Five Month Professional Driver Program??

Began Pretrip today. Not being mechanically inclined, it was head scratching reading it and doing it initially. I have always heard of the alternator- but never knew what it looked like until today.

Since it’s a short week- it looks like we will be doing this for three days.

I’ll keep ya posted.

-Eggman

Not sure if I sent you this:

• Pre-Trip Inspection Study Guide
• Daniel's Pre-Trip Inspection
• Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist
• Pre-Trip Inspection Practice Questions

Sorry I haven’t posted In a couple days. Tho not much to say , I had a few highlights of the tandem days.

Studied pre trip on equipment we won’t be tested on, and we will have to learn pretrip on another truck, of a separate brand and motor.

(We’re in the process of transitioning trucks -old to new-, a down fall of a 5 month program.)

Bright side? This way will allow me to recognize parts rather than patterns. (I am not mechanically Inclined. )

I got to drive a bobtail KW. Learning how to double clutch. Circled the yard with a team, restricted to 15mph (Tho the instructor’s 15 whas our 10. “Mission first, Saftey always!” He’d bellow).

I’ll tell ya. I’ve never learned how to drive a clutch. I literally Killed the engine first clutch attempt. I progressively got better through the rounds, and something kept nagging at me.

*Even tho I’ve studied it- that means nothing without application.

Continuing:

I finally got my permit! (Yay!)

I procrastinated on my HAZMAT Final and had to sit my practice time out to answer each question and provide the page number in the cdl handguide, even tho I passed the hazmat with a 92 for the permit. This basically reduced my practice time to 2 hours. (Moral of the story? Don’t procrastinate kids- or you’ll have to play catch-up.)

Over all- not a bad couple days. I’ve been reconsidering my rookie year company. Should I really do dry van/reefer my first year, or could I accomplish the necessary experience safely in a flat bed? Because specializing in a load helps narrow down prospect companies (Whicn they all typically carry dry van. A smaller selection helps prevent being overwhelmed by all the possible choices available to start my first year).

With that being said- next week starts Mode 2.

Happy Thanksgiving! -Eggman

*Even tho I’ve studied it- that means nothing without application.

This is exactly what we were saying in the beginning. After 5 mos of studying, you still won't learn it without the application. So once you go to a company, you will still have a year of learning ahead of you.

and your statement of "they all typically carry dry van" is incorrect. I can have dry loads by turning off my reefer , but my company does not have a dry van division.

IMO you are limiting yourself if you choose a company with only one division if you are not sure if you want flatbed or not. Its a better idea to pick a larger company with a few divisions so if you lose interest in flatbed or find it difficult, you can switch divisions within the company. There are so many benefits to this, including building your reputation and showing future employers you have a strong commitment. Also, your first company will be more forgiving when iy comes to accidents.

Eggman...I agree with “Young Rainy”. (slight smirk)

My work on the Walmart Account includes both reefer and dry; at times one each during a single shift.

Eggman...I agree with “Young Rainy”. (slight smirk)

My work on the Walmart Account includes both reefer and dry; at times one each during a single shift.

I'd be ready to gouge my eyes out if I had to study for a written test for 4 weeks. That's insane.

Hola,

I’ve been in Mod2 for the past two weeks. The six hour days are split, three hours classroom and three hours application. We did bob tail straight backing for a week, then did straight backing with a trailer this entire week. Next week is driver side off set. The classroom portion has been a joke, to say the least. Lots of “down time” for one reason or another. We are not allowed to pretrip when we are out on the field because that time is “scheduled for maneuvers only” but they have been failing to let us pre trip during classroom time on a truck. Sure- we did in cab with a picture projected on the screen, some practice is better than none.

Fortunately, since I’m on the afternoon scheadule, I only have one other student training with me and we challenge each other on the pre trips every 30 mins. One time he challenged me to do the in cab backwards. Gotta have fun, right?

I also have some updates on my MVR , aparantly Washington State issued two people (myself and another bloke) the same ID number- and we have been sharing records for a few years now. They are “investigating” further and trying to take off the items that will prevent me from getting hired and some companies (Maverick already told me they wouldn’t even bring me to orientation till I fixed it). It’s been tedious as I’ve been trying to get this fixed for two months now. Thankfully, I still have a few months left of school to sort that jazz out so I’m not just sitting around with a CDL I can’t use.

All in all, it’s a slow, snail paced process. I take it for what it is, and enjoy my home time while I can. I enjoy being able to focus on maneuvers a bit longer.

I’m excited to start my career next spring.

Hope everyone is staying warm. -Eggman

The 6 month schooling sounds a bit long stretched for a license that typically takes 5 weeks of training and studying to receive. But I'm sure it has its benefits, and if the scheduling and class structure works for you keep at it. I'll keep reading your updates as I've never heard of a CDL school like this. I'm starting with Schneider myself next week they seem pretty promising as a starter company.

I'm starting with Schneider myself next week they seem pretty promising as a starter company.

Schneider is probably where I’m gonna start once I have my CDL- as I can transfer into the tanker division once I have some experience without switching companies.