Starting orientation/training next week CT Transportation

Thank you. I'm trying to provide as many details as possible to give others an idea of what CT offers.

 

Okay, I finished orientation, received my new DOT medical card from CT and now I am in the driver training stage.

Today, we went over QUALCOMM, BENEFITS and other policies. We met the president, Steve Reid and he was a stand up guy. Explained his expectations, talked a lot about safety and went over a few other things, most of it is probably typical company chatter that you may hear at other companies, but he really seemed to genuinely care about what he was doing, what the company was doing and what his drivers needs and wants were. I liked the guy.

I asked about his fleet and if there were plans to get APUs or something equivalent and he said that he agrees that he does have a lot of old trucks, mainly do to the down sizing back in the 2007ish time frame the economy tanked they cut about 2/3 of their fleet, they had to get back in a position to purchase new trucks and now they are getting ready to replace 160 of their sleeper trucks and 40 of their day cab trucks. They are going with Internationals equipped with APUs (A battery style type?) and in time all the fleet will be equipped with them as they start replacing the old with the new. This would bring their fleet up to 2010 and newer.

Also had the Maintenance Shop Supervisor come up and talk a little about things we will face and he stressed to do a proper Pre and Post trip. I asked about having large inverters installed and he stressed that no one should install anything on their equipment, let his shop do it. Okay, CB antennas are one thing, but large inverters, nope. I got the impression that this was not a desired item to do. I am going to just stick with anything that is 12v plug and play. 400 watt inverters that you can plug into your 12v is fine. He touched on other maintenance items, but it was all common sense. Check your fluids, call if you are unsure and if something is broke, get it fixed by one of their maintenance facilities or call and have it fixed via a maintenance facility CT has approved.

Well, they provided some sub sandwiches and two others and myself went down to meet the driver manager that would be in-charge of us until we complete our driver training time. I ended up with a local day-cab driver in Georgetown, SC. This is a good and bad thing. I get a lot of local trips and I will have to deal heavy traffic situations in Charleston and other surrounding areas and get an idea of how backing into tight areas will be. This is only suppose to last one, maybe two weeks, but afterwards I am suppose to be teamed up with an OTR. I told the Driver Manager I want and need that OTR to get familiar with how CT handles those sorts of affairs. I guess it will be nice to be home every night and keep my two little boys in check.

Oh, here is something you need to be aware of. CT wants you to take the equipment home if you are outside of a 50 mile radius, but you cannot uncouple the trailer from the tractor and bob tail anywhere. I was going to park the trailer in a lot in my small town (lock the king pin) and bob tail to my house 3 miles away. It was made very clear that this was NOT going to be allowed. I was left with an impression that this would be acceptable if I locked the king pin. Oh well, I am working it out. I can leave both the tractor and trailer there, so worst case scenario I will do that.

I will continue to keep everyone that is interested posted on my adventures with CT.

Micah
"Chief"

 

Currently they are an all MACK company, but they are all White with a thin blue and red stripe down the side. They are getting ready to add 200 International Prostars to their fleet soon; replacing a bunch of the white MACK'S soon. I am uncertain who runs the truck that you describe.

 

That is a rule that makes a lot of sense!

 

I have a 2002 CORVETTE ZO6, it is electron blue with matte black wheels and some other black accents. It is my favorite of all the models released. It was a retirement gift I bought before I retired from the Navy. I have had three others, all between 2000-2003 models. Since I have had my Class A I am a lot more aware of what I am not suppose to be doing to ensure I keep my license and I respect the big fellas cruising the highways a lot more also.

My first VETTE (2000 COUPE):


On the DYNO:


My third VETTE (2003 ZO6) - My favorite one, but some kid hit me when I was stopped on the road:


My current ride (2002 ZO6) - Love the color, but the RED one had so much work, time and money in it, so I miss it:

Before the black wheels when I was out in Hawaii:



Love you all,

Micah
"Chief"