I was wondering about the eating situation. Were is a guy going to put a weeks food on a truck. You'd need a fairly large reffer to keep enough food for a week in there. Fruit and veges take up a lot of space. I can't think of any dry food thats good for you.
I have to agree with you. I have been working on getting into training myself. It seems to me that some companies are using trainee's as a way to make money by keeping the truck moving. It's really OJT, On the Job training. If this is so it is better to come out and say that it is OJT rather than discise it as schooling or training. I can't help believe that a driver trainer is much more concerned about moving that truck forward than a guys training. As it's been said, the trainer has to make money. I order to provide training a co. should have a truck dedicated to training. Were the trainee has EQUAL space and equal access and input. I've read of one trainee being told he would drive around 500-700 miles during the night. The trainee responded by saying he would only drive as long as he could. There was an argument. There is a question in my mind as to if there are rules that governing things like this. One driver has written that he will only be good for about 4 hours of driving at night. My position at this point is that night is much more dangerous than day driving. Trainees should not be used to take on the burden of night driving. The experienced driver should drive at night. And the trainee should be limited to starting out in the early morning before daylight or into the evening say 2-4 hours after sunset. This would keep abuses down.
Can anyone tell me what their orientation is like? Testing, physical, driving/skills tests? Do you have to do a strength test like at Schneider? Thanks for any info.
I think he means things like peanut butter, granola bars, pop tarts, canned goods like sardines and canned fruits. I lived a long time storing these itemsa, then eating a good hot meal in a truck stop or diner once a day or every other day. Once I bought a can of clam chowder and heated it up on my engine while waiting for a load. Mmm Mmm good.
I agree, and if the trainer is making the trainee drive all night, then the trainee has to sleep through the day, when will he get any training. Also, if the trainer only wants to shower and eat during the day, that means the trainee will get interrupted sleep, while the trainer will get to sleep the whole night through. Again a rough spot for the trainee.
Oh, garbage. Sardines are good and good for ya. But the rest is garbage. Is there a way to live on the road eating food that will keep ya in good health? Or is bad food just another thing drivers have to put-up with? This is the kind of diet that is giving our countrymen diseases like, fat belly, no neck, heart disease, stroke, etc. On the subject of training, The CDL training is different than the OTR driver training. I believe the trainer has to be in the 2nd seat most of the time for the cdl; which is around a 100 hrs, that's suppose to take about 2-4wks. Why it would take 4 wks on the road, I don't know. It would be good if someone would clear this up. The 60k OTR training, I don't know what that's like either. If anyone could clear this up too it would be great. One of the question is, when does a trainee have to start driving nights, and how long will he have to drive during the night. I have asked the question myself but the answers seemed wishy-washy, as if they really didn't want to talk about it. This leeds me to believe the new guy will be driving nights. I've had a little time to think on this training stuff. 60,000 miles, (as a new guy), of OJT, with another driver, called a trainer, doesn't seem to be a good idea. Maybe if there were rules/guidelines to go by it might be ok. Without it a trainee could be wasting a lot of TIME and MONEY. A new guy needs to know what hours he's going to be driving. Driving at night for a new guy is a bad idea until he has plenty of experience. Ya need to know when you'll be eating and what you'll be eating. Eating crappy food is going to ware you away and make ya sick. I may go to SNI. In about 4 wks you'll be driving. I think you can be in your own truck, SOLO in that 4 wks. You'll be in control of where you stop and when you stop to eat, what you put in the truck and the truck refrigerator, (to eat), and when you drive day and or night.
I think a few months with a trainer is a good thing. Too many new drivers go out after a few weeks with a "trainer" and when they approach a big city delivery, border crossing, DOT inspection,or really big mountain for the first time, they freak out and do more harm than good. Six month with a trainer should be long enough to assure you will come across those situations and learn how to handle it. I think that is a good idea.
I don't really think an outfit like SNI would put there new hires out on the road without the training they need to do the job. Do you think they would? 60k miles is way to much time, TEAM driving. Try reading what I wrote at least once more. I just realized you have 2 yrs as a driver. Maybe you won't have to do much training.
Available 7 das a week? What does this mean? Does this mean you are to work 7 das a week? And if so is overtime included in this some how?
I have been following these posts for a while and rarely post myself but i had to make one comment. If you were to go to say Sage truck driving school it would cost $4085 dollars to get 150 hours of instruction (44 hours driving time) and it would take 4-5 weeks to complete. Prime is offering 100 hours of real world experience while you are getting the knowledge/skills to obtain your CDL in roughly the same time frame. Now the 60,000 and 80,000 is a lot but it will only make the new driver better prepared to get out on their own. I am sure that Prime is not for everyone but for some it may be. I am getting ready to retire from the Air Force so i have my retirement pay to live off of while training so making $600 a week minimum while i get the skills is not that big of deal for me. My biggest concern is the leasing, while i would love to manage my own business i am a little worried about this proposal. When i get ready to make the jump i will look at all options and make the decision that i think is best for me and my family as we all should do.
