Big Carriers that DO NOT team drive during training?

You don't need a degree in Nuclear Physics to be a truck driver. However you do need common sense. Common sense in selecting routes and things like when to drive and when to get off the road. Making sure your properly loaded. Knowing how to properly inspect the truck and trailer. The ability to be able to read on at least 7th or 8th grade level so you can read a bill of lading fully understand it, and set a reefer to the temperature called for. Another thing I think a trucker needs to be able to do is have a basic understanding of the various systems on the truck as too better explain to company what's broken. Example? Knowing a sign of a bad injector is air bubbles coming from the bottom of the fuel tank. I think you could put a teenager behind the wheel of a truck and in good weather they could get it from point A to point B, but trucking is so much more then just driving.

 

40 hours is required to get a private. The average is 50. You must be talking about those recreational pilots who can't take passengers and can't fly at night.

I had way more than 15 hours when I got my commercial and had way way way more than 15 when I got hired by a 135 operator.

 

I'm was specifically talking about flying a plane on your own comparing it to driving a truck on your own...My students were soloing before 15hrs...

Refer to above...Pay attention to details!

Who did you fly for? I flew AirAmbo for AirMedFlight out of MTN(I was also an instructor there) in Baltimore flying C90s and MU2s contracted thru John Hopkins...I went to school for CommutAir for the C1900 time, but went back to teaching, plus they only wanted to pay $18K to start...

 

Look around any truck stop and tell me ANYONE can't do it...I understand people like to think their job is 'tough', but this one aint, sorry...

 

Sorry but 15 hours on an airplane barely teaches you how to takeoff and land. I would not let any of my family members ride with a person with 15 hours. As I would never let any of my family members ride alongside a trucker who just got on the truck fresh out of driving school without a formal OJT.

Sorry bud but in your long reply you gave yourself away. I'm going to have to doubt that you're a real pilot.

 

What, you don't believe that the super successful business owner, turned trucker was also not just a pilot, but also an instructor?

Anyway, it's true, ANYONE can be a trucker. Can you drive a car? Youre 1/4 of the way there. Do you have the common sense to understand that if you steer for where you want the tires on the trailer to go, that's where the trailer will go, and that the best way to handle turns or anything tight is to watch where your tires are going, or have you ever pulled any kind of trailer (a camper on the back of a pickup makes the perfect ? Well now you're 1/2 way there. Learn how to shift a transmission that's not synchronized if you don't have experience with that (these exist outside of our trucks, and work the same way) 3/4 of the way. All that's left is grasping the HOS, and the typical order of events when you get to your different points (depending on what you actually do with the truck, a mover isn't exactly going to be going to warehouses), and the pretrip, which is basically "Does every light work, and is nothing broken, falling off, or leaking?"

If you passed all 4, congratulations, you'll make it in the insanely easy world of trucking. Your trainer should only have to teach you #4 / 4. It's only supposed to be job training, not driving training. If "defensive driving" is a new concept to you and not already habit by the time you can get a CDL, please, don't drive a truck. If you don't know how to keep a safe following distance in NJ, also, don't drive a truck (it's really not hard here, just don't go faster than the guy in front of you, NJ/NY/PA drivers are most dangerous to themselves behind you, when they make the pass, they leave a big hole, because you're governed at 65 and they're doing 80.

Anyway, for the guys here who really did learn how to fly, not just looked up a local school for it, when you add in all the costs after you're allowed to fly alone, plus renting a well maintained plane (let's not talk about owning yet), is it actually worth it to learn? Or does it just get expensive really fast?

 

I've done flatbed without a trainer, I don't recommend it

and I know somebody who did tanker with no training, his only training was teaming up with me to pick up a truck.

 

Former Commercial/CFI here : I'd say it's not worth it, for the average middle class working man/woman. Insane expense for old slow technology (but the glass panels look really cool, lol.)

 

Companies either hire w/experience.

Or they have a short training period.

How do you get around that? Generally speaking, you don't.
Flipping burgers...easy, sure, maybe at McDonalds. Please, by all means, be a short order cook. Go work "Back of the house" at any busy restaurant and tell me how 'easy' it is.

Personally, I'd like the extra training. It's a huge responsibility driving these trucks.
There are also a lot of little things that I think I could learn from my trainer.

You ever think that maybe it's not ALL for the trainees benefit? Many people don't make it through CDL training school, orientation, yet alone the first 3 months.