Profile For Sam

Sorry for not replying on the process of orientation or the training, I wasnt around a PC at all, but I have some great news.I am now a rookie solo driver now .I got home today after been gone for 4 weeks

The orientation was for 3 days. On Friday I was put with a trainer that had me doing things I wasn't conformable with like going around Dallas TX and Houston TX in rush hr . wanted me to stay up with the traffic and 2 times I had to put brakes on really hard not to ram someone. so after 5 days with him we ended up back at our terminal and I told my driving manager I wasn't conferrable with this guy so he put me with this other trainer. This trainer helped me allot . He let me drive the way I like to drive , On heavy traffic I like to stay back a little and when I see traffic stopping I have plenty of time to stop. Not one time did I have to put my breaks on to keep from ramming anyone.I am a defense driver and I think this is the reason Iv never had a accident in my 32 yrs of driving .Training was supposed to be for 21 days and I upgraded 18 days in I mostly had to work on my backing and still need practice but I have the process down.

My 2nd trainer was good for me as training me for what I needed to learn but he wasn't the cleanest of them and couldn't make it to the bathroom most times but he has a medical issue. I was determent to put up with it so I could hurry and get in my own truck. needless to say I didn't have a great experience with my trainers but I got thou it alive and know more than I did. because Of my experience I think I will work toward being a trainer so I could help students have a good experience instead of A nightmare

Ill be more professional like Danial ......I would have loved him being my trainer I wanna be like Daniel lol I think I could have put up with his shakes he makes , maybe it would have helped me loose weight and make me eat right lol

Got my first load on 4-16 at Cedar Hill Tx to be delivered to Spartainburg SC. Did it in 1.5 days with no hitches at all. Home for Easter weekend and leaving out on Monday for 4 week tour of this beautiful country

During my 18 days of training Iv been in 85 dg whether in Lorado Tx and the next day being in Blinker Wisconsin and Minnesota with a layer of ice and 6 in of snow. Iv been in almost half the states on the right side of the map . now Im ready for the left side

At 4 pm today Ill be on a bus going to Dallas TX for orientation with deBoer Transportation. Arriving in Dallas at 12:45 Sunday. Orientation will start Monday at 7:30 am. I will post as much as I am able to.

How God answers prayers, First off I wanna tell you some info, My instructor is 3rd party examiner also I had allot of people praying for me at 10:30 am

I was doing allie docking pretty good until 2 days before I'm to test . I was to test on 3/12 , at 10:30 am, on the 10th and 11th I couldn't get it in the box at all , The morning of the test we arrived at the training pad with it raining, I did some allie docking that morning and was still terrible at it, So the instructor to me to run the road course.I ran the course and working on my timing with holding the RPMS at 1400 so I wouldn't grind while shifting, Got back to the pad at 9:45, did a few more allie docking and still with no success.At 10 am i asked the instructor if I could use the restroom and study the pre trip. While I was using the restroom she made a call to see if the weather was going to clear,(we didnt wanna be on the wet ground doing the pre trip ) it was going to clear around 11 am so she postponed my test till 11:30, Now remember I have allot of people praying for me at 10:30, At 1030 my instructor told me to practice docking, for the next 45 min I put the trailer in the box 5 out of 6 times. At 11:30 I started my test and on the pre trip i made 102, out of 107 , on the stopline I lost 1 point, on the straight line I lost 2 points , on the serpentine I lost 0 points , on the allie docking I put it right in the middle of the box and only lost 2 points from crossing the 2 lines in the square ( the way this box is set up most will hit these 2 lines) 5 points out of 14 , During my driving test I only grind gears 3 times ( during downshifting I don't rev hard enough for it to go right into 7th, something i need to work on ) and hit the lines 2 times, 2 points for not checking traffic in my mirrors (intersections i looked ) Thats 7 points out of 25 , I scored higher than anyone in my class. The reason I'm writing this is I told God if he helped me pass this test I would give him all the glory He knew I needed a few more try's and he gave them to me GLORY TO GOD

Sam, I just thought of something. You are about to celebrate 30 years of being a husband and father. What a success story! Do you have any idea how rare that is? And starting out at 18 besides. That means you know how to serve your spouse and be of service to others. That is THE key to success. I had two failed marriages by the time I was 35. I never knew anything about being a husband or father until I became a Christian in my forties. You, sir, have a VERY impressive record of success. I am confident you will continue to be successful because you know the secret. I would say, "Good Luck" but I know luck had nothing to do with your past successes and will have no part in your future successes. You already have the keys in your hands. Hats off to you.

