Another thing I should add.
When you are new, please drive slowly. Back slowly, turn slowly, shift slowly. I know that is drilled in your head at school, but people forget it when they hit the road. I see a lot of our new guys that get mad and are slamming the thing into gear, mashing the accelerator, jerking the wheel around, and it makes all of us look bad. So what if you have to pull up 5 times to back into a spot. Don't take it out on the truck. Turn off the CB, roll down the windows, and do your thing.
That is one thing that my trainer really impressed upon me, and it has stuck with me.

Hey guys i just have a question. Is Con-Way going to get rid of the red trucks and get the white and blue or are they going to keep the red trucks. Thanks and be safe.

getting rid of the red but it will a while before they are gone .red is the cfi colors. but yes they will be getting rid of the reds .

Hey Scooter!! Glad to hear that your doing really well. My hubby wanted me to tell you, keep working hard in school!! Once you get to Con-way you will be doing even MORE driving. One trainer had told him that you will be out there for six weeks training. You will be training in the yard for the first couple of weeks then they assign you to a trainer and the rest is on the road. Use what you've learned along with common sense!! I can already tell that you will be a great driver!!! Keep us updated!!!

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Thanks Bobby! I appreciate the words.

I was looking on one of the Conway forums and they were talking about the obstacle course and a bunch of manuevers I have not been taught at school (yet.... if they even plan to). Are these things that you are taught at boot camp (serpentine, 90 degree alley dock, parallel parking) or do I need to get these under my belt before I attend? I do remember when we were in the yard doing our 100' backups and 45 degree backups, I heard one of the instructors say that these were the only two manuevers that NC required to pass the test. I sort of thought to myself... "yeah, but I am going to run into more than just this out there"....

Anyone from Conway.... please let me know!

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If it Sounds like a Truck, Looks like a Truck, and Drives like a Truck... It's probably a Truck!

Thanks for everyone's great information in this thread. Ive been bouncing around with trucking companies but I would really like to drive for Con-Way Truck load (CFI). However, I don't have a CDL and will need to get one. I called Conway and they said they contracted out to some schools but I had to come up with $1900 to cover drug test, housing, and other fees. But I assume the $1900 does not cover all the cost for school. Does anyone know how much Conway sponsor and do they take money out of my check until I pay that back? They said to talk to Christine but as most of you know she is busy so she has not been able to get back to me. She probably will be getting in contact with me tomorrow. Also, after you are done with your School and on the road training what is the wait time until you get your own solo truck?

The obstacle course is all about knowing where your trailer tandems are.
Here's a secret. At boot camp, you will be using old retired CFI KW T2000s. There are 2 red ones, a silver one, and a goldish "champagne" one if I remember correctly. Depending on the class size, Joplin may even send an extra truck down. Try not to get one of the red ones when doing the obstacle course test- they do not turn as sharply to the right as the silver and goldish ones. I found this out the hard way when I tested in a red one and didn't do as well as I had been practicing in the gold one (it was the nicest).
That's another reason to volunteer for the road tests/ alley docking first. It gives you much more time to practice the obstacle course.
We had
(1) a road test, which was driving a decent sized loop out on the mean streets of Neosho. There is one part where you drive through a street by the airport- the road curves and it is impossible to make the curve without driving in the oncoming lane. If there is an oncoming car and you have to stop for a minute for the lane to clear, make sure you throw on the four-ways. That is the only point I missed on the whole thing.
(2) There is a 90 degree alley dock. Tons of time to practice, so even if you had trouble in school, you can pretty much get it down to an art. It's 100 points, I think you can pull up as much as you want but I don't really remember. I believe you needed a 40 on this to pass. You must get out 3(?) times, maybe 4. If you don't, you fail.
(3) Then the obstacle course. It's 120 points, you need 40. Seriously, you would have to be completely blind not to pass. You stop your trailer tires on a pad, simulating a weigh station; stop with your tractor as close to a line as possible, trailer bumper as close as possible; do some serpentine forward driving through barrels, pivot the trailer around a couple tires, etc. It really is not difficult to make 100 or more with a little practice.
(4) Night driving, where you get up at some ungodly hour, and hit the downtown sections of Neosho. There is no traffic to speak of, it's pretty much just making sure you can navigate around without taking out traffic signs and telephone poles.
(5) Pre-trip inspection. If you just start rattling off everything and sound like you know what you put your hand on, they will skip to the next section and so on. They give you a sheet the first day, study it as it may differ a little from what you learned in school.
(6) A couple written tests, again you are given all the necessary materials that are exactly what will be on the test. They also teach you logbooks, which a lot of schools skip over.

I think that's it, unless their program changed at all. We didn't get tested on serpentine backing or parallel parking at all. You could always have your trainer show you once you hit the road if your school doesn't cover them.

????? Was 60 when I tested, years ago. That was everyones opinion then also. You had to be blind to fail. We had 3 fail.

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Insuring polititions fear that
which goes bump in the night.
Seek out their personal homes
and family members. -- SU 83
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Man, I couldn't have asked for better than that...... thanks man..... I think I can handle that!

Appreciate it Grease!

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If it Sounds like a Truck, Looks like a Truck, and Drives like a Truck... It's probably a Truck!

Hopefully I would not be one of those statistics....

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If it Sounds like a Truck, Looks like a Truck, and Drives like a Truck... It's probably a Truck!