After orientation, what's next?

After your 2 weeks in DSM there are a few things that could happen.

You meet a trainer in DSM and start right away. If a trainer is coming through ofr service or has a load nearby you may start right then and there.

You may be transferred to indy in a rental car and meet your trainer there.

You may go home and meet your trainer sunday night/monday morn near their house.

You will have 5 weeks and approx 10,000 miles with your trainer. they will make an effort to try and fins a trainer near your home so when they go home you can go home to. Home time is at the trainers discretion. I normally got my trainees home twice in 5 weeks. You may get home every week-end, you may not. Be prepared to go strait out with a trainer from dsm and not get home for 5 more weeks. That's worse case senareo though. At your trainers discretion you may get done in 4 weeks or he may hold you an additional week. At his discretion he can recommend your termination at any point if he feels your not learning and wont be a safe driver for TMC. That being said, it is their job to train you and they dont want to recommend that. If your doing poorly but learning and getting better they will likly hold you in training an additional week. After 5 weeks on the road and approx 10,000 miles, you will take a rental car back to DSM (unless you get a load going through DSM) and do another day in DSM. You will now take a driving test. Just dont hit anything and you will pass. Personally, i choked. I missed a turn, had poor lane management, missed and grinded gears but they still passed me. I've never been good at test lol. I certainly got better though. Once you pass you will get a truck in DSM, indy or joplin. If going to indy or joplin you will get a rental car and "cargo" for inter terminal transfer. My rental car got a pickup truck transmission and some boxes of paperwork that were needed in indy lol.

Once you get your truck you will need to unpack and inspect all your load securment. You will get missing pieces replaced. You will then inspect the truck and preform a full through pre trip on it. You will then take it for a test drive. The moment you drive your 18 wheeler out the tmc gates, alone for the first time, no one looking over your shoulder, no one in the sleeper.....well lets just say to feels awesome. On your test drive you take it for a spin of about 20 miles. Make sure nothing is wrong. If so, get the shop to fix it. Then call your Fm and get a load.

 

When your trainer calls, ask if he has a fridge, and ask if you can use part of it. ask if he has a microwave you can use. Ask polity since both of these are his and he has the right to say no. If he has these, go to the grocery store and buy some simple things to take with you. PB&J is cheep and doesn't require a fridge. Hotdogs are easy and quick. They also sell microvave meals. Im a big fan of truckstop food, but that's cuz i make good money and thats one area i waste it. As a newbie, you def want to bring some food since food on the road is pricy. It is NOT your trainers responcibility to feed you or get you to food opertoonities. You can buy food when fueling at truck stops, but you may not fuel every day. Be prepared with some extra. A good trainer will make recommendations for you before you meet him, and some will even stop at wall mart for you along the way. Its easier to control you expences while on your own, but while with your trainer its really up to him if you even stop any where but expensive truck stops. Your trainer bought his food himself, don't assume you can mooch of him and eat it. That being said, when i was a trainer, I would reward hard work of a trainee with a free truck stop meal every once in a while. Id make it a game. "if you go all day without missing a gear you get a free dinner". unfortunelty you guys are not proformace paid while training. I think this is a huge mistake on tmc's part because your not incentived to work hard. Instead of the 300/week or whatever it is now, they should pay around .15/mile. At least then you have incentive to drive more miles. Thats why I tried to incentiveise my trainees with a free meal every once in a while.

 

I don't even really know what to say .

 

about what part?

what, he as asking about saving money ont he road...not spending money at truckstops is one way to do that, but some trainers are ##### so i figured id say be prepared for worst case.