Covenant Transport

I am going to be going to school in the next few weeks. My boyfriend and I will be teaming together. Covenant Transport has a buddy program that will allow us to train together while on the road. Is there any tips or advice that you can give us about the company, trainers, etc. I am not seeking negative feed back but it seems that's all that I have really heard about them. And throw in any other advice as well...

I am going to be going to school in the next few weeks. My boyfriend and I will be teaming together. Covenant Transport has a buddy program that will allow us to train together while on the road. Is there any tips or advice that you can give us about the company, trainers, etc. I am not seeking negative feed back but it seems that's all that I have really heard about them. And throw in any other advice as well...

Welcome to Trucking Truth, Skeeter. I haven't seen much about Covenant on these forums, but what do I know?

Read through the CDL Training Diaries Forum for some general experiences. Since yuo two are going to work/learn together, I'll add this in: There's an old rule about teaching someone to drive a car: never teach your own son/daughter how to drive! This might be some guidance for you two. But good luck!

You could add a Covenant diary yourselves here for future Covenant people.

You didn't say anything about this, but what's the situation for your CDL permits? Even if the school says you will do those in class, be prepared by studying in the High Road Training Program. You can't go wrong!

PS That's a rockin' avatar! Are there only two pictures there, or is there a secret third one?

I am going to be going to school in the next few weeks. My boyfriend and I will be teaming together. Covenant Transport has a buddy program that will allow us to train together while on the road. Is there any tips or advice that you can give us about the company, trainers, etc. I am not seeking negative feed back but it seems that's all that I have really heard about them. And throw in any other advice as well...

Welcome to Trucking Truth, Skeeter. I haven't seen much about Covenant on these forums, but what do I know?

Read through the CDL Training Diaries Forum for some general experiences. Since yuo two are going to work/learn together, I'll add this in: There's an old rule about teaching someone to drive a car: never teach your own son/daughter how to drive! This might be some guidance for you two. But good luck!

You could add a Covenant diary yourselves here for future Covenant people.

"You didn't say anything about this, but what's the situation for your CDL permits? Even if the school says you will do those in class, be prepared by studying in the High Road Training Program. You can't go wrong!"

PS That's a rockin' avatar! Are there only two pictures there, or is there a secret third one?

We are going to TN Truck Driving School. I picked up a CDL Manual at the DMV and I have been studying the High Roads guide as well as a few other ones that I have found on the internet. Back to the school, they are really pushing Covenant but they are just as good as the others, according to the $$ anyway..

We are going to school together, so we will both be starting out at the same time. The trainer will be a 3rd person and he/she will be training us both at the same time on the road-not really sure how that is going to work. Then we will go out together.

I have been working on getting a federal grant to pay for my school and trying for a scholarship with Women In Trucking. I should hear from both of them this week... I hope.

Thanks on the Avatar! I found it on Pinterest. It's just the 2 faces! I know I looked at it for ever..

I am not seeking negative feed back but it seems that's all that I have really heard about them. And throw in any other advice as well...

Skeeter, welcome to the forum!

We haven't had a who lot of folks go through Covenant, and I see that you already found hamrheads old thread - I don't know what became of him. There are a lot of people who come in here at the beginning of their career, we get them off to a great start and then they don't need us anymore, unfortunately we don't ever hear from them again.

Personally I like running solo, but I understand your desire to do this with your boyfriend. If you have a strong relationship, you can handle it, if you don't it will put a strain on it. Teaming is a peculiar thing, people want to do it because they enjoy being together, but the truth is that you will have very little time together. The one will be so tired after driving for 10.5 hours or so that they will crash in the bed while the other person knocks themselves out doing the same thing the other one just finished. Teams have a very demanding schedule for the most part - they handle loads that are critical and must be done on time. The two of you will have to trust each other very well to make sure that you are getting things accomplished like you should.

Don't worry about all the negative stuff you hear about Covenant. You can her the same stuff on just about any company out there. Truck drivers are famous for mouthing off and trying to blame their own failures on the company they worked for, and any company that specializes in teams is really going to have some bad stuff written about them just because of the demanding schedules that teams are expected to take care of. I worked the first sixteen months of my trucking career at a company that was plagued by terrible internet reviews. I never had any problem there and I loved working for them, but if I had gone by the reviews I saw, I never would have even applied there.

I will tell yo this: a lot of people get in to this career with false expectations. That is the number one thing that trips people up when trying to get a trucking career started. They think the schooling should be conducted a certain way and then when it isn't they want to cry foul! Or the expect the training to happen a certain way, and then they are shocked when it is really difficult and so trying they want to go crying home to their Momma. The best advice I can give you is to hang around these forums and soak up as much trucking wisdom as you can - there is a lot of accumulated tucking wisdom here. When you get into school and training, go with the flow, roll with the punches, and do your best to listen and learn - even if it seems counter productive to the way you thought it should be. In the end you will see how it all comes together to help prepare you for what lies ahead. You entire first year will be one huge learning curve, you will want to quit several times during that first year, and that is on top of the two or three times you will want to quit during the training. If you really want to make it in this career it will take a steadfast resolve to see it through for that first year. Make sure that you and your team partner are on the same page or it will not go well for you.

I don't want to sound discouraging, but I do want you to be mentally prepared for what lies ahead. Your friends and family may think you have gone nuts. You yourselves may think the same after a few months.

It is a great career, with lots of perks and rewards. I ultimately is a new lifestyle, and if you can embrace the travelling lifestyle you will have gotten over the first hurdle and on your way to a rewarding career as a professional truck driver.

Best of luck to you guys!

Don't be bashful, we can and will help you in any way you need.