Following Schneider Closely

Hi Merlin. Your making a good choice IMO. These guys are real. I drove dry van for them for 1 1/2 years. The only reason I'm not there is family related. It's getting a bit late here, but I'll try to help you with questions you may have in the morning. So save them up!

WARNING; Driver can get long winded!!!

 

Following Schneider Closely
You can get a ticket for that...

 

Maybe I can help answer some of your questions.

If you are thinking of going bulk with SCHN, and you are near TX, then most likely your initial training will be in Dallas,TX, in which case, you had better doing ALL of your training in both Long Pants & Long shirt, Non-slip oil resistant steel toe boots.

Your days will be from 7am - 6 - 7 pm, and will have homework every day for the first 7 days of training. Their road tests are for 3 days, and you had better know how to shift & maintain control of your ship at all times (surge) as well as not EVER hit or ride up on any curve, regardless of how tight the turn is. And yes, you will be well challangened in some of the local streets that were built 20+ years ago which were not really ment for semi trucks, in which case, Extreamly tight left & right turns, with NO room for errors. If you hit or ride up on a curb on any of your turns with any tire, you may as well pack it up. PERIOD.

Once you make it past the 7 days, you will then be schedualed to go to either Houston TX or Reserve LA for your Bulk load / Unload training IN FULL PPE Gear. Hot suits, Fire Suits, Gloves, Respirators, Face Shields etc, & it will be done with you wearing your Long Sleeve shirts & Long Pants. Needless to ssay, being hot is an understatement. by the end of the day, there will not be a single dry spot on your body. So, drink LOTS of water (about 1 - 2 Gallons) per day, just to stay hydrated and from keeping from the possibility of heat stroke or exaustion. & Yes, it is very possible because you will be lifting up to 80 ft of hoses, climing up & down the tanks, loading & unloading trucks etc. By the end of the day, you will be wiped out, no questions about it. & you will be doing this for 3 days straight.

Your days for this will be from 7am - 5pm, rain or shine.

if you make it past this you will then be assigned to your terminal in your region, in which, after you get home, you will meet up with your trainer 2 -3 days after you get home.

Be prepared to have to pay for your meals & way home during your 3 days of bulk training. The hotel they put you in is not the best, no fridge or micrrowave, rooms mainly sub standards & in a rough neighborhood. The suttle from there to the term leaves every 1/2 hr beginning at 6am & breakfast starts at 6am. SO no room for a easy breaakfast. its grab & go go go, while carying your PPE Bag which will have all of your gear and books. (Not Light).

Hope this helps.

 

Hi Merlin, I can only answer as to what us box drivers do, so I'll be a bit limited.

Where is truck parked when home time happens?

With van, if you live beyond a 100 mile radius from the yard, you take truck home. They are a bit flexible on this.

Fuel situation, communication, additions to truck (CB, refrig, etc)

You will be told where to fuel. Communications are by Qualcomm. You can have anything you want, except an inverter, unless you have sleep apnea. Then an inverter big enough to run a CPAP is installed, no charge. You supply your own CB. The truck will likely have a dash mount supplied, with power and antenna hookups.

What defines a secure storage area that meets hometime security requirement?

That one I never really did figure out. If you're bobtailed home, your driveway would be good. If you have a trailer, that could be a problem.

Hope this helped, maybe a tanker yanker can offer a bit more on those questions.

 

Yeah, in the Centuries you have one in the center console in front. There is one on the floor behind the drivers seat, originally inside that lower cabinet I think for a fridge. One in the space behind and above the passenger seat for a TV or whatever. And another in the sleepr in the module for your bunkheater, fan controls, and speaker volume. The IHC I had a couple times was a bit different, I'm trying to remember where they were, but seems there weren't as many.

 

houston oc:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...406,-95.153993&spn=0.004964,0.009559&t=h&z=17

that's an old pic. that green area between bamford and talcott is now 2/3 employee parking and 1/3 bobtail parking.