Profile For Matt S.

DO NOT DO THIS. Once you are in, and waiting for a mentor, you have made an "attempt" at completing the education and hiring process. If you walk away, you will have unnecessarily caused a giant uphill battle for yourself. Now, you get to learn the fine art required in trucking, called "Hurry up and wait....." Don't tank your career do to impatience

If I have to wait too long to be paired with a Swift mentor, I’ll probably reach out to Schneider again.

One category of driver applicants least likely to be hired are job jumpers. You barely get hired with Swift then you apply to Schneider.

So you can't commit to the company that hires you? I understand the need for income, but I doubt it will take long to get with a mentor and your next paycheck.

(True story: mentor pay really fattens a mentor's paycheck. Meaning it should not be a long wait.)

I'm only considering reaching out to another company if I’m still waiting 3 or 4 weeks from now. I literally just had orientation yesterday; I’m not throwing in the towel already! However, I did read some topics on Reddit, posted within the last 1-2 years, by Swift new hires venting about waiting 3-4+ weeks without any update on a mentor pairing after orientation. I'm preparing myself for what might need to be done to start getting paid.

I can't commit to a company that can't commit to me. If, after 3-4 weeks, I haven't heard anything about a mentor, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to reach out to another company that is able and willing to put me into paid training immediately. I don’t have the luxury of waiting around for too long. I may be wrong about this, but I kind of doubt that explaining to Schneider that I’ve been waiting on a Swift mentor for nearly a month, and that I’m eager to start training and work, will make them second guess bringing me on, especially if I point out that I’ve already passed the background, drug, and medical checks required to enter the Swift hiring process in the first place.

Heya now, I HATE getting my hands greasy/dirty dangit! I haven't failed yet though 🤪 Dawn Powerwash, and baby wipes for the win!

All joking aside, if you have the attitude of hard work, you will be fine no matter whose name is on the door.

LOL! I feel the same way, trust me. But apparently, this guy was complaining about his hands enough that a fellow student brought it up while we were BS'ing during a break. I didn’t actually see or hear it myself. Same guy also skipped many of his turns to practice backing maneuvers in the yard, giving reasons like having a blister on his hand, a sore foot, and being tired. He was really struggling with the backing maneuvers, too. Some days, he seemed to prefer watching YouTube videos about backing instead of actually getting in the truck and doing it. He was the only one in my yard group that I felt was probably in over his head and wouldn’t last. He’s a nice enough guy, but he just didn’t seem cut out for this type of work.

I feel like there will be different opinions on this topic but I came to Schneider recently as a rookie and couldn’t be happier. I felt/feel very comfortable. I’m also a fast learner and adapt well. So it’s just going to be preference. But I would not pass up an opportunity with Schneider if you have it. Best decision I made to get my career going.

I really appreciate your input. My first day of Swift orientation is tomorrow. If I have to wait too long to be paired with a Swift mentor, I’ll probably reach out to Schneider again. I need to start bringing in some paychecks, and I also just don’t want to sit around at home any longer. Like you, I'm a pretty quick learner and adaptable. Thanks.

I recently graduated from CDL school. On the DMV application form to upgrade my license from Class C to Class A, there is a separate endorsement column titled 'NCDL' that has the letters 'F' and 'J,' with a box to fill in next to each. I'm a little confused and want to make sure I get everything right the first time.

Do I need the 'J' towing endorsement to drive trucks, or is this endorsement only for non-commercial vehicles?

Those people who said "ew" wont last. If you have a "get er done" attitude, you will succeed anywhere. If you have a "im not doing this.. not doing that" attitude... you will fail. Plain and simple.

Get er done!

One of those same people couldn't even stand getting their hands a bit greasy/dirty during our yard training. I agree, some of them won't last.

Matt has heard:

They wanted to go to Schneider simply because they said they'd put us in a hotel.

You can't get the OTR experience starting in hotels. I can't believe any trucking company will spend $100 +/- night for your training.

