EPES TRANSPORT-Greensboro, NC

davidson county community college in mocksville, nc is a good one if you can find a way to get there....they got me and the other 3 that were at the top of our class out of the last graduating class and I think they're pretty happy with the quality of students coming out of there.....of the 4 students that were in my orientation class, I'm the only one that made it past the first day.....the poor quality of training at some of these other schools, especially the 'accelerated' ones, is certainly evident by what was seen in my orientation class.....and these sentiments have been echoed by the two trainers i've ridden with so far in that the training i got was far and above anything they've seen yet from any of the other students they've gotten.

third week down, halfway done with my trainer and halfway to my own truck and solo on the road and this one was intense....

so far i'm averaging 2500 miles a week, and if we can get this trip we're hooked to now in and out on monday and scanned before cutoff (training payroll cutoff is monday noon instead of tuesday for everone else ), then I'll have 3125 miles for the week. we got lucky and got some long runs this week, one up to NH and back through massachusetts going to matthews, and i got my first taste of the northeast and that was no ####### joke in a 65' truck......and didn't even go into NYC, just the GW and cross bronx, DC in rush hour traffic, coming back through hartford and bridgeport in the same traffic.....2 hours to go 15 miles through both....if THAT won't teach you the ins and outs of shifting, especially in the low range, you'll never learn it hahahaha....i'm going to make sure i get at least one more trip up there if possible before i get cut loose on my own....i can't imagine anyone trying to run that corridor without having been trhough there first with someone that knows the road and the trip.and I have to say i've been nothing but impressed with my trainer.....coming from an aviation background, my opinion of any training in any industry is very hard and i hold trainers very accountable, and this guy is a trainer in every sense of the word....although i make it easy for him since i'm a natural in the truck and he himself said all he's doing with me is fine tuning and more day to day stuff like getting in and out of truckstops correctly, finding the right ones with parking or how to find parking when it's late at night ( don't know how you'd make a long northeast run without much thought and proper planning or you're just screwed when it comes time to find a place to shut down for the night ).....advanced trip planning and company policies and paperwork.....how to live on the road without spending a ton of money by choosing the right fridge and microwave, which brands to avoid, best food to take that keeps well and cooks well on the road, how to set them up and live in the truck without spending a ton of money.....i've gotten everything from nighttime in the driving pouring rain and thunderstorms in PA to heavy crosswinds through the mountains in Va and WV to clear and sunny lol......he's very interested in my success and hasn't done anything but perform above and beyond in my opinion.....I feel like i'll be well prepared at the end of the next 3 weeks to go out on my own....and it was a good fit...they chose well to put me with someone i'm compatible with and can get along with in the truck and one of the other guys from school i've talked to has said the same thing about his trainer.....so far, i've been nothing but impressed with the company and the people. quite a change from some of the horror stories i've heard about other companies on this forum.....and i'm no cheerleader for anyone or any company.....if things sucked, i can assure you i would be just as hard on them as i am impressed with them and pleased that it appears i made the right choice of where to go.

anyway.....it's hard for me to post from the road since I don't have my laptop set up yet....and my phone is terribly irritating to try and type on lol.... but i'll at least try to make weekly posts anyway

so far so good

 

@Flyingmusician...What is the main thing that is getting people kicked out of orientation? What are the recruiters looking for, as far as good drivers? Myself I went to Bates Tech. College in WA State, it was a 6 month course and they covered alot of things and I have two yrs OTR experience, just wondering that's all, no major tickets as far as accidents, HOS or anything like.

 

The thing I saw from the 3 other students who were in my orientation group was that they were poorly trained and either couldn't drive forward or couldn't hit the hole in reverse lol and I'm not really joking about that either.....they just had no real control of the truck.......they came from these 'accelerated' courses which I have made my contempt for well-known in a few other threads.....I chose an 8 week course at local community college which had a good reputation and once I got into the course found it to be well deserved.....as evidenced also by the fact that 3 of my classmates made it through orientation 1 to 2 weeks behind me and are starting out with their trainers now......beyond that, if your MVR and DAC are clean, you have a good background check and present yourself professionally, you shouldnt have any problems getting in

On my way back to new England.....the miles are definitely here if you like to run hard

 

I appreciate the feedback...well everything sounds good, I will submit my app the first of July, thanks again Flyingmusician!

