The Last Step Is Always The Hardest. Any Advice?
Topic 189 | Page 2
Hey Justin, welcome to the forum and the world of truck driving! Don't get yourself all bogged down with these decisions, and do yourself a big favor by staying away from some of the other trucking forums which are full of a bunch of disgruntled whiners and complainers spreading a bunch of trash talk about trucking companies with absolutely no way to substantiate their ridiculous venom.
I want to answer a few of the things you brought up. I think someone has already answered most of it but sometimes it helps to hear it two or three different ways. You can keep living right where you are and still drive a truck for a company that's 3,000 miles away from you. When it's time to get you home for a little R&R they will route your truck so it passes right by your town and let you take a break. Just think about how many trucks travel through your area, you could be working for any of those companies, and trust me there's a multitude of them needing good drivers.
Don't sweat it so much about what company you want to work for, but maybe consider more what type of truck driver job you think would fit your personality more. Work your way through some of the information available to you in the Trucker's Career Guide and see if that doesn't help you get a feel for what kind of driving you might like to consider. The main thing is that you make up your mind to stick it out with your first job for a year. That's where the real learning curve kicks in, and where you'll prove yourself to future prospective employers who are looking for experienced drivers. Ignore all the trash talk on the internet about different companies, and realize that a driving job is going to be as good as you make it out to be by your professional approach and attitude. All the negative talk you've seen is from people who couldn't do their job the right way, and now they're lashing out at the companies claiming how they were mistreated or couldn't make any money because management was so greedy.
Make sure you go through the High Road Training Program for a great start on your training for the tests. It's a great way to get the material down, and lots of people including myself never had to even look at their states CDL manual while passing all the states exams with flying colors.
As for the shifting concerns, I just wouldn't worry about it. Don't go trying to learn how to shift a car first though, it's only going to mess you up. A big truck doesn't shift anything like a car, and you can slowly let out the clutch without pressing the accelerator on a truck and it will start rolling along without any effort on your part. With more and more young people getting into trucking, these truck driving schools are seeing lots of people that have never shifted gears, they know how to teach it. Driving a truck is a major multi-tasking effort, but you can get accustomed to it.
I suggest you look into a company sponsored training school like Prime where they will spend a lot of extensive time with you and you will have a job guaranteed provided they are happy with your progress. Now of course the decision is yours, but don't put an extra strain on yourself by borrowing the money to go to a private school, and then have to break your back getting it paid off. There are plenty of companies out there who will pay your way to your dream if you'll just make a commitment to them for a full year - some of them won't even ask you for a dime, while some will payroll deduct your very easy payments for a year. They train you and you don't even have to make payments until you're earning money. Now the only people who could complain about a deal like that are over there on that other forum.
Best of luck to ya Justin, I hope you can break into the industry and be shifting gears with the best of em!
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.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
I'm kind of in that boat but I think I've decided on prime inc. I think when I was looking for school everything I found was negative. When I looked at the actual reviews it seemed like most of those people were doomed to fail anyway. The complaints were about nor being home and random things like that. I thought that most of them went in with the weong attitude and mentality. Until I foind this site I was really confused about all of it. No one seemed happy or anything. Once I found the info about cdl schools here I really felt more comfortable with understanding it all.
I really think that if you are prepared and understand tje industry that most of the schools will be good for you. As long as you keep focused you will be alright.
I've heard good things about Swift. Its in Phoenix so its close. 'Yourboye' has a youtube channel. He was a trainer at Swift and always had good things to say and good videos in general to learn different things. It may be something to look into. I watch all the truxking vids I can to keep learning more and keep the passion.
Best of luck.
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.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Oh Lord, I hope I can shift, I can drive a stick in a car, but now I don't know.....
Don't sweat the shifting !!! You will learn to double clutch...And you will learn the rpms of where to shift, and each truck is different on this. AND you will learn, once your out with your trainer...that nearly all truck drivers "float" the gears. But for some weird reason no one knows, The requirement from the states make you double clutch...Out on the road, you will learn that the only time you hit your clutch is to start and stop...thats it..So...don't sweat it...just get thru it.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Darnit Starcar you made me feel self conscious about my double clutching , I double clutched for at least three months after I first started. Ooops...
And Kathy ( GREAT name by the way, that's my mothers name, and she spells it with a "K" too! Congratulations for spelling it the REAL way lol Wooohooo!) don't worry about the shifting, when I trained with Central before we drove the truck for the first time they asked us who drove a stick. About 5 of us raised our hand, and we were told to forget everything we do when shifting in a car. Completely different. You'll do just fine.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Double Clutching:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
Dang James....I bet you didn't wear shorts for awhile...what with havin' that over worked muscled left calf...
. I know when I started, TSB wouldn't let me use our perfectly good cruise control, until he was satisfied that I could maintain a proper speed with just my foot...So I could wear shorts....cuz I had MATCHING over developed calf muscles !!! I looked like I had Popeye's legs...That and my legs are kinda bowed from huggin' a horse everyday for way to long...you, I don't wear shorts......
Sorry to hear that I won't have to double clutch much longer, I kind of like it. Sure, it took me a while to break all those habits I learned shifting a manual transmission car. But there's just something sensual when you hit the rpms and road speed just right and she shifts oh so beautifully.
If I were you, I'd jump right into a company sponsored school that offers manual transmissions. We had a few students come in who had learned on automatics. They had gone out with their mentors for OTR training, and promptly dropped at the nearest truck stop.
In short, pay attention to what the instructors tell you to do. It really isn't all that difficult to get the rhythm down. It's just paying attention to what the truck is telling you - rpms, road speed and engine noise.
Best of luck!
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Gods, BRETT......would ya PLEASE get an EDIT button on here ???? I'm getting afraid to type....and yes, I know I should read before submitting....And I should also make sure what I'm aiming at when someone breaks into my house...but its just so much fun to keep pulling the trigger til I run out of shells !!!!!!!!!!
I second that...and edit button is a good idea.
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
Gods, BRETT......would ya PLEASE get an EDIT button on here ???? I'm getting afraid to type....and yes, I know I should read before submitting....And I should also make sure what I'm aiming at when someone breaks into my house...but its just so much fun to keep pulling the trigger til I run out of shells !!!!!!!!!!
I second that...and edit button is a good idea.
I meant "an"
^^^^ exactly what I mean - can't fix it lol ^^^^
BMI:
Body mass index (BMI)
BMI is a formula that uses weight and height to estimate body fat. For most people, BMI provides a reasonable estimate of body fat. The BMI's biggest weakness is that it doesn't consider individual factors such as bone or muscle mass. BMI may:
- Underestimate body fat for older adults or other people with low muscle mass
- Overestimate body fat for people who are very muscular and physically fit
It's quite common, especially for men, to fall into the "overweight" category if you happen to be stronger than average. If you're pretty strong but in good shape then pay no attention.
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I was just watching a Video of a guy showing you how to shift a 13-speed. He had a split video, one camera on him and the other on his feet. He only pushed the clutch once. Every other time it was just him flipping this red button on the stick and shifting?
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated