Profile For Kyle Carpenter

So I have been at Celedon for 3 weeks now and I am almost ready to take my test. So far it has been great! You live at the school, 3 free meals a day and a lot of ammenities. Has anyone else been at Celedon in Indy? If so, what did you find out about them after training?

Kyle, you could probably call any of the companies with training programs and they'd bring you in next week. They'll give you whatever training you need and get you on the road as soon as possible. If England works for you then go for it! But if they mess around and don't seem to be getting anything going then don't hesitate to contact other companies. In fact, telling England that others are interested in you will light a fire under them hopefully.

They kept telling me i would have to wait until a trainer was free to train me. like it was my fault. After 4 months they found someone to train me

To anyone out there who might be in a position where you're ready to go on the road with a trainer but it's going to be a long time, try calling other Company-Sponsored Training Programs and let them know what's happening. Many of those companies would send you a bus ticket to come to their program. Now that doesn't mean you want to do that! But it gives you leverage. You can call the company that is taking too long and tell them,

Look, Swift said they'll send me a bus ticket tomorrow and they have trainers ready to go. I can wait another week or so but that's about it. I can't afford to wait months for you guys to come up with a trainer. I have bills to pay like everyone else. So I'm hoping you'll get me on the road soon but at this point I have to make a move one way or another.

You won't believe how quickly things will get moving at that point. Don't be threatening or nasty about it. Just be very calm and pleasant. You're simply stating a fact - you can't afford to wait months for a trainer. Anyone can understand that. And that's why they'll make things happen. Once they know you have other options you're looking into that are ready to go right now they'll do something about it. Getting drivers is extremely difficult. They sure as heck don't want to get one and then lose them because of something like this.

You have to be savvy and know how to make things happen in the trucking industry. You'll learn to get your appointment times changed, get hooked up on the best freight, talk dock workers into unloading you sooner, and get out of tickets from DOT officers. Most importantly you have to know how to talk to people and get along with people. Truckers have no authority over anyone so you have to learn to get people on your side. The only way anyone will help you is if they want to help you. You have to be the type of person they want to do something nice for. You can't bully people around. That's the biggest mistake most truckers make. They confront people and try to bully people into giving them their way. It almost never works. Be nice to people, talk kindly, but be confident and firm when you need to be.

Trust me.....I learned this over a period of years and not all of it the easy way. I stepped on my own toes many times before figuring this stuff out.

Alright, Thank you all for your answers and help with my problem! It is appreciated very much!

The part that confuses me is the three year gap from when you trained with England and were out with a trainer? I'd have to assume that they want to get drivers trained and behind the wheel within a reasonable time...so I'm confused as to why they couldn't come up with a new trainer for you within a 3yr period....

If it were me..and a company was making it impossible to get onboard with a trainer...I'd have to start looking elsewhere...and ALOT sooner than 3yrs!

The trainer and i got a long real well. We went down to Atl and was coming back up 40 heades for Chicago i believe it was. I live in Terre Haute, Indiana which 40 runs through. The weird part is he dropped me off at a rest station and my gf at the time came and got me. Him or the company didnt mention at least taking me back to England. When i talked to the recruiter he told me to go home and they would get me with another trainer asap. I was on their advanced program which just meant i got to go out on the road quicker with a trainer. I got with a teainer in chicago at thag point named Peter. I got all great remarks from him besides watching my speed better. I have not been contacting them for the past 3 years. I kept in contact with the for a while and then got frustrated with them over the whole deal. I decided to go look other places. But everyone wanted experience.

Alright, thanks alot! I think I will call England and see if they will put me back through their refresher course. Really there was nothing else to the story. England seemed very sketchy but seemed like a good company. But I was new so who knows really!

Whatever works for you!

I don't want to... come across like I am trying to steer you one way or the other. By all means, do your own research and make your own choice. But... I run out of Indianapolis for Werner. I went to Werner after CR England. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have went with Werner to begin with. I don't know what your goals are... what you're looking for in the trucking industry. Although companies might have a lot of similarities, each one is its own experience. I believe it's possible to be successful with any company, but finding a company that melds well with one's own talents, abilities, and goals is an awesome thing.

Good luck!

I really liked England, I just got a bad mood about it after they let me down twice. Thanks for the info though!

