Almost There

Finished truck driving school last week when I passed my driving skills test. Took my Tanker test yesterday and passed (it was really a no-brainer test). Took my HazMat test yesterday and failed so I took it again today and passed.

Now after all this I find out I still have to have ANOTHER background check and more finger prints since I did the HazMat.

Gonna report to Schneider next Tuesday to start the real training, can't wait.

Congratulations and good luck

Any updates Phistech?

Excellent!

Any updates Phistech?

Finished 1st week of bookwork here in Dallas. I’m now driving on the Costco dedicated with my TE.

Much better equipment than the driving school which makes driving a lot easier.

Still in a 10 speed although Schneider will be all auto by next year. Got a really good TE which is nice. Kind of a culture shock just getting started away from home and ssssoooo much to learn so fast. The driving is the easy part. Love that smart cruise control, makes it simple while moving.

My only gripe is that Schneider doesn’t have APU’s (I’m told) and I’m wondering how I’m gonna make it in a hot sleeper berth next summer. They don’t allow excess idling.

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.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Any updates Phistech?

Finished 1st week of bookwork here in Dallas. I’m now driving on the Costco dedicated with my TE.

Much better equipment than the driving school which makes driving a lot easier.

Still in a 10 speed although Schneider will be all auto by next year. Got a really good TE which is nice. Kind of a culture shock just getting started away from home and ssssoooo much to learn so fast. The driving is the easy part. Love that smart cruise control, makes it simple while moving.

My only gripe is that Schneider doesn’t have APU’s (I’m told) and I’m wondering how I’m gonna make it in a hot sleeper berth next summer. They don’t allow excess idling.

"excess idling" is different from extreme temps idling. Its a safety issue so they should.let you

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.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Finished Schneider's driver training yesterday (9/21/18) and passed all my skills tests, although I had a lot of trouble with blind side 90° docking. I'm glad to get it over with, it's been a tough 3 weeks for this old man. Last night in Dallas they had torrential rain all night long, driving home this morning I had the same type of rain all the way from Dallas to Huntsville, what we call a "frog strangler" in TEXAS. I'll pick up my truck here at the Schneider Houston terminal about 15 minutes from my house. At my age (almost 73) the Costco dedicated is the perfect match for me, 100% no touch drop and hook. My TE says he averages 2800 miles a week doing the Costco runs so I should be getting plenty of time behind the wheel. The Schneider training is very good, but also very fast paced. We lost a couple of classmates early due to legal issues they "forgot" to mention on their application but we wound up with 18. New classes start every week, lots of people are trying to get into trucking. Schneider is also currently transitioning to tablets to replace the QualComs. The tablets are supposed to be a lot easier to use, I'll get mine next week.

Great news Phishtech. Surprised to hear they still have manuals around thought by now they'd be pretty much entirely auto. As far as the idle goes Rainey is correct. At a certain temperature you can idle all night or day. I believe it was something like 75 degrees or hotter for a/c and 35 below for heat. I don't think those are spot on but ball park numbers I can't remember the exact temps. And those trucks are powerful you'll be plenty comfortable when you are able to idle.