Profile For Trucking Bunny

Good morning Brian. I appreciate you sharing! I figured there would be a greater chance that the refresher course would be closer to the 3 weeks than the one week (as Stevens is known to be a training company)... but hearing that everyone in your group was told 3 weeks allows me to have more realistic expectations before I get there. That’s definitely valuable information to have. It actually helps me feel more at ease knowing it’s highly likely I will be in the refresher for the full 3 weeks; as the profession I’m leaving is all about “over achieving”. I am going to appreciate not having the pressure of feeling I need to prove myself as quick as possible. I’m glad to be getting time to focus on the backing skills before heading out with a trainer. It’s been a while since I’ve backed a trailer and I know I’m going to be rusty!

Even though I’m local to Dallas - I will be staying at the Luna Lodge. Unless your from the DFW area, it can sound silly that I’m choosing not to commute ... but I live almost an hour away from Stevens. And that’s if I don’t hit traffic! Early in the morning - there is ALWAYS traffic. I don’t want to run the risk of not being punctual, so I am choosing to stay at the Luna. I am thankful I’ll be able to come home Saturday evenings (or if needed through the week) until I finish the refresher; but I’m going to focus on the training - so I will adapt to whatever uniqueness the Luna has to offer! 😁

I am excited to find your post! I am starting the Refresher course at Stevens next Monday (Jan 25th) and this gives me an idea of what I may experience. It also is allowing me to keep my expectations in check. I hope my refresher is shorter - but seeing as the first few days of yours seemed to be a lot of "hurry up and wait" - I can imagine it may take longer than anticipated. It's all good - I am not going to Stevens for the short game. I am going for the experience. Whatever that may look like - I will take it all in stride!

I look forward to future updates!

Hi Anne -

Thank you for the positive feedback!

I definitely appreciate the ability to be apart of this community and share my journey. I am hoping for the best - and from my previous experience ... prepared for the worst. Indeed - my last training mega carrier was successful (because of them I obtained my CDL 🙂). I will not deny that. Unfortunately, not all trainers there should be training - and I was privileged to experience a couple of the bad apples first hand. No matter how great a business is - there are always going to be occasional hiccups.

I didn’t name the previous company (as I don’t fault the carrier for the bad trainers.... I fault the trainers themselves! They were independent contractors you see 😉) I also plan to go back once I have the experience I need to bypass the team training. Knowing that I plan to eventually be a representative of the mystery mega carrier 😁😁 - I am going to leave context clues! Lol let’s just say - you aren’t wrong!!

Either way - I’m looking forward to sharing my journey and learning along the way!!

On January 25th; I will be entering the trucking industry for a second time. I am coming back into this career with very little experience under my belt. Giving a little backstory; I initially obtained my Class A CDL in October 2019. I was with a training mega carrier, and only drive for just about 2 months as a trainee. Unfortunately, things did not work out for me. I did not have any safety issues or violations, however that particular carriers training was very lengthy; and I can be transparent and admit that team driving for anywhere from 4-5 months was not a fit for me. Ironically, I chose this particular carrier because of the extensive training. As "they" say - hindsight is 20/20.

At any rate, upon leaving that particular company - I chose to return to my previous career. During the past year, there has not been a day that I did not consider returning. After much pondering and planning - I am excited to say, I am officially coming back!

Seeking out a company to train me on this restart has not been easy. Although I already have my CDL; I found that coming back into this industry after being out the truck for a year with very little driving experience prior to getting out of the truck, I'm at a disadvantage.

While there are many different carriers that are considered training carriers, the majority of these companies will not offer "refresher" training. That was actually a surprise to me. I will admit - I did not reach out to every training company there is ... but needless to say - quite a few said they only train those without a CDL. For those that were willing to work with someone who already has a Class A CDL, they wanted someone with a minimum of 3 months driving experience. STRIKE TWO. It was not looking good. My previous carrier does have me listed as rehire-able; but the training program is still the same. Upon my departure, it was agreed upon that I am welcome to come back and drive for them - but I would need to get 6 months experience at another carrier. This would allow me to forgo the extensive training requirement.

Ultimately, when you want something bad enough - you do not give up! I continued to seek out a company that will work with my situation. I am happy to say that Stevens Transport has agreed to train me! As I looked for resources about Stevens Transport's training; I realized - unfortunately .... there isn't alot of information available. The information I did find - was rather dated. I hope to be able to aide those who maybe considering Stevens Transport as a starter company to begin their trucking career.

My experience will not be the same as some others. I will have a unique experience to share - as I will be documenting my training as a refresher student. My refresher course will be anywhere from 1 - 3 weeks. I will find out exactly how long I will be doing refresher training when I do my skills assessment next week. Once I finish my refresher course, I begin the 240 hours of training with an experienced driver. At that point, the training will be consistent with other "new" drivers. Upon completing the 240 hours of training, I will attend a 4 day orientation and then upgrade.

I hope to be able to provide some highlights about the training experience at Stevens Transport, for those that are considering this carrier.