Napier Truck Driver Training

I leave this saturday for orientation with TMC.

 

Cool! I'm sure you'll find the school to be a fun experience. Of course there is some work to it, but it is fun also. Feel free to use this thread to keep us posted on your progress as well.

 

I don't know much about Tri-State other than what I've heard talking with some who have gone there.

Tri-State is a 3 week school. They go 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I don't know much about their actual program, but I do know their final testing for your cdl license is done in an automatic truck, but I think most of your training is done with 10 speeds.

One of the things that concerned me about Tri-State is that the state actually closed the school for a while for some reason, I'm not sure exactly what, but they have since re-opened. Maybe they got their old issures resolved, but I don't know. I would just go in with caution.

On the other hand, Napier had any issues with the state. I've already posted about Napiers program so I won't go into all that again. They are a 5 week school, 5 days a week, 8 hrs a day. They do have weekend courses, which I guess lasts for 10 weekends. I guess it all depends on personal preferences or needs, but I think the 5 week course is the better choice overall.

I just finished my first week of training with TMC. So far, things are going pretty good. Can't wait to get my own truck and get out there and start making money!

What ever you decide to do, good luck and keep us posted!

 

I enjoyed my time at TMC. The hotel was nice, for what it was. The training facilities were nice and the people were all very professional, for the most part. The guy who does the classroom training is very knowledgable and keeps a light attitude in his class. He's always asking for new rumors going around that he can confirm or deny. They are very strict about their rules and for good reason. If you can't follow a simple rule like "Stay off the grass", you most likely won't follow rules out on the road. The hardest part of the training is the load securement and tarping, but if you are gonna do flatbed, ya gotta know how it's done. The videos and pictures they show of bad load securement jobs will stress that point very well. I think one guy in my class quit after seeing that.

Their backing training is very good I think. Backing a split axle 48 foot flatbed is different than the 48 foot van trailers you learn with at school. In some respects, it's actually easier. If you are going to Napier, you'll do the straightline, rightside parallel, offset, and 90 degree alley dock. At TMC, the first thing you'll do is a straightline and this is where Napier will help. Their straightline training area is a dirt lot with holes that will pitch you off to one side or the other. If you can learn to back it straight in those conditions (and you'll do it so often you start doing things to try to mess you up just so you can work out of it), when you get to the smooth lot at TMC, backing straight will be a breeze. TMC also does a 45 degree back (which is the only backing test they do after your 5 weeks out with a trainer and will be a deal breaker) and a serpentine (or offset). They also do a figure 8 which is about teaching you to make turns watching your mirrors. The final day of this training, they also show you how to do a 90 degree. The road training is all about teaching you to shift the 13 speed, double clutching, maintaining speed, controlling lanes, and so on. If you make it thru all this, you learn who your trainer is, then you and two or three other student going in your same direction get a rental car and go home for the weekend. By Saturday, your trainer should call you and arrange where to meet on sunday to start your week. I had to drive two hours to meet mine. Hopefully you'll get a good trainer who will teach you what you need to know and not bark and yell at you. I felt I had a pretty good trainer at first. We got along well, didn't argue or fight about anything. He taught me a few things and helped me work on a few things I needed to work on. I thought I was making good progress, especially with my backing in the last couple days. Unfortunately for me, while my trainer was telling me I was doing a good job, he told the training coordinator something different, and before we even got started on the third week, he told me I was terminated. I feel I was the victem of a disgruntled trainer because the week before he was really getting screwed on miles and was considering quitting training or quitting altogether, so this was just one way to get me off his truck.

In spite of that, I still feel that TMC was a pretty good company and I'm entirely grateful for the time I spent there. I will definately take the things I learned there with me where ever I go from here. After I get some experience elsewhere, I might even consider trying to go back, if they would have me. I really did enjoy it. Good luck to you and where ever you decide to go. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

Thanks Roadmaster. Being terminated makes it really difficult to find another driving job, even though I didn't really do anything wrong. I mean if I had been fired for an accident, that would be one thing. But tht's not the case here. This all happened the beginning of November and I'm still looking for work. Many places won't take me because I was fired from my last job, regardless of the reason. Other places have said I don't have enough experience. Right now I've got 3 places willing to give me a shot, but I have to wait until next month/year. So I've still got hope. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

And don't let my experience deter you from giving TMC a try. Like I said, I still feel they are a decent company. But, of course, do your research good. Some posts on here make it sound like they may in trouble like Arrow Trucking. It didn't look like it to me when I was there, but who knows for sure.