 

Thanks for that Flyingmusician. I hope to be at orientation with Epes on July 18. Am looking forward to that. I should my CDL on Friday. Have been doing really well with everything here at Sage Trucking school. Kinda worries me to hear of such a steep drop-off of folks at orientation but, I am up for the challenge. I feel good about how I ma doing with my driving and all my instructors tell me how well I am doing compared to most. So, looking forward to another challenge. I too ride (not a Harley guy, tho). And, am a guitar player. Thanks for the words of encouragement with Epes.

 

I am at Sage Trucking School at Isothermal CC in Spindale, NC. Good school. 5 week course. I hope that time in will serve me well at orientaion. I believe it will.

 

Got my NC CDL yesterday!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!! Took the test at Sage (a third party testing facility as well as my school...boy does that help). There are a couple guys in class that are going for their SC CDL. Tough state that SC. A couple guys switch to NC just to get their CDL through NC testing. Not that SC can't be passed...many do but the war stories I hear from certain DMV's are just amazing. It's as if they don't have a set standard or the DMV employees giving the test just don't care about you. All of them have a CDL for testing purposes only but none of them ever drove a truck. That's a hard to understand. That's like teaching bowling without ever bowling. And, they do not pull punches on the testing. They are MUCH stricter than NC standards. All though maybe it is good that they don't pull punches but they barely have any room for error. If you study hard and practice hard for the SC test you will do OK for the most part (at least this is what I hear). I studied my behind off for the NC test and practiced my behind off as well. I did really well and am excited to move my life in another direction.

 

DeNoZ, The EPES Trainers who do the initial road test for a driver hiring in to go through the training program do not expect you to be perfect. They know you just got out of school and got your CDL and are very aware of your abilities to handle the truck. They expect you to be real close to perfect when you upgrade to your own truck though and they are serious about that one. Just do not hit anything and do the best you can and above all, be safe. I know when I went through orientation, there was a new driver trainee who never did get the trailer backed in the hole for the initial road test, but he was still hired to go out with a trainer. I don't know if he made it or not, but I know he was given a shot at the training program, which by the way, is a great program and the trainers do train and want you to succeed. It would be great if all driver trainees fresh out of school were a natural in the truck and expert at backing like Flying Musician is, but unfortunately that's not the case. If you get selected for orientation at EPES, keep your eyes and ears open and the mouth shut and you will be fine. I know a guy in my orientation was concerned about how he was getting paid for his evening meal the last night of orientation. About 15 minutes after he asked that question, he was picking up his belongings form the table and headed home. You will really like EPES and they treat you very good. The really do care about the drivers. Good luck!

 

you'll do just fine denoz lol

 

I hear what you're saying rsellers, but you weren't in my orientation class.....they didn't keep ANYONE who wasn't smooth in the truck right out of the gate. nor should they. maybe they've raised the level of compentency they expect from trainees since you went through orientation, because if you weren't on your game, you didn't make it past the road test.

the guy who coudn't back was gone by the end of his road test, and it was just a simple 45 degree between two other trailers, although it was a little tight side to side between them and in the front coming down the cones with the front of the tractor. anyone who has a good head for these kinds of things didn't have any trouble with it though.

you are correct in all other respects with what you say about the company and the trainers. i've ridden with 2, my trainer and another one for a week while he was on vacation, and they both went above and beyond and truly have the success of the traineee forefront in their mind and the company does show an unusual amount of concern for the welfare and happiness of the drivers.

and yes, I am pretty good with the backing. it's the mark of a good driver and something I take alot of pride in. I've been backing all types of smaller trailers for years so to apply the concepts to the 53 was not really an issue.