Made it through my 1st week...

So I'm fresh out of school and was hired on at what I can only describe so far as a great company with great people. Everyone so far has been very welcoming and friendly.

The mechanics seen the truck in the compound and brought it into the shop to check the brakes, do some other routine maintenance, adjust the clutch a bit, grease the fifth wheel, top up all the fluids, wash the truck, and were even going to vacuum some of the sand from the night before out but we got in before they had the chance. I was shocked after hearing some of the stories online of how difficult it was to get any repairs done with some companies. My trainer says they they are spoiled The mechanics also have a dispatch schedule so they can catch trucks before they go back out on the road for their maintenance check ups.

The run that they are using to train me is one that has us crossing the border twice a day and home every night, off weekends (I know that will change when I go solo in my own truck). During the first two days we shared the drive time since this was my first time out on a trip (they didn't want to overwhelm me right off) it also provided him time to demonstrate some driving techniques. So in the fist week I've encountered freezing rain with fog which quickly turned to black ice on the roads and about 1/2 thick on the back of the mirrors. The trainer drove back that evening as our load was only about 4000 lbs and it was windy on top of having all the black ice. I had very little experience driving at night so it was best for him to drive in the conditions that we had that night.

While in school I thought that they were giving us some good experience however, now that I'm on the road and "doing it" there are things that I wish we had spent more time on. But those are the gaps that I hope the training will fill. One thing that really disappointed me was the lack of backing. Our CDL tests require that we set up and complete a straight back dock. So I went in not knowing how to blindside, alley dock, or parallel dock the truck. I let the company that I applied for know that I only had straight back experience so they knew what they were working with. Luckily they were willing to work with this. The run that we are doing requires a blind side due to the angle of the docks but there is room to maneuver the truck to eventually get the truck in an angle for the mirrors. Definitely a work in progress :smt100
but from what I've seen it seems that these types of backing up are requirements for a CDL in the US? From what I understand the Manager of drivers is going to provide some feedback to the school regarding the need to provide more experience with all types of practical backing that new drivers will need to know for when they hit the road.

I guess the good thing is that I'll be getting a winter season under my belt right away.... Next week is going to be interesting, on Tuesday we are switching to an automatic as the truck we have right now is going to be going to another driver. The instructor hasn't used an automatic either

Still nervous about going out on the road solo as I have never traveled before and now I've made it my livelihood......:smt107

 

They only run singles however, one of the first questions the manager of drivers asked was how I felt about starting my driving career during the winter months. I was honest as said that it would be a little nerve wracking but with everything new you do it and learn from the experience.

They are starting me out on a one month mentoring program but are willing to extend it if I'm not quite comfortable yet or they feel I could use a little more mentored seat time. He's been very supportive and they want to make sure that I have the knowledge and confidence to be solo out on the road (it's costing them money to train me so they want to make sure that I'm successful and enjoy the job)

 

Yeah from everything that I have read it sounds like I lucked out. They have about 40 drivers including the owner ops. They don't provide a fuel performance as it was a nightmare to keep track of so they opted for a better ¢ per mile (using pc miler).

So far every employee I have met has been smiling and welcomed me to the company. If it does turn out to be a situation of not being "too good to be true" I'll definitely be sticking around for quite some time