Fresh Meat Looking For A Starter

A few days shy of a month, I had not driven a tractor trailer in 20 years though.Training is dependent on the individual, there is no set time or mileage.

 

Here is the deal, I got out of CDL school in 89 or 90, somewhere around that time, I worked for a couple of companies and wound up at Prime. I teamed with a guy for nearly two years. Jack Kimze was his name, he was driving and owning trucks back when they invented the wheel. He knew Robert's father before Robert was born. Robert runs Prime. Robert's mother, Ms Vera passed away a few years ago, I stay in touch. Salt of the Earth people in my book. Ms Vera had an office next to Roberts... But anyways, me and Jack hit the road, he taught me more in those two years than I will ever remember. He had his own authority at one time, grain hauler, reefer, been everywhere, and this is long before GPS....

I know you are not looking to spend 2 years living in a truck with a stranger, but quite honestly, that is how you will learn out here.

 

It's a career and an adventure.... Personally, I would do something else.

 

Check out Carter Express, they hire recent cdl grads. Trucks run about 68 I think, they have a cross dock in Romulus Michigan so you might could get a dedicated run there. You would probably be on an automotive freight run which is good miles year round and gets you home often.

I work for a different company that does automotive as it's main freight, and Carter runs down here to Nissan in Mississippi daily. They seem to have low turnover from what I see, that's about all I know. Hope it helps.

 

3-12 months training where?. Not at Abilene, 3-12 weeks is more like it and I would say someone in training for 12 weeks would be extremely rare. They are not training you to drive a truck, you already have a CDL and they hired a fully licensed driver. The training is more to do with ensuring you know how to run their way. Stuff like trip planning, QC operation, learning our main routes and customers.

A big portion of training is "conditioning" the trainee to knock out the miles. Loads are dispatched at 60mph and our trucks run 72mph so they expect drivers to run in excess of 600 miles a day. I have had 1400 mile loads that had to be done in 2 days. They want to make sure they aren't putting guys in trucks that are looking to hit the sleeper after 400 miles. Sure there are some lazy loads, but when they need you to, they want to know they can count on you to knock out 700+ in a day.

I'm not sure why you feel you will need or want 8 weeks training. There really isn't all that much you can learn in training. Once you know which QC messages to send and when, how to fuel the truck,and a few basic company rules, all you need is the ability to drop an address in the GPS and keep the truck on the road until you get there.

 

I was just kidding about that, give it a shot. It is definitely not for everyone, I know I am pretty burned out.

 

The website is wrong, I'm sure of it. They wouldnt have someone in training that long. If the trainee still needed training after a couple months they would just cut them loose as it meant the trainee wasn't working out.

I will be perfectly honest with you. If you are expecting or would just like plenty of backing practice or instruction you won't get that at Abilene. That's not to say individual trainers won't let you get some practice in a quiet lot if there is time, just it would be best if you didn't expect it as very often there won't be that much time to spare.