Training, manual/automatic?

If you team at this company after your 8 weeks then you have a really good chance of getting a 2015 automatic truck.

The company had been buying only automatics towards the end of 2013 and most of 2014 but due to drivers complaining....they are buying 10 speeds again.

Since most drivers prefer a 10 speed....I'm sure you could get an automatic....The problem might be that it'll be an older Peterbilt automatic. I see the company still has a lot of those around.

If you decide to go solo, there is a possibility you could end up with a 8 speed/10 speed truck. Be prepared to be stuck with one of them till an automatic becomes available.

 

In my experience, the very old trucks and the very new trucks are automatics. The middle of the range trucks are sticks. I haven't actually seen any new sticks. I have seen new petes and freightliners that are automatics. What I was told was that they are upgrading the fleet to automatics and getting rid of all the old trucks, but Ill believe it when I see it. Just like they said we would be getting all new trailers, and I have yet to see one. Right now I have more an an issue with the trailers than I do with their trucks

 

A few months ago they had a lot of trailers stripped of the US Xpress logo sitting around at Markham. All are gone now. What I haven't seen though are new trailers.

 

Yep, I would be more concerned with the condition of a trailer over whether I get an Automatic or a Manual Transmission. Auto, 10, 13...makes no difference to me. I have only had to drive an auto one time. It was a Mack with a can on the back, but that was only because it helps with surge in a smooth bore tanker. I didn't mind it so much, but at first I kept stabbing at a non-existant clutch pedal and grabbing for a shifter that wasn't there..lol! It took a little to get used to it. So, for the most part...I would greatly prefer having a trailer that doesn't get the attention of the DOT Man at the Scale house.
Okay, time for me to get serious about getting my gear together and packed in My car. Orientation is a couple days away and I do not expect to get back thru the house for awhile. So, I will just be prepared to roll out with all my gear with me and ready to toss in a truck when it's assigned.

 

Here is a tip for orientation at Markham:

The first thing Brian does is the physical. Once you enter the orientation room, sit by the door on the far left. After he does roll call, he'll open that door. Be the first one so that way you do the physical first. Then you'll do your drug test and finally your road test. The reason I say be the first is because that first day is very long and consist mostly of sitting around waiting for everyone to finish.

Oh by the way, its good your not doing the Dollar dedicated account. Brian usually busts the balls of the guys who signed up for it. LOL

 

So you learn on an automatic. 6 months or a year go by and now that you've got some experience, you'd like to move on to greener pastures...better pay, more home time, etc...so that you can live a better quality of life with that family of yours. You find a company that sounds great...has everything you are looking for. You tender your resignation to your first company, and make your way to the new one. When you show up to orientation and climb behind the wheel for your road test, you find that the truck is NOT an automatic, and since you never learned how to drive a manual, you fail the road test and are not hired. You are now unemployed while you look for another company that has automatics for you to drive, which severely limits your options.

If you can drive a manual transmission, you can drive an automatic. It doesn't work the other way. Even if you can drive a car or light truck with a manual transmission, it doesn't carry over 100%. The unsynchronized transmission in a heavy duty truck is an entirely different animal.

 

Here is a tip. A lot of local companies, class B stuff, don't always give a real road test. If ya had to you could go to one of those til you learned how to shift if all you ever did was Automatic OTR. The pay is less but the standards can be a lot lower sometimes for box truck drivers. Just thinking out loud.....

 

IF USX wants us as a team they will have to guarantee in writing that we will learn and have a stick for at least the 1st yr or USX would not be where we would be learning .. I have nothing against an auto might even like to have 1 later but We will know how to drive a stick well 1st or we will be going with a company that will provide that training 1st..

We will not be stuck not learning how to drive a stick, then we would be stuck up a creek without a proverbial paddle if we wanted to change companies later... NOT GONNA HAPPEN......