Any CRST lead driver trainers?

I just finished my one week Refresher course at CRST in Iowa & will be going through Orientation next week & am looking for a lead driver for my 28 days, after that. I am from Delaware & would also like to find a co-driver from my area if there is any.I am a smoker so i guess you should be also. I am not opposed to a female lead driver as long as you can teach me what I need to know with regards to driving. You can email me at GarlandHoops@verizon.net. Thanks

 

pay is 36 a mile and i would find some where else to work these people are a joke 1 month out and 4 days home and you will starve on there pay beware

 

At Crst you get 6 cents on top of your base pay. base pay is dependant on experence. its also split so its realy 3 cents.

I would think twice about being a trainer. they have a shortage of trainers cause anyone who is worth anything leaves for a better job.

the trainers now there are a few good ones but most of the trainers do not train the new drivers correctly or at all. they basically want the extra money and dont care what the new drivers know or need to know.

 

I just finished my 28 days with a trainer last week.Terry Worboys was his name. Great trainer taught me alot of tricks to backing how to work the qulcom. and work the cruise and jake brake to my advantage. he provided all the food I wanted on the truck said buy what you want but feel free to eat anything i have on the truck, He had coleman cooler/fridge microwave TV Food was Ham cheese cracker (saltine, and ritz and cheeses it) bread butter chilli ravioli tuna taco bell dinners and ramin noodle the good kind. I still bought food cause i didnt want to eat him out of house and home even thought he insited it was fine. I ran out of smokes late one sunday he tossed me 2 packs to cover me till payday. He pointed out the good and bad truck stop. we stoped at the one in wendover at the casino with the killer buffet he paid for that. and bought me dinner at olive garden one night also since we were bobtailing and he wanted to eat there. Terry in my opinion is a great Trainer he made sure your driving right when your 28 days are up with him you are ready for the road. I am now team with one of his former students who need a new co driver and we just picked up are truck today a 2010 FL 12,683 miles with op Idle on it. The pay stinks for the first six months but it's a better learning experience for new drivers. but that just my opinion. from talking to some of the other guys from oriantation they were not so lucky and had crappy trainers which seem to be the owner ops were the worse so try to request a company driver for a trainer if you can.

 

lol.mine was just the other way. I had two trainers first was a company driver who had been on the job a year. he did not even know how to back a truck. one dock it took him 20 minutes. the guy on the forklift was just sitting there shaking his head thinking the trainer was the trainee. the second one was an owner op who had been driving for 20 years. he was the one who took me to dinner, taught me the in's and out's. i think trying to find a good trainer is a crap shoot. and remember if you are out with a trainer and its not working out like he does not know what he is doing then you can always request a new one. I did they had me on a different trainer in a couple of days. Also keep in mind that if you are with an owner op you will sit more due to they do not take every load sent thier way. they turn down alot of loads due to the pay on them.

 

i know someone who just finished up with a owner op trainer. He was out 35 days with him. Said it was pure hell. Could not touch his radio, would not let him back the truck. 3 back ups in 28 days. He took hometime for Thanksgiving and the student had to stay in the truck for 6 days in TN with no heat. He only let him in the house for shower and bathroom. He had to walk a mile to get food everyday. The driver only took showers every 5 days and only stopped for fuel. He could not get food in most cases, made him pee in a bottle. Thats insane for a trainer who is only 36 years old. Some days they sat cause he would not take the load.

 

im applyinh to be a lease purchase/ trainer i have 3 yrs exp i trained for central ref for eight months and never had any complaints from a student is the training program good for crst??? the pay?? the miles??? the customer service??

 

As a former CRST trainer, allow me to give some of the new drivers some tips. As with any company CRST is as good or bad as you want to make it. Having said that it is a training company. Listed below are some of the issues you should know before going out on your own.
1) Going North or East on the interstates the mile markers get higher, Going South or West they get smaller. Having said that sometimes two interstates will merge for a while. Don't let this throw you off.
2) There are 2,000 pounds in a ton.
3) A gallon of diesel weighs approx. 8 pounds
4) CRST tractors usually have 100 gallon tanks on each side. With full tanks that is 1,600 pounds that is why you should always weigh first before you fuel.
5) Each hole when you slide your tandems is approx. equals 330 pounds.
6) The eight letters and numbers on the side of your tractor are the last eight of your VIN #. You might need to know this when taking your tractor for repair at a TA Truck Stop as an example.
7) Your CRST tractor and trailer empty weighs approx. 32,000 pounds or 16 tons.
8) The breakdown for your maximun weight of 80,000 pounds is 12,000 on the steers and 34,000 on your drives and 34,000 on your tandems.
9) Your total lenght with tractor and trailer is abt 75 feet
10) Your CRST tractor and trailer is 8 feet six inches wide or 102 inches.
11) The brake checks on I-24 between Nashville and Chattanooga, TN going Eastbound are manatory as the one on I-68 in West Virginia going Westbound.
12) I-35 around Dallas and Fort Worth break up into two seperate interstates. Worth starts with the letter W. So does the word West. Therefore I-35 East goes to Dallas and I-35 West goes to Fort Worth.
I-35 also splits up in Minnesota. The second letter in eAst is an A. The word pAul as in St. Paul second letter is also an A. Therefore I-35 East goes to St. Paul and I-35 W goes to Minneapolis.
13) When going to the OKC terminal try to remember this tip. I-40 goes through OKC and you get off on exit 140 and always turn towards Love's Truck Stop regardless of the direction you are going. The CRST terminal is approx 200 yards in back of the Love's Truck Stop.
14) Interstate signs are part blue in color. Business interstate signs however are part green in color.
15) The term in the box refers to the weight inside of your trailer. For example if you picked up 20,000 pounds and your empty weight was 32,000 your new weight would be 52,000 or 26 tons. You will need to know both tonage and pounds while driving. At the Cabbage Patch approx, mile marker 222 on I-84 Westbound in Oregon your speed will depend upon your weight. If you don't know how much you weigh than you will not know what speed to go.
I had about 500 questions that the students and I will go over everyday these are only 15 of those 500 questions. There is a lot to know about driving and 28 days is cram packed. When the students were not studying they would be backing up. Each back is different. You will need to know how to read a yard and it does take a while sometimes to handle. Keep in mind that I also learn sometime new everyday just as my students do except in their case it might be 20 or 30 things a day. No one knows everything just try to keep learning over your driving career. CRST did and does have some excellent lead drivers.

 

To Free2frog

My husband is in school now through crst, and my mother was just hired on with crst. waiting for a trainer! do you have contact info for Terry. I want my mom and my husband to have a good experience and it sounds like he is pretty nice. Thanks for your help!