Schneider training March 15th, Carlisle PA

I was saying according to Schneider's pre-work screen had the highest possible heart rate of 170 bpm. They use the equation (220-age)*0.9. But when I did the exercises they require in a gym and checked my heart rate on a machine I got 118 max. I was worried it would have went over 170, but it didn't. Before I went to the gym I had no idea what 170 would feel like. It turns out you are right about the 170 being a hard workout, but I believed before may gym time I would die doing anything with weights. I heavily under estimated my heart's ability. I knew the physical part wasn't too bad, but the actual numbers is what I worried about.

 

just for food, dinner. They provide breakfast at the hotels and a 5 buck coupon for lunch at their OC...you provide for dinners and extra junk.

They will want you to have your license for the state you live in. They will also try to train you for your state as well...if not during training, while you are with your TE for the SQT.
They dont pay the license fees.

No, you graduate on Friday and get a student paycheck on the following friday.

They are actually fairly good. They have like 3 or four big screens surrounding your front field of vision. key, air brake buttons, shifter, pedals, steering wheel, basic knobs for lights...etc. Yeah, they do it for conditions training like icy roads, mountain driving...etc, flat tires, weird people and animals getting onto the road...etc, lol.

As far as the heart rate thing...they will run you through a gammot of exercises and tests, many with weights and they check your pulse right after. Im a big guy and my puls ewas low, thanks to BP meds, lol. I was actually really worried about it as I have had tachacardia in the past.

 

Well the thing is Oklahoma has some sort of problem with CDL or something. Anyway, I am going for a 2 day study hall in Dallas before my training actually begins. With that schedule I leave home May 14th. Then begin actual training that Saturday. I guess it is them going over the CDL manual for Texas. I have begun reading it already though. After training I think I will be transferring the CDL back to Oklahoma where I will "live". I will probably have to go to the grocery store for the dinner. I can't afford to live off eating out every evening.

 

Id look into that with the CDL issue for OK. Basicallyou just need to get a CDL permit on your OK license and you should be fine. Train in TX and you will do a 3rd party test via Schneider (if they have people that are cleared to do so for OK)...or you will go back up to OK where they will send up a truck and trainer (somehow they will get one up there for ya) to test. I live in....XX (lol), trained at pumpkinville in CA, then went to the Schneider dock in CO for more testing...and finally went up with a truck and trainer to my state where we did a CDL test with my state. When I passed, I had to go to the DMV office and give them the papers to make it official.
When you do your training during the 2 weeks, they will train you as they do with all their other students...but your trainer should hopefully know that you are from OK and he will try to set up some time aside for specialized training for what you need for the OK CDL exam. Mine did in CA and I had to do a straight line back quite a bit with him...apparently that wasnt something they tested on in CA. He also worked with me on another thing he never trained students for...the offset back...basically an "oops, I parked in the wrong dock door..need to go to the next one" type of deal.
Then when I got to CO, we found out I was trained for the 90 back as if it was a 45 back so I had to spend some extra time elarning how to do that.
so...lol...basically they want you to have a OK CDL permit...train in Texas where they will train you under TX stuff, but they should spend tiem with focusing on any additional OK stuff. Then you will 3rd party test or go back up to OK to test for the CDL...mainly because its a legal thing...Im not sure how CDLs transfer...between states, but they want you to have the CDL in the state you live in.
As far as food, its not too pricey going out each night..just dont buy pop and chips and such. You can get a footlong sub at subway...load up on the healthy crap and for less than six bucks, you have a sub. We went out to a grocery store and to be honest...Im actually thinking that cost more (at least for me) than it woudl have if I just went otu each night.
Anywho...wait until you get there to see what you have. We had a suite with a kitchenette, while I think the other hotel they used had just a nuker.

 

Well thanks for the comments.

Schneider doesn't happen to pull trailers that have 3 axles and a low flat bed do they, maybe as a bulk division? That's what my grandfather drove. I would rather be taking large equipment over the road though and he just did Dallas. And since I am writing a bulk question, do they have tankers that take loads from, say Houston to Kansas or the northern plains? The heavier the truck the more fun it is to me. I actually wanted to drive trains, but at least for now they won't even talk to me. I don't know why except for all their hiring locations they say I can't do it because I don't live there. I would be perfectly fine moving to do the job, but telling the railroad that is like talking to a brick wall. But there's nothing like running a train with around 2500HP.

 

Well the companies that specialize in hauling heavy hauls will not hire a newbie driver to pull a very large, very expensive piece of equipment. Those are usually reserved for veteran drivers. Just wayy too many variables out there that can go wrong. The truck isn't heavy...its the load the truck is hauling.
Also..the railroads WILL hire you...just not as an engineer or conductor. They are union run and you have to work your way up the ladder. Last year, I lived in the middle of nowhere and they were hiring; BUT, I would have had to start off as a switcher on the yards and while it would have been interesting...they wrote that I would be on call and had a certain window to get to work from when I would be called. from there, I would be out for who knows how long...it could vary. Also...training was lengthy and in various multiple locations around the country and I had to be willing to move to where they wanted me to work.

