How To Approach This Issue?

If he's in the hole, that's his own problem, not yours. As far as you costing him fuel mileage, well he better just get used to it or he should stop taking heavy loads that keep him in the mountains. Just keep working on what you're doing and as long as you're making progress, don't sweat it.

Thank you all for the replies. I do think I'm gonna have to talk to someone and see if I can get a new trainer. I had a pretty rough time yet again on the road today, could have gotten ugly and he was still looking at his phone. He stopped when I had a rough time coasting in somewhat heavy traffic and ended up stopping on a freeway ramp. After that I told him I needed to switch for a bit to gather myself and he simply said "well you need to learn". But you're all right. His money issues are his not mine, and he's just a tool to help me earn my cdl and not much more. I want to learn as much as I can. Hurting someone else, my trainer, or myself is the last thing I want to do in this career.

TRAIN ME BRETT!

Well he is right that "you need to learn". This first phase of training is just to get you good enough to pass that CDL test. The teaming training after is where you will really learn the trade. And even then when you go solo you will learn a lot on your own that first six months.

It's tough coming into this career, make no mistake. I took my lumps in training and I took some more when I went solo.

I'm not in that truck so I don't know everything going on, but I would try to demonstrate some grit and stick with him a little longer. You aren't magically going to get better at driving even with a stellar trainer. It's still a process.

Just disregard any crap he gives you about fuel mileage and stuff and if he gets ugly tell him "I'm doing the best I can, don't talk that way to me." Now if it truly becomes a hostile environment on that truck by all means get a different trainer.

My trainer was gruff, but I stuck with him through the second phase of training and learned a lot from him. I would get a "wtf are you doing?" out of him sometimes, and I'd laugh and say I have no f'ing idea.

But get as much time in that seat as you can, no matter how bad it gets. It will get better.

(neutral/brake drama) Can't mention how many mini heartattacks I've had almost rolling back, or killing the truck.

Something my trainer pointed out to me that helped tremendously with starting from a dead stop was to watch the hood as you're letting off the clutch. It will start lifting as the engine tries to pull the truck forward (as it does in the tug test) and that's when I was to take my foot off the brake and start giving throttle and easing further off the clutch. Very soon after that I was able to get the feel of it and stop watching the hood. Hope that helps.

Well he is right that "you need to learn". This first phase of training is just to get you good enough to pass that CDL test. The teaming training after is where you will really learn the trade. And even then when you go solo you will learn a lot on your own that first six months.

It's tough coming into this career, make no mistake. I took my lumps in training and I took some more when I went solo.

I'm not in that truck so I don't know everything going on, but I would try to demonstrate some grit and stick with him a little longer. You aren't magically going to get better at driving even with a stellar trainer. It's still a process.

Just disregard any crap he gives you about fuel mileage and stuff and if he gets ugly tell him "I'm doing the best I can, don't talk that way to me." Now if it truly becomes a hostile environment on that truck by all means get a different trainer.

My trainer was gruff, but I stuck with him through the second phase of training and learned a lot from him. I would get a "wtf are you doing?" out of him sometimes, and I'd laugh and say I have no f'ing idea.

But get as much time in that seat as you can, no matter how bad it gets. It will get better.

That's true. I do have to learn. I think I was just flustered. I had about 3 close calls within the span of a few minutes. I do need to learn to deal with that kind of stress it's not easy but it's a must.

I honestly think that having someone with some gruff or sterness/hardened ways of teaching wouldn't be too bad either though. I think I need to be more upfront about what I want and need to know with this guy. It hasn't been hostile but I do only have two weeks to learn enough to pass the cdl and I haven't done any backing out here and only some of it at the training yard. I don't want to wait till it becomes hostile either, but I'm going to talk to him some more and see if we can come to an understanding about what we need from each other.

Communication is key. Good luck. Who knows, in the long run you may force yourself to be better.

Foot on brake, let clutch out very slow when the truck starts to tilt that's when you can rrelease the brake and slowly let out clutch more. Never let off brakes until this point or you'll roll back and never roll back then let clutch out to catch it as the torque literally twists **** in half.

If u roll back push in brake and try again and try to relax, do not let the 4 wheelers or your mentor bother you.

You are there to learn don't try to be an ace just be patient and take your time and be safe most of all.

I know I had alot of issues because of anxiety I didn't want to hold up traffic and blah blah now I just ignore them and I'm my own world if they need to pass they'll pass.

Hang in there man you got this, if I can do it you can!

I couldn't even leave my house for 6 years due to panic attacks now I command an 80,000lb cruise missle!

TRAIN ME BRETT!

Ya know, it's funny because I just started rock climbing. So I'm the grizzly old veteran when it comes to trucking but I'm more of a newbie than you are when it comes to climbing. Right now I have a total of about twelve hours of climbing experience.

