Running With Watkins & Shepard

Chris,

You are welcome! Although safety is always the priority I was thinking more along the lines of paperwork being properly filled out or dealing with shippers/receivers.

No doubt a single attractive female would make it easier on the eyes while with a trainer, however, that whole women are from Venus, men from Mars thing might make for some trying times also. Not to mention that monthly 5-7 days of completely unpredictable behavior. LOL!!

It's cool that the yard is open to you during down time to get in some extra practice. I would imagine not all of the companies allow this.

 

Don't get me wrong, going/not going with trainer won't be a show stopper for me. Living on 4 ships and a tour in Afghanistan has taught me how to live in close quarters with different personalities. It probably has taught me to cherish my personal space/time also. That's why I'm hoping to learn from Chris' (and others) experiences prior to having to make that call. I've seen WS trucks here in Florida so its a company I would consider. Thanks for the input.

 

Good point Wedge- what ever makes you comfortable!!!
I think that some people benefit from a trainer to guide them as the discipline helps them. A trainer can also give you benefit of his/her experience and how the system works. You don't also have to 'live' in the truck for 2-6 months depends on the company some train average 160-200 hours. That would average out to about 6-8 weeks. Yeah living with another person in a tin box could sux, depends on the person. Hopefully you get a decent trainer but that is a crap shoot!!

 

There's a Loves t/s on I 85 in SC (I think) that I stopped at twice with a D4000 and If your not fueling up, the traffic flow will set you up for a blindside alley dock every time. Not enough room for a pull up. If you catch it soon enough, you can do a CW obit of the t/s and you'll be OK.

I was in a straight so it wasn't a problem, but a couple of guys didn't pick up on that and were committed to the blindside. It's a def challenge on the weekend.

 

"Now I was thinking "Sirius radio" <<(spelling), is there a difference between that and XM?"






Hey Chris,

There is little difference between XM and Sirius since they merged. One big difference is in sports. XM carries every MLB game and every NHL game as part of every package and Sirius carries the NFL. Sirius did have a lot of Nascar and XM doesn't. They have combined the music; even though the channel #'s are different it is the same music, comedy and news channels on both. The premium stuff like Howard Stern costs extra and is available on both.

I've had XM for more than ten years and have been happy with it, in fact a few years ago I had a nice run on the blackjack tables in Tunica MS and got the lifetime subscription. If they last 1 more year I'll be ahead, if they go nipples up before then-my blackjack luck ran out.

Here's a couple links for you to check out the differences.

http://www.sirius.com/siriusinternetradio

http://www.xmradio.com/

 

I'm on the same page with you. I like W/S as well. My initial reaction to any typical company training period made me uncomfortable. I don't want to share my training time in a cab with a stranger for 1-2 months.

The shorter the training time the better. Sure there are benefits to riding around with a trainer, but I prefer to cowboy up and go the W/S route.

I know right where you're coming from.

 

Give thanks for NASCAR dot com.

 

Hi Chrlab. Great post. I am currently getting my CDL here in AZ at Glendale community college.
W/S is definatley on my short list of companies I'd like to work for. I also am leary about having to spend 6 to 8 weeks in a truck with a trainer. I'm a pretty self sufficient guy, and I think the 10 day could work well for me, plus it sure sounds like they really give you some good training during that time.

One quick question. What does the physical requirement test consist of? Agility and weights? How much weight do they have you move? I am a bit older than some here, and am working on getting into better shape, so having a benchmark to shoot for will help.
Thanks, and keep up the good work.

JerryT