Team Driving....Newb Here

Hi I am eagerly wanting to go to school that has no upfront costs and a school that puts me in the truck sooner than later, do all schools/companies after your CDL school put you in a team driving situation. Are they any that will give you additional training to put you a truck by yourself? or what schools require the least amount of team driving?

I am all too new to the trucking world and while I don't care what I haul, will work my butt off the first year, I need my own space and if I can't make it in a car trip 10hrs with my wife, I'm fairly certain I won't make it a few weeks or months with someone that I barely know.

I don't care about school location/home time and will haul whatever whenever asked.

would also like to find a decent company that won't force NYC, I would go there maybe on a whim or Christmas day when everyone is inside..lol

I'm pretty sure all companies will run you as a team when you're training. You will start out driving with your trainer as a solo truck but still with the trainer. Once the trainer is comfortable that you know what you're doing you will be dispatched as a team to finish your training hours/miles. No one is going to just toss you the keys and let you drive their valuable truck and cargo. The company needs to know you can do the job before turning you loose. The only way to do that is with a trainer.

I'm with you though, I really don't want to be couped up with some random person for weeks or months. I like my space and privacy.You could end up with a trainer that you don't get along with or can't bathe himself. But that's the way it goes. Make the best of it. Once you're out there hundreds of miles away from everyone and something goes on you will wish that trainer was there to help you. Hope that you get an experienced trainer and learn, learn, learn. Soak up all the knowledge. It will be tough, but that's how it is. Focus, and it will be over soon enough.

Best of luck.

If you go with watkins shepard the training is ten days. With may and schneider it is three weeks I believe. So there are training options that do not involve months with a trainer. If you are not comfortable with your driving skills I would not suggest going withany of the companies I mentioned. Training period was a sticking point for me also but I have experience overseas so I am comfortable with my skills. If I was a beginner I would have gone with a company that offered an exstensive training period.

Hi I am eagerly wanting to go to school that has no upfront costs and a school that puts me in the truck sooner than later, do all schools/companies after your CDL school put you in a team driving situation. Are they any that will give you additional training to put you a truck by yourself? or what schools require the least amount of team driving?

I am all too new to the trucking world and while I don't care what I haul, will work my butt off the first year, I need my own space and if I can't make it in a car trip 10hrs with my wife, I'm fairly certain I won't make it a few weeks or months with someone that I barely know.

I don't care about school location/home time and will haul whatever whenever asked.

would also like to find a decent company that won't force NYC, I would go there maybe on a whim or Christmas day when everyone is inside..lol

I may be out of line here, as I am also a newbie, and am working through the High Road CDL Training Program, hoping to start school in the next 6 weeks or so.... But I have taken the opportunity to read through all these blogs, and one thing I keep reading over and over and over, is that this job takes patience. Whether it be an overbearing trainer, rambunctious 4 wheelers, slow dock loaders, or a security guard that won't let you enter because you're too early, patience is indeed a virtue. What I'm getting at here, is, if you can't handle 10 hours in a car with your WIFE, the woman you married, the love of your life, you might want to reconsider if trucking is the best thing for you. I'm not saying you cant do it, or that you shouldn't do it, only that you might want to really consider this journey, this lifestyle before committing a year of your life. Or more. Again, I am just a newbie myself, and for you veterans out there, I apologize if i am out of line, but 10 hours is a one way trip on a vacation, and trucking is, well, a lifestyle.

Just saying.

Peace

I may be out of line here

not out of line just misconstrued....

if you can't handle 10 hours in a car with your WIFE, the woman you married, the love of your life, you might want to reconsider if trucking is the best thing for you. I'm not saying you cant do it

Guess you didn't see the LOL behind my statement(being funny) The point being was that it doesn't matter the relationship you can get outdone with anyone in close quarters for any amount of time. I hope you don't get someone who sharts himself and smells like a hobo's undercarriage.

P.G....you may be a newbie...but you "put the horns on the bull". There is no company that I know of...and I know ALOT of companies, that will put you thru school, get you your cdl , then turn you lose in a 80k 18 wheel killing machine. (dang I hate it when I have to call trucks that,). They would be risking $150k worth of equipment, someone else's expensive freight, and the chance of injury or death to the motoring public. You learn the paperwork side of trucking in school...you learn the BASIC maneuvering in a truck on the road course. But you will learn 10 times all that during the time you are with your trainer. A trainer has the experience, knowledge, and know how to teach you a very small percentage of what can, and will happen on the road. This part of your learning is imperative for you becoming a safe truck driver. So, having said this, if you don't think you can live in a closet with a stranger for a month or more, show him respect, learn all you can from him, and ask him all the questions that should come to your mind....you had better find another occupation. Every job has its dues to pay. These are the dues all truck drivers pay. And as far as your wife goes...my husband made me the best truck driver he could...and we had our "times". But I learned more from him than I had learned in all the years I drove truck around Oregon. I thought I was some kinda truck driver....until I got outta Oregon. Did I tell you that I thought ALL exit ramps were like Oregon's ?? I mowed more grass on Texas exit ramps than the law allows....I've been driving truck OTR for 15 years...no tickets, no wrecks, no freight losses. All that came from having a "trainer".

Guess you didn't see the LOL behind my statement(being funny) The point being was that it doesn't matter the relationship you can get outdone with anyone in close quarters for any amount of time. I hope you don't get someone who sharts himself and smells like a hobo's undercarriage.

No, I saw the LOL, I just thought it was in conjunction with the " would also like to find a decent company that won't force NYC, I would go there maybe on a whim or Christmas day when everyone is inside..lol"

For what its worth, I used to live in NY, and I wouldn't want to drive a rig through there if it was the apocalypse, the roads were clear and I was the only person alive

ok, at least not until I learned how to handle a rig

And I get what you are saying. I have traveled team before, as an AV tech (granted it was in a van pulling an 18' trailer), and we started as friends, hated each other for a minute or two, and then became brothers. When you live in a 'closet' traveling back and forth across the country, you might as well be married to that person. You learn every disgusting habit, how they think, what they think, how they do things, why they do things, and so much more. And heaven forbid they have bad hygiene. (we didn't)

or, in other words, what Starcar said

and yeah, I get the wife line. I love my wife, and my children too, but honestly, I still cringe when faced with the 4 of us cooped up in a car full of luggage for an 8-10 hour trip to Florida...

Down deep, I like my solitude, and will be voting for 'solo' when the time comes. I'm really not interested in learning about someone else's bathing, nose picking, or bodily functions at this time in my life. No really. I'll pass, TYVM.

At the same time, I look forward to my time with a trainer. Quite frankly, I'm scared to death about getting into an 80K pound vehicle and hitting the roads. Ok, that's not quite correct. I'm scared to death of driving an 80K pound trig, and have some dumbass 4 wheeler cutting in front of me, slamming on their brakes and ending up a speed bump under my wheels.

I can only rely on my wits and wisdom and the miles I've already traveled to 'know' what that other guy is gonna do before he does it. And in my mind, I hear all those people, that know that driver, thanking me for keeping his stupidass alive

Thankfully, that's thanks enough for me.

Peace