My mentor set a rule: when he closes the sleeper curtain, act like he's not there - I'm on my own except for emergencies.

So not to worry about "that other guy" or privacy. I was satisfied with how it all worked out.

Also you may hear that Swift is a crappy company - they screw their drivers, etc. They didn't get to be one of the largest trucking companies by doing that.

Another thing: you mentioned an auto restriction. Again, not to worry. There's a recent topic here taking about auto vs manual. The big companies jumped on to auto shift as soon as it was practical. It saves then money and is actually safer.

I completely agree with everything you said. Some other people in my class had the "ew, sharing a cab with someone?!" mentality. I have no problem with it, and I may even consider team driving at some point if the money is right. To be fair, one of those classmates was a younger lady and may have thought that she would have to share living quarters with a man. The rest were grown men, though, and some of them didn’t seem like the types who would last in this industry very long.

I also found it strange that they’d foot the expense for a hotel, etc., but I’m pretty sure that’s what they told us. It seems like a waste of money for someone who may very well leave your company within the next 6-12 months. But back to your point: that really isn’t OTR driving, so I wouldn’t be getting OTR training.

I agree with you about Swift, too. A company that size is obviously going to have incidents just based on pure odds and statistics. Someone in my class even looked up their safety score online and found that it was pretty much the same as any other mega carrier. Towards the end of our final days in class, our teacher would show some YouTube trucking videos just for fun. We saw quite a few that seemed to purely bash Swift and its drivers. I thought it seemed unfair. If they were that unsafe of a company, I don’t imagine they’d still be in business and thriving. Like you said, "They didn't get to be one of the largest trucking companies by doing that."

I’m happy to hear about the auto restriction, and that’s what I’ve gathered from snooping around online. I also looked up CDL jobs on Indeed around my area, and out of the first 105 ads shown, I could only find about eight that were manual-only. On top of that, a few of those eight jobs didn’t even pay all that well. You’d think that knowing and driving manual would net you some more cash, but that doesn’t always seem to be the case. Most truckers seem to agree that manual is on its way out, except for a few niche roles where it is an advantage. The parent of one of my classmates is a driver and apparently hauls double tankers in an automatic. All I know is, it sure felt safer for me when I took my road exam in the automatic instead of the manual.

Thanks for all your help.

My trainer at Schneider was a local driver who only worked 4 days a week. They put two students with him at a time so the driving time was split. Most days we would only do one local assignment that would be like 20-40 miles and the rest of the time would be sitting at the dock or back at the terminal. It was a pitiful amount of miles/experience behind the wheel. The only plus was that it was in Indianapolis so I probably got much more out of it than just running highway miles.

They were revamping the training program shortly after I finished so maybe it’s better now but it wasn’t something I would have recommended to anyone.

That sounds really cruddy and exactly the type of experience I don't want. Hopefully it has changed for the better. It doesn't sound like Schneider's training is all that special based on the responses I've been getting here.

I went to Swift's Academy. When I got out on the road, I trained for about six weeks. Then out on my own.

The longer time gets you more experience in more types of pickups & drops.

With Swift, for the first week you and the trainer ("Mentor") go with the same shift - you drive and your mentor is right there. Then for the rest of the time it's team driving. By that time you should be able to drive all those highway miles without help. My mentor set his alarm and got up front when we arrived at a destination.

I can't remember exactly, since it was about a month ago now, but I really want to say that our school's Swift recruiter explained their training program exactly as you just did. I think Swift was the company a handful of folks were turned off by simply because they'd have to share a cab with the mentor during training. They wanted to go to Schneider simply because they said they'd put us in a hotel. Personally, I think that's a dumb reason to not consider Swift as a rookie; but to each their own. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna go with Swift at this point. I appreciate your insight. Thanks for your help & advice in my last thread here as well.

You only go out for 5 days on the road with a trainer with Schneider. You do go to their academy for 2 weeks where you get some backing practice on their pad and some driving.

