The New FFE Driver Academey

New poster here looking to join FFE in a couple of weeks. Live in Houston and already have my cdl permit, just need to take the general knowledge, air brakes and pre-trip. Then I'll come in to what they call the refresher...show up on Thursday. Since I live in TX I plan to avoid those first few days of stress and testing!

Anyway, it's been nice reading all the posts...especially roadrunner and wingnut. Thanks for the awesome info. I'm really excited and motivated!

 

i did the same thing when i went to the academy. def was the way to go skipping those first few days. there's a ton of info in this thread if ya have any questions speak up. just about everyone here wants to see you succeed not only at the academy but after it as well.

 

I went through the course with wingnut and roadrunner. They have been completely honest about the school. Roadrunner is also right when he says that if you can wait just little longer, then wait cause it is very hot on that driving range at the school. I do have to correct something that Roadrunner had in his post about the school. The max amount of people is 4, not 5. I know it seems like a small difference, but to some people, that could mean the difference between going to the academy and not going.

Also, while you on the road for the six weeks OTR training, if you truck breaks down for longer than a few days, then that time does not count towards your six weeks. So far, I have been delayed a week because of a stupid clutch that is taking the Freightliner ship a week to get to because of warrenty issues.

 

Thanks for the reply teqntexas and macho. Something I've read in threads is FFE has a lot of hand unloading and several stops to get loads. What's your experience been? I certainly don't mind working, but am I gonna spend much time loading/unloading by hand? Seems like a slow process.

 

unloading/loading may apply with the ltl guys but not so much with the otr that i've experienced. infact from what ffe would pay me to unload a truck, i'd rather get some sleep than waste the effort. (i forget what it is but it's like 25% what they will pay a lumper service.) now with any refer carrier your gonna spend time at docks while they load and unload ya longest i think i've waited was on my trainers truck on a late load to a walmart dc. think we waited almost 7 hours. even if we had offered to touch the freight they would not have gotten us through any quicker. (and you'll also spend time waiting on the load to be ready. HELLO CACTUS TEXAS yes i'm talking about you.)

as for multi stops yeah you will get that sometimes. it kinda sucks but typically happens on longer runs sometimes gotta take the good with the bad.

 

Hey all how is it going? I just got home with my beautiful baby girl Lillian Grace. She is 2 days old. I am so happy and a proud daddy. I will be heading down in a week or so at the latest. Glad to talk to you all and thank you for all the information. I hope to see you all face to face at some point and shake your hand. Hopefully we will see you on the road.

 

Yeah. It is mainly the LTL guys that have load/unload their trucks. If an OTR driver has to unload/load his own truck, FFE only pays the driver $45 extra for that from I have been told. There are some stops where you have to watch them load or unload your trailer, and there are others that you can't because it either a drop and hook or you are not allowed on the docks.

The first dock I bumped into, was a dock where we weren't allowed on the dock, but that was our only stop.

 

Thanks Macho and Teqntex. I appreciate you guys helping me with real information. Another question if you don't mind . On home time, since I'm in Houston with no FFE terminal, my recruiter told me I'd be allowed to bring my truck home. Obviously this is after training and I'm running solo. Do you guys see this to be the case? Also, on one trucking forum it states no NYC for FFE, but I hear guys talking about the bronx etc. Do we just not go into the city itself? This isn't a big deal, just that I haven't driven in NY before and know it'll be a challenge the first several times I go.

Overall, I'm looking forward to OTR and even willing to stay out 4 weeks and take 4 days off. Not married now, kids all gone, it's just me and my dog!

I've watched several of the videos FFE has online and seem quite impressed with their training process. I think I'm going to avoid the community college and go directly to FFE once I finish testing for all the endorsements and the pre-trip. I've been driving for a lot of years, love to drive, and have had a few cars with manual transmissions, so it's not exactly foreign to me. I'm sure that with proper training I can catch right on. I'm quite serious and won't be taking the training lightly for sure.

How many miles do you guys average weekly?

 

if you live more than 50 miles from a terminal, ya you get to take the truck and trailer "home." by that ya gotta find a place close to your house to park it. truck stop, industrial park, at your house if theres room and no restrictions. as for new york, well my very first trip solo was to hunts point in the bronx. and ive heard of guys having drops in other parts of new york city. i've spent some time in ct which had me running through new york as well.

standard issue for time being out is 21 days with 3 days off. you can do more, friend of mine from class has been out for going on 6 weeks now. but he'll only get 5 days when he gets home regardless of how much longer he'll stay out.for 28 days you should expect 4 days off.

shifting in a truck vs shifting in a car is really different. for the longest time i tended to over rev the truck cause i was trying to shift it like my car. still do that occasionally but not as much as i used to. you'll also pick up that once you get a hang of it, you wont use the clutch much at all when shifting.

as for miles, had a few issues with trucks and weight issues so it's been a lot lower than i need. that started to change last week and and ended up scanning in @ 2600 for the week. hopefully thats gonna continue and increase. time will tell.

 

Got hired by ffe today! Wo who! Tomorrow going to the terminal. Waiting on a trainer. Finally all coming together!