My PTL Log (New to the industry)

PTL is full of (insert here). Even with all the lies and wait for a trainer they sent is on a run updated down the street from the shipper and said we couldn't deliver until the next day. Okay things happen. On our way somewhere else the should have been delivered today another message comes across update delivery now We can't deliver this load until monday! Mind you it's friday morning. And just within the 48 hrs. So no pay for that either. I knew things wouldn't be peaches and cream but Jesus Christ. This is horrible. How am I suppose to get training miles if I'm sitting all the time not moving?

 

Ok let's go over this one more time. And I'll politely bow out of this thread as it's not mine.

You are coming on board a trucking company at a time of year when things are slow. They are steady only for a small number of mega fleets that deal exclusively in retail. PTL isn't a mega fleet & we have a pretty broad freight base so it's up to your trainer, whoever he/she is, to be very tight on how they teach you to operate & drive. If they are a solid runner with that reputation then I see no reason you wouldn't be rolling all weekend long. Perhaps you're trsiner is sadly one of those drivers that is using you as nothing more than a 2nd seat driver to get more miles & slightly more pay out of? I'm just suggesting the possibility since a large number of trainers were kicked out of the program a couple of months ago because they weren't coaching students properly.

Here's an experiment for you to try. Since you are sitting for a few days this is perfect time to do this. Have your trainer let you practice your backing skills. And don't say you have it down already. No you don't. You can work on nothing but blind side backing or whatever. But just try it. If your trainer isn't willing to let you work on this in a real world setting (I'll assume your at a truck stop or the customer location), then you have a bad trainer. I've yet to meet an actual trainer, with any trucking company that cares about their students progress, that won't take any opportunity to let them work on the fundamentals.

I know it sucks but quite often trucking is hurry up & wait. Patience will be key to you having a long & safe future in this business. It's best to learn it know.

 

You may have something ! Trainer just sits in the sleeper on Facebook while I drive!

 

That's not a trainer! You need to let Monty know about this ASAP! It does you no good to attempt to try to learn from somebody who isn't teaching you anything. This is why so many new drivers wash out so quickly. Once you get your miles in & get bumped up to P2 you'll be ill prepared for it if this so called trainer doesn't get out of the bed & teach you. I know I'm name dropping here but that's to hopefully show you how serious I take this. Get in touch with the folks at Training (Kevin, Monty, Spencer) & let somebody know you aren't getting trained properly. We'll never get this turnover under control if new drivers aren't being properly trained into novice drivers ready for the next step. Plus you're safety & longevity in this business is very much at stake. Make that call!

 

Had a nice long talk with my trainer explaining that I'm more than an extra hundred bucks a week for him. His response was that I'm actually doing better than most of his previous students. He says that the reason he's not getting on dispatch about runs is because there will be times this happens during next phase and solo thay I will have to deal with.and.thats what I need to be ready for. He says im ready for the next phase of driving, I have my Qualcomm down. He even noticed some other things I figured out alone. I kinda felt like an ### after this conversation cleary showed me he was paying attention to me and my driving. So I guess I was slightly out of line.for SOME of my recent post. Thanks for the advice and we'll see how things go after out drop tomorrow

 

Any updates, guys? I've got a prehire from PTL... Interested in your training experience...

 

Good to see it's turning out well for you. If your trainer has done as he says then you should test him. Make him work you through some scenarios that involve him teaching what to do behind the wheel. It works best if he is sitting in the passenger seat & you have to apply what he is saying actively. Backing maneuvers are perfect for this.

Of course all of this is dependent upon you actually still being in phase 1. Oh & your trainer telling you you'll sit a lot in Phase Two? That's an outright lie. You'll run yourself to death! They keep Phase Two drivers very busy running coast to coast.

 

Start reading this thread & a few others on the PTL board. You'll get most of your newbie questions answered there. Any questions that require a deeper explanation a PM works best.