CFI Driver's What's Your 20? (2017 edition)

The shoes gotta have bells... like the girl at the TA... gotta make sure you can't sneak up on anyone!!!

 

Vegas for new years...lock up your sons good people of Nevada... Keeker will be on the prowl!!!!

 

You had me at Golf and Grey Goose...ah yes the essential and quintessential 3G's.

(Doing the happy dance just thinking about it)

 

Hey all! Wife and I are looking at teaming for CFI. We've been researching and planning this since about October! Plan on making the leap and calling the recruiter sometime at the end of January or beginning of February. Any advice for two noobies getting CDLs and taking the courses for the first time? We plan on going to Crowder. But we haven't called the recruiter and finalized anything yet. Look forward to chatting and meeting all of you fine people! *Side note reading 74 pages of past replies took forever *

 

Welcome mister and missus Cerb.

I took the path that you all are taking about 7 years ago through Crowder and then on to... Conway back in the days.

No regrets.

Back in those days, I paid for a portion of crowder, and my room and board at Crowder. When I delivered my first load solo they paid off the balance of my Crowder accounts. I'm sure they have different programs now what I'm hearing through the grapevine I just don't know the details, a recruiter is a good person to ask for that.

Crowder was a great experience, and I hope the skidpad is up and running when you go through there... There is nothing quite like intentionally skidding an 18-wheeler. Note, the person in the passenger seat has a handbrake that actually throws the truck into the skid and it's up to the driver to recover... This should be good for your marital relations if you do it for each other!

You will go to the school with a learner's permit from your home state. Then you will go through the school and there are School staffers that are certified to test you and issue your CDL. I went straight to the DMV and got a Missouri driver's license using the school dormitory as my address. The next time I went home to Florida I traded in my Missouri for a Florida.

At Crowder we stayed in dorms, it was two drivers to a room, and three rooms in the units. I suspect married people get their own room and own dorm not sharing with others, but but I don't know for sure.

You get three meals a day at Crowder and basically it wasn't bad, but it wasn't Gourmet either. Once you finish it Crowder CFI will transport you to Joplin about 20 miles and you will start orientation.

That's about 3 or 4 days, then you are assigned a finisher, that's what we call our trainers. You'll go out for 7500 miles with your finisher, approximately three weeks, then come back to Joplin for final testing and you're issued a truck and assigned a fleet manager.

This is the most important thing to you that I can share. When you are out with your finisher, you are dispatched based on solo hours rather than team hours.

This means you aren't driving while your finisher is sleeping and vice versa because that is very unsafe and no real learning and teaching those on if one of you is always asleep. Most companies operate the driver and trainer as a team, and you just really don't learn anything in that situation.

At CFI you will do 90% of the driving and your finisher will be sitting in the seat next to you awake, and mentoring.

This is probably enough info to lead you towards more specific questions which I probably don't know the answer to but will fake it extremely well.


By the way, this thread has some current drivers, some former drivers, and one hater... I'll let you sort through figuring out which is which.

Welcome we look forward to seeing you out here let us know if you have some questions.

 

Company-paid Tuition
With a 12-month commitment to drive for CFI, qualified students can now receive fully paid tuition to attend driving school in Missouri. We’ll even cover your room and meals for the duration of the four-week course.

 

All of these loads in Calexico, and they send me to Otay Mesa to pick up my next load. Heading to Jackson Tennessee, 3000 miles on a pretty short week no complaints.

 

Yeah as I said I have read all 74 pages lol I have quite a good idea of who everyone is and the hater as a former manager it's fairly easy to spot a scorned ex employee and will definitely not listen to what he has to say lol.

But you seem like a great bunch a people!

Also rooster I remember seeing you mention to a few others that you get a bonus if we mention you?

 

Thanks for asking... I only get a bonus for experience drivers...no baby truckers.