The New FFE Driver Academey

picked up in ft. morgan after dropping at the yard on washington ave in denver --- what a place lol fred sanford's empire is right behind it---- in okiehoma till midnight need to pick up hours then to garland in the morning and jackson ms tuesday at 3 am hoping to get through next 3 days then i start picking up 10 or more hours should have 4 hours left in jackson and only picking up 7 tuesday night so might have to sit a bit -- 1200 miles to start week isnt too bad --- cant stand that 70 hour rule - just have to learn to deal with it --- sooner or later i will sit somewhere and pick up the hours or have something with a little time on it --- the bad thing about resets is come day 6,7,8 your burning hours without picking anything up and i try to use up hours so they come back faster and your allways at places early that way --- i just do 1 trip at a time and try to work my hours in have only 17 minutes left so taking my 10 hr break which ends at 12:30 am then i pick up 10.5 hrs then drive to garland get there around 5:30 make delivery then take another 10 hr or till around 5 pm then drive 5 hrs and at midnight i will get the other 2 hrs i need to make it by 2 am about 4 hrs early --- unless i get unloaded early then i will probly run my clock out and my 14 will end at 2;30 and a 10 hr break puts me back at 12:30 am at worse -- no matter what i am going to be in jackson with 4 or 5 hrs left but that might be enough to get me to next pick up

 

they probly have that on file in the training department allready --- that 6 weeks isnt no picnic is it but your done now so once you get out on your own things get a whole lot better -- finally done with the schooling lol -- sometimes i look over at the passenger seat and still see ms deb tapping on the glass lol--- well i guess it worked because i check my mirrors lol --- but no matter what anyone says i think we got 1 hell of a training --- but i am not sad its over at last--- well once you get out on your own you will get lost some places we go too just dont have good signs just dont get mad or panic thats what the yellow knob is for --set the brakes put on the 4 ways and get out take a couple of deep breaths and calmly come up with a plan --- and another thing that helped me my first week out i went to a couple of truckstops in the middle of the day to the empty back row and practiced backing just went through different situations like blindsiding ect. --- you dont want your first blindside back to be across 4 lanes of traffic in between 2 new trucks in some city you never been to --- well good luck to you

 

Thanks for the advice. Normally training is over after 6 weeks, but I am going out with a city driver for at least a few more days. My training was nothing but highway driving. I did 18 backings total, and only 1 was at a shipper/receiver.

I can't imagine how bad the OTR training must be at places like CR England. I still would recommend FFE to people who want to get their CDL. FFE is a good company. I have been reading threads about other training schools and FFE is the best by far.

 

Im on my way to the ffe academy next month. I have an inactive cdl w/ haz but it is out of california. Nobody mentioned it to me but am I going to have to get a texas cdl??? with all the talk about studying the manual before you arrive in texas i just thought of that. thanks.

 

im looking at info Tony the recuiter gave me. The medical insurance premiums are unbelievable. Who is paying 200 a week for medical insurance or i guess many drivers dont take it...couldnt blame em.

 

you dont need to do ur license again, u just do the 14 day refresher ..dont have get a texas license unless u want to reside there....talk to your recruiter. Are you at the Academy now?

 

No. Ive been talking to "J.M" and he's been nice but pretty vague. Wanted me to fax a copy of my former contract co paper work and fill out an ap for ffe. Then I guess I start in a few weeks? I'm a little aprehensive given what I've heard about the academy though. I'm not what you'd call a natural and just barely got by shifting and backing the first time around. I hear they cut people and send em home easy if they can't shift or back right away. Texas isn't exactly a hop skip away for me either.

 

Iam looking for some backing training, sad to say the school I went to did not give any instruction in backing at a 45 I was hired by Schneider and went threw the 3 weeks of training even in the training for them I only backed maybe 3 times. I was told It takes time. Then out on the road for a week where there was one instance of backing, with trial, and prayer I got into. When I came back in they give you a Safety Test, which I passed everything, but the backing. Which to their credit they gave me 5 hours to get it. Which I did not get it. I guess the time that It would take to learn ran out.??

I have came to far now to give up over this one obstacle. Any help would be apperacitaed

 

The test for a CDL in Texas was so easy-no pre-trip at all. I watched Stevens students test (not sure of the city but on the east side of Dalls off I-30 near a Motel 6). Anyhow, one day do the written and next day about a 10 minute road test, simple backing and back against a curb. Go around the block and park.

 

It's a bit more complicated than that. Yo do a straight back, then a parallel park, then an 18 mile road test with right and left turns. You need to demonstrate up and down shifting and if you touch a curb at any point you fail. As long as you can demonstrate the basics you will pass.