Sage Technical, Grand Junction, CO Starting 3/9/15!
Topic 7719 | Page 1
Looks like you ran down your checklist pretty good. What school are you going into?
You have the brake check psi's down. There's another pair of numbers you can't mix up: tire tread. 2/32" and 4/32" depth. Which axles get which?
I recently finished Swift's school (no complaints at all), but there's lots of props for Schneider's training on TT.
Keep posting your experience as you have time & energy. Other TT people like to follow along.
The front axle has two tires on it, tread depth is 4/32. The other axles have four tires each, and depth is 2/32.
I knew that one Errol! Man, I wouldn't run tread that shallow on anything I own. I tried to indicate in the title, the school is Sage http://www.sageschools.com The trucks are a little older, but all 10spd manuals (don't want that 'Restricted/Automatic' on my shiny new CDL) & in good working order. Their job placement seems good, but drivers are in demand out here, you'd be unemployed by choice if you were. When I was interviewing the school I ended up talking to one of the instructors, Dan, for about an hour and he even took me for a little ride around the area, which was a brilliant move on his part, I wanna drive that truck now! Got the clock set ahead, don't wanna be late the 1st day.....
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.
Got the clock set ahead, don't wanna be late the 1st day.....
Hey, yeah! These days most clocks - cell phones, computers, change automatically. Thanks for the reminder!
Well I gotta say, day one was not super exciting, but I'm in and on my way! We got materials, CO CDL Handbook, Federal rules and regs handbook (there's a cure for insomnia!) and our first logbook , which were going to start using today with class time as "on-duty". Lotta papers to sign, school agreement, DOT drug awareness policy, image release form if I become The Worlds Best Trucker and they want to use my face for their ads....The afternoon was just using the CO Handbook & "Truckers University" computer program to cram for the permit test, Wed @ 9:45 for me. Who knew you could actually make an appointment at the DMV , not just walk in and wait for 1/2 a day? Hitting 90-100% on the practice quizzes, even Haz-Mat, so I'm not even as nervous about the DMV test as I was 24hrs ago. Gonna focus on Combination Vechicles today, pulled and 87% on one of those, but that was me clicking the wrong box, always double check your work! Get after it today truckers! "You don't have to carry the truck, you just have to drive it"
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.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
All 6 writtens passed, first try, avg 95%!!!!! Thanks Trucking Truthers for all the forums, practice tests and info boards, you helped more than you know. "Real class" starts tomorrow, can't wait!
This is where the fun starts. At least until you have to start backing!
So our 1st full day of classroom! Met our first 2 of 5 instructors, nice guys. Our 'least' experienced teacher is 20yrs/1Million miles, the team of 5 is 125yrs/10.2 Million miles!!!!! These guys have serious knowledge, I feel we're in good hands. Did Intro to Trucking, Public & Employer Relations, Personal health & Saftey, Drug and Alcohol Awareness & a CSA overview. I didn't really realize I'll never be a a "regular" driver again, in any vehicle, unless I give up my CDL. The CSA stuff is a course into itself (never heard "then they'll dig deeper" so much in one presentation....) In attempt to be proactive, and keep my job prospects as wide as possible, I'm doing fingerprints for Haz-Mat at lunch tomorrow. It can take 20+ days to process, just like a passport, which I also got rolling 2 weeks ago. Don't want to be having the driving opportunity of a life time waiting on gov't red tape to clear. Haz-Mat clearance will also clear you for your TWIC card. You don't need Haz-Mat to get the TWIC, but it's the same office, and getting one gets you a discount on the other. If the job you land involves air or sea-port access, or gov't facility access, TWIC's a must-have, best to start the process now! Well there's a 70 question FMC saftey reg quiz (just learning to look up/cross-reference stuff in the book, really) to do yet, 8 days to do it, but the sooner I turn it in, the better drive time training/truck choice I get, gotta get crackin'! Take care fellow trainees & Truthers, mañana!
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.
CSA:
Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA)
The CSA is a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) initiative to improve large truck and bus safety and ultimately reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities that are related to commercial motor vehicle
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.TWIC:
Transportation Worker Identification Credential
Truck drivers who regularly pick up from or deliver to the shipping ports will often be required to carry a TWIC card.
Your TWIC is a tamper-resistant biometric card which acts as both your identification in secure areas, as well as an indicator of you having passed the necessary security clearance. TWIC cards are valid for five years. The issuance of TWIC cards is overseen by the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.
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So I've crossed the T's and dotted the I's, clean MVR , DOT physical and drug screen, all AOK! (would have sworn my BP was high, I was nervous!) I'm acing the on-line General Knowledge & Air Brakes tests, got the answers to the CO CDL handbook questions highlighted (psi loss was throwing me off, 2/min for straights, 3/min for combos) And it finally 'clicked' how air brakes actually work, yay! I've been backing up the snowmobile trailer w/just the side mirrors, got the 1st weeks worth of lunches in the freezer, the coffee thermos rinsed out, pre-hires from Schneider & Swift.... Any other advice? A huge thanks to the TT forums for all the info everyone posts, it's got me going in with my eyes wide open, hopefully not deer-in-the-headlights open! Anyone have info on Pride (not Prime) running out of SLC? They've got good reviews, reefer & expanding into flatbed (my preference) and they're 4hrs from Jct. Also like the looks of Melton, but Tulsa's a flight not a drive from here. I'll try and post daily, we'll see how it goes!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
MVR:
Motor Vehicle Record
An MVR is a report of your driving history, as reported from your state Department of Motor Vehicles. Information on this report may include Drivers License information, point history, violations, convictions, and license status on your driving record.
Pre-hire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Pre-hires:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated