Advice on Unique CDL Situation

in my opinion, your the best!!!! 1 - 2 days , right back on track.

 

No it isn't a hard sell, you just have to jump the same hoops that a new driver will have to do.

 

Recency of experience is a number. Having a clean past is good, but seldom overrides a "x amount of experience in last X years". I had 3 years OTR & 18 years of day cab and when I wrnt back OTR I was treated like I was almost a newbie. I spent 10 days with an OTR trainer going straight down the interstate between the same 2 cities. Then I was cut loose solo. It's no big deal.

 

Doesn't matter.

A couple years ago we had an "experienced hire" get dropped to the inexperienced class. When he got to me he said "I just needed some extra time to knock the rust off". Guy couldn't do anything - shift, back, log, you name it, he couldn't do it. Part of his problem was he tried to shift my dd15 as if it was "old iron" - running the rpms up to 1500 in low range, which meant the speed was such that you'd need to skip two gears (ie 2 to 5) or you'd effectively be down shifting on the up shift. He also didn't understand that we couldn't just cheat the log to park where he wanted to. In short, things change and a company needs to make sure you know and understand those changes.

On the other hand, I've had guys that could have just been tossed the keys to a truck and be sent on their way, no training necessary. Problem is, how do we know which guy is which?

 

Get your cdl back and start talking to companies. Dont even talk to training wheel coompanies. Find small real companies, if they wont road test you, move on

 

Road test, you will know it real quick watching him/her drive

 

Road tests are a decent quick measure, and when combined with recent experience are all that's needed.

When they have no experience or have been out of the truck a while, a basic check ride is pretty useless.

My last guy, for example passed several check rides before coming out to me. Dude had 3 critical events, couldn't back into a spot at Walmart DC, didn't notice a missing hub seal bolt even after being told to look at the steer tire for an OOS defect, didn't notice a missing trailer license plate light, tried to jump the kingpin, and got out of the truck without setting the brakes. Despite all this, he only just failed a check ride when I returned him.

Sometimes it real easy to judge, sometimes it's not, but you need to have a policy covering all scenarios so without recent experience generally means spending some time with a trainer.

 

A supertrucker will walk into the job voluntarily telling everyone around his employment history even though it’s now irrelevant. Supertrucker will remind his trainer at every opportunity and every conversation. Don’t do this.

HIDE YOUR CARDS.

Don’t tell the trainer anything about your previous experience. Let him go into the office and ask, “Who is this guy in my truck and why is he in my truck?” If you are quiet, it’s easier to be better than the peacock strutting and horn blowing.

 

He may only have a couple years behind the wheel to your 25, but he has a couple years with the company and it's processes to your ZERO.

I became one of the highest earning drivers in my division after 3 years. Not because I'm a better driver, but because I learned the company's system and made it work for me.

There a lot of posts on here bashing my company and it's processes that "prevent drivers from making good money". I seldom run into those problems, and when I do I know how to bang my shoe on the counter. It's nothing special, but it is an art that can only be learned by doing. Those are the things you'd be looking for from a trainer.