I hired a climbing guide to teach me. The first day he took me to the first wall I was gonna climb and I thought, "This is ridiculous. I don't know how any human being could climb something like this to begin with. But me? I just don't see it happening." Most climbers are really lanky. They're built like ballerinas. I'm a 5' 7" stocky Italian. I thought I was gonna look like a complete idiot. But heck, I'll try anything! So I gave it a go.

Every second of the time I was amazed I was still on that rock. Every foot of progress I made I thought was a miracle and would likely be my last. But my guide was going, "Oh you're doing awesome! We're gonna be able to do some fun stuff!"

And I'm like Whaaaat??? I'm hanging on for dear life every second. What does he mean we're gonna do some cool stuff? I've already done what I thought was impossible for me and now he's thinking I can do more??? Utterly impossible.

Well that whole first day we kept going to more and more difficult climbs and although I was able to keep doing them my mindset never changed. I still thought all of it was utterly impossible and I was so shocked I could do it my mind was just spinning. There were several times where I'd get to an especially tricky part and I couldn't figure out what the next move was. He would describe it to me and I'd be like, "I don't know! That seems awful sketchy and I'm not sure I can pull it off." Every time he'd say, "You can. I already know you can do it. Just grab on and go for it."

And every time he was right. It seemed like a miracle, but I'd pull it off.

So as daunting as all of this seems right now, and believe me I know what a daunting challenge feels like, you're totally capable of far more than you might believe. You're thinking this trainer might not be handling things well but he might be doing exactly what he should be doing and it just doesn't feel that way to you. Just because he's glancing at his phone doesn't mean he doesn't know what's going on. And just because he doesn't handle situations the way you had hoped or expected him to doesn't mean he's not handling them well.

Everything is going to feel overwhelming for a while. You just have to push through it. And as far as your trainer telling you that you have to learn, what he's saying is that you're not going to get any better sitting in the passenger seat and you'll never learn to overcome that anxiety if you're not forced to overcome anxiety.

Training a driver is a tough love kinda thing and most of us aren't used to that. It will feel overwhelming until you get more experience and get comfortable with it. Backing is going to be a mess until you get more experience at it. Keeping your butt in that driver's seat and pushing through those difficult moments are what it takes to become good at this. It would be awesome if you could just do it in a simulator or read a book on it but trucking isn't one of those type of activities. It takes seat time in high pressure situations to learn to handle it.

Heck, years ago I was learning to climb in a tree service and I was terrified of the heights. I mean, I'd get ten feet off the ground and my legs would be shaking so badly I thought my spikes were gonna come out of the tree. There was nothing I could do but keep forcing myself to go a little higher and take on challenges a little more difficult. It was absolutely awful for a while to be honest with ya. I dreaded every day of it. But over time I got better at it and learned to handle the heights just fine. Now I can stand on my fingertips and toes hundreds of feet off the ground on the side of a cliff completely without fear at all and just enjoy the view. But what an awful journey it was to get to that point!

So hang in there. Your trainer isn't screaming at you or throwing things at you or smacking your hand off the shifter when you grind a gear. Believe it or not that kind of stuff happens more often than you would think. Old School had a trainer that was just off the charts insane. Rainy had some awful experiences in training recently too.

So you might not be as bad off as you think. It just feels that way because this is all so overwhelming right now. Just try to relax, take it one moment at a time, and make sure you don't bump into anything. That's it. Keep a ton of following distance on the highway and when you're backing just creep along at a snail's pace and keep getting out to look. Every day you park that truck without any scratches on it is a victory, and over time it will all become much easier. It's a really tough and stressful process but it's necessary. We've all endured it. You'll get through it just fine.

Brett, your bounds of wisdom in trucking are non existent. I love that about you. Thank you so much for more insight. After taking a nice hot shower last night, having a good conversation with my dad about my mistakes and his mistakes in trucking, I'm gonna go on and try and tough it out with this guy. If it really doesn't work out and I'm not getting the help I need I'll see if I can switch but it's true that most of the learning will come from my own self experience as well. He's just a guide to get me there.

Yesterday after being down about the situation I reminded myself that this is still what I really want to do and no one is going to come in between me and that CDL but myself.

Good for you man. Go get em! Getting through that first year is really tough. The stress and confusion during training is overwhelming at times, and heading out solo in the beginning is just as bad. You just have to stay the course.

I would highly suggest trying to stick it out with this trainer. Like I said, there are some trainers out there that are borderline neurotic. This guy might not be a barrel full of monkeys, but it doesn't sound like he's a militant psycho either. Only a small percentage of the trainers out there are truly cut out for it and are doing it for the right reasons. Most of them are just trying to make a little extra cash and approach the entire idea of having a student as a necessary evil.

So when you can say your trainer is at least tolerable, you should probably be happy it's even that good. A lot of people would have loved to be able to say that.