orientation January 2nd

From what I know about it (the little I've heard from Sazook, et al...) YOU'RE supposed to be driving. Granted Baltimore traffic can be pretty intimidating, but if this keeps up, you need to have a sit-down chat with him and your FM. You can call your FM about this.

 

When I started with my trainer (he was under load form Kansas to Deer Beach Fl (Publix)), we were going to leave Saturday morning (didn’t go to the pad because he said there was more room and less waiting at a TS he knew in FL); but 20 minutes down the road the qualcom died so we turned back to Springfield for repairs. Driver decided to try again Sunday. Because of the delay he wanted to get as close to his drop before I started driving. So mid day Tuesday he pulled into a TS in Vero Beach FL so I could do some maneuvers for an hour (backing and getting the feel of the truck). After his drop which we were 5 hours early for (8 hour total wait time).After that around 8PM we found a TS to spend the night and waited for a load. Wednesday 10:30am we dead headed 4hrs over to Tropicana for a drop and hook, a few hours up the road he decide since we had plenty of time it would be a good time for me to start driving. And from this point on we would start getting me some driving time in.

After 5 days in the passenger seat and him telling me he had no Idea where everyone was getting this info of 3-4 weeks for CDL training from, that it is more like 5 or 6 weeks and/or when the trainer thinks you are ready.

Even though he was a good person and very informative, I did the math, 3 weeks of advance pay and maybe 3 weeks no advance (one line says 3 weeks another says 30 days), then if I got my CDL then the next pay week after getting my time in, I would get my first pay check. Having only a 90 day medical card because of the CPAP and the fact that the 10 day clock to cancel was running out (signed the paper a week earlier on Tuesday). At this point all I could think of is a few weeks of no money, still have to pass driving test (not too much of a concern)and not knowing about the med card. If there is any problem at any point I’m on the hook for the full price of the training, so I decided to cut my losses and go home.
When I called our FM and told him that this wasn't working and why, he told me he was sorry to hear that and said he would get us rerouted so I could go home.

So in 8 days on the truck, day 5 I got one hour in a parking lot.

 

So your done McB? Not going to try and get another instructor? 8 days and 1 hour in a parking lot is not right...talk to someone before you decide to throw it in.

 

I agree... you need to talk to PSD management about this. Its all wrong - your instructor is feeding you a bunch of BS.

 

I left in Sept 2011. I went back home to make some money (I’m a home improvement contractor). It was a mixed blessing though.

First thing that happened was our adult son was staying home and helping his mom while I was gone. A few days after I got home he tore the cartilage in his knee and has been out of work ever since (he is still going to physical therapy). He has medical but no workman’s compensation due to the fact that he is self employed, so he has no income. Then a week after that my wife was driving to work (she has a 20 mile drive each way). She had to pull off of the road because she had a severe panic attack (at first the doctors thought she had a heart attack and kept her overnight for observation). For some reason she has been getting them anytime she changes elevation quickly or goes through a twisting turning road. So the doctor doesn’t want her to drive for the time being. So with that said I would have had to come back home a week later either way.

I left on good terms and when I get the family better situated, that is moved into town (it’s very rural where we are, five miles to the nearest nothing and 20 miles to work) so she doesn’t need to drive and a little more front money. I may reconsider going back with a more time concise trainer. I didn't push it because I had a gnawing feeling that I should just go home, it turns out I was right.

 

Wow that really sucks hope your son ad wife get better soon and everything workout for you and your family

 

Yes in hind sight it is just as much my fault for not pushing the issue or requesting a different trainer.

I was giving it the benefit of me being new and not sure what the time frames should be. That Friday when were given our student id’s and the go ahead to get our trainers, they had all of the PSD’S and trainers that smoke go out into the lobby area and figure out who was going to go with who. We were all standing there looking at each other and shrugging our shoulders and figuring how to start. I chimed in with what part of the country does everybody come from (something in common other then smoking). We were from all over the place. Next I said how about experience (still not working, all newbie’s). Then I said well let’s put it this way, my permit is less than 48 hours old and I have a CPAP machine that the trainer will have to put up with. After almost every trainer said no way, I want no part of that, one trainer finally said he usually doesn’t do PSD; but he has had trainees in the past with a CPAP and it wasn’t an issue. He said between the APU and the reefer you couldn’t even hear it in the sleeper.

