Gordon Trucking, Roehl, Transport America

can any one tell me about training at gordon, I will be going there and would like some info on it. I will be in greenbay wisconsin

 

Well the training I just went thru was 28 training days on the road. Even though I was out a little more then a month, I had a few days off that weren't counted. You basically go to a 1 day orientation then off with a trainer..The trainers I have met are really cool and don't scream or yell like some other co's. They show you the right way to drive a truck and deal with everything on the road that you will never learn in school. After you finish your 28, you'll come back and take another short drive test to see if you actually know how to drive a truck...The guy who tested me just failed a guy the week b4...After 30 days you would think that he would know what to do... It wasn't that difficult...I guess he wasn't very safe out there on his test. Heck it was only 15 miles.Then, you have 1 more day of orientation...just company stuff. That's about it...hope that helps. I was in Modesto,Ca....

 

Nicnat2, my husband is in school now, and has been pre-hired by Gordon. He'll be going to Modesto for Orientation also. It's good to hear things went smooth with your trainer, I've heard horror stories with other companys! It would be great to get updates from you on how things are going, and how many miles you get.

Be safe...

 

Well things are going great and my 1st 2 weeks are coming to a close. I had over 2000 miles last week and will probably do about the same this week...even though I came home for 2 days this weekend. It's been a little slow but I still seem to keep moving.I have been staying in the southwest area so far and hope to get some longer runs soon. Our training is second to none I believe...They have these "blocks" that have to be completed as you go thru training. Your trainer will grade you on these blocks and you have to get certain scores on them to pass...1 being the worst and 5 the best. Each one has different skills involved sort of, like one would be on driving in traffic...one for backing skills including docking. Understanding company policies...and so on.Pretty basic stuff and really well setup. There is no 2nd chance once you are done with training. You either pass the last road test or you don't. I'm sure most people will do just fine. I'll try to keep updates going for anyone who has questions about GTI....Roll on....

 

I would have to agree with nicnat2, Gordon training is second to none. The trainer I had made it a point for us to go out west and visit the mountains. By the way I run in the midwest. This came in handy since I just got back from three weeks out west. I got shut down by the storm in SD. I really enjoyed Montana though. This is a safety first company, which I like. I have been here 6 months and could not be happier. When you call in they know how you are by name and treat you with respect, which is done in return. Good luck to all the new guys and be safe.

 

Any info from guys with experience? Wondering how guys that don't need training are treated. Miles etc.

 

Yeah CC is right...Safety is their #1 concern. If I can't make a delivery due to time they don't push it on me. They gave me a delv that had an appt right in the middle of my 10 off..My DM told me to pick it up when I was legal to due so...7 hrs after the appt. I got it and was only 3 hrs late...they were fine with that. That speaks a lot for a company...not a lot of other companies can say that. I could not have made a better choice.

 

Hey Nincat, congrats on everything and it sounds like it's going well. So basically if you have your cdl but not much or any experience than you go out with a trainer for a month? Or do you still have to have x amount of experience then go with a trainer? Gordon has always been a company I've thought would be a good fit for me. I have a CDL but only 1 month of experience which limits me drastically. That training sounds thorough which is fantastic. Any info would be great

 

Well everything was going well but I quit recently because my wife needed me home because of the med's she has to take...now they changed them and I'm trying to get a job again...The training is 2nd to none at GTI and it goes pretty fast..I'm not sure what you do if you have some experience though...They give you a test drive and you will go with a trainer at least for a couple weeks to make sure you know what you're doing...maybe. Since I'm on the westcoast,it might be different...and just remember, this is a forced dispatch company...you will get tired of discussing whether or not you can make it to a delv on time...If you don't care about that and don't care about going 60mph and having noooooooo power at all in your truck, then you're good to go.