Usa truck a joke......stayaway

The truth is, your post is probably more instructional than most of what passes for "training" at CDL mills these days.

Not going to get into the definition of what a "real driver" is with anyone - not any point really, but I will say that the vehicles these students are "driving" - are real enough in an accident.

If you say you do that thorough of an inspection every single day - more power to you - and I'm most certain you will never miss anything.



I'm sure I've missed some things in PTI's - and no - I don't need to find a career in fast food because of it.

It would be nice if we had more people like you calling the shots at some of these carriers - we'd all be better off.

 

ROFL! Yeah I'd love to run one but they couldn't afford my kind of shop! If it needed fixing it would get fixed. Cheaper to fix it at the yard or a dealer than at a scale with a service truck, but these college kids running these companies now a days try to squeeze that penny a tad bit to hard!

 

well put rollover. they don't look at the long term. they look at the here and now. its just like with recapped super single tires. they save a few bucks when they buy them. but what happens when the cap flies off and destroys stuff. lol Just my opinion

 

I went way back in my research in planning my business into information that not on here or the internet it self. How one Owner ran his company back years ago before deregulation s. He never used recaps, and he never let a tire go beyond 50%. These days you may have to go beyond the 50% but I would not willingly put a Recap on or keep it on once I can replace it.

When I bought my Pete, it had 4 Recaps on it. I've blew one, and I wil replace the other 3 once I have the funds to do so.

 

I can tell you that my outside school was NOT a mill! The PTI was drilled into us for two weeks in the class room and then another week in the yard. We covered an extensive inside/outside PTI with airbrakes consisting of 122 points of inspection. Most of our class aced the test at the DMV.

 

Doesn't sound like a CDL mill though ... was it a Community College?

When I started OTR, me and a few other guys already had our CDL from previous local work - we were the lucky ones.

Our PTI training was a few hours for about 40 students walking around the vehicle, a couple hours class, and a 30 question test ... basically useless for those whom never even seen a big truck up close.

The instructors mentioned how the pti and inspection class used to be a week - not to mention the entire training had been 4 weeks at one time.

This had been trimmed to 12 days by the time I came, at the demands of the companies "sponsoring" this training.

So those with CDL's had to stand most of the time, while those with no experience received what little training was left.

We were also offered cash payments to assist instructors on the night shift - the time for the real "hard cases" ...

So when I say "CDL mill" ... there is no doubt.

 

I went to United Truck Driving School in Southern Cal for four weeks. Great instructors, and great guys in my class. We were one of the better schools at the DMV in San Bernardino on test days. There were a couple of schools in cheater trucks. Short, single axle auto tractors with shorty flatbeds and they were having a hard time on the yard skills.

 

USA is ajoke I started with them about four weeks ago i'm an experienced guy they think i'm a student and try treating me that way . took me four days past my home time date to get home . equipment is beat up spent 28 hours with a loaded trailor i couldnt get the tandems to slide forward . they dont seem to wanna listen to there experienced drivers . it seems there about to lose all there customers I say that cause when i get a dispatch it tells me that . I havent even had a 1000 miles week cause of maintenance problems .

 

And they wonder why I went O/O while I was with them...

The Company trucks are beaten up. My first one had a ghost. The Icon worked but times it would crank up, but never turn back off. Once I gotten up and turn the switch off, just as my head was hitting the pillow again, the truck started again. (the key was in the off position)

I had an over heating problem and had to get rough with my DM so I could get to the Terminal in SC to get it repaired along with an Air leak.

Trailers are a pain with them. But when dealing with break down keep cool and explain the best you can and you can get what ever you want. I had several I had problems with. First they sent a road service out, and he done everything I tried and still could not. then I went to the Petrol in OKC and they got it. Second time I had to go to the TA in Jacksonville Fl.

I stopped and did a 34 restart one weekend and noticed one of my drive tires was flat. They asked me to go back to Choo Choo to Wing Foot, but I told them I was not comfortable with the heavy load I had going back to there. Ask could they send a road service truck. They did.

After I went O/O I blew out a tire, and did not have enough money in my escrow to buy a new one. So I was going to put on a used one, but USA did fork out the cash for a new one in my aid. I haven't yet but planning on getting 4 new tires for the back axle any way so an used one would been fine. My back axle has recaps, and I do not like recaps.

Another driver and I was talking on the phone, and he said he had problems with his truck, and they would not get him back to a terminal. I made a phone call to Night Dispatch, and next thing he got was taken off the load assignment he was complaining about and told dead head to Vandalia terminal for repairs.

I always asking the drivers why they had so much problem with Night and weekend dispatch, and with breakdown? I was asking cause I rarely did have a problem with them..

But the secret is attitude and how you talk to them.

They do have a Color system they use. If many drivers been late in deliveries they put Code Red on it to encourage you to make delivery on time.

 

This is seriously depressing, I'm considering USA truck due to my bump and being turned down by other mega-carriers. With CSA 2010 upon us, how vulnerable is my career going to be if I have to drive sub-standard equipment? It sounds like the money is very poor. I'm not looking for riches, just don't want to be spinning my wheels away from home to barely pay for on road expenses. Is the equipment and pay really that bad?