Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

I made it thru the first day as well! YAY! I'm dog tired though... and need to get some studying in... or maybe I'll just sleep.. cause studying like this will do me no good.
First day is mainly paperwork, waiting, more paperwork, waiting.... going here doing that.. etc.
Work-well wasn't too bad. Do some stretches... test balance. lift 50lb milkcrates from floor to hip high shelf (for me... i"m short... 5'4")... 3x. Lift 75 lb milkcrates from floor to shelf 3x. Then I think it was 30 lb weights from hip high shelf to eye high shelf three times... then you do 50 lbs 3x from shelf to eye shelf. Carry 75 lbs 53 feet 3x. Test your push/pull ability... 100lbs push and pull. Step two rungs up ladder 5 x. All while testing your heart rate. The biggest problem I had was keeping my hands on the metal milkcrates. I think that is all I have to say here.

Physical is no big deal. Interview is no biggie if you didn't lie on your past regarding misdemeanors/felonies etc. (They give you one final chance to disclose that information.... if you have something... you better say. EVEN it it occured in your youth, UNLESS you have a judge go thru and wipe it and you have a letter saying you don't have to state it. They do have access to ALL records at the borders thanks to some of the newer laws. I didn't pay too much attention here... my record is squeeky clean.).

If it didn't make sense, sorry... it does to me. I'm tired. If it is not clear... let me know and I or someone else will clarify sometime. So far it is not too bad. Our class had about 64 in it and it is down to 35ish now.

 

Well, lextec won't let me mess with "his hose" and unless we know for sure we are going to get you, I'd hate to bring the drill just to have to use it for a pillow.

 

I will have my student in WVC by the 7th to upgrade if you start on the 21st you will be done on the 8th the day I'm ready for another student but you can't use the hose on my truck

 

I have an awesome john deere lawn mower with snowblower to move snow with. when we get snow, min. of 6" have had as much as 18" over nite. it has been a great investment.

 

Can I be completely honest here? I hope so... cause I am going to be.
The first day really took it out of me. I'm going to stick out the next few days and see what goes down... but chances are that I am going to be headin' outta here. I passed all my tests and everything looks good. I consider myself probably as skilled if not more skilled than the average 4 wheeler driver... but I don't know if I can hack this. I am a pretty nervous driver already and the stress from driving one of these things constantly would probably kill me. I don't know if all the crap is worth the pay... especially when miles are low. I DO NOT want to start next week, and then not pass the road test... and still get stuck with a $3,000 bill to only get a certificate of completion and NO CDL. Not only that... but if you don't have payment arrangements (and they don't do payment arrangements) the bill goes straight to collections.

Everybody in the class is talking about getting 10k miles/mo.... I almost laughed. There is one guy who is going to look at an l/o truck tonight... and he is thinking about taking over the lease so that that driver can go back to being a company driver. That right there says not to lease.

The trainer, Jeff, seems like a great guy... but already I have heard him fib a few times. (Yeah... like they're going to give the new prostars to the newbies... lol-funny!) There is a fella here who has passed his upgrade and is waiting for a truck... he's been here for two weeks now. Another one is waiting for a trainer, has been for over a week now. They are supposedly in the process of training new trainers... adding 50 this week. Going from 450 trainers to 500 or so.

The only person that I have met so far - that I don't believe to be full of crap is Kurt -Trainer supervisor. He seems to tell it like it is and doesn't have time for nothing else. Very good fella IMO.

So far my experience has been ok. Maybe I'll see things in a different light tomorrow after I've had some rest and have no more headache.

 

Oh... and Central is in this business to make money. They are now charging a $100 application fee (could be called different).

65 students x $100 = $6500. And only about half of those people are still here! That is pretty much money for not doing much.... Of course, it makes sense too with the economy the way it is. More applicants... why not take advantage of the situation?

Edit...
Maybe not... could be a good reason... I don't know... but Central is a business. People here don't seem to think of it as that. Seems people in the class think that Central is there to help them.
School is not run by central. It is contracted out. Truck Driving Academy is who actually runs the school.

Ok... i'm going to bed now. I'm starting to ramble. Sorry Y'all!

 

hey chipper, im here in the yard for 34hrs so if you want a pep talk let me know!!

 

The issue I referred to was weight distribution during the lifting tests (not the actual weight itself). There was no consistent way to perform this test between individuals, thus it is possible to improperly load the basket with weight and mess up this test for yourself. It's a silly complaint really... just make sure on the 75lb portion you evenly distribute the weight for easier lifting. Also the 100lb push test is a bit whacky. Just my little opinion... it could be done better, but I'm not the professional in these matters, so therefore it is just mine and a few others (who also all passed and are still here) opinions.

Yes there is a lot to study in a quick time period. But, if you've been studying beforehand, it should not be that bad.

Edit: Overall, my first day expectations have been met.

 

No ONE will give you a hard time for being honest!!

There usually isn't a wait for trainers at WVC, but with the huge numbers there pushing through each week that may have changed!!

I would give it a few days and at least drive a truck and see how you like it!!

I was pretty nervous when I first moved to the states from Australia, it was all new to me, I was like I'm never going to get used to driving on the right hand side of the road within a few weeks I was driving, not with confidence but I could get myself to the store and back Now you should see me lane hopping in traffic

 

Thats cool we will be ready to go hose, Makita, and all....lol