Profile For ArcticWolves

Congratulations on passing everything! Now forget the seams/cracks in the ground, the pizza slices in the landing the gear, and the Ricki Lakes you learned. That all goes out the window Knight did you a big disservice by not teaching the most important backing skill, the 45 degree/90 degree setup.

Sure they give you a fool proof way of passing your test to get your cdl but now the real learning begins with your trainer. I just hope you get a patient trainer and one that actually wants to teach you backing rather than use you for miles. Make sure you tell your trainer you want to back into every situation that you find yourself backing in. Don't let the trainer back. He's there to teach/train you.

I don't learn well when a trainer is telling me left/right/wtf are you doing rocking the truck in reverse (well @^#& those automatics are a ***** to back at times, lol). Don't get discouraged and don't be afraid to call your DDM if it's not working out well with your trainer. I had enough after the last trainer grabbed my horn pull because he couldn't control his road rage even though I was driving😂

My first trainer with a "mega" did that on day 1 from California to Utah and once I was in the passenger seat I yanked out my phone and started filming secretly. Then the next day was on the phone with safety and his ass was gone. That is absolutely unacceptable behavior from a guy that calls himself a trainer and should be setting an example for whatever company they work for. Hang in there I had to go through a couple trainers before I got enough experience and just applied at a company that would accept my experience. Got my own truck and learned by myself what the trainers didn't want to teach (backing).

5 days is plenty with a trainer to be honest. The rest is up to you and the only way you learn out here is by doing it yourself without a trainer there to hold your hand so to say. It's all fine and good that you have the trainer but my experience is the trainers at these other 4 to 6 weeks companies just want you for their miles and bonus pay. I didn't have the best experiences with a couple trainers it was so frustrating I put this career on hold for awhile. Now that I'm on my own it's much better. You can absolutely learn all the basics you'll need out here on the road in 5 days. All the extra stuff you will learn what works for you and what doesn't. Practice, Practice, and then practice some more. Every day out here is practice and learning something new. Please get a CB radio asap when you get your own truck so you know if there is a pileup up ahead. That alone can save many people's lives.

I'm actually a bit scared of a loaded tractor in snow.

Be scared of an unloaded trailer. Less weight gives you less grip and traction easier to jacknife and slide.

Lastly, you seem to have a dim view of team driving with a trainer. You say driving long distances is easy. So do you need training while you are sitting in the driver seat and holding the steering wheel? Your trainer expects you to handle the Interstate part easily. They should then be available at terminals and shippers/ receivers to watch and train you in the backing maneuvers that are hard for most people. Team driving with a trainer is the best way to get the rough edges of your newly learned abilities smoothed out.

Team driving is not allowed per Knight Policy during any portion of training. The trainer/trainee is to be awake at all times and the truck is to be treated as it's a Solo operation. This did not happen because I was taken advantage of due to my previous OTR experiences as a charter bus driver. They knew I would drive miles and so we were given miles that could not be done as a solo operation. I didn't complain because I don't like to be that kind of person. I realize it's just like my old tour bus job where I was threatened my job if I didn't do something (sometimes illegal hours). I just need to speak up but I don't like causing waves because I've found that sometimes screws me and I'm not worked for a few days sometimes weeks. Unfortunately that's been my experiences. :( Somehow though the dispatchers at Knight think it's a team operation and it's not. It's clearly plastered all over the papers we sign before hire and even on their site (it's a selling point) that they train as a solo operation with your trainer.

Ronald...do you have your CDL?

Yes I have had a CDL-B for 7 years prior to getting my CDL-A (knight training program) in March 2018.

Okay G-Town you win :). You're right I got my Class A license by avoiding the dreaded Alley docking skill by going to Knight Squire program. I didn't seem to struggle with it at Roadmasters but when I took my DMV test I aced everything except that stupid thing. I practiced over and over and over at Roadmasters till they kicked me off the truck yet when it came time to do that one maneuver at the CA dmv I kept hitting the cone barrier with my tractor on the right. So you're right I have nobody to blame but myself for this. I eventually did get my Class A by avoiding this part of the skill test as not every state tests on that. I thought I'd take Knight up on the offer of learning it out on the road. I have since not had that experience but I guess I'll just go find another school to work with me on it (refresher training).

