Off To Shaffer I Go...

I took a rental car trip to Columbus, OH to pick up my truck.

Correction: I went to Indianapolis

Well, I am on my way to Lincoln for final orientation. I have my driving test Monday and then the two days in orientation. Finally get to find out Wednesday where I have to pick up my truck. I've heard the Holiday Inn for Lincoln is pretty nice. Where I stayed in Lenoir City for initial orientation was......less so....lol. After 15+ years in the hotel business I am both picky and forgiving. As long as the room is clean, comfortable and bug-free I'm good. Don't care about a pool, bar, restaurant or many other amenities.

I'm following your thread still, look forward to your updates and hearing about your truck!

Well, I am on my way to Lincoln for final orientation. I have my driving test Monday and then the two days in orientation. Finally get to find out Wednesday where I have to pick up my truck. I've heard the Holiday Inn for Lincoln is pretty nice. Where I stayed in Lenoir City for initial orientation was......less so....lol. After 15+ years in the hotel business I am both picky and forgiving. As long as the room is clean, comfortable and bug-free I'm good. Don't care about a pool, bar, restaurant or many other amenities.

I think you will be completely satisfied with your experience at Lincoln.

I missed the shuttle back to the hotel on the day of my driving test. The instructor gave me a ride back in his Corvette convertible. That was like a vacation after being in the truck for 8 weeks lol.

There were four other people in the orientation with me so it was nice to have that little group to bond with and become friends. Hopefully you will have the same experience.

Well, I am on my way to Lincoln for final orientation. I have my driving test Monday and then the two days in orientation. Finally get to find out Wednesday where I have to pick up my truck. I've heard the Holiday Inn for Lincoln is pretty nice. Where I stayed in Lenoir City for initial orientation was......less so....lol. After 15+ years in the hotel business I am both picky and forgiving. As long as the room is clean, comfortable and bug-free I'm good. Don't care about a pool, bar, restaurant or many other amenities.

Any updates???

Hopefully they were empty trailers!

Most were empty but one was loaded and was cranked down far enough to still be 6+ inches too high. There were many things I was not taught at my CDL school but how to crank landing gear down and leave a space was one thing I was taught that apparently many others are not.

A lot of the time its the yard jockey that leaves the trailers to high... After a couple over shots I started to stop just before the 5th wheel to make sure its low enough

Well in my case its always FedEx and they always have them fully extended and they put them on those trailer stands to level them ...

Any updates???

Sorry that I haven't updated the thread in so long, but the last couple months since Lincoln have been hectic and at times disappointing. Long story even longer, I failed my road test in Lincoln and had to go back out with a trainer. I fully admit that there were things that I failed to do correctly and the blame for failing the road test is mine. However, there were some equipment issues and, to put it bluntly, as much as I enjoyed my time with the 2nd trainer, he did me no favors when it came to passing that road test.

So, I went through the 2nd orientation and was scheduled for the DDC (Defensive Driving Class) on Thursday. Due to the extra week of training and other delays of several days, I needed to refill some prescriptions for my diabetes meds. Since getting on the company insurance October 1st, I had been going 12 rounds between insurance, my doctor and Walmart pharmacies trying to get all the documentation and approvals to get coverage for my meds. Paying out of pocket for these meds is between $5-$12 per pill which was getting quite costly.

I was at the Walmart pharmacy in North Lincoln trying to get the last piece of documentation needed to fax to insurance when I got a call from Driver Development in Lincoln telling me that my new trainer was trying to get ahold of me because he was at the terminal under load and needed me back there ASAP so we could go. I called the new trainer and explained the situation and he told me not to worry that we would be able to take care of that once underway. I rushed back to the hotel to pack up and make arrangements to return the car I had rented so I could take care of things while in Lincoln. Unfortunately, it was now rush hour and nothing went as planned due to the associated delays. The whole time, the trainer is blowing up my phone complaining that he has to get moving and suggesting that I will have to get a new trainer because he just can't wait any longer.

In retrospect, I should have just let that happen, but I did everything I could to get on that trainer truck because I wanted to get the training period done so I could retest and get some home time. The new trainer drove the rest of the first night and got us into Wyoming to park. When I asked him what time he wanted to get started the next morning so I could set my alarm, he replied "whatever time I wake up to **** for the first time...I usually only sleep about five hours. I'm going to get up first and then as soon as I step out to ****, you get up and get dressed. I'll go into the truck stop and get some coffee. You start the pre-trip and then you'll be driving first. After you drive for about eight hours, I'll drive and finish us up." I could never really fall into a deep sleep because I have no idea when I'm going to have to wakeup. It might be 5 hours or it might be 6 from the time we park and then he wanted to be on the road 20 minutes after he woke up, including a 15 minute pre-trip.

He also didn't allow any kind of sit-down meal except at the very end of the day. Two days in, I ran out of my main diabetes medication and had two days left on the others, all of which I made him very aware of. I asked about getting by a pharmacy and he told me that he had been a diabetic for 19 years and I should be able to go at least 7 days off meds before it would effect me. While that may work for him, but my body didn't react very well to not having meds in addition to barely sleeping and eating. I got "white line fever" a few times driving during the day and pretty much passed out whenever I got into the passenger seat. I explained to him several times that I was very tired and he chastised me for taking a nap when I was riding.

Basically, we were driving super-solo where the truck is only shut down for six hours out of the day and while I was in the passenger seat, he had me logged in the sleeper while he drove but expected me awake and alert sitting up front. Five days in, after being off my main meds for three days, I was driving early in the morning up in Oregon and had a bout of double vision for around 10 seconds about 3 times. I explained to him what was going on and why I felt it was happening (no meds) and after the third time (over about a 15 minute span), I felt alright again and had no more issues. Over thirty minutes later (after the last incident) he had me pull over and wouldn't let me drive anymore and called the training department director and got me put off the truck the next day in Bozeman, MT.

I rented a car to get home and spent over 3 hours at the Walmart pharmacy in Bozeman getting all my meds straightened out and refilled. I then drove 1900 miles home in 30 hours without incident. I was put on medical leave until I could produce return to work clearances from my primary doctor and eye doctor. So, I was at home out of work for four weeks before I could get all the clearances sent back. The trainer had also told the company that he thought I had sleep apnea because of my falling asleep while riding passenger. They had said that they would route me to a terminal for a sleep study once I got back to work. In discussing the issue with my doctor, he also wanted me to undergo a sleep study and said I might be a candidate for surgery since my epiglottis was fairly large. I underwent a new DOT physical and was cleared to return to work with trainer #4.

Trainer #4 was also a diabetic and when I told him that I went through with #3, he got pretty upset. He also wasn't happy with the way that #2 had me driving and was familiar with trainer #1 by reputation. SO.....in three weeks I was back to having to unlearn and relearn how to drive, but it worked out and I passed my driving test in Wilmer, TX with flying colors. I was (finally!) given my own truck and dispatched back through Lenoir City to get some home time. I was assigned a 2014 Freightliner Cascadia single bunk with 230k on it with the DD13 engine (not so great pull). I'm settling in and plan to get a power inverter and fridge installed on my next time home. My asset manager is very good and does what she can to help me. Unfortunately, due to the holiday schedule and how the 25th was a Friday, I am sitting all weekend waiting to deliver a load in Wilmington, NC on Monday morning.

That is a lot of bizarre stuff you went through! Glad you made it through all that and have finally got your truck and are solo. A couple of the trainers should not be training anyone the way it sounds. Hopefully you can enjoy the weekend in NC it sure is beautiful country there.