Mountain Driving Tips

sorry randy i train for stevens,and yes im quite happy here.but from what i hear crete is a great company.i think you made a good choice for the area you are in.nobody can say what the right choice is for anybody.its all in how you adjust to what you dont like about that particular company.i hate to put it that way but thats the truth.you can read all you want on these threads and get negative info on all them,best thing talk to current drivers,ones that dont have an axe to grind,or ones that dont tell the whole truth.(thats sometimes hard to find)stevens is a training company,great training,maybe not the best pay.crete,great paying company,maybe not asthorough of training,but thats just my opinion,i have nothing to base that on.good luck to you

 

Thanks kirk, your reply is so true, it is hard sometimes to discern what is factual and what is a rant for what ever reason. I've been in the construction field for 30 yrs nearly been low man on the totem pole, proj. mgr, owned my own bus. not always in that order. Sometimes as owner I felt like I was still low man!

The trng after cdl school is the biggest concern we have right now. We're going to a tech school local feel like we will get maybe a little more wheel time that way, it's still not a lot of time. Either way Susan going 8 weeks OTR with a man she doesn't Know-not an option, Lady trainers very few, most companys she has to wait awhile, with no more than you get with cdl it'd be like startin over. One company, we've both talked to, and followed some guys posting their exp. doesn't have trng they do hire students but they have a longer orientation and make sure you can drive or you don't go. Thats great it's still not a lot of time.

Which is why I started reading this post. For info. It's still not behind the wheel though, but we may have to consider it. Anyway I want to thank you for replying to my post and thank all ya'll for the info and experiences you share they do help.

Thanks and may the rubber always be down,
Randy & Susan

 

Stevens Transport 1st 6 months solo

 

You dont always climb before you desend.

 

You can always tell who they are... they're the one's coming screaming down a steep grade with smoke billowing from the tandems!

 

You only run w/out a jake on your first two major mountains,so you can learn the proper way to descend a major mountain if your jake were not working.(thats while w/a trainer).After that you always have a jake.Now you do run 6 months w/out cruise control once you go solo and get your own truck.Good luck to you.Cbell for the record dont know if they use to do that,they dont anymore,possibly they got smart,LOL.

 

LOL,very true if they bhave never been taught how to do it w/out a jake.

 

Okay they must have changed that rule.When i went went through in 2001 it was the 1st 6 months solo. It was good training, and you surely respected the grades by going down in the correct gear with the right amount of brake psi. I plan on coming back in January they said i would have to repeat the whole training process again. Oh well i wont drive for no one else.

 

I may be getting a line haul job..1st time in a rig solo no trainer its local home nightly in PA. From Philly to Hazleton out to Altoona and back. Im pretty sure theres a decent amount of grades out there. What gear would you guys say would be a safe gear to head down a grade to start with, with or without jakes??

 

that's not a simple question/answer...too many variables...
what gearing in the differential? what transmission?