Mtc Cdl/trucking School

Hey

I'm new to the forum and am thankful for all the info here. I am looking tk make a career change a d have been looking in to the trucking industry for some time. I was contacted by a recruiter from mtc. I would like to know if anyone has experience with the s c.f. hool. She said I would be in school for 3-5 weeks and would already be hired on with a company before I start. They work with hogan, Schneider, werner, tmc, covenant, and stevens. She said I would be making money by my sixth week. Is this realistic? Also I have never driving a manual tranny. How learnable is it in five weeks?

Thanks Jordan

Welcome Jordan! We're glad to have you on board. I can't answer you about the school, but I will tell you about my experience at school with another student who had never driven a standard transmission. I attended a four week school and we had a young man in there with us who had no experience shifting gears of any sort. He was doing well enough to drive the truck when we got finished. He still wasn't real polished at it, but he could do it. Having said that I also want you realize that even long time drivers will miss a gear every now and then or grind their way in to catching the gear their after. So don't sweat the details just go with the flow and the learning curve will kick in for you just like it does for everyone else. Sometimes it's even better that you haven't been exposed to shifting a car because the transmission in a big truck works quite a bit differently than what most people are accustomed to. Best of luck to ya, and feel free to ask any questions that come to your mind.

Thanks for the reply. When you get your company truck, what is it equipped with and what do you have to buy yourself?

Here at Prime, the trucks come with a satellite radio (you have to activate/pay for the service) that picks up local stations.

Anything else (CB/GPS/Hot spot) you will need to provide yourself.

Hand tools are up to you (gloves, etc).

As a company driver they provide fuel/fuel additives/tolls. If you get somewhere that you need to pay for parking, that's on you.

Any other specific questions, ask away and will do my best to help.

Thanks. What kind of hand tools. Any maintenance we do the trucks or pay for for?

I think the only maint. you do as a company driver is check/ fill oil, water, and windshield washer fluid, keep it full of fuel, and maybe change blown lights and such. Companies like to have their truck full services done by guys who can look for problems before they become problems, like wheel seals, metal shavings in the oil, oil in water, water in oil, etc. You as a driver, have enough to do without having to ride an wrench....

Welcome aboard!

If you haven't already, make sure you go through our entire Trucker's Career Guide. It covers about every topic imaginable that pertains to getting your career underway and will take you around to all of the most important content we have on the site. It's a must-read for anyone considering a career in trucking.

As it pertains to your questions, it will lead you through How To Choose A Truck Driving School, How To Choose A Trucking Company, and Items To Pack For The Road

Hope this helps!

Welcome to the forum!:)

Thanks everyone. I'm going tommorow to get a copy og my driving record and then I have to give thatbto the placment people and see if I qualify. I have been working through the practice tests. All great info.

Thanks

To answer your question Ryan, I carry a small tool kit that has basic wrenches/sockets/screw driver bits/etc along with various pliers.

As a reefer driver, I have to cut seals from the back of the trailer, so a specialized set of pliers that cuts cable seals is a big help. I also carry a set of bolt cutters (18") for the cable seals that I can't cut with the pliers.

Hope this helps.

Ernie