The secret deBoer letters.

Dear Sis,

It's now been one week since I started truck driving school up here in Wisconsin. I have decided that is time to tell you the REAL reason that I decided to become a truck driver after quitting my cushy job as an IT engineer with almost 20 years of experience. No doubt you thought I was crazy to do this. I know that you were suspicious of my explanations of computer burn out, desire to travel, and reducing my expenses from owning a house in the Chicago suburbs to living out of a truck while still making a decent income. Well, you are right, I have a secret motive. You see, I believe that deBoer is at the center of the Unified Conspiracy Theory, or the UCT. As you know, I have been always interested in conspiracy. There are SO many of them. From JFK, TWA Flight 800, 9/11, 200 mpg black boxes hushed up by big oil, Masons, Pearl Harbor, KAL 007, Illuminati, radical left/right, religious cults, atheist nuts, the Gulf wars, and so on. Logically, either they are all the result of irrational thinking from everyday people, or they are REALLY true. I believe the latter. After all, millions of Americans can't be self deliousional like the French? So, if all these conspiracy are true, then there must be a controlling agency. One that is large enough that can influence events all across the world for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. There can be only one explanation, ALIENS, and I don't mean from Mexico. After this revelation, I realized that they must be able to move their ill gotten goods and equipment across the county. It dawned upon me that a nationwide trucking company would be the perfect cover for this and for the UCT.

I started looking into trucking companies. The largest I ruled out, Swift, Schneider, Prime and others like that. Too many disgruntled truckers bashing them on the trucking boards. If they were part of the UCT, then they would be blabbing about it. They also had to a company which trained doe eyed newbie's. Those new trucking would believe that the load of paper rolls from a paper mill to a printing plant were really paper rolls, and not mind controlling coils for brain washing machines. I began my research while still employed as an IT engineer while in Chicago. After a few months, it occurred to me that one fairly large trucking company was CONSPIOUSLY absent in most posts, and that was deBoer. I KNEW deBoer was fairly (450+ trucks) large, for I would see their trucks with that curiously strange logo of wooden shoes sprouting wings every so often while in the Chicago area and throughout my travels in the Midwest. Yet, almost no posts were found about them, other than a few mentions about them being a fully automatic company, hauled 48 states but not often to NE, and sometimes hauled heavy paper from Wisconsin to south and west. The only post which I found bashing deBoer after a lot of searching was by a wife whose husband trucking for them was not getting home as much as they promised but was getting a lot of miles and making money. From the sound of that shrill woman, if I was married to her I too would stay out on the road so suspected that was the truth behind that post. The only other company which I considered was CFI could be part of the UCT was CFI.

However, I judged CFI was probably getting too large and noticed to be part of the UCT. This was good because from new student perspective, CFI did not offer as good of a deal as deBoer. With CFI you had to pay $1000 towards your training, started out with less pay, and had to buy a bunch of equipment coming out of your paycheck right from the start. deBoer's vacation time was also better, 2 days off after 10 days out, vs. 14 for CFI. Lastly, deBoer has much more liberal rider policy and better training. CFI used Crowder College in Neosho MO, which is decent but is not PATI certified, while deBoer used Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton WI, considered by the trucking industry to be the best publicly funded truck driving school in the country, and is of course, PATI certified. FVTC also literally wrote the book for CDL training guidelines nationwide back in 1987, and Schneider developed their training program at FVTC. (1)

With this in mind, I choose deBoer to infiltrate if I could only choose one. After all, what if I am wrong and am not hailed as the world savior unmasking this insidious UCT, so I will have to actually work for a living driving trucks and not basking in the limelight and charging 50k for speaking on "How I saved the world and became a truck driver too." on the lecture circuit? So, I might as well get trained by one of the best truck schools in the nation. I also knew a little about them from a guy who had a blog about going to school (10 week program) and driving for them. Unfortunately, his blog soon deviated from writing about the school and deBoer too mostly writing ( look up mavericsadventure at blogspot) about his woes and angst about breaking up with his long time girlfriend, trying to off himself, and wallowing in so much self pity that my stomach began to churn. No doubt the UCT found out about his blog and arranged for his girlfriend to leave, thus solving the problem of too much information getting out on the Internet. I am smarter; I won't do such a thing.

So, now I am up here in Appleton Wisconsin. I drove up here, declining a bus ride. deBoer puts us out of town students at the Exel Inn. I would say its quality is below a motel 6 and above the Bates roach motel. The beds have plastic sheets which "groan" anytime you or your room mate move on them. The AC is loud, but it works. WiFi is free, but towards to middle of the hotel signal is lost and only towards the ends does it work reliably. Hotel Staff is friendly but incompetent. Both I and my room mate had problems checking in, yet they get new deBoer students long term stays every week and they still can't figure it out. No doubt all this is a cover up by the UCT. At least the location of the Exel hotel is convenient. There are restaurants all around, from Pizza hut, Subway, Applebee's and such within walking distance, and a convenient store across the parking lot. There is also a very large supermarket called Woodsman just a block away. This place is huge, and I have yet to purchase everything I need there simply because it is so freaking big. Prices are good at least. The schools itself, FVTC, is about a mile away, so it only takes about five minutes to get to class.

