Things Heard in Trucking School (FAQs)

I knew the trainee would be a nightmare when he brought his 5 piece matching Gucci luggage set and was pissed off because there wasn't room for his silk shirts and pants to hang properly.

True story. Unfortunate, but very very true.

 

Yeah, he set a record for how long it took to finish 200 hours behind the wheel training. His average was 375 miles for a full shift of driving. I still cringe thinking about it and thank my lucky stars I no longer train.

 

Any number of trainees overhead talking on the phone on day three, "Oh yeah, I'm using the Jake brake and everything!"

 

Back years ago I was running from Phoenix to Lost Wages and stopped at a little fuel stop in the mountains where I met a young driver (about 23 or so) who said he had never run through the mountains before and wanted to know if I minded if he followed me. I told him that was fine and we headed out. A little later when we were headed down a grade he got on the radio and asked me what gear I was going to go down in. I told him I was probably going to run down in 8th (13 speed) or 9th. He said thanks and we fell off the top. About halfway down the grade he came around me like I was nailed to the asphalt. When I got to the bottom he was on the side of the road about a mile farther down from where the grade ended with a fire extinguisher trying to put out his trailer brakes. I asked him what happened and he said 'I don't know. I was running in 9th and it just ran away'. I said 'That's weird. I was running in 9th as well and between that and the Jake I never even had to use my brakes'. He looked at me with a puzzled face and said 'What's a Jake?'.

 

Now that's funny!

A couple of weeks ago the owner of my truck had a driver of another of his trucks call him. He was in a bad way, trying to pull a slight grade on I-40 in New Mexico in a snowstorm. He had stopped at an off ramp and kept sliding sideways when he tried to start.

"Use the inter-axle lock."

"The what?"

This driver had two years experience.

 

Now THAT is sad.......AND funny!

 

Only if you pull a trailer with it!

You guys were talking about driving your POV like you drive your truck. I never had that problem. What I had a problem with, was knocking my head on my pickup as I'm getting in, after being out on the road in the big truck. OUCH!
I didn't really get past that until I was doing LTL and going home every night. . .(not a real quick study, sometimes...)