will be starting my career with USA

Discussion in 'USA Truck' started by TheDudeAbides, Dec 5, 2014.

  1. TheDudeAbides

    TheDudeAbides Medium Load Member

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    I'm currently attending C1 in Ft. Worth right now and will be done in 2 weeks (Dec 19). Just looking for any information regarding orientation and training or anything that will be helpful. About me: My situation is perfect for OTR trucking as my son is grown and moved out on his own, and I've rented my house out so I have minimal obligations and very little need for home time. I've been getting everything in order to make this transition successful and I'm really looking forward to it.
    I'll update this post for any new students interested in the process as things progress. As far as school is going, it's what you'd expect. Pay attention and study, you'll do well. If you can take it upon yourself to study before you attend and take all of your written tests, you'll be ahead of the game but it's not required. Do not come here without some type of transportation unless you want to be dependent on bumming rides to class and back as it's about 10 miles away and of course have some cash saved before you decide to do this.
     
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  3. Puppage

    Puppage Road Train Member

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    Good for you. I'd be very interested to get a few updates along your new journey.


    Pete
     
  4. Jrdude5

    Jrdude5 Heavy Load Member

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    Looking forward to your new adventure.
     
  5. freightwipper

    freightwipper Road Train Member

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    just wondering.. what made you pick USA truck over all the other companies?
     
  6. TheDudeAbides

    TheDudeAbides Medium Load Member

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    Freightwipper, sorry for the late response. I wish I could say I was so busy learning that I didn't have the time but honestly I've just been a bit lazy checking the forums. I picked USA for a couple of reasons. Initially I applied to Prime but had something on my record that was too recent, even though it was dismissed so plan b took effect. I applied to every training company out there and got several responses and approvals but after watching and speaking with Allie Knight from youtube who drives for USA, I decided to go with them. Honestly, it seems from all I read that most training companies are not that different with a few exceptions and with a great attitude and strong work ethic, you can make the best of just about any situation. Another factor was the fact that they have APU's in most of their trucks for driver comfort as I plan on being on the road for pretty extended periods of time, & they don't require teaming(after training).
     
  7. TheDudeAbides

    TheDudeAbides Medium Load Member

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    San Antonio, TX
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    Ok, here's a quick recap of the first week. As I kinda alluded to in my first post, if you can be assertive and go ahead and get your written exams completed before you go you'll have one less thing to worry about but also you'll be kinda bored sitting in class reviewing thing you've already studied and passed. On one hand it's good reinforcement and you can ask specific questions but on the other, 98% of the time you'll be wishing you could just get to the range and drive.
    You're gonna have a variety of students requiring various levels of help. We had several not pass after their first, second, and even third tries which in Texas requires you to pay your fees all over again and start from scratch. The instructor was good and did a great job of setting expectations early as well as providing all of the info needed to pass the test in a clear manner plus several tips for handling the exam process.
    The week started with lots of paperwork. C1 works with drivers solutions (which works with Pam Transport and USA Truck) as well as having their own students who are not obligated to any company. On Tuesday, everyone got a drug test and a DOT physical. We only lost 2 out of the initial 20 due to health issues. We didn't loose anyone for drugs. Maybe these forums are helping? The rest of the week we studied I'm the morning then those who needed to take tests went to the DPS while the rest of us basically watched training videos and waited for the clock to hit 4pm. I asked if it would be possible to go to the yard early and it was but it depended on the volume of students there and the availability of trucks. As it was, they were full due to previous classes not passing on time.
    That's about it for now. I'll update after the first week of driving exercises on the yard.
     
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  8. bubbavirus

    bubbavirus Medium Load Member

    Training the best part, after that they pay you ####...
     
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  9. Reycer

    Reycer Medium Load Member

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    Good luck. C1 is a lot better than what your getting ready to head towards.

    On the flip side I just found out they got rid of the wart (Adam Bobitt) that I and everyone else on my fleet was ready to strangle. That's no loss I assure ya.

    Really hope it works out for ya, but with USA, really and truly expect to be sitting a lot for truck repairs. That was by far my biggest problem with them. They absolutely refuse to take care of their equipment.
     
  10. Sea0fgreen

    Sea0fgreen Light Load Member

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    Good luck to you. USA is a decent enough Co. I rarely had breakdown trouble during the single year I worked for them. Twice I had major issues mechanically.

    They kept me running as well. Too much for me actually. I prefer 12 hour breaks.

    The USAF logo is cool too. I once had a fork lift driver ask me if we were with the military. If only I coulda thought a bit quicker, I'd told him "yes, and don't tell anyone I was here or you'll go to prison for leaking classified information."
     
    Leftnut Thanks this.
  11. TheDudeAbides

    TheDudeAbides Medium Load Member

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    Dec 5, 2014
    San Antonio, TX
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    Okay, sorry for the delay. 2nd week at C1 is straight-line backing and 45° backing. That's the 2 exercises you perform over and over again until you get assigned a trainer and road truck. It gets very monotonous although I understand the value in backing exercises until it hurts. I did pretty well along with a few others and we were selected first out of my class to get assigned a truck on Friday. Friday comes and we do a pre-trip inspection then it's off to the training area which is the access roads off of I-20. It's a good introduction to double clutching, down shifting, turning and braking. I felt pretty good because the shifting came pretty natural to me and she actually had me get on the highway during my 2 turns and actually drive on the streets. I was also tasked with driving the truck back to the yard. It's definitely a lot to take in versus the backing exercises on a yard.
     
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