An Update After Being Out For About A Month

Hey Everybody!

Well, I just returned home after a month-long sojourn of trucking training and wanted to report and let you know that things are going very well (BTW, I like the look of the new Forum here and look forward to catching up on the happenings of the rest of ya!).

I left home on Feb 10 for the Phase 1, 8 day Orientation with my company at their terminal in Dallas (I know that Brett does not want specific company's mentioned here, but if you pronounce mine right, it rhymes with "Pail" (or just ask Mother Superior, lol). We started with three Trainees, but one was sent home (had problems with double clutching). Officially hired me on the 18th, waited two days for a Trainer for the Phase 2, 9 - 14 days of OTR training (had me fly from Dallas to Louisville, KY to meet up with him). My Trainer was an O.O. and I personally drove almost 4000 miles in 10 days (from Louisville to Rockford, IL to St. Louis to Houston to Jacksonville, FL to Hattiesburg, MS to Ft. Smith, AR to St. Louis to Chicago to St. Louis to Atlanta where I tested out of Phase 2 on Mar. 6. The truck assigned to me was in Dallas and me and another guy whose truck was in San Antonio drove a rental car from Atlanta to Dallas over the 7th and 8th where my truck was released to me. It is a 2012 Freightliner Cascadia with 193K miles on it. On the afternoon of the the 8th, I hooked up an empty trailer (dry van) and headed home to Austin, TX arriving about 8:00 PM. I am now on a six day break prior to getting my first solo load assignment within their Texas Regional Fleet. My training will continue as Phase 3 with me under the tutelage of a Developmental Fleet Manager for the next several weeks. After that, my Fleet Manager will be from the Texas Regional Fleet.

I won't go into the details, but the experience overall, while intense at times, was extremely positive and a terrific learning experience. Fortunately, we were not in any bad weather. It was very cold most of the time and snow was on the ground, but the roads were all in good shape. I am excited to have made it this far in a new endeavor and eagerly anticipate what lies ahead. Let me, once again, express my gratitude to Brett and all the rest of you here on Trucking Truth for your many encouragements along the way. I look forward to continuing to hear about your experiences as well!

Man, that's sounds great...Every time one of you guys comes on here and posts these kinds of updates it gives the rest of us who are biting our nails and feeling unsure just a little bit more confidence that we CAN do it..Your training sounds like it was top notch..I like the description," Intense at times, but positive"..I can do intense, I LIKE intense...all the better if it's positive intensity..Roll On, brother..keep those great posts coming..

Glad to hear that things are going good for you. Like Guy said, it is so good to hear updates from people that are experiencing what we will be! It gives me some insight to what to expect and how to handle the ups and downs of trucking. I read stuff like this and get excited, however, I will wake up at three in the morning thinking "What the crap am I doing, I don't know how to drive a truck!" Sending one home because of double clutching scares me a bit, I don't want to get sent home! YIKES

Congratulations ATXJehu! It's great to hear from you, and glad to hear things are progressing right along for you. Personally I really like the way Roehl has set up their new drivers with a special mentor/dispatcher until they are kind of broken in and understand the whole concept of what it is that they need to be accomplishing. Wow, it sounds like you got some really great windshield time when you were out with that owner/operator, I hope it was as educational as it was plentiful. None the less that much exposure to the road has got to teach you a few good lessons. That Freightliner truck you got is just right, I mean 193,000 miles puts that truck right in it's sweet spot if you ask me, treat it right and it should serve you well. I hope you do real well at this, and we always appreciate when you can take a few minutes and let us know how you're doing. Roll on!

WAY TO SHOW 'EM HOW ITS DONE !!!! You started out with the most important thing...A Positive Can Do Attitude !!! And now you see exactly where it has taken you....RIGHT where you wanna be !!! This is a prime example of doin' it right. Keep up the good work, and attitude..we look forward to your postings, so others can see what really works....

Man, that's sounds great...Every time one of you guys comes on here and posts these kinds of updates it gives the rest of us who are biting our nails and feeling unsure just a little bit more confidence that we CAN do it..Your training sounds like it was top notch..I like the description," Intense at times, but positive"..I can do intense, I LIKE intense...all the better if it's positive intensity..Roll On, brother..keep those great posts coming..

You can do it and succeed at it, you just have to have the heart for it. Many people have problems because they expect the industry to be something that it isn't.

Hey that's fantastic news!!!

Wow, it sounds like things went pretty much according to plan for ya. Which, now that you know what "according to plan" is like, you know why the first few months of your trucking career are so hard but so totally doable with the right attitude and work ethic.

I agree with Guy - I love hearing people come back here with stories of success. He loves it because he's getting ready to start his trucking career. I love it because I remember vividly what it was like at the beginning of my career and I know what a fantastic 15 years I had out there and I love to see others make the best of their opportunities for a new life and a new career.

Congrats to ya! Looking forward to hearing about your first week running solo!

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Things are still a bit of a blur as I reflect on the past month.

Kathy K, I understand your concerns, but it is "show time" during the Orientations. It's not the time to still be struggling with the basics. Now, I'm not talking about grinding gears from time to time or even missing a few gears, these are not that big a deal. But, if you're stalling out in the middle of intersections or killing the engine at roll off because of popping the clutch too quickly or not watching where your tandems are during turns, jumping curbs, etc., it will create big problems for staying in a Program.

However, everybody concerned wants you to succeed and I think most companies "bend over backwards" to help trainees make the grade. After all, the companies are desperate for drivers. But, drivers do have to achieve a level of skill in order to drive safely. For example, most student CDL grads are weak on backing and my Phase 1 Orientation recognized that and worked a lot on backing. They were not looking for perfection; just for continued improvement.

During my Phase 2 OTR training, I seemed to actually regress some on days 3 and 4. I had problems shifting. I actually stalled out (did not kill the engine, however!) trying to merge onto 610 on the North side of Houston. It was probably due to combination of fatigue and stress plus my Trainer was having me use a different technique shifting and I was over-thinking the process. So, yes, I felt really badly about things at that point and found myself trying to avoid shifting even when needed. But, thankfully, by day 5 and thereafter, things started going my way again. I regained confidence and by the end of my Phase 2 I was doing like my Trainer urged me to do which is, "Drive it like you own it!" lol

So, to all of you out there who are on the verge of going where I've just been, you can do it by just taking it a day at a time. Keep a positive attitude. Don't take anything personal when your Trainer "gets on to you" about something that you're doing wrong or that you need to do better. I told my Trainer up front that I knew that it's not practice that makes perfect, but rather "perfect practice that makes perfect" and that I wanted him to give me all that he had during our time together because I knew that I would be needing every bit of the benefit of his experience in the months ahead. He proceeded on that basis and, as alluded to in my first post, things were not always pleasant for me. Nevertheless, it was all good and needed by me.

Again, good luck to all of you!

Awesome attitude and great advice! Love it!

Great stuff everyone, you have no idea how helpful reading these posts are for me. Thank you. I too am interested in that company that sounds like "Pail." My problem is they dont hire from California, I need to be a resident of either AZ or NV. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about this without "actually" becoming a resident of either state? Thanks again! G MAN