On With Boyd, My Orientation Experience & Thoughts.

First of all, I will say that I am very glad I chose Boyd, they may not have the Pete tractors like TMC but they have a very nice company goin.

I started orientation on the 16th, already heard about Dave and how strict and to the point he was so I knew what to expect lol. I think a lot of people might take him the wrong way or think that he's being "mean" for no reason but he's there and does what he does to help speed up the process and get things done for the day, making sure we soak in as much info as we can. road test was interesting, I trained on a 13 speed, their trucks are all 10 speeds and the shifter was very tight and the clutch was like trying to push a rusted rod through a bucket of bolts..... Not cool. not a fan of the 10 speed at all, OR the tightness of the shifter, and the stiffness of the clutches in their trucks but maybe it was just a mechanical issue idk. I could shift a 13 speed perfectly no issue double clutching. the rest of the week was pretty straight forward, getting us set up, and then a couple days of a basic load securement class. Not anything hard at all. Lot of work, but if you're born to be a flatbedder you'll know it real quick. if ya don't like it right there in orientation you're gonna complain about it and hate it. I had fun with it. overall I give the whole week a 10/10 experience.

now for my dislikes,

I do not like their idea of shifting at 1,000 rpm on the low side and 1250 on the high side. They teach that to save fuel, but here's what I see doin it that way, you'll be in high gear in no time and then be stickin your foot in the pedal tryin to get to highway speed, that to me means more fuel usage, putting all that load on the engine because you shifted from 3rd to 10th so quickly.

now the biggest dislike,,, they do not want you to downshift when slowing down...... so basicly, goin 60 mph gettin off the interstate you want me to stay in 10th gear and feather the brakes all the way to 700 rpm and then clutch,,, and finish the stop?? here's my problem with that and I see it as a huge safety concern,,, being in the PROPER GEAR for your speed, or slowing down,, can help you out bigtime if an emergency situation arises ahead of you or behind you... let the engine work for you slowing down right? Meaning drop a couple doubles and then gradually come to a stop... With their method,,, you're stayin in 10th gear riding your brakes all the way to the stop sign.... their mechanics must really love changing brakes???

other than that, like I said,, solid company and I go out with my trainer on the 2nd and I'm more than ready to start flatbeddin !!!

John, Congratulations!

As far as your dislikes, I think they are legitimate, but don't let it bother you so much just yet. I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that you'll find out from your trainer that the drivers don't actually do everything exactly like they suggested to you in orientation - just speculation on my part, but check it out and see if I'm right on this. These trucking companies have a tremendous fuel bill and they are constantly trying to figure out ways to trim it if even just a little. The folks that I drive for have about 2500 trucks and spend approximately 140 million dollars annually on fuel - they say that 20 million alone is spent just on getting drivers home for home time. So you can see why they try every angle possible to save on fuel.

As far as shifting up at those very low RPM levels you will actually find that easier to do once you've gotten some more experience under your belt. I shift at much lower RPMs than I did when I first started and it has increased my fuel mileage considerably. You will develop as a driver all along the way and being conscientious of how efficient you are will come naturally as your confidence and skill levels increase. Don't sweat it right now, it will develop over time.

I think Boyd is a great operation and you've made a fine choice. I've helped and been helped by many Boyd Brothers drivers while tarping or un-tarping my loads at various receivers. Maybe we will run across each other out there on the road somewhere.

John, Congratulations!

As far as your dislikes, I think they are legitimate, but don't let it bother you so much just yet. I'm just guessing here, but I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut that you'll find out from your trainer that the drivers don't actually do everything exactly like they suggested to you in orientation - just speculation on my part, but check it out and see if I'm right on this. These trucking companies have a tremendous fuel bill and they are constantly trying to figure out ways to trim it if even just a little. The folks that I drive for have about 2500 trucks and spend approximately 140 million dollars annually on fuel - they say that 20 million alone is spent just on getting drivers home for home time. So you can see why they try every angle possible to save on fuel.

As far as shifting up at those very low RPM levels you will actually find that easier to do once you've gotten some more experience under your belt. I shift at much lower RPMs than I did when I first started and it has increased my fuel mileage considerably. You will develop as a driver all along the way and being conscientious of how efficient you are will come naturally as your confidence and skill levels increase. Don't sweat it right now, it will develop over time.

I think Boyd is a great operation and you've made a fine choice. I've helped and been helped by many Boyd Brothers drivers while tarping or un-tarping my loads at various receivers. Maybe we will run across each other out there on the road somewhere.

Thanks old school, it does seem like a lot to try and understand without actually bein behind the wheel for very long, but I'm sure that 2 to 5 weeks with my trainer will help it all clear up, I've always been a hands on learner. I'm sure we will meet up one of these days, my handle is "war machine" and idk what channel everybody runs on these days but I'll be on it, even if I'm just flat out bored I might get some cheap entertainment on 19 right? Lol.

Yeah, Old School nailed it. Do what the company says right now and when you get out there on your own you'll develop your own way of doing things.