Profile For Big Show

Day 2: The day started at 7am with a class on logbooks, safety and a rundown on a bunch of DOT related things. A lot to take in. After that was over I had to go get the second half of my physical. I got flagged to do the sleep study but I saw that coming. I also had something that the doctor wanted to see from my doctor back home and (of course!) he's on vacation this week OF ALL FREAKIN WEEKS! So I have to call and argue with a nurse to get them to send paperwork showing that I was treated and released for a simple injury. That's what I get for being honest. I hope they can come through for me, I don't want a huge delay on my Med card and have to postpone everything I've worked for up to this point. After that there was a quick interview which consisted of them going over my application and background checks. I cleared all of that with ease. I took and passed the Tanker and Combination portions of the permit test. I would have done more but had Simulator Training for 2 1/2 hours. After that it was too late to test so the rest is put off until tomorrow. Finally I sat down and watched every single one of the video based training that was required of us to watch and quiz on. It was brutal, maaaaan. They were so long and mostly PowerPoints. I'm going to study for the 2 remaining permit tests and then go back to the Sim Lab at 11p. Get a jump on tomorrow's lessons. Everything is slowing down a bit and I have a lot of free time tomorrow. Hopefully, I can get medical squared away in that time. Kind of a side note. I'm having a really hard time being away from my son and wife for the first time since he was born. He'll be nearly 6 months old when I get to see him again. I keep telling myself that I'm doing this for him but it's still hard. We video chat everyday so I can see them but it's not the same... I can see why a lot of people get out here and decide they can't do this for a living. I'm not going to give up but I don't blame people for coming to that decision.

Once again, posting from my phone so I apologize for any typos I missed. Much love, guys!

Prime Truck School Now Using Shifting simulators whats? The student passing ratio now .. Thanks for return. cruzer

It's a full wrap-around driving sumulator. Has a full dash and everything. You go through basics and fundamentals like double clutching and downshifting in a life like environment. You can stall the engine, skid, Jacknife, hit pedestrians (which is frowned upon) and pretty much anything you can do in the real thing. A teacher monitors everything from throttle, clutch depth, shift points, they watch every move you make so they can tell exactly what you're doing wrong. They claim that it has helped immensely in students driving better once they get in a rig with a trainer. I personally haven't been in a rig driving yet but I can definitely see the benefits of the simulators. There are some videos of them on YouTube.

Looking forward to your continued updates! Good luckn!

Thanks! I need all the luck I can get lol

After a gruelling 22 hour bus ride, I got to Springfield, MO Sunday afternoon. A shuttle from Prime picked us up and took us to campus. Came in with several guys, we got our packets with all of our paperwork and we're assigned our motel rooms. Most people are sharing a room but I lucked up and have one to myself for now. They gave us a box lunch and we had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. The rooms aren't too bad. 2 full size beds separated by a nightstand, a TV with cable, coffee maker, table and 2 chairs and a bathroom with shower/tub. Pretty standard and exceptionally clean.

Day One: Orientation started at 7am. Went over the paperwork including the contract and medical forms. After that we were assigned groups and depending on what group you were in decided where you went next. I had Apex first which is a strength test of sorts. Lift weights off floor with proper technique, climb a ladder, lift overhead. Pretty simple stuff. After that was the urine drug screening. Stood in line for over an hour. Next was the DOT physical. It was split in half. First half was sight, hearing and blood pressure. There was a long wait for the actual examination and after sitting and waiting for another hour it was time for me to go to the Simulation Training. I have to go back tomorrow to finish the physical. The sim training was just learning how to shift properly today. Got a really good leg workout! The teachers are pretty nice guys as long as you stay focused on your task. Once that was over I grabbed my dinner and came to my room to fill out the rest of my paperwork and study for the permit test I plan on taking tomorrow. Didn't have time to do my interview/file review so I'll do that after my physical. All in all it was a lot of hurry up and wait type stuff. Everyone seems helpful and all the drivers I've spoke to are real eager to answer any questions I had. None of them minded showing off their rigs and explain things about them. I feel like I made a good choice. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

And sorry for any typos. I cracked my laptop at some point on the bus ride here so I'm doing this from my phone.

That's the best thing to do. I got my TWIC card couple years ago and filled out an application online prior to going to any appointments, I'm sure things have changed a bit. Make the appointment and look on the TSA website for what documents you will need. http://www.tsa.gov/stakeholders/frequently-asked-questions-0#enrollment

Sorry about your misfortunes but glad to see you are back on track. Looking forward to reading about your journey with Swift. I had an in-law that went with them and he had a positive experience. Good luck to you!

Good luck man, stay safe.

I'm with my trainer now hanging out at the terminal. First stop, Dallas. And I forgot to pack my swimming trunks...

Always can go skinny dippin. Good luck in Tx

We went over to take care of something with the logs and get a load and couldnt get the log deal fixed so got put off to 7am. My trainer got up at 1am to find the fix they did yesterday wasn;t fixed. Still leaking. No apu and I use cpap so really need it. He didnt want to go without ac at night either. So we wait again to this afternoon. Guess I might as well get used to it now.

Did they start you on the CPAP there or were you already using one prior to applying? I'm wonder how you pay for them if a sleep study says you need one. I don't have insurance at the moment.

Good luck, man! Keep us updated!

First off, I'm a long time reader, short time member and first time poster. Absolutely love the site! Anyways, they actually do prescribe medications to treat the symptoms of sleep apnea. Meds such as Provigil is one that I know of. This only treats the daytime sleepiness that stems from sleep apnea though, not the condition itself. I'm stressing over this myself because I know that I'm going to get hit with a sleep study when i go to Prime in a week. I'm one of those poor unfortunate souls that are built like a linebacker and will score high on that BMI chart. I'm 6' 3" and 325lbs which is over the limit. What I'm stressing over is that I don't have health insurance to cover any treatments they think I need for a condition I don't suffer from.