Profile For Unholychaos

That's why I try to avoid truck stops unless the spot I'm in is surrounded by straight backs.

Great read! I'll add a little bit to the internal distraction side. Sometimes if I'm going to a customer that I know is going to consist of a difficult back (I know this ahead of time because I satellite view every new place I go to), I start to get that nervous feeling in my stomach. That alone can be a huge distraction cause you end up thinking about it before even getting off the interstate. Deep breaths to calm the nerves helps a lot for me.

ALWAYS make sure the landing gear is touching the ground while coupling/uncoupling. Last thing to do while coupling, first thing while uncoupling.

Flying J off of I-80 exit 77 in LaSalle IL. Reliable parking, nice hot showers, great area.

Schneider doesn't allow any decent sized inverter for company trucks so your options are limited. The road pro portable cooker (looks like a lunch box) is doable for small things as well as an ice less cooler. Honestly, I wouldn't pack more than you'd use between hometimes in the perishable department. Canned goods are your friend.

That definitely satisfied my question G-Town. The biggest thing though, was your first paragraph.

First of all there is no perfect training solution. They all have their pros and cons and that can vary depending on who is considering it. More than any other thing we deal with, the training decision is personal. And the experience is highly variable form one student driver to the next. What works for some, doesn't work for others. That will likely never change.

The 1 week, or in my particular case 2 weeks, out directly supervised with a trainer was enough for me to get the basics down. My first trainer was a Chicago local based out of the Walmart DC in Hammond, IN. We would make pickups no more than 100m away from our terminal in Gary, IN and drop and hook at the DC. We had a lot of live loads; practically every pickup I remember was a live load. He also went home every day so my actual OTR training was completely nonexistent. He never taught me about setting ETAs, NAT (Next Available Time), or really any clock management. But I did get the experience of dealing with Chicago every day.

If I hadn't asked for a 2nd trainer and explained the situation with the 1st one, I'd have been dead in the water that first solo week.

Long story short, I needed 2 weeks to feel, in the very least, comfortable enough to know what I was doing. Backing still was horrendous, but it improved over time; I'm still learning tricks here and there as we all do. But I really don't believe team training, for me personally, wouldn't have made a huge difference afterwards. Yes that first week solo was extremely nerve wracking, as it usually is for everyone. But in my mind, learning the basics of everything then being set loose pretty much forced me to either improve as I go, or drown the deep end.

There's probably a point I'm missing somewhere as I tend to get rather rambly, but I do agree with you. What works for one, may not work for another. Schneider's direct supervision worked for me, swift or prime's team training method may not have (could be the whole "my life is in this stranger's hands" thing that I'm not comfortable with (reason why I'll never team nor train)).

No matter what path we chose to get there, we're all sharing the same roads now.

No one can really relax and focus very well with someone looking over their shoulder critiquing every detail of their existence. It's nice to leave the student alone and let them do their thing when the conditions are pretty mellow.

I can definitely understand that. I was extremely nervous when I had to do an annual ride along late last year, even though I'm comfortable by myself even in congested Chicago traffic.

Btw, I'm not knocking team training because it obviously works or else companies wouldn't be doing it. I just personally wouldn't be comfortable in either shoe; being a trainee with minimal road experience while the trainer is asleep and vice versa.

So essentially 5 days worth of solo driving then team? Other than the teaming aspect, what does the trainee actually learn from teaming that they can't learn without the trainer there?

That's quite an odd question coming from an experienced driver. You can't think of any situations that a driver with one week of driving experience might not know how to handle?

My question mainly stems from the teaming while training aspect; that logic just doesn't click for me. I mean yeah you can wake the trainer up if you need help, but wouldn't it make more sense for them to just be awake the whole time?

I'm at home right now taking my week off. I'm kinda nervous about that first day back on the road after being off for a week. Hell, sometimes even just 3 days off rusts me.