Watkins shepard

WingRider, I am OTR at least for right now. I think you pretty much have to for at least the 90 day period. After that I will decide if I want to do local or not. So far I am enjoying the OTR seeing all these different states.

B-rad, so far I have been getting about 3000 miles a week. It takes management on my part to make sure I can fill every day with driving. Log book management is key. W/S has been good about getting me loads whenever I need one. So far I have not sat more then an overnight of sleep waiting on a load.

I have not used lumpers yet. I have had only one load, out of eleven, that I have had to unload. It was a multiple stop furniture load that started in Kent, WA and ended in Denver. I helped unload at all of the five stops and it wasn't bad at all. Actually I look forward to that to help stay in shape. Besides, I get paid extra for every one! So why not?

Raak

 

I have a question for you guys. What is their pet policy like? I was told on another forum that they allow some pretty heavy dogs, but that you can't take your pet until after 90 days. I was wondering what exactly the wording is. I am very interested in this company, and have been after I found out that they have their own school, and would allow me to bring my dog with me. And I have enjoyed reading this thread. Thanks.

 

The W/S pet policy is that you can take your pet after your 90 day probationary period and prior approval from the Driver Safety Department. They also have a $500 damage and cleaning deposit that must be paid prior to approval of the pet being granted to go with you.

 

Well, I emailed Bonnie, and she attached the application to her reply. I filled it out and am mailing it out to her. Hopefully, I will be attending the January 28th class. We will see when she gets it. Only problem is the 90 day waiting period from after school until the time I can bring my dog with me.

 

How is the training going for the December class. We haven't had any feedback for some time.

 

This class has been pretty quite.

I wonder how many are still in the class of 21 and how many students piled into each of the three trucks with 3 instructors.

Would that be 7 students?

This is the last week and it says snow everyday so the schoolies will get plenty of practice. Hope we start getting some news from the guys out of school about all the runs they have.

Arkie

 

The thread has kinda devolved into other things so I think most of us would rather just not post, but since I know that next month's class is going to be a large one and a few of you are following and want info I'll give ya a quick update.

Our class was around 20 and we only lost one girl who was really struggling with her shifting. Word on the street is that the January class is going to be just as big. When the class gets that big they bring in 2 additional trainers, so you will never have more than 3 per truck. All the trainers have been excellent. We had one student, who looked to be in his late sixties or early seventies that got bronchitis during training and had to drop out, but they are letting him come back and try again in January. CDL testing was yesterday and today. Myself and Sal passed yesterday and I anticipate that Kane will pass today. Its been a very hectic and action packed month.

Now to the stuff you need to know.

First off, don't worry about the list of stuff they tell you to bring. You will need the passport/birth certificate for MT DMV, but you won't need the tools, prybar, etc.. You will need a mini flashlight though for checking your lockjaws around the kingpin. I would also recommend that you buy one of those clipboards that have storage inside and a calculator mounted to the top. You can get one at an office supply store and they are great for storing and working on your logs. Also make sure you get a white out pen, you will need the whiteout.

Driving wise, make sure after the very first day you get out there and practice shifting for a good couple of hours. You will be thrown in the hot seat the next day, so you better know how to shift. Also make sure you practice your serpentine and glide backing every chance you get. If you have those down and your shifting, the CDL test will go smoothly for you. You will get lots of mountain and winter driving experience which will be very intimidating at first but the experience is invaluable.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

Congrats to you and Sal on getting your CDL's!!

I'm coming in for the January 2nd class, though I'm in the 10-day orientation, not the CDL training. I too was told it will be a full house and they are putting me in a hotel for two nights, then I guess I go out with a driver....

Any insight on the 10-day orientation that you have heard would be appreciated, sounds pretty straight forward though, Day 1 at the terminal then go out with a driver for ther remainder of the time.

 

I passed my test today.

Only one person did not pass, failed the skills section (3 different types of backing). Did well on pretrip and road test, but will have to retest the skills section again tomorrow.

 

truckin916, since you are a 10 dayer and its a large class, you probably will get to stay at the hotel the whole time, which in my opinion is a good thing because the 'barracks' as we have come to affectionally call it, isn't exactly 5 star accomodations. It sounds like you are under the impression that you will be OTR with a trainer. The 10 dayers I saw spent about half the time in class, and half the time on the road, but were back every evening and at the hotel each night.

Also one thing I forgot, you will NOT need steel toe shoes.