Profile For Train

Henry, I have been with Averitt for the past 10 months and I am pretty happy. I don't know much about our flatbed division but those guys do work hard. You might be interested to know that some of our larger service centers have exercise equipment in them. Nashville just finished a refurb of the driver lounge that included the addition of a treadmill, elliptical, and free weights. Other service centers have Nautilus style machines. When you think about the distance to the service center remember you only drive there once a week. For me that means I drive 30 miles a week round trip. Since you are just starting CDL school the only option I believe that will be open to you is regional truckload. you have to be in that position for one year before you can transfer to dedicated, flatbed etc. I hope this helps.

I really meant to post about the remaining days of orientation but got busy with other things. Anyway, I am back home for a couple of days. The rest of orientation went pretty smooth learning policies, procedures, safety, truckload specific information, safety, payroll, safety, and other stuff. Oh! did I mention we covered safety quite a bit? :) I will be contacting my trainer this afternoon to find out when to report. For now, off to Wally world for a few supplies.

Yes and no. A big rig's manual is different from one in your car or pickup. First, as you ease off the clutch with the transmission in gear the engine will automatically provide the fuel and rpm's to keep the truck running and moving forward. In order to shift you will need to learn to double clutch. search YouTube and you will find some examples. Unlike cars the transmissions are not synchronized so you have to watch your speed and rpms while shifting. I hope this helps. Some instructors will say it is easier to teach someone to shift an 18 wheeler if they have never driven a regular manual transmission.

Ron, Have you checked out Swift? I know they allow riders but I dont know about pets. I am pretty sure they are Arizona based.

Tracy, thanks for the words of encouragement. I will be watching my diet in the weeks to come. One of the great things about Averitt is many of their service centers have workout facilities as well as showers. PJ, good luck in Wisconsin I do not envy you.

Today's orientation was all about benefits. The short of it is they offer excellent health, dental, vision, etc. They are very family oriented. There is a husband and wife team running for the company and both of their sons are employed by Averitt as well. I like the idea of uniforms. It presents a very professional look for the company. Oh well tomorrow is another day. I can't wait!

Ronald, on of the channels I follow on YouTube is "Nrs aventures". This is a husband and wife driving for Swift. I have heard them mention in the past that they don't have a physical home, just a PO Box that they get to every month or so. Hope this helps.

I arrived in Cookeville, TN last night for orientation starting today; checked in met my roommate and settled in for a good nights sleep. We are at the Clarion Inn. It is not a 5 star but it is a clean facility with several amenities including an indoor pool and exercise room. I will say this,if you have the option of driving to orientation, take it. In the case of Averitt and Cookeville, things are kind of spread out and having your own wheels is nice.

The first day went well. DOT physical done as well as computer training. Since I am overweight and new the issue of my sleep apnea would come up, I decided to be proactive in the matter. I brought copies of my most recent sleep studies and the data card from my CPAP machine. The data card shows compliance with using my machine, which they really appreciated.

Dewey, I will be starting with Averitt Express this coming week. This is my first truck driving job but my reason for going with them was in part due to the business relationship I had built with them over the past ten years as a warehouse manager. Everyone I dealt with was courteous and professional. When I was in school I met a couple of drivers at a truck stop we went to while doing our road driving. They had nothing but good things to say about the company. You might also look for posts by Rolling Thunder and Trafficjam. They posted about their experiences with orientation and training.

On my first day of school I told the instructor I was considering CR England. He looked at me shook his head and said England stands for "Every New Guy/Gal Lasts About Ninety Days". Take the other advise and call Swift.

If every driver lasts ninety days then CR England wouldn't be as successful as they are now. How would they satisfy their customers with every driver having less than 90 days experience? Sorry, but you are terribly misguided. Basing your decision because of an acronym is just about the worst thing you can do.

Daniel, my comment was a little short sited and I apologize for that. More completely I did investigate multiple companies including England. One of the resources I used was the company reviews on Indeed.com.

On my first day of school I told the instructor I was considering CR England. He looked at me shook his head and said England stands for "Every New Guy/Gal Lasts About Ninety Days". Take the other advise and call Swift.