Who's Going Swift

Starting training on 11/11 wondering if anyone else is headed to swift for training in utah

Congrats on going to Swift. I graduated from Fontana and been solo for about 3 months now. You would love the Utah Terminal. In fact I love that terminal better than the HQ in Phoenix. I wish you all the best and I cant wait to hear about your progress.

Yes you will definitely love West Valley terminal. The training is topnotch. The facilities are best of all the terminals I've been to. I've been solo 11 months now. I've seen so much of this country it's unbelievable. But that's all I have to say. Sorry it will depend on if you choose dryvan , reefer or flatbed. Oh, they Intermodal also. But I know nothing of it. Obsorbe all you can from TT, from you training and when you go out with your mentor. Make sure you are getting the backing you will need. But remember once you have your CDL A, to also have humility. You will have challenges from day one, but if have enough salt to have decided to go on this adventure, you have enough Salt to have found this site. And you will have enough salt to get through all these challenges you will face.

Good luck to you and don't be a stranger. Have problems ask for help. This is that humility I was talking about.

Raptor

Welcome Tom to the Swiftys, I’m a student driver finishing up my first week, I’m enjoying it so far the only thing I’m really getting use to sharing a small space with another human being because I’m a space guy but other than I’ve been running in NY, NJ and one stop in VA in back to NY, this morning I finished driving 540 miles which to me 10hrs 23mins, I drove 6hrs before I took a break I’m enjoying seeing all of the beautiful scenery when I get a chance because I mainly drive at nighttime oh well I hope you enjoy your experience in CDL School but once you get on the road your trainer may tell you to forget what you learned in school because this is a different ball game.

oh well I hope you enjoy your experience in CDL School but once you get on the road your trainer may tell you to forget what you learned in school because this is a different ball game.

SLC is their headquarter for refeer. Yes, Central is part of Swift too. Learn as much as you can to pass the driving test. When you are with your mentor, What you learn in the training school may not apply, like Ryan said, to the real world. Key in point, I have not used my parallel or offset parking skills yet BUT those are the knowledges you need to pass the skill test. (Driving test consists of: pretrip, skill tests and driving.)

Have fun!!

Ryan suggested...

oh well I hope you enjoy your experience in CDL School but once you get on the road your trainer may tell you to forget what you learned in school because this is a different ball game.

Ryan I can assure you; everything you learned in school is the basic foundation necessary to successfully complete training and conquer the challenges of 1st seat responsibility. You will be building upon it...not to be forgotten.

and Thomas made a similar observation...

When you are with your mentor, What you learn in the training school may not apply, like Ryan said, to the real world. Key in point, I have not used my parallel or offset parking skills yet BUT those are the knowledges you need to pass the skill test.

The skills you learn in school will absolutely apply to your road training and also to the "real-world" (please refer to my reply to Ryan). For example I used the parallel twice yesterday when spotting trailers at a Walmart store dock and parking lot. Although the need for this hasn't occurred for you yet...it will.

I totally agree with G-Town. I remember a certain grumbling student in truck driving school with me complaining, "This is B.S. we will never parallel park a semi in the real world." Well, you may and you may not, but you will definitely use that maneuver and technique when you've backed up to a dock and then they come out to your door and request you move to the next dock over. Or as G-Town points out, dropping one trailer then moving a trailer out of the way so you can put yours in it's spot will typically be a similar move. Everything you learn teaches you little nuances that help you make progress on knowing how to manipulate that trailer into the spot you need it to be.

Thomas...here are a couple of photos showing the result achieved by using the same mechanics as a parallel backing move. Not so obvious until you piece the puzzle together.

This picture was taken a few years ago. What isn’t obvious are the two 40’ containers parked about 80’ from the front of where the tractor is positioned. The alley next to the dock area is about 16’ wide. Not much room...basically a parallel park job to setup for a straight “back” into the hole.

This one kinda speaks for itself...to the left of me is a trailer. You can see the area in front of my tractor where you could setup for a conventional backing maneuver ...it’s got all kinds of obstructions limiting your available space.

And finally this one. This is how we park when we are waiting for a door to free up or on a break behind a store. To the left of the image is the curb. About 8’ behind my trailer, another curb and a light standard. The area to the right must remain clear.

After two days on my truck my student had to use both the parallel and offset skills parking a blitz load at one of our terminals.

Then he had to parallel park a trailer on the street in the dark because Nestle didn't have any room on their actual yard.

One trip to our Sumner terminal or Denver terminal and you may have to use one of those skills.

Keep the basics in your head and learn to tweak the maneuver based on the spot you need to hit. That goes for all backing skills.