Trainers...

My first trainer was great. Old country boy farmer "Plough Boy" with lots of experience. He didn't talk too much or demand much. I just could not sleep in the moving truck. I've never been so tired and unable to sleep ever. When I switched to tanker I had to ride with a trainer for 10 days, I got a hotel room every night. Our entire 10 days was 2 round trips to one customer in PA that was drop and hook. I already had 20 years of truck driving, I needed 10 days of tanker loading/unloading experience and I think I might have unloaded 1 or 2 trailers. He was a good guy, about 10 years younger, but we liked the same rock bands.
The trainer I had when I started driving out West was also the "training coordinator" plus 10 other jobs at a very small trucking company. Great guy, but he was constantly talking on the phone to other drivers and the company and customers and all of that necessary talking drove me nuts. He had to put out fires 24/7 via the phone.

 

I held onto my 9 speed Volvo for 5 plus years as the company moved to automatics. Manuals pulled better, unless they had that awful Mercedes engine, but autos make traffic and city driving much easier. You can really focus on the idiots on the other side of the windshield. It took about 2 years before I stopped stabbing at the missing clutch. I hurt my knee one time when I did that. Most autos allow you to put them in manual mode, if you really want to. I did that some in bad winter weather. I don't like the autos for backing much at all. It felt I had to back too fast with an auto. Someone here told me to turn off the Hill Stop Assist or HSA when backing and that helped alot.

 

was dumb enuff to try training. lol. pet peeves-not following instructions.
not able to get up on your own
no g.o.a.l.!
i gotta stop, i aint got no brakes. ugh.

 

I personally do it because it needs to be done.
Not for money, recognition or gratitude.
Without real trainers who want to pass their knowledge
to the next generation of drivers
this industry will go down in flames.

 

Where were you when I stepped into the industry? Lol.

Yep, there are many good drivers, people, and trainers in trucking. Unfortunately the bad apples tend to overshadow a lot.

I stuck with my bad trainer because I figured it is better to just make the best of a bad situation than complain. I don’t like to cause waves. But mostly I had confidence in my own ability to figure things out. But it sure would have been easier with a decent trainer. Cheers to those like you.