Current update to CRST training from the Waterloo Iowa Hawkeye School

Jagd · Feb 1, 2013

Still on hold folks, hopefully this will work out well. Unfortunately I'm down with a pretty nasty cold at the moment and taking double doses of sudafed and mucinex. I had actually arrived at the school initially with the latter part of walking pneumonia but went through it without a day lost. I think things are catching up with me a bit, lol... Stay warm and safe out there. Take care of the little things, like healthy food and vitamins. Try to keep your distance from folks that are coughing a lot and keep a small bottle of antibacterial wash in your pocket for those times that you have to touch things that get a lot of public usage. This winter has taken a bite out of some awesome people for lack of just a little awareness.

G-d Bless

Troubador222 · Feb 1, 2013

I got a flu shot. First time I ever have, but I figured I would be in contact with people from all over, and this has been a bad flu year.

aevenson · Mar 27, 2013

well the post stop coming. was great reading, but yea i head off to waterloo this friday @ 7pm all the way from south florida here

Plim-Don · Mar 28, 2013

aevenson said: ↑

well the post stop coming. was great reading, but yea i head off to waterloo this friday @ 7pm all the way from south florida here
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well good luck is all i got to say that bus ride is long and the layover in chicago is the longest one .

clittle36 · Apr 4, 2013

Sorry about not posting, but I don't always have internet access. I have posted a few things relating to after I got on the road here: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/crst/201143-team-driver-nevada.html

Will try to update a little later. Hoping I get a load to somewhere today. I have been sitting in Olive Branch, Mississippi for 41 hours and 11 minutes according to Tweetybird (Qualcomm: the e-log machine). I call it Tweetybird because it chirps at me every time I get a message...LOL

aevenson · Apr 5, 2013

yea, so I am just about coming to an end for my first week here in waterloo for crst. I am glad I came and didn't listen to the negative people because I have had a good time here at hawkeye community college. the hotel they put you in is a super 8 and is realy not bad at all. but if you come here and don't try your hardest to learn then your not gonna make it. but if you come here with the intent to learn. you will do just fine. DONT LISTEN TO NEGATIVE ########!

clittle36 · Apr 12, 2013

aevenson said: ↑

yea, so I am just about coming to an end for my first week here in waterloo for crst. I am glad I came and didn't listen to the negative people because I have had a good time here at hawkeye community college. the hotel they put you in is a super 8 and is realy not bad at all. but if you come here and don't try your hardest to learn then your not gonna make it. but if you come here with the intent to learn. you will do just fine. DONT LISTEN TO NEGATIVE ########!
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This is a great point!
Every company has disgruntled employees who are going to bash them. The problem is that the only people who usually make it a point to say something are the ones who are not satisfied. I am not saying every company is great or any particular company is bad, but there are complaints about other companies out there, too. Your time with a company is what you make of it. If you approach work with a negative outlook, it's going to be miserable and everything is going to be bad. Put in your time, deal with the crap and gain the knowledge and experience to move on to a better company. Everyone has to start somewhere.

chadglaze · Apr 22, 2013

Jagd said: ↑

[4th Day]

The class split up and we did various things today. The ones that needed to retest headed over to the DMV and I went into the shop to work on the verbal aspect of my Pre-Trip test. When doing the test, you start from the front of the vehicle, through the engine compartment, drive wheels and components, along the side of the cab to the rear components, onto to the trailer including all aspects of legal and operating function of the tractor-trailer and itemizing the critical parts with the information as to their condition. You have to describe what each thing is, the current condition and if it has legal or functioning parts (describing the parts in the process). You have to do this one strictly by the book! I spent a great deal of time in there. We got into a bobtail and spent about an hour driving around going up and down thru gears to get the feel of it. No one stalled a vehicle and by the time we were finished, the 3 I was with and myself were feeling pretty good. We did not give our instructor a heart attack or anything so we did get complemented for that, lol... from there I went into the simulator class and practiced for a long time. I probably jumped the gun on my first assessment but did not run over any pedestrians on the machine. They like to jump out or run out in front of you.

I finished up with going back out to the shop and working on my Pre-Trip stuff again. I will start the day with it and end the day with it. I think it will help me retain the information better.

[Overview & Suggestions]

Pickup is at 6:30am, you get back on the bus around 11:50am to get a ride back to the hotel for lunch, get back on the bus for school at 12:45pm, leave school for the evening at 4:30pm. There is occasional short breaks during the day. There is a food dispensing machine in the shop that has sandwiches, a coke machine that also has some gatorade and a coffee machine there. I suggest you buy food at the grocery store and supply your lunches that way. Also, taking the bus back to the hotel to eat leaves you looking at the time continually, puts undue stress on you and cuts into some extra time you could spend studying. I decided to bring my own lunch and hang out at the college, that way when I was finished, I could jump on some aspect of the training with fewer distractions with so few people around. The trainers are more than accommodating when you do this. That is the conclusion for this evening. For all the future drivers out there, study before you get here and don't get distracted when you arrive and for all the current drivers out there stay safe and God Bless!
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Thank you so much for this info. I too am looking at different schools and want to know more from someone who has actually been to the school. I am trying to decide where to go. I have also looked at Swift. I am going to get back to reading your posts.
Anymore info would help! Thanks again and be blessed!

da bronx · Apr 25, 2013

When you start training (28) how much a $mile did they offer you.and when you started with your co driver what they start you on

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