Classes start at 7:30 and go to 16:30, except Wednesday when you go till 20:00 and Friday, when you get out at 14:00. There are several driving programs. The 10 week program is for those students either having the government paying for their schooling, do not have the qualifications or smarts to get someone else to pay for their schooling, or just don't want to beholden to a company like me with paid training. That program has about 40 plus students. There are also various refresher courses for those re-entering truck driving, and a four week straight truck program. I am in the Partnership program, which runs four weeks. After four weeks, I go to deBoer with a finisher/trainer for two to four weeks and then go solo. This will be the most dangerous time, when the aliens from UCT will no doubt mind probe me to discover my true intent. Fortuitously, I have discovered a counter. Just try to figure out the plot of any Pauly Shore movie and the resulting confusion will fool any probe.

So, the first week is done and went something like this. Day one, introductions, paperwork, orientation in morning, physicals in afternoon. Day two, driver logs in morning, and in the afternoon driving on the deBoer truck bob tailing. With me are two other deBoer students. Both have class A CDL's already. One went through a school near the Twin Cities but never used it, and the other, my roommate, is self taught and drove for six months before deciding to move to a larger company which understands what HOS means. In the morning after the logging class, I went to the WI DMV with the head of the Partnership program to get my MO permit and license transferred to WI so that I can be tested at the school for my CDL. This took almost three hours, but not because of me. MY documents, as any one in my secret mission should be, were perfect, and the pettifogging wormy DMV guy, who hates having to do license transfers, could not find any fault with them. The UCT won't catch me that easily! Unfortunately, the other guy with an out of state licenses was living out of his car and his documentations were not in the best of order. Sooooo, almost three hours latter, we finally leave and now have my WI license and so does the other guy. I guess that the DMV worm could not exclude someone from a license just because he was homeless since there was no law against it. After I get back from the DMV, I spent the afternoon driving around the Keller range, which is a one mile loop with small hills, turns, and a low water "bridge" with concrete sides for several minor challenges with the two other deBoer classmates and a trainer. I didn't have too much problem getting around. The deBoer truck is a Volvo with an excellent turning radius. deBoer keeps this truck at FVTC for us deBoer students to train in.

Day three in the morning we finished up logging and then with the instructor, hooked up a 53' trailer. First we drove on the Keller and around the truck stop area to get a feel for it and then toured a local industrial park. The trailer takes some getting used to, you ALWAYS have to keep it in mind turning and watching where the trailer goes. It is drawn magically to signal lights, fire hydrants, curbs, and flower beds. I was able to keep it relative behaved, and the trainer said I was doing all right. In the afternoon, we the trainer took us out around town. FVTC has many routes which we as students can drive once we have our CDL's or are with a CDL holder. I was checked out to drive on routes A, B, and C, which are the "bunny" routes of 8 to 12 miles. Once again I am pleased to report that I am doing all right. Later, the trainer showed us how to do an alley dock and truck stop parking. None of what I was doing really made sense but I turned the wheel left or right when he said to and was able to put the truck and trailer where it needed to go. The late evening part was spent going over in mind numbing detail what we need to know to pass the CDL pre-trip exam.

Day four in the morning was spent again in the deBoer truck driving the Keller and on the road, with more industrial park driving too. In the afternoon, my roommate and I were switched to another semi-automatic truck, a Peterbuilt nicked-named "The Queen Mary". Like the Queen Mary, she takes about three city blocks to make a turn. Pulling a 48 foot trailer this time, our trainer let us get used to her first on the Keller and then on the ABC routes. The QM took some getting used too. You really have to think about your turns beforehand or you are going to be in trouble. It is good that I am not having to be learning too up/down shift at the same time as I am trying to make a turn in that monster.

Day five the morning was spent doing more backing and alley docking. I am FINALLY beginning to understand the the heck I am doing, and why turning the wheels first left and then right does. I am able to dock properly about one out of three times. I am also able to pull into a truck stop somewhat straight. With the QM, you have to be further out than the Volvo but not do past as many parking spots before turning to make you spot in the truck stop area. The afternoon was spent driving the ABC routes, but was called off short because the school was shutting down early due to storms. Storms, what storms? It was clear, humid, and windy, but no storms. Turns out there were a tornado watch. After getting to the hotel and switching to the weather channel, I see that the storm is over a hundred miles away and not even tracking towards Appleton and I started laughing! Growing up in Kansas, we don't stop working for a tornado watch until the sirens wail! Otherwise, you couldn't get anything done in the spring and summer. Well Sis, I have to wrap this up. I will write again soon about what is happening this week and more explanations on how things work here at FVTC, maybe even some pictures. In the meantime, don't let anyone else see these letters or you will never hear from me again!

