Averitt express dock to driver

I assume you have a yard dog that spots trailers at your terminal. You might talk to him first to see if he is up to giving you some advice and letting you drive his truck under his supervision. Now the problem there is only one seat, but I guess you could work something out.
If he is agreeable then talk to your manager. Just be honest and lay out what you have in mind.
I started out in a concrete mixer and had to ask my manager 2-3 times to get switched over to the semi end dump. His answer was always "you need more experience in a big truck". It all worked out.

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask.

 

Any good manager would love to hear that an employee wants to take on more and learn new things (a manager that is secure in his position that is). Just say "Hey, I would love to learn how to do this, what do I have to do to work my way up to it? Can you show me the ropes?"

This shows two things...you're eagerness to learn and your respect for his position and knowledge. Good leaders love to teach what they know.

Best case he teaches you, if he if he says its not the right time you will have shown your willingness to expand and probably gain some respect and if he tells you to F#@K off, shut up and do your job, that will be your cue to look for another job cuz you ain't going nowhere under him!

 

i agree find a good time to approach your boss about it and talk to him. the biggest problem you may come across is they may not want to have you do a job there already paying someone else to do so if he doesn't seem to want to do it you may mention coming in and doing it on your own time.

 

go for it

thats how me and alot of other guys got started.....worked the dock for a while, got permission to go out in the yard and practice on my own time.....then they even gave me the job of fueling all the tractors every morning, on the clock......only had to drive about 100 yards but i was hittin all kinds of gears just to practice

 

Go for it! I kinda was in your situation. Went to a school and got my CDL-A when I was 18, had a friend who worked for Southeastern Freight Line. He got me on and I worked the dock for about a month and the switcher quit and guess who took his place? So for almost 3 long years I worked the yard, made good money and was home everyday and every weekend. I finally turned 21 not too long ago and im training in the city for p&d driver now, Im driving and someone is riding with me. Just keep it fresh in managements minds that its what you want to do.

 

Your boss probably has company rules about whether he can allow your request or not, it is Averitt. But no CDL is needed to operate on private property.

It probably depends on the space at your location. Some of the Averitt yards are very small and it's tough for experienced drivers to avoid damaging stuff. Other locations have enough room for Ray Charles to practice.

If you can only practice one thing, practice back trailers from the 90 degree postion, I think that's called alley dock backing. And if you can practice this, do everything at idle speed, don't touch the "gas pedal." Things will happen fast enough without speeding things up.