I'm In Spokane And Need A Mentor With Patience.

Topic 9640 | Page 1

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David 's Comment
member avatar

Hey folks I'm new to the trucking world sort of. I tried breaking into long haul over ten years ago but struggled with certain skills. Examples include down shifting, starting from a stop on a hill and of course backing among other things but the first two were the big ones. Here we are several years later and I'm really close to giving it another go.

Now I'm not worried about getting my permit I just need a lot of practice in a truck so I can get good at driving a truck. Or good enough to get me through a school. Trucking schools don't have a lot of patience for people who have never driven a manual transmission and can't pick it up quickly. Is there anyone in the Spokane Wa area who could take me under their wing? I have a lot of good intent and desire but not enough money to pay a school to be patient with me.

Thanks everyone I hope to be joining you all on the open road in the coming months.

Brett Aquila's Comment
member avatar

Welcome David.

Now we only know a little about you at this point but it seems to me you're running into a common problem in trucking. You'd like to take your time and learn the driving skills at a comfortable pace. Makes obvious sense. The problem is that the trucking industry isn't structured that way. Truck Driving Schools, including Company-Sponsored Training Programs, compete with each other based on time and price. Their job is to teach you the minimum requirements necessary to pass your CDL exams as quickly and efficiently as possible. Once you have your CDL you'll go out on the road with a trainer and learn how to handle life on the road including routing, scaling the truck, all of the paperwork involved, etc.

So in the beginning it's common to feel like you're way in over your head and that things are moving way too quickly. You feel as if you're being rushed through the program and often times the instructors are far less patient than they should be. The reality is that all of this is by design.

I don't care what career you're referring to, going to school never teaches you anything more than the bare minimum required to land a job. Otherwise corporations would be happy to hire accountants, lawyers, and marketing personnel straight out of school. But obviously they never do that, save for minor roles under the guidance of more experienced people in their field. So the schooling in trucking will give you the skills necessary to get your CDL and land a job, going on the road with a mentor will teach you the basics of doing your job day in and day out. But in the end, learning by doing is the name of the game and 98% of everything a veteran driver knows is learned out on the road.

The other reason they tend to push people at a faster pace and show less patience than you might expect is because being a truck driver takes a tremendous amount of patience and nerve. It's one of the most dangerous and pressure filled jobs out there. So the schools will purposely try to push your buttons a little bit sometimes to see if you have the nerve to handle it. Some people just crack under pressure. Others are quite timid by nature. These people can not be allowed behind the wheel of a truck until they learn to overcome those anxieties, if they can manage to at all. In fact, most people are not cut out for a life as a trucker and yet it's quite common for them to show up at schools hoping to learn the trade. They're not even aware of the fact, at least not in the beginning, that they really don't belong there.

The fact that you gave this a shot one time before, didn't make it through training, and now you're back hoping for someone to show patience and let you learn at your own pace tells me you're taking too timid of an approach to all this. They're not going to go easy on you and let you relax and learn at your own pace. Maybe if you were learning Yoga you'd find that, but this is trucking and you simply must have the nerve to take the bull by the horns and go make it happen. You have to learn to become comfortable with never really being comfortable because no matter how long you do this job the traffic in Downtown Chicago is horrendous, you're going to take heavy loads down huge mountains, and you're going to run into heavy thunderstorms and snowstorms. One moment of inattention and you could run over an entire family. It's a job for people who are bold, adventurous, and looking to take on a tremendous challenge.

Everyone feels like they're in way over their head in the beginning. Everyone feels like the pace is too fast, the instructors too harsh, and the expectations too demanding. This sends some people running for the exits and draws others in ready to take on the challenge. You have to decide if you have the nerve to take the bull by the horns and dive in head first. Nobody would blame you if you decided this just wasn't your thing. But no one is going to slowly and patiently let you learn at your own comfortable pace. Why let someone relax, be comfortable with their surroundings, and take things at their own pace when the job entails handling a dynamic, risky, stressful, fast-paced environment? So they're going to push you right from day one. If this makes more sense now and you're ready to get out there and make it happen then go for it! If this all sounds kind of crazy well you can be sure you're not alone in feeling that way.

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.

Company-sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Old School's Comment
member avatar

Hey David, and welcome aboard!

Man, I saw your question last night and I was going to respond when I got the chance this morning, but Brett has rendered me speechless - man he laid it all out for you, and I'm just gonna add my confirmation that everything he said was some "real talk" as they say on the streets.

The only thing I might add is that if you were looking for a private individual to help you it would absolutely have to be an owner/operator because the company drivers are not allowed to take riders along with them without turning in additional paperwork for extra insurance, and sometimes they even have to pay for that themselves. You would have a heck of a time finding someone to do this for you out of the kindness of their heart. The litigious business climate that has developed in the trucking industry just doesn't allow for "good ole boys" to help each other out like it once did.

If you want to do this you have got to resolve to just get in there and do it.

It may be that trucking is not for you, and that is not anything to be ashamed of.

David 's Comment
member avatar

Thanks for the feedback gentleman. It was educational to say the most and from what I've read through other florins is that the problems I'm having seem common. So with that in mind I am still hoping to pursue a career in long haul. I just need to find a way to get through the schooling. The mentor thing was a shot in the dark at best. I'll keep pursuing and see where it takes me.

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