I started with Schneider but it sounds like Swift is the no brainer choice for you.

That doesn't sound very long at all! I was reading quite a few posts over on Reddit that were singing the praises of Schneider's training program. I wanted to come here and see what you all thought. I like to hear opinions from different people and sources.

Honestly, I've been leaning towards Swift just because of the pay difference. But I'd really value a good well-planned training experience. I'd consider taking a little less home initially if I thought it was going to make me a more prepared and capable driver for my first months solo.

Congratulations on earning your CDL!

Where in the country are you located? I only ask bc some drivers here who worked for either of these companies might have some info on regional or dedicated route opportunities in your area.

But that's for later. The important thing for now, as I'm sure you know, is to develop the good habits to make yourself a safe, efficient, and reliable driver. Let us know what you decide.

Thanks! I'm located in Nevada these days and I'd like to stay in the Western 11 States OTR for now. I'm strongly considering living in my truck for awhile so I can put my rent money away in savings and, eventually, buy a home of my own. I also want to use the OTR opportunity to check out different parts of the Western 11 for when that day comes, too.

My opinion and i am biased, i admit. Swift.

Schneider as far as I know does one week with a trainer OTR. Then you upgrade. I don't think 1 week is enough and I would have quit. I would have been scared to death.

We had a guy here years ago who went on rants about how he would never do team training. Said the trainer needs to be awake at all times with him, so he chose schneider. Once he went solo, he was almost crying he wished he got more training. His first week was horrible.

He eventually quit.. but i think he blamed his knee. He could have been in a manual back then. I don't remember.

Anyone remember that guy?

I was hoping you'd chime in! Thanks for the tip. That's exactly the kind of situation I'm trying to avoid. I saw a bunch of posts over on Reddit saying Schneider's training is some of the best, but I wanted to come here and see what thoughts and opinions I'd get. I know Swift has a bad reputation among truckers but I really think that's mainly due to their fleet size and needing to hire so many new drivers to fill it out. They also seem to have a reputation for being flexible and always having work available, though. I assumed they must have a halfway decent training regimen themselves for the amount of rookies they take on.

A handful of people in my CDL class were also against team training. They just did not like the idea of sharing a cab with someone and wanted to stay in hotels for training. I personally don't care. It's not like it's going to be a permanent team driving situation. If it means that I'm getting trained more thoroughly before I hit the road solo, then I'm totally on board with it.

I'm fine with the trainer not being awake with me constantly. I've never liked having people look over my shoulder while working and that was the most difficult part of the CDL road test for me; being watched and closely scrutinized. It's probably good to get a taste of doing a job solo while still having a trainer nearby in case you do need them suddenly. I think that's just a good training practice regardless of the industry someone is in. I hope that guy found something else that is more up his alley. I didn't pay all the money I did and go through all that class & road work just to quickly throw the towel in. I've read that trucking has a high turnover rate and that there's lots of people who just quit it entirely after only their first year or so. I really don't want to be one of those people. I'm sure there's going to be plenty of hard times, but thankfully I live in an age where I have access to YouTube and helpful online forums like this for tips & advice if I need it.

I got the auto restriction on my CDL but the road test was very laid back this time around. I was told that I passed pretty much the moment we got through the yard gate. They really do drive just like auto cars. My stops were no longer abrupt and I felt way more focused on the road and my surroundings in the auto. I may go back and get the restriction removed someday, but I'm just going to roll for now. Thank you for all your help in my last thread on here!

I just passed my CDL road exam earlier today. I owe credit where it’s due to the folks here who gave me some great advice in another topic I posted last week. I really appreciate you all.

I'm now looking to get started with a mega carrier and kick off my new career ASAP. I'll be going OTR and earning my spurs, so to speak, for the better part of the next year. I've already been in touch with Swift and Schneider about driving for them. I was wondering if you guys/gals have any recommendations between these two companies, or are they pretty much the same?

