clothes at once in a summer weight bag.

As for trainers, I would suggest reading through the posts here. Complaints about trainers are fairly common and get answered in context.

Big Scott's Comment
member avatar

Read this in the training diaries. Jim Palmer Training

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Brett Aquila's Comment
member avatar

Adam, everyone is nervous when they first get started in trucking. It's a daunting task to be perfectly honest. Living on the road is a tough life and trucking is a stressful job. It can also be one heck of an awesome adventure and a ton of fun, but it's almost never easy.

Go through our Truck Driver's Career Guide and read Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving. You'll find tons of information, insights, and stories about life on the road. Those resources will give you a much better understanding of the challenges that lie ahead.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Heavy C's Comment
member avatar

Adam I would also direct you to the CDL training diaries in the forums. You'll find lots of good stuff in there about people's experiences before, during, and after training. Plus you'll find things that people didn't do that they wish they did and things they did do but wish they didn't. And if you're not nervous about driving an 80k lbs missile then you must be crazy.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

  • Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
  • Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
  • Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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