When I was at England it took a good month for me to get with a trainer. It would have taken longer except another student that was waiting for his second phase at the hotel told me about his trainer he had and that he would take two students. So, I called the guy and got him to come and get us. It was very unorthodox but worked.

You can go to a company and take their refresher course. At England, it was basically the same stuff new students went through, except you didn't waste two weeks studying and taking the CDL tests. They did everything that came afterwards, then went on to training just like the new students.

In central Indiana you have a lot of choices for schools. If you haven't already, start checking out their web pages and apply to a company that looks good to you.

Alright, thanks alot! I think I will call England and see if they will put me back through their refresher course. Really there was nothing else to the story. England seemed very sketchy but seemed like a good company. But I was new so who knows really!

Please tell me that the 3 years was a typo. 3 weeks maybe? 3 Months possibly? If it is 3 years i agree with Old School, your basically starting over.

Was the training through CR England or a private school? I assume England but just curious.

Woody

It was through England. I mean obviously i will still have to go through training, which is fine. I know companies will not just throw me into a company owned truck. i am just wondering which is the best one.

Well I got my CDL through a trucking company that most know as CR England. Got on the road and 3 days into my over the road driving my instructors daughter came down with anomonia and had to go home. Here I am a little over 3 years later and they still will not help me one bit. The only OTR I have is from Chicago, IL to Atlanta,GA.

Okay Kyle, I'm just going to say that you are giving me some really big red flags. There's something missing here, and if you don't know what that might be then I'm even more concerned.

I understand the part about your trainer having to get home and therefore you had to go home, but why didn't C.R. England put you with another trainer? That makes no sense. If they had a reason to suspect you might not be truck driver material then you have certainly confirmed their suspicions by waiting around for three years to start trying to get back in.

What have you been doing for three years? If you have been on unemployment all this time while holding a CDL, and now the checks have quit coming and it seems like you better start looking for a job, then shame on you! I'm assuming a lot here, but man something doesn't look right in your response. If what I'm thinking is right, then I can tell you that you need to look into a different career. You don't really want to be a truck driver, and you don't have the determination or the will to make it out on the road.

The harsh reality is that this job just isn't for everyone, and I can assure you that the people who do good at it really want it bad enough that they don't sit around for three years waiting on C.R. England to "help" them.

The people who succeed at this stuff have their heart in it - they can taste it like it's good food, they're hungry for it, and crave it like they have to have it to survive. You have not indicated anything like the desire for success, but rather that you are looking for someone to hand you something desirable enough to make you willing get up from your comfortable position on the couch.

I'm sorry man if I have misread you, but my instincts are usually dead on.

Look Kyle, you are worth nothing to any trucking company right now. You will have to go through the whole process again, or at least find someone who will give you a refresher course. That CDL in your pocket is about as useless as an over drawn credit card - it's going to get you nothing but denials. You have to have recent experience to get a job, and people who sit around sucking on the public teats don't have recent experience. You can't lay the blame on C.R. England, there are some other issues here.

If I am wrong, then feel free to explain yourself.

I had actually gotten a hold of England several times after they dropped me off. They kept telling me i would have to wait until a trainer was free to train me. like it was my fault. After 4 months they found someone to train me. That ended before i even stepped into a truck because he went from OTR to a local route. England likes for rookies to get the test of everything and not just the Chicago area. After that i they told me the same thing, i would have to wait on another trainer. I mean i was first in my class, recieved my cdl the first time almost perfectly. Backing up was surprisingly my strong point. So much they asked me to help some of the other rookies. Going from Chicago to Atlanta i had one problem in the mountains and that was it. I am not trying to brag, i just thought i was doing really good.

Also not that it is really important I am just looking for a company solo gig. With a nice pet policy if that at all works.

Good job! Congrats! I remember being less than an inch from a curb and losing all breath but didnt hit it. Felt like I was on top of the world.

(Hitting a curb in Indiana is auto fail)

I was taught to keep my foot on the break and let out the clutch until you feel the truck pull against the break the let off the break and use the clutch to keep you from rolling back. Then when you have to go start hitting the fuel and let off the clutch the rest of the way.

To add on this, The brake will shake and that will tell you when to release the brake. If not your truck will start to turn and then you will stall. If you have a way of practicing releasing the brake try and way for it to start shaking your foot a little.

one of my instructors took me to a hill and had me hold the truck still with just the clutch.

My instructor did the exact same. It helps out a lot! I forgot all about that though.