Profile For James M.

I did get 7 days of layover. That's how long it took them to process me on the yard. Left out on Christmas Eve. Since then I still haven't met up with the truck that has all my stuff on it. I talk to the other driver every couple of days. Today I put my foot down and refused the preplan that has me going in the opposite direction of the other drivers home time coming up on the 5th. "No more loads until I get my truck back" let's see what they do.

That sucks for sure. I personally disagree with them doing that, but it is their truck and it only makes money when its moving.

If your available to be dispatched and they have you there in Dallas talk to your DM and see if they will at least get you layover pay. It’s not your fault they haven’t put you in a truck yet. It’s not much but anything is better than nothing.

A side note, they push leasing very hard. Don’t fall for a line that they can get you moving faster if you lease a truck.

I went home for Thanksgiving for five days and on the third day I started noticing a slight discomfort in my groin area that just got worse by the fifth day so I reluctantly went to the ER and turns out it was an abscess. Because of the location I had to have urologist perform a surgical procedure to remove it. This put me out of commission for 2 weeks. So when I finally come off of medical hold I go back my local yard which is just a dirt lot for storage, to find that my truck isn't there. They had let someone else use it mine while their truck was in the shop. All of my thing are in that truck. TV, fridge, literally everything I own minus what I took with me on home time. I drive for Steven's Transport so it's OTR. Instead of having the driver return my truck to Lakeland, FL with my stuff. They bought me a flight to Dallas where I've been in a hotel all weekend waiting for Monday (Dec18). They say they are going to get me a different truck and meet the driver somewhere. If it's a new truck I'll meet him and I'll have to move my stuff to the new truck. If it's an older truck I'll just swap trucks with him since his is in the shop. I'm very upset and have major anxiety about the situation. I haven't worked since November 23 and the bills don't stop and I'll have to wait on my disability for the two weeks I missed. Also, I don't get paid for the time spent in Dallas getting a different truck. Can they just steal all your belongings like that? (I know I'll probably get it back but still) if nothing else I'm just venting. Crap like this makes me want to quit. But how could I if I wanted to? All my stuff is in that truck being driven around the country by some stranger and on top of that my savings account is almost empty from not working for 3 weeks.

Update: one more month and I'll be at Stevens for a year. I really want to go local or regional to be closer to home and be with my son more. The problem is home is in Florida. I'm not worried about finding a job it's the transition process that feels daunting. 1. I have to bring clear my truck out of all my stuff while I'm on my last home time with Stevens minus necessities. 2. Bring the truck back to Dallas. 3. Travel to next orientation (hopefully Marten in my home town they are high on my list)

Update: Finished last day of orientation at Steven's today. Long days but it all happened so fast. A ton of paperwork. Got my fuel card and permanent ID badge today. Hoping to get paired up with a trainer tomorrow. Also, hoping to get that advance on my check tomorrow. It's been a long time since my last check with my previous job. The bus ride from Tampa to Dallas was 34 hours, stressful and exhausting. Food and drinks were very expensive. Anyways, I'm glad I finally made it this far. If I don't update you before grad class, I'll update you after when I'm solo. So for now, I'll be working on my 240 hours of driving 2 mountains, West United States and North East United States.

Anyone know about Stevens Transport? I'll find out for myself in 2 weeks if nothing by then.

Hi there.

Stevens has a mix of auto-shift and manual; both in the company fleet and also in the training fleet.

The company fleet is gradually changing to auto but owner operators and lease-ops still have a choice.

Hope this helps?

Cheers,

Simon

Always helpful. Thanks Simon! ☺

Anyone know about Stevens Transport? I'll find out for myself in 2 weeks if nothing by then.

Just thought I'd drop by and leave a little update. Tomorrow I start my first day at school. Working all the way up until yesterday (Saturday) I've tried collecting as many hours as I can, saving as much as I can. I think I'm going to be good. Got a full tank of gas and I'm ready. Checked with the DMV and all I need to do is pay $81.25 to reinstate my CDL after I've acquired my medical card. I'll be getting that done on Tuesday. In the packet the school gave me was homework basically a 50 question practice test. Completed all but two questions from memory. Basically the past couple of weeks I've been watching YouTube videos of pre-inspections, backing videos and driver's videos. Kinda weird going through school knowing I already passed the final exam and all I have to do is show up and pay attention.

I just have a question about what I should bring to orientation as far as packing. Should I bring any towels or body wash and shampoo or do truck stops supply those? Things I know I'm bringing - duffle bag, four pairs of jeans, a week's worth of shirts, underwear and socks, toothpaste and toothbrush, deodorant, electric razor, shower shoes, phone and charger, 64 oz canteen, one pair of light cut resistant work gloves because I just have them, some work boots, sneakers, one sweater, one heavy jacket and one light jacket (thinking about a backpack, seen it on a video, good for going from truck to shower). Anything else I should bring or leave behind?

Towards Simon or anyone else that knows; does Stevens supply a mattress while training?

Thanks Simon for being so informative. It's very appreciated. What was the condition of your truck or trainer's truck? Stevens boasts trucks no older than two years. What makes and models and such?

Also signed on with Stevens, start a few weeks after you! have a great one!

Awesome! Maybe we'll cross paths sooner or later.

I've pretty much been watching the pretrip video posted on YouTube from my old classroom instructor at Roadmaster on loop. Not much I can do about practicing backing maneuvers from home. I did take my first test which is due the first day, a fifty question multiple choice. It was easy. Only had to look up two questions in the Manual from sections 2 thru 6. The whole first week is in the class room getting ready for my "permit". Remember I already have my CDL. Maybe I'll just get some endorsements over that first weekend. Maybe they'll let me out in the yard to practice my backing skills, who knows. One thing I do know is that they don't transfer credits from other schools. But I definitely am going to stay focused while going to school.

As far as the financial situation I'll take it one day at a time I should be able to save up enough money over the next couple of weeks. It'll be close but I can always stop by my mom's house for dinner. Maybe ask for $20 for gas if it gets to that point.

Thanks again for the advice everyone. I'll keep you posted.

Plus, it's going to be hard financially going to school for three weeks and not getting paid. Meanwhile, my bills are still going to be due and I have to eat and pay for gas to and from school.

Lost some sleep because of this and it's all I've been thinking about today. I'll get one more check from my current low paying job at the end of the first week of school. I live about twenty minutes away from the school and I have a gas guzzling van. Some how I'll have to make it at least two weeks without getting paid. I've heard that Stevens orientation is four days long and you don't start getting paid $450 until the last day of orientation but you don't get that until the end of the week. Now that I think about it they are supposed to feed you through out orientation at least two meals a day because let's face it I'm not going to be getting breakfast of I'm checking out of a hotel early. Can anyone offer to some advice? Money I will have to spend is insurance to keep my license valid and keep my phone on.