Yours,

T. E. Hambeldon

 

Note 1:

I also considered Rohel, but they drove mostly East of the Mississippi, and driving in NE is not what I want to really do. The Western states, New Mexico, and Texas are all places which I wanted to drive the most in because of views and family, and this is where deBoer goes. deBoer also has one other advantage over CFI, and that is I was told, and confirmed with other recuits, that there will be no money taken out of our pay check for equipment, hotel costs, or anything else other than your usual taxes and medical deductions. I will confirm this once I start driving for them, for I am a bit dubious.

The starting pay is 28.5 cpm. Other companies, like Prime, can start you out as low as 12 cpm, with minium $600 (which ever is greater) but you had to be available to work all seven days. What if your trainer decides to take a day off? Maybe you will get paid, and maybe not. I don't know, but Prime's reputation is not the best. I get the Springfield MO newspaper, and I have yet to see Prime advertise for drivers locally. Makes you wonder, eh? I do believe, however, that Prime is trying to be better, and training with them would probably be OK.

With deBoer, after 40k miles, it goes to 29.5, and after 80k, 31.5. There are of course, bonuses for safety and mpg. CFI also has many bonuses, which may be a bit better than deBoer's from what I can tell. Now, once you have your year plus in, I think both companies, CFI and deBoer are fairly equal, with maybe CFI a little better but this is a rookies viewpoint. As I learn more, I will post more.

T.E. Hambledon

 

It's "tounge in cheek" humor. I wanted to due something a bit different than the usual blogs new drivers post.

 

Hopfrog,

Yep, got into computers in 1986, started full time in 88. Split my time between Kansas and latter the Chicagoland area. Ended up working in a Data center, hosting websites for Google, Orbitz, Careerbuilder, and so on. Last few years I was more or less a fireman, waiting around for something to go wrong to fix it. In the meantime, my skills and desire to continue my profession withered. The final straw was when for the second year in a row, no raises and our company CEO runs up a $241,000 tab at a strip joint in NYC. Do a search, you can figure out who I worked for… J There was also all the unpaid and uncompensated time spent evenings, weekends, and holiday’s doing upgrades, restores, patching, and deployments. You know how it is. A 60-70 hour work week is all too often the norm rather than the exception. Add to this .5 to 1.5 hour commute one way depending on traffic and your time spent with your family is almost non-existent. In my case, this was root cause of a divorce.

After deciding to leave, I weighed my options. Teaching attracted me, but the “No Child Left Behind” act is the WORST thing to happen to our education system ever. My brothers and sisters all teach at different levels, areas, and states, and they say that the joy and creativity of teaching is now gone because of it. You have to teach to tests now. I would also have to go back to school. So that was out. I thought about starting my own business, but that’s risky and I had a mortgage and bills. In truth there are not a lot of options for changing careers, keeping a decent income, and not having to spend months or even years retraining. I also wanted to get ahead financially. Making good money but having high expenses does not mean you are getting ahead. As I saw it, I could either increase my income while staying where I was by getting more certifications and such, or reduce my income (but still reasonable) while at the same time even more drastically reducing expenses.

At first I considered the expediting side of the trucking industry, driving a straight truck with a sleeper. A lot less hassle than an 18 wheeler and better pay overall. But teams are heart of that gig, and it’s a bit saturated right now with solo drivers. There is also more of a learning curve since expediters are (with few exceptions) contractors where knowledge of the business is needed. So, that left trucking as an option. I have always enjoyed driving and traveling. I am also a decent driver, having given up my lead foot tendency years ago. This for me would only really work if sold my house and pretty much lived out of a truck. Right now, I have only my cell phone bill and auto insurance as monthly expenses. I also moved to rural MO where expenses are low. By doing all of this I can get “ahead”. This is a drastic change, but it enables me to get closer to family in that part of the country, and being a from a small Kansas town originally, it feels more comfortable than Chicago. Having no kids or wife also makes the transition easier, and this may be the most important. Last but not least, I am someone who with a computer, books, and TV can be quite content. All of which my truck will have.


I too was bit put off by the stigma. There are truckers who really live up to it but then again, many others do not. But the IT also has its stigma’s, i.e. geeky nerds and such. But on the whole it does not bother me too much. I am comfortable with what my decision. It is more than a career change, but a lifestyle change as well I believe. I truly will not know if this was a good decision for I suspect at least a year. But so far, I am enjoying it very much. I have been impressed by the level of professionalism at FVTC. I am also surprised at how complex the industry is. As for belonging, I feel comfortable with my fellow students. Many have different backgrounds, some not the most educated, and others with college degrees. There are things which are harder to do than I thought, but others easier. Overall, I am glad of my decision, and have yet to see any drawbacks other than the ones I know about. Now, when I am trying to get a rusty stubborn tandems to slide in pouring freezing blowing rain, I might rule the day I gave up my comfortable job nursemaiding computers.

 

Thanks for the comments. An update coming latter this weekend, althrough internet is out here at the Exel low budget inn. Had a good week, was out with the head of the program with new deBoer recruits and spent some time with a deBoer recruiter. But it's Friday night and am going out for some beers.