So we went in and put our names on the list and went over to see our FM. The FM told me that my trainer was very good and to listen to him, he will get me my license and more than likely the tri-fecta. The trainer told me that after the PSD I could stay on and do my TNT and after that if I wanted to stay on and drive team with him or drive solo for him we could work out a deal that would benefit the two of us.


The trainer was very friendly; he made sure that I had enough room for all of my stuff (he even gave up a shelf for the CPAP so it would be in arms reach for me). The next morning we went to Wally World to get everything else we both needed for our trip.
Originally we were going to pick up his trailer and go down the road to do some practice, because the pad was busy. I figured that it was no big deal and that he knew better. After the Qualcom issue and the delay he said we needed to make up lost time and we would find a TS closer to the drop. Again I figure that this wasn’t to unrealistic. We did go over the pre-trip a few times, we did the lights and he said as you get each part down we will add another section. It’s a good thing that I was practicing; I caught a broken brake light on the tractor. I pointed out that I noticed that he wasn’t too concerned about pre-trips and asked him if he did them every day or only if the truck was running funny or the gauges indicated something was wrong. He said that I should do the pre-trips to past the test but after that you will know the feel of the truck and when it needs attention (I have no clue if his hood even opens up, it never did that week). OK the FM says he is very good, so I’ll listen. Then after a couple of days of him driving for his ten hours nonstop; except to take his one sit down bathroom break (all others were a plastic bottle at a red light or passenger side drives after he parked). At least every other day was shower day. The first one I paid for because I wasn’t waiting till he fueled up the next day. He didn’t have any credits because he just came back from vacation and he was fueling up tomorrow and getting us our showers then (no big deal just timing).

I asked him why he drove nonstop just to sit for so many hours early at a customer, when there was a safe amount of time to stop just before the destination to stretch your legs, use a toilet and wash up, then go to your stop. His answer was that you lose way too much time stopping. Then explained how long it took to pull into a place and to get back onto the highway. Maybe it’s just me but every rest area we passed was pretty empty and didn’t look like it would have taken too long to get back up to 55 miles an hour (he is a solar powered trucker, start at 4:30 and get to a TS before it gets too late for a space (even if he still had hours left). Like I said he knows what he is doing, that’s what his FM told me. That added to the actual wait time at a destination is a very long time in a customer’s yard.

At the same time I was getting a gut feeling that something wasn’t right at home. I never question my gut feelings, it has never been wrong and it has even saved my life (that’s a whole separate story). So as I said in the post above I did the math and accessed the situation and decided that I needed to go home. It’s a good thing, I was right; I see I left out the part about the seven day power outage at my house, about the time I would have been testing out (spent 4 of the nights at the shelter at the fire house). After I told my trainer and the FM, my trainer told me that his lease was up in December and he was turning in his truck and cashing out. He had enough of trucking and was going home to try something else for a living. Well that explains everything; my PSD and TNT which he had already offered would have ran out when his lease was up (training pay and team miles for his good bye tour). He also said he had 60 days to try something else before he had to sign a new lease (I guess that explains the job offer, I would drive for him and he could get his new truck and stay home?).

Like I said I should have said something to the FM but he seemed to favor the trainer and the trainer was on his way out, and I was going home either way at that point. Also when they were taking me home and not sticking me on the dog, I wasn’t rocking the boat. I said it in the past, Prime is a good company and I recommend it to anyone as a starting point. But at the same time I will warn anybody going, to stay on top of their training situation and to be prepared financially before they go. Make sure you can cover your home base if anything pops up; it is a lot harder from the road then when you are home. The part that was gnawing at me the most was if anything went wrong how would I get home the quickest and would I have the money to get there quick enough. And as it turned out I would have found out the hard way.

That’s why I left on good terms. In case my situation turns around I still have options.

Sorry I got long winded.