Stay with Dayton or move to Fed Ex Freight?

Because DFL is flat out better maybe?

 

If I had a choice between two trailers in Ethan Allen, one is a spread axle trailer loaded with hardwood furnature and I have no knowledge or information on how to deal with a ten foot spread going to god only knows where in Tampa which isnt exactly truck friendly and one a tandem trailer going to a customer I knew about...

Guess what. Tandem trailer is my choice. I rather deal with the known even if the Florida trailer paid more. (Much more) This is in Vermont and a corruption of a actual real life example twisted and retold in story form to support my position that I rather go with what is known versus what is unknown.

(I would have taken the spread axle now instantly when I did go through a life experience with the thing and understand certain advantages they offer at the scale house)

I always lean to the known.

Your manual 6 speed is a BIG advantage. Not necessarily too complicated like a say a 10 speed manual would be. And it will teach you patience as your RPM's come up slowly giving you time to think things through a moment. But it IS a manual. Good for testing. Not good for going to California. UGH... Get me my Rockwell 9 short or a merit-or Rockwell paddle equipped manual automatic 10 speed or even better a big tall 13 speed under drive or a 15 speed with a triple tree.

Short answer. Stay with the known. In this case it appears to be Dayton.

Fed Ex is shooting themselves in the foot. Too much long nose uppity high brow BS Union think in kicking students back to the kennel sandbox for failing a test. You are supposed to fail. Not endure a 6 month confinement waiting on the day you can try again. In this way Fed Ex is unnecessarily stupid and obtuse. If not abusive.

It's pretty you have a permit with all the jewelry. You best work on converting that to a full time license. Get a medical card to go with it if you aint got one already. And SIGN a TIER ONE Affidavit at the DMV too. DO NOT whatever you do EVER forget **Slaps so you remember this... the RENEWAL date of that medical DOT form you have in your pocket... it's what a two year? HOLD ON TO THAT. GET it renewed prior to that times up. OR suffer a automatic downgrade or elimination of your precious CDL. (YOU CAN sign a Affidavit as Tier TWO as a work around to keep everything as it is WITHOUT a DOT medical card like I do)

There you have it. Go use Mr 6 speed manual and learn what you can and get your full grown CDL ASAP.

Once you settle this, then come back here and talk to us again about choices.

Fed Ex is stupid. Discarding people and banning them for 6 months for a whoopsie. They are not going to hang around the dock all that time. No sir.

And trucking school is too #### expensive.

DO NOT STRESS about this experience. You will find it's all BS and Illusion. Experience. HA... A bird in hand (Dayton) with a JOB... already in progress is WAY WAY WAY better than sitting on a Fed Ex dock wishing into the wind while splashing yourself over a whoospie.

 

This whole 6 months waiting to try again is a stupid move IMO. All the things that you have learned you will most likely forget after 6 months. I almost didn't make it in advanced week with doubles when I was driver apprentice. They want students to do pre trip and hook the set under 30 minutes.(very often you gotta look for your pups around the yard and that takes time) It's doable, but it can be very challenging for a rookie. They stress the gate time way too much.

 

Sure they do.

Im busy looking for trailers. Less talk more looking about. Don't bother me with that precious princess gate time.

The less time you bother me with that stupid BS the faster we get those trailers gone on my 5th wheel savvy?

Maybe I am the difficult one and need Versed, Valium and A stiff Bourbon and a wife to boot.

I don't need staffers chasing after me with bs like gate time. WTF is that crap? It's unnecessary.

Maybe that's why we cannot keep workers worth a #### long enough to teach them anything. They get all stressed out and gone. WTF is this mess?

 

It took 2 months from the time my offer from FXF was accepted to walking in the door for my first day at work. Figure that by the time you get to that point, you're already a third of the way toward your 6 month mark with Dayton, and you'll be already working your way through the seniority list (if thats something they use).

I say stick it out, you're already in and there is a defined path for you to navigate to getting behind the wheel.

 

LOL!! We never get that lucky at our terminal. They just replace the cushion and tell us it’s good to go! I have the old KW all cleaned up, all the little stuff that needed fixed got fixed and was enjoying it. Then we was having problems with the IND shop, so they decided to switch to the TOL shop and guess who gets to do all the swaps now?

Now I get to watch more guys go in my truck than a lot lizard doing a buy one get one deal! LOL

It’s all good though, Dayton is a #### good company to work for. Not to many companies left that allow you to have so much freedom still, as long as you are doing your job.

 

With Dayton you would be running 1 trailer versus pups at fedex... less headaches. Fedex equipment is questionable, lots of old trailers. Years of seniority needed to get into a newer tractor.
Dayton has faster trucks, so you would passing most ltl cos.
Don't go to XPO either, lots of XPO drivers came over to FF.

 

I am not sad at all that I don't get to use my doubles endorsement.

 

That's the other reason I never got mine. It's a long story.

I could not do well mentally having two wriggle children behind me. One is plenty and barely.