Profile For Donnie M.

Congrats Dave, I can soo relate to to your joy! Hopefully I will be there soon.

Jodi, that is exactly where we were.

Thank you guys for your honest replies. I , discussed the situation with safety last night basically to have record of this. I told my trainer that it might be best if I got on another truck. We contacted dispatch and discussed my concerns in a professional matter with neither he or I trying to throw the other under the bus. After our conversation with dispatch, we had a good heart to heart on each other's point of view. He asked me to stay with him and finish out the training in his truck, stating that he really feels I am a very safe driver and am ready for my solo gig at this point, but have to show more hours in the system. He said he would back off and let me drive to my comfort zone in these weather conditions. I also showed my respect in thanking him for all he has taught me thus far. Today is a new day and we will see where it goes from here.

I have been on the road with my trainer for a week now It has been a learning curve for sure. Been able to run anywhere from 350 to 600 in a day so far. Tensions have been up and down to this point. He is all about running which is good, but I feel he puts me in some bad situations at times to try to save a minute or two. However today running I 80 the roads were iced over really bad. Seen multiple cars in the ditch's and 2 semis on there sides. The highway patrol at one point was driving down the center lane On both sides with lights on at a slow rate of speed trying to slow things down.At our fuel stop, I told him I wasn't really comfortable and needed to proceed at my pace. His response was, welcome to trucking and kept insisting me to run 60 and 65 mph. After some heated discussion and a complete stand still on the interstate due to a pick up flipped over, he backed off but is still pretty ****ed at me for standing my ground. I am considering asking for a different trainer, but not sure if they all have the same mentality. The more miles I turn the more they make.

My wife and I are in our late forties and we're looking to change our career paths. I was corporate employed for the past 15 years and in quite a rut. She has worked at various jobs over the years. We decided to give trucking a shot. With the help of TT, we passed our Permit tests, and enrolled at Arbuckle Truck Training in Ardmore Oklahoma. The school was about a 6 hour drive from our location. Getting our permits on our own cut our cost of schooling down quite a bit and shortened it by a week. I will start by saying that getting a CDL was not a walk in the park for me. I passed on my 3rd and final attempt before having to wait on the mandatory 30 day waiting period. 1st try, nailed left hand offset, straight back and on the 90, put myself in a spot I couldn't recover from (FAIL) 2nd try, hit my backs, then on road test swung too wide on a right turn and impeded oncoming traffic.(Fail) In Oklahoma the backs and drive test are scored as one section. Pre trip is separated 3rd and final time I was able to hit the backs and road test. ( Pass!) The wife on the other hand was not as fortunate. She didn't get hers on the 3rd try so she is in the waiting period. Backing at school has been ok but when she goes to test has brain lock. She will travel back down and test again after Christmas or New year depending on the schools schedule. We decided for me to move on while she catches up. In the meantime I talked to four or five different companies that we had pre hires from. Ended up choosing Werner. I started orientation in Dallas this past Monday and as of today............I am officially a Werner employee! My trainer called tonight and we will roll out tomorrow. He runs 48 states which is what we are looking to do. Pretty stoked about this new path for sure.

Thanks for the update Lyght. Glad to hear all is going well!

Lyght, sorry for the delay. We are at Arbuckle Truck Training in Ok. We came in withe permits and we're behind the wheel on the first day. Starting day three this morning. It is not a cake walk for sure! Double clutching has been a challenge. We are making progress, but it is tough to get my mind to want to Rev to downshift and drop rpm to upshift. I had read on the forums that previous manual driving would not help in a big truck. That is SO true! Actually think it hurts me a bit. I'm having to retrain my brain. We are making progress though. They have us working on previous trips at this point also. Our instructor has been great. I admire the patience he has with us. It has also been nice that there are only 3 students in the truck, which allows for more drive time.

G-Town, thanks for the clarification for Lyght. I hesitate to add any advise because at this point I know basically nothing!

Good luck on you test! I was also having a hard time on the air leakage rates, but came up with something that helped us out. I got the number sequence of 2,3 and 3,4 planted in my head.

2, 3 single 2 for brakes released 3 for brakes applied

3, 4 combo 3 for brakes released 4 for brakes applied

Also, on our permit test, the Pre Trip and Driving sections of the manual were not on it. These will come into play when our schooling starts. Just threw that out there so you wouldn't overwhelm your brain with too much for the permit test. Though, already knowing those two sections should give you a good jump on the schooling side of things when you start.

Our DOT physicals ran $300 for both. $150ea

We were supposed to start school on the 31st , but they called and said that there was and opening this Monday the 24th, so our adventure will start a week earlier.

I was told buy XPO recruiter Courtney that the separation would be 3 to 4 weeks. 7500 miles driving each. We have discussed it quite a bit and honestly it might be better in a couple ways to be apart. My wife would not have the pressure of me being over her shoulder while she learns the basics. Also we both would get training from two different perspectives, which could be beneficial when we hit the road together. However if the separation were to be for 2 or 3 months, we would go another route. We have been a team for 25 years with only being separated for 2 weeks when I was on a business trip to England a few years back.

On the permit studying, along with the study guide here, we were able to find an Oklahoma DMV CDL test on youtube that helped out also.

Keep us posted on your progress Lyght! Like you my wife and I are about to embark on the same journey. As of now XPO is at the top of our list after completing a private school.