Profile For Tom

Hey there N14! I did NTI a few years back and I see it was shared on here. Can’t speak for the NTI school near you but mine was a blast. Also you might be able to get it paid for through a career center as I found that out too late after I did mine out of pocket.

Hey guys and Gals!

Yes I'm still alive! I got my class A and I leave for Prime this Sunday the 10'th. Ill be starting a new blog on that.

- Tom

Thanks Mario!

I definitely will. I'll start a new thread and let you all know what it is so you can follow.

Well here we are!

School is done!

I took my CDL test yesterday:

I did my skills test with ease. My straight back was perfect, my parallel parking was perfect even though I had to use 2 attempts and got my alley dock on 2 attempts. She said when I got my dock and parallel parking done that I couldn't get much better lol My pretrip was flawless.

My road test was awesome! I did everything good except 1 thing... I got 7 audible grinds... I was allowed 4. So that failed my road test. I'm only annoyed because the trucks we use all shift different and I don't have experience in the truck that I used. I find that in every truck I drove I had to get used to how it shifts but I tried my best.

I know the next test will be good because I'll practice in that truck and be used to it.

Other than that I'm happy and things are well. I have to push back my Prime date to start working but it's manageable.

I hope everyone else is doing well!!!

Joe,

Also I forgot to mention that most flatbed loads don't have as much height as dry vans/reefers so you won't have to worry about height limits when going under stuff!!!

Stewart,

Your very welcome!

Just remember how diverse the trucking industry is and that you have lots of options to explore which is awesome.

I also would like to learn to fly. Good thing is ill have that opportunity thanks to getting into this line of work and I'm continuing to make a bucket list of my own. Adventure awaits! Lol

Joe,

I decided on flatbed for a few reasons:

1. No docking. I like the fact that I don't have to dock the truck to unload. I'm sure I'll have situations where I'll have to back it into places but most of what I've heard it's easier to get your truck into wherever you unload it.

2. I never have to load/unload it. You get to your drop area and fork trucks or whatever equipment load/unload your trailer.

3. Minimal wait times. Usually what you haul is always needed as soon as it gets to the destination compared to other stuff you might haul in dry vans/reefers. I don't enjoy the thought of waiting around lol I want to go go go!

4. Some physical labor. You have to handle heavy tarps and tarp your loads and secure them. I like that I'll be able to get out of my truck and put a little work in besides driving. Plus you get paid an extra amount to tarp/secure your load. Plus you may have a fork truck handy to put the tarps on the load so you just have to unfold and cover it.

The only downside to this is inclement weather but that doesn't really bother me.

5. Paid more. Most flatbed positions offer more pay than hauling other trailer types and loads. I got offered $0.42 CPM starting out for a NE regional flatbed position which is pretty amazing for being a rookie.

6. I just like the fact that I can look back in my mirrors and not see a huge box blocking my view lol You can see everything behind you!

7. Most flatbed tractors are nicer than all the others on the road lol

That's pretty much all my reasons. I can't say this is absolutely consistent all across the board as this came from a few sources that have driven flatbed. I'm sure different situations will effect what goes on but for the most part these were the consistently similar things I was told between them all.

As far as all of your reefer questions go I'm not sure I know enough to give any feedback there. I know they refrigerate! Hahaha

Anyway I hope this helped!

Hey Stewart thanks for following!!!

Alot of local jobs are hard to come by up here but it's possible. From what info I've gathered it's best to do OTR for one year than apply local as that seems to be the trend around these parts. I was lucky to get offered a NE regional flatbed offer and I'll be happy with that. They said after orientation and 40k miles with a trainer (combined miles) I will get solo with 2 weeks away from home and that's about as good as it gets because it strikes such a nice balance for me with money and time away.

It all depends on what your willing to compromise for.

You can make it as a trucker if you really want it, just find the will and the way. Give it a shot.

I have a family including a kid and after talking it out we compromised and felt this was the best we could do to make it work.

Hope that you might give it a try so keep me updated!!!!

Joe thanks for following and your welcome!!!

You got a good chunk out of the way and yes it took me about that long.

Not sure how things will go with your plan but from what I read from others in company training your doing it right.

G-Town gave some good info on that.

Again thanks for following!!!

Hey all!!!!

It's been a little while since I posted, school and life has kept me busy lol

So for the past 2 weeks we have practiced yard skills and road driving consistently. I now have a perfect parallel park and my alley dock is good enough to be done within the limits allowed so I'm very happy with that!

The biggest challenge I had on the road was down shifting and double clutching but I can shift really good now. I can take it from 3rd to 10th and back down pretty smoothly. I'm a gear jammer now lol

I did however have 1 funny incident.... I managed to rip an electronic walk/don't walk sign off a pole in a very crowded rush hour part of town lol I didn't let it get to me because my instructor did 1 on 1 with turning and by the end of the next day I could take on anything!!! Progress!!!

I got 2 job offers... one from Stevens Transport and the other from Prime. I accepted Primes orientation invitation. They are offering a NE regional flatbed driving job granted everything goes as planned.

Other than that not much more to jot down here. I have 1 more week before my actually road test and I can't wait!!!!

Thanks for following all and I hope you all have a great weekend!