I Can (and Have) Officially Changed Status To Rookie Solo Driver...
Topic 13653 | Page 1
Congratulations on moving to solo driver. Your comment about your training being finished is concerning. Training is not over, not by a long shot. However, now you need to learn it without a teacher to guide you. Good luck, be safe.
Congratulations and good luck! That's awesome you don't have rent or those other bills anymore.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Congratulations on moving to solo driver. Your comment about your training being finished is concerning. Training is not over, not by a long shot. However, now you need to learn it without a teacher to guide you. Good luck, be safe.
yeah I meant that in the sense of being done of being with a trainer. I could go on and on and on about rhe miseries (some of them not legal) that I went through for my 3.5 weeks of 1st trainer but I'll spare you. I decided to just bite the bullet and deal with it since it was only for a short time and was better then ending up back at terminal or home and having to wait longer for trainer. I got assigned and on the road with that trainer less than 5 days after orientation... lets see friday after I went home, tuesday night I was on trainers truck, that's like 4-5 days, by my count. Tell you what though, it was a huge relief to be done with being on his truck. He was a decent person to have as a friend, just a poor quality trainer imo.
Then needing additional help with backing and my deadline for moving out of apartment coming up I was getting worried. But it's done now and I'm ready to be solo. I know I still have a lot to learn. The day you think you have learned everything, that's the day you need to turn in your keys and cut your CDL in half. There's always something new to learn or improve upon.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
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from company driver in training!
Technically I'm still in squire training program for next 30k miles but with Knight that's solo so far as I'm concerned I'm not really training anymore.
I did 3.5 weeks with main trainer... drove all over the eastern half of usa. far se as atlanta, ga area, ne as VA, north / nw as Chicago area, sw as Denver and as far south as Brownsville, TX. don't know exact mileage but I would estimate at least 5-6k miles. I still needed some help with backing when done with trainer so they (Knight) had me work with a couple local guys to get more practice. Worked with one guy for 3-4 days. his knowledge helped me more in set up for 45s but not so much in backing itself. Went home for a about a week or so then when they had me go back out the 2nd local guy did a better job in teaching setup and the backing.
Long story short I passed my road test this past Friday! I'm back home now as I gotta finish packing and storing my stuff from apartment. I'll be going back to terminal on Tue or Wed to get whatever truck they assign me and get started solo!!! The guy who said he'll most likely be my DM (and also tested me) said if he's my DM he'll prob get me started with loads to the south like FL and what not to try to keep me out of snow cause I only got a day or two of light experience with that.
I'm just beyond excited to get started on this next chapter of my life. With no apartment rent, cable bill or electric I can start saving for a House. Right now my heart is set on Asheville, NC... but who knows that may change. I want to be able to have enough saved for a down payment and some savings in the next year.
If anyone wants to follow my trucking adventures I have a Journi blog set up that I'll post to more frequently than anywhere else. It's just easier because they have an app and it's super quick. right now it has posts from about 1.5 weeks into training up to last day of first trainer.
https://www.journiapp.com/invite/web/kZ2FImoxjU7fjR6A
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.