Watkins & Shepard - Yesterday and Today

Sorry, but I just have to say, that if you are doing full speed at the top of a hill after just climbing it, then you are doing it wrong, unless you know the hill. Anytime you climb a hill you should stay in the gear you climbed it in until you can get a good feel for the downgrade. Accelerating to highway speed at the top of a hill then getting caught with a steep downgrade is a recipe for trouble. It can be dealt with, but it is not safe by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Ok, you didn't read what I said. There are flat ground areas that end in a 6% grade. You aren't accellerating at the top of a hill then immediately going down it. The Grapevine in California is actually a good example of that. You climb it, it's several miles, then you go down. Are you saying you should stay at 30-35mph the whole time?

Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, etc all have hills like that.

 

Who is closing what school?

 

Rollover,

Thanks for all the info. on shifting going down hills sounds like you know what your talking about I am sure you do being a Trucker? 32 Years. You know I thought I was going to go back if I could raise the money to go through their training but I am just not sure at this point. I did not pay anything for the 10-day orientation it was on them. But they offered to put me through the school for 2 weeks of driving, since I have my CDL already spent 4 weeks at the school in Phoenix and than spent 9 days of the 10-day orientation. I guess they feel all I need is some road time for another $2,500 that I just don't have to spend right now. So I am working on getting on with someone else that will train me. And that is turning out to be a difficult one. Kind of scary out there for the newbies. I guess you just keep plugging and don't give up.

Thanks for your help.

 

While I've never driven near where that school is, I find it hard to believe that it'd be unmarked. Or that you can't tell there's a hill coming up.

I've been caught in a gear or two too high for a hill before, but only because I misjudged the grade and my load, never because I didn't know a hill was coming.

I'm not saying it isn't possible. And if that is what is happening out there, someone should be talking to the state about putting up signs.

 

I got it all wrong, there not closing the school, there just not hiring experianced drivers.they would rather pay .26 a mile to truck school grads then pay .34 to drivers with more then a year experiance.
This is still a bad time to get a class A. If you are considering, get something else, computers A+ certified you have a job waiting, class A truck driver all the companies are wanting 5 years exp now.

 

ok, what's the word on W/S' rider policy? Can I get a friend onboard as a rider for a couple months?

 

I thought Dick was a nice guy when I was in the 10-day program # W/S Missoula.

The grade they teach you to downshift on is 6%, but is quite short. You brake hard down to 1K RPMs take it out of gear, stab it up to I think 1250-1500 (I forget - I lost my 10-day book which is a bummer 'cause it had much good info) drop to the next lower gear. It works. The only rub is you need brakes to do it.
Also, Southwest Truck Driver Training in Phoenix is a lousy school. Which explains why you struggled.

 

Yes SWTDT is a lousy school. What is done is done. I think Dick is a nice guy. But he is still intimidating. I just would not want to go out with him again.

 

This might be premature, but I just read the first three pages and lol. first off was that trailer empty, and what the hell downshift downhill doing 55 is still a tough task to ask a newb coming out of school. thats called suicide.
This guy s2b will always defend this company so please take any info from him with a grain of salt until further verified.