 

Thanks again. People here are helpful with these questions. As for the railroad, I would have been fine with switchman. I thought those were handled by computers now. I know the yard in Nebraska has a funny system where they shove cars down a hill and the computer scans the car as it passes and tells the computer and the computer switches it onto the right track. It's really interesting to watch. I saw it on Modern Marvels on the history channel. It even uses magnets to slow the car down.
I think the railroads want you to apply to be a conductor and then 3 years later they force you to be an engineer. I am thinking of BNSF, but I gave up on them.
If I am going to drive it will be truck. I like their distance better.

 

Does the bulk division run OTR? For example, taking a tanker from the coast really deep into the US?

By the way, the recruiter told me that at Dallas they cater the Lunch and Dinner. Not that I am calling you a liar but just saying what they told me, because I specifically asked about it and told them what I was told. I've heard that the company was improving so maybe that was one of the improvements. The recruiter said I needed the money for licenses and snacks and stuff like that. The money would also have to feed me on the OTR training for the first week. Subway will be a good way to eat, since it seems like subway is moving into a lot of truck stops.

I do wonder what it is really like during over the road training, since I guess the trainer is the boss. With other companies I have seen comments here like the trainee couldn't take a shower. I think the trainer will agree with me that I must shower every other day at the very least. I can really stink the place up pretty bad.

And from the looks of the cab on the Schneider website the upper bunk doesn't look very sturdy. It looks like one of those baby changing stations. Do you think it can hold up a 276lb man sleeping up there? I'm not even sure that is a bed above the regular bed.

And what is this bonus deal about idling? When I am running solo I may rent a motel room if conditions are too warm or cold. I am from the Dallas area actually. So very cold air is something I will have to get used to.

 

Im not totally sure. I imagine they do.

Hmm, well that could be the case then. All I know is what I went through in my training, but I dont know how the bulk training is done, if differently. Maybe it takes longer so they provide dinner or something...who knows.

I think it all depends on the trainer you get. Mine told me to go in and mention him by name as he fueled up every single day there so they knew him pretty well and since he never used his showers since he lived in that town (dedicated), that there shouldnt be a problem with them giving us some showers for free. I was too chicken to try that anyways so I just forked over the 6 bucks each day for a shower, lol...although now that I think about it...I did tell them a couple of times that I fueled up and I think I got a couple of freebies.

I actually thought the same thing...Im over 300lbs. When I was OTR training, I actually was with another student and there was an issue with getting a hotel so we had to sleep in the truck during the day. The reason Schneider gets them with two beds is for the teams...but they keep both beds on all their sleeper berth trucks. The bottom bunk is only supposed to be used while the truck is moving, not the top. This might even be a law or something, Im not sure, maybe someone can back me up. At least, I think its a company policy to only use the bottom bunk while the truck is rolling.
It IS a regular bed...same set up as the one below. I've been up in mine once when I was stuck out of town and was bored because I knew i was going to be there all night, so I climbed up there. There are light controls as well as a vent up there for heat / ac....although I think the controls for the heat / ac are only on the bottom bunk.
Im not sure how they run with trainers over the road. I've heard of some companies where they just switch and act like a team, one drives, one sleeps. Schneider might do that or they might just have the trainer up in front at all times the truck is moving, and then they pull off to sleep for 10. Not sure.

Well Actually Im not sure, lol. Trust me, renting a motel will be pointless as it will be spendy. Most of the fleet has Webasto heaters for cold weather. One thing that I started doing is...if I have a feeling I will be stuck due to a road closure somewhere, I will go in back and turn on the heaters in the back and close the curtain and get it nice and toasty, and then keep driving. Then if I do get stuck...Ill hop in back and turn on the webasto. It takes a while to heat up the sleeper berth, but when it does....whew boy does it get toasty! It also works best when the sleeper curtains are shut. If you leave them open, I dont think it will work as efficiently. You can also get a good sleeping bag or a thick comforter to use which helps.


As far as heat in the summer, they dont really have any options. One thing I did like was my trainer had a set of window screens...fit right into place and kept the bugs out while getting the fresh cool air in.

They do raise the idle limits in the winter so you can idle the truck more, and then they lower it in the summer time. Basically if you go over the set percentage limit, it will affect your bonus...how, im not sure, haha.

One thing that I do is that since im on a dedicated account and nowhere near a OC, someitmes I have to idle the truck all night long in the winter which obviously kills my idle time. The trucks are good to about 10 degrees or so without needing to be plugged in. Where I park, I dont have the option to plug it in so I just run the truck all night long. But I send in a message to my boss telling the times I idled it so they can take that off my record or whatever.