Pay and steady loads are important to me, of course, but so is a thorough new driver training program. Swift offered me more CPM starting out, but I keep reading that Schneider has an amazing training program.

The jakes work differently in different trucks also. Cascadias have a "hill descent" feature. At the top of the hill, turn the jakes and cruise off. Then set the cruise to the speed you want to go down in. Then set the jake to level 2 of 3. It should hold you. If you speed up too much, drop the jake to 3rd level.

I never use this feature. I drive it more like a manual. You can go to the speed you want, then downshift (push stalk away from you) to keep the rpms around 15 to 18 with jakes on level 2. If it speeds up or rpms go too high you can drop the jake to 3. If need be, push on the brake to drop it doen 5mph. Attempt to get the jake to hold again. You may need to shift gears in order to keep the rpms high enough to hold the jakes, but not too high that the engine explodes. 😄

The speed you descend would depend on the weight of your load. On Monteagle TN and Cabbage in OR, there are speed limits based on weight. Max weight on Monteagle says 25mph limit. Cabbage is 18mph.

So... to make things less complicated, I told my students 7% grade 25mph, 6% grade 35mph, 5% grade 45mph. And that is dry road, slower if wet. Park it if ice and do not attempt! No one around you knows your weight, so while new it won't hurt to go slower until you feel comfortable. Always use your hazards and stay in right lane.

When it comes to not using the jakes... it is in your DMV handbook. If you want your max speed to go down at 30mph, then at 30 mph, press the brake until you drop to 25mph. Then let up. When it reaches 30, press the brake again. Continue this all the way until down the hill.

Riding the brakes down the entire time can yes, cause smoke, fire, and soiled pants. But we do it safely every freaking day.

The key is going slow. I often see trucks fly past me then get to the bottom of the hill and see them smoking. Going 65mph down a 25mph hill is not smart!

Heck... Smokey & the Bandit was based on a song that talks about Bandit going too fast down Monteagle TN!!

Ah, okay. So what I’m gathering from you is that it is safe to use the service brake pedal down a steep grade; just don’t use it for prolonged periods. Instead, manage a safe speed by braking at intervals to maintain the MPH I want to be at. Fair enough!

I'm sure I'll learn a lot more of the driving stuff with a trainer when I actually begin my first trucking job. The schools, as they say, only prepare people to pass the CDL tests. I'll just focus on one thing at a time.

I'll make sure to put on Jerry Reed and think back to your advice here if I ever find myself going down that Monteagle grade! Appreciate all your help.

Our examiners specifically told us to not allow the jakes in the CDL schooling portion. They want to ensure a driver can indeed slow the vehicle without them. So i teach to apply the brakes lightly then release. coast a bit, apply brakes release. Come to a soft stop. Rather than push the brakes harder and harder until you stop, thrusting the truck forward at the end.

Yes, jakes can be used normally under most conditions. I won't lie. i use them on ramps, when trucks are passing me to ensure more distance when they get into my lane in front of me, downhill of course, and even at lights. However... you shouldn't use them in bad weather, even on downgrades. You could jack knife. The jakes slow the tractor not the trailer, the pedal slows the trailer also. If it is slippery and the tractor slow, but the trailer can slide and whip around. So you must learn how to control the truck without the jakes.

And hopefully, you won't get the "please eject now" warning light.

Great info! That's what I'll do then. I usually try to come to soft stops, but I was coming to hard stops testing in the manual due to needing to avoid stalling with low RPM's and simultaneously avoid coasting with the clutch in. My instructor's said it's kind of hard to fail on road test points alone. I'm just trying to at least make it through the test for once later this week.

Would you mind elaborating more on the proper method of braking down a steep hill in bad weather? I was told, as you said, not to use the jakes in that circumstance because it may cause me to jack knife. However, I was also told to never use the service brake going down a steep grade, either, since it could cause my brakes to heat up and fail. What would be the safe and proper method of going down a steep hill in heavy rain or snow, etc? Thanks a ton.