Stephen E. Birch

Yes Jopa , I have been a christian sense I was kid , Wife and I believe in marriage (not saying we have had a perfect marriage or christian life) but I think this is why we have lasted this long.Thank you sir for your kind words and most of all for the motivation, encouragement, and confidence you are giving me.Not only to you but to everyone that has helped me out on this journey. (I would name everyone but I don't wanna leave some one out so Ill say EVERYONE ,THANK YOU)

@Ken , Sir I will post as much as i can , Ill be on the road without a PC, but I will post during my home time, A laptop is on the top of my list as soon as I am making some good money.I haven't worked in 2 yrs and wife lost her job a few months ago so money is low here , Its going to be a struggle for me at first but i know that God has brought me this far and he will take me to the finish line .which reminds me I wanna share something with everyone , ill post in in the next box

Sam, Ooooo, getting close! Any butterflies? Hell I got 'em for you . . . I'm supposed to head to Springfield, MO on the 28th heading for Prime and it still doesn't seem real. There really is an opportunity here in truck driving that exists no where else in the whole job market. KInda like the military: do I wanna be an Airman, Sailor, Soldier, Marine or a Coastie . . . does one pick Swift, Central, Stevens, Prime or any of dozens of companies . . . and they pick up the tab, too! What a world. Well, good luck Sam and since you are approaching your 30th wedding anaversary (and unless you got married REAL young) you, like me (62) are no spring chicken . . . another fact that goes against the grain . . . I mean, who would have thought? I think you would agree that the fact and spirit of this website has been and is a real positive influence in many lives . . . what a rare treasure as much of the internet is nothing but intrusive garbage . . . so congratulations to you and God speed . . .

Stephen E. Birch

Thank you Jopa, yeah I'm only 48 , got married when i was 18, raised 3 kids and now going for the dream job Iv had my whole life, This is a great site , it helped me get to where i am today and will help me (us ) in the future, We have somewhere to go to ask questions when we are a rocky driver out on the road and need some help, I have meet some great people on here and hope to Cross their paths 1 day

Thank you guys for your commits,it was very helpful, I have chose deBoer Transportation,I leave on 3-22-14 for orientation ( the only down side to this is my 30th wedding anniversary is on the 24 lol Here is some incite on the orientation for deBoer

Congratulations: SAMUEL CROWE your application has been approved and you have been scheduled for orientation. Please review the information below for travel and orientation arrangement

Orientation location: Cedar Hill, TX – Holiday Inn Express 1007 N. Hwy 67., Cedar Hill, TX 75104 Orientation date: Monday March 24, 2014 Travel Method: Greyhound bus (give greyhound both the confirmation and PTO number in order to receive your ticket. Greyhound allows one bag under 50lbs. We do not pay for extra bags if you choose to bring those. You are leaving Saturday March 22, 2014 Traveling by bus to Dallas, TX: Call COWBOY CAB 214-428-0202 Give the cab driver deBoer’s acct# for pick up from Greyhound. Taxi will travel to the Holiday Inn Express – Cedar Hill 1007 N. Hwy 67 Cedar Hill, TX At 7:30am the following morning, arrive downstairs in the designated conference room to meet up with the Orientation instructor for further direction. Orientation last 3 days, once complete you will be assigned your trainer and you will depart.

Nobody can answer that question for you. We each make the decision of where to start our trucking careers for very different reasons. You need to make a pro and con list for each company. Look at each company's CSA rating. Decide what is most important to you. Things like pay, what part of the country you will be driving, hometime, etc. There are a lot of other companies you did not list. The opportunity is limitless. It really is.... what is important to you.

Yeah , I have my list of pros and cons but wanting people that knows the company's to respond about their dealings with the company , I know there are allot more company's out there but the list I provided are the ones that pre hired me

I obtained my CDL class A licences last week, I am 48 yr old with no kids at home, I want to be OTR for 3 to 5 yrs for the adventure,I have no problem being OTR for 4 or more weeks.I have applied with several Trucking company's and I have a few that is waiting for my answer.

The company's are : Swift Transport, de Boer, Arnold Transportation, USA Truck, H.O. Wolding.

Iv done my research on all the company's and I know what the pay rate and all is. What I'm asking from everyone is to help me make a decision with which company would be great for me starting out in, To me , Not asking no one to bash them just give me some pros and cons.

Also who would be the best at training me on safety and how to do all the aspects it takes to run a truck on a day to day bases.

Looking forward on seeing reply's from a few of the guys and gals that I have great respect for as Truck Drivers and the person you are .You guys may not know me to well, but I have been on this forum allot and feel as if I know you. That's why your opinion will mean alot to me

Thank you everyone.

You want to get that long truck off the tracks as soon as possible, By not changing the gears you have a better chance of not stalling on the tracks, you will be in a gear to get you off the tracks asap

Hey all. I am studying for my CDL, using trucckingtruth.com's program of course, and I understand you are not allowed to shift gears while driving over railway tracks. What I don't understand is why? Forgive my ignorance, however, I am one of those people that needs to know why something is the way it is.

You want to get that long truck off the tracks as soon as possible, By not changing the gears you have a better chance of not stalling on the tracks, you will be in a gear to get you off the tracks asap

You want to get that long truck off the tracks as soon as possible, By not changing the gears you have a better chance of not stalling on the tracks, you will be in a gear to get you off the tracks asap

Hey all. I am studying for my CDL, using trucckingtruth.com's program of course, and I understand you are not allowed to shift gears while driving over railway tracks. What I don't understand is why? Forgive my ignorance, however, I am one of those people that needs to know why something is the way it is.