My Training and First Year, follow me and ask me anything

Been reading this forum since July of 2014, when I first had the idea of entering Trucking as a new career.

A little about me first, what I will be doing with this thread second, and everything else third.

I had a decent career, working as a manager in a film development lab for one of those photography companis and do school pictures. Started when I was in college at 20 and never left......18 and a half years later, got called into my boss' office and was informed that after the school year the company was going 100% digital. My response was "ok cool, no more dark rooms, no more chemicals, awesome!". Her response was "we are outsourcing the printing to another company, we are letting you go, here is our generous severance package, take it or leave it, thank you for your service.....your last day will be 6 weeks from today."

Generous.....yeah ok.....it was 2 months salary, plus unused vacation pay, and benefits for 2 months......better than unemployment I guess, I took it and finished my 6 weeks and left. All the photographers took me out for dinner and drinks on my last day, a nice gesture I wont soon forget.

I sat around home, working on a long overdue honey-do list, wondering what I was going to do now.

Working in a darkroom all day long, with little to no contact with the outside world has made me a bit anti social.....I do not play well with others.

My wife is the only person I can be around an never get annoyed.....that is why I put a ring on her finger and have been happy happy happy. She gives me my space, and I devote my life to her. this is both of our second marriages, so we kind of understand what works.....my stepdaughters......thats another story.

Enough about me.

In july I started looking into truck driving. Seemed like a good fit for me. Since I was working part time in the local starbucks, I needed a change quick.....I was plotting ways to destroy the company from inside....I needed out.

I read a bunch of stuff on here, and eventually started applying to companies.

I didnt have the money to pay for school myself, so I ended up going the sponsored route. I know, slave labor and what not, but I did it anyway. The wife is behind me 100 percent, because she sees the payoff at the end of my first year. Her company will hire me after 1 year to haul water in the frack fields near us ....all I needed was one year of otr driving and I was in. Her uncle is head of logistics for the company, she works in HR, and the name on the building is the same as her maiden name.....catch my drift. The one year is for insurance, or I could go right in I was told.

Her uncle steered me towards a company he got his start with a while back when he used to drive. Turns out they had a school program, so I applied, dropped his name, and was offered a spot right away for school.

So in my posts that follow, I will talk about school, being out with trainers, and my adventures being solo....I am still in my first month solo, so we have a ways to go.

Also, ASK ME ANYTHING, these things tend to work best when you do.

 

Southern Refrigerated Transport gave me a spot in school. Yeah, ok, get it out of the way now....dont die in their truck, blah blah blah. The people responsible for that incident have all been fired, they talk openly about it in orientation, and have new procedures if that ever happens again....lets hope it doesn't.

Let me preface this before I go into it. I was in the last class that had independant instructors that had no affiliation with SRT. Every class after me , the instructors are all employees of SRT....not sure how different it is now.

School was taught at local community college in Texarkana....the University of Arkansas Community College at Texarkana.....specifically in a classroom and parking lot of the 4 States Fairgrounds. Hotel, Clarion Lacrosse and 3 meals a day were provided. Test fees, permit fees, and DOT physical all paid for. You could come here with no money and be fine. None of that has changed.

I usually bought my own dinner at any number of surrounding restaurants because dinner was served at hotel...and it was always mexican food which gets old fast.

First week in school was devoted to getting your Arkansas permit. If you are coming from out of state, dont worry, they pay for switching your license as well....i am from PA, it was no issue.

If you study prior to coming, you can go on Wednesday to take tests, I did and was able to start driving that afternoon. If you dont, you take tests on friday and start driving monday.

Your first day driving is overwhelming....they put you behind the wheel, and right on the road. The road is a long 2 lane highway that has no stop signs or bad curves it makes a 17 mile loop right back to fairgrounds....top speed 55. They do this to gauge each students initial ability and then put them in small groups with others that have the same ability. I was placed into a group of 3 others, one who had been driving on farms, and 2 that had been driving various types of trucks prior to coming to school.

Class size is small. 12 students max per class, 3 instructors for driving and 1 instructor for classroom and range driving. Your day is split into thirds once you start driving. Range, intermediate driving which is interstate and long country roads, and advanced driving....city, narrow roads, hills and stuff.

Range is set up just like actual test. You do your pre trip inspection first. The driving portion of range starts off with a tight right hand turn, straighten truck out. Then a 45 degree back and dock. Straight out of dock to a stop, then a 100 foot straight line back....and for the encore a serpentine back around 3 cones.

The serpentine back is the hardest thing you will do, but once you figure out how to do it, it no longer becomes an issue.

After 3 weeks of driving in school, you take your test. Pass it on your first attemp, you get a 100 dollar bonus in orientation.....i did, but it was only 83 bucks after taxes

Overall It was a good experience. Stay out of all the drama and you will be fine. Stay in your room and study, or go for walks. The pool tables, lobby and pool area are nothing but drama, as not only students are around, but everyone coming in for orientation, or anyone whose truck is in the yard all stay at hotel. If you smoke, switch over to a vape kit like I did so I can vape indoors, or smoke on your balcony, or out back of pool area.....be warned, the front porch is like a scene from a bad movie.

Loved the instructors, equipment was reliable 2013 freightliner cascadias, never broke down, all in all a good school.

Again, new instructors are all SRT employees, so not sure how things have changed.

 

I have lots of ink....but no roses

 

Already in works, have appointment for fingerprints next week, hazmat test was not fun at all

 

Seemed like the logical place at the time since it will be an ask me anything type of thread as it grows.