I guess it's all mental because I failed it when it mattered most (on my CA Dmv test 4 years ago it still haunts me to this day). It took something I had no problem doing in a bus to dreading that manuever in a truck based off my DMV test results. No matter how many times I practiced it at the training pad when it mattered most I kept going over some imaginary barrier on my right (Tractor tires kept going over some barrier)

I'm sorry so yes I guess I couldn't perform the maneuver when it mattered most at the DMV. No body to blame but myself. Time to get out there and find a school/company willing to work with me on this. Thank you all and sorry! :(

Before you go too much further Ronald; you are in serious need of an attitude adjustment.

I have read all your posts; take some responsibility for your failures and shortcomings. It seems to be all Knight’s fault...experience has taught all of us on this forum, it’s almost never the case.

Find a company willing to retrain you, or rengage with Knight. Be totally honest with your skills and where you need work.

Practice and repetition is what you need, NOT hand-holding.

G-Town honestly I'm trying to see where my failures were if I hadn't learned or been taught said alley docking skill. When I'm told I'll learn it out on the road then isn't that the correct expectation to have to learn it out on the road? When I'm not learning it out on the road like I was told due to trainers not wanting to be bothered with you then what am I supposed to do? I'm going to give it another shot and I will learn it one way or another. Just need to get some refresher training it seems or find a company willing to work with me on this. I'll get it just needed to get this off my chest as it's been bothering me for quite awhile now.

At Knight Squire Training in Phoenix Arizona it is a fast paced 2 week program that only teaches you pre-trip inspection, basics of driving on the road/shifting/etc. with 4 students per truck. They only teach Straight line backing, Offset-Left, and Parallel Parking - Right. The rest we are told we will learn out on the road once we have our license and our with our trainer. We are given phrases to remember (Ricky Lakes Staff Loves Reality Sleeze) which tells us to remember our Rights/Lefts/Straights. Then we are on a concrete pad that has cones, cracks and seams that we may use as our landmarks. It's a foolproof way of passing the skills test provided you practice it. None of those landmarks or anything on that skills training pad applies in real life as there is no seams or pizza slices to be looking for in our mirrors for the landing gear. It's literally them guaranteeing you a way to get your CDL if just practice what they show. Here's there videos of their exact pad and maneuvers. Nothing changes it's always like this. They test right on their pad with their own DMV testers of Phoenix, AZ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YULCFVvQTBI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS9PZTLfyq0

I honestly enjoyed my training and was excited to get on the truck with my trainer. Things were going great until my trainer learned they didn't teach us how to alley dock. He seemed very surprised by it and said he's going to have to talk to them about that. He had been a truck driver for about 1 year with CR England Fontana, CA then took a break for a few years and came over to Knight for 2 years and had been a trainer for a few months but he couldn't stop bragging about himself. Then came time to alley dock and he didn't really want to be bothered showing me how and his only attempt was him hanging off my drivers side door saying, "Right, left, straight, pull up, right." Then since he confirmed with our Terminal manager they in fact don't train us on alley docking he kicked me off his truck and decided to go back to being a solo driver, lol.

So I was supposed to get another trainer but it took Knight 2 weeks to get back to me and in the meantime I started searching for local positions. Well Knight got back to me before one of the local companies got back to me so I went back out with another trainer who was an old timer but very inpatient and we wouldn't GOAL on any backing maneuver. So I felt unsafe and my luck the local company wanted to hire me. So I finished delivering our load with Knight and we took our MT back to a drop yard and I got off his truck and got a ride home.

Started with the local company and I was basically laughed at when it came to alley docking. :( I honestly thought trainers were supposed to help you out with advice and tips but the closest thing I got to help was my first trainer. Everyone else so far has not had any patience or any desire to help point me in the right direction as far as setting it up.

The thing that I only regret saying was when the trainers asked me what kind of experience do I have. I'm tempted to lie to them and say none! I was honest and it got me taken advantage of twice because they knew I could push myself and make them lots of extra $$$. Honestly the driving long distances was easy for me we basically team drove and that's not supposed to happen at all in any part of training with Knight but I guess they don't know and don't really care. That's the attitude I got from the Dispatchers. :\ All's they cared about was getting the load their on time and they didn't care how we did it. On their website though it clearly states training is done as what it would be like as a Solo Driver. That definitely was not my experience.