Complete Training by Conway Truckload Joplin MO - From Start to Finish

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


1) What happens if I don’t make it through school or clear orientation? If you don’t make it through school your tuition will be prorated and you will make arrangements with the school for payment. If you graduate from school and get sent home from orientation, you will be responsible for the full tuition cost. We will not finish paying your tuition if you do not get hired on with us.

2) How long is my contract with Con-way Truckload? There is no contract to sign with Con-way Truckload. You have to pull a load to fulfill our agreement. We feel our student program is one of the best and you will be happy to stay with the company longer than one load.

3) What happens after I graduate? You have the option to go home or come straight to orientation in Joplin, MO. We would like to see you come straight to orientation if possible.

4) Do I get paid while I’m attending school? No. You will start getting paid when you begin orientation. You will be paid $25.00 a day while during orientation.

5) Do I have to provide my own transportation to school or orientation? There are many variables to this. We will provide bus transportation to one or the other, not both. After graduation you have the opportunity to go home. Most students are driving to school, driving home and we get them a bus ticket to orientation. You can also fly or rent a car and we will reimburse you the amount that the bus ticket would have cost us once you are on a truck. It is recommended to have your own transportation while at school.

6) What happens if I drive myself to orientation? If you drive your own car to orientation, we will reimburse you for gas (with receipts) up to the amount of what a bus ticket would have cost us upon hire. Remember, your car will be at the Joplin terminal when you do this. You do not get to take your car home after orientation.

7) When do I find out who will be my finisher? Your last day of orientation someone from the training department will give you the finisher’s name, phone number and truck number. The finisher will get your information also.

8) How soon after orientation do I go out with my finisher? Your finisher will be routed to Joplin to pick you up and you are expected to go out immediately.

9) What happens during orientation? You will be doing a drug screen, physical, road/backing test, agility test. The instructor will be going over policies, procedures, safety, benefits, payroll, trip planning and logs.

10) What is done during the finishing process? Your finisher will be fine tuning your skills learned in school. The finisher will try to get you different types of driving (mountain, East Coast, etc.). You will be working on your shifting, logs and learning to use QUALCOMM system in the truck.

11) I’m female can I get a female finisher? Yes, females train with female finishers and males train with males.

12) Can I get a finisher that doesn’t smoke? We submit a request for your finisher that has basic questions. Smoker or non-smoker married or single. We cannot guarantee they can all be met.

13) Do I need to get my Class A permit before going to school? Yes, you will need to get your permit in the state you reside in. You will need to take your general knowledge, air brakes and combination vehicles.

14) How long will I be with a finisher? The program is for 10,000 miles minimum, which should take approximately 4 1/2 weeks. After your training you will be tested before getting your own truck assigned.

15) What happens if there is conflict with my finisher, will I be terminated? If you have conflict or feel there is something wrong, please contact the training department immediately. If you can’t reach anyone in training you can contact your recruiter and they can get you to the right person.

16) What am I responsible to pay for while I’m out with my finisher? You are responsible for your meals, snacks and personal items. If you pay for any tolls, scales or other expenses save your receipts and turn it in on a reimbursement sheet.

17) Will I get my truck assignment in Joplin? When your 10,000 miles are complete you will come back to Joplin and take a final road test to ensure that you are ready to go out on your own. You should be assigned a truck in Joplin

18) When do I get a fleet manager assigned? While you are out with your finisher the fleet manager is the same. When you upgrade, your fleet manager will be assigned at that time.


19) It is very important that you write down you instructions from your recruiter for orientation and follow them. We have several different types of drivers and students coming in and if you listen to your school or another driver you may get the wrong information. If you have any questions always check with your recruiter.

20) If you have any questions about the schooling, please contact Crowder College directly. Your recruiter has limited information about the daily activities at the school.

21) I don’t live in Missouri; will Missouri issue me a CDL in the state I reside in? NO. You will be issued a Missouri CDL at the end of your class. You will have 90 days to transfer your CDL back to the state you reside in. It is your responsibility to make sure that you know the requirements of your state to make the transfer.

 

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Crowder has it's own CDL training but Conway has a tuition assistance program. You must call Conway Truckload and speak to a recruiter to apply. They pay for part of your tuition and you pay for the rest. It is something you do before attending Crowder. After you go through Crowder training you will then go through Conway orientation to become a driver. If you plan on going to Crowder without assistance - on your own - then you will have to apply for Conway after you obtain your CDL.

 

Today I am going to my physical. I have been studying for my permit. Hopefully I can get both accomplished by the beginning of next week. I have to turn my CDL Permit number into Crowder to complete my application information. I have already paid them $100 for the application fee. I had to pay this - Conway does not pay for your permit, DOT physical if required to get your permit, and application fee of $100.

 

Ok I am back and have completed school at Crowder College in Neosho, Mo. I have tons of information.
First I want to say sorry for not posting the whole time I was in school. I opted not to bring my laptop because it is brand new and I didn't want to worry about it. I regretted that decision the whole time I was there.

As I suspected, things did not start out as they were planned. I was panicked because I was told by the recruiter to arrive at the bus terminal 2 hours early to pick up my ticket and catch the bus. The bus terminal in my area was not open when I arrived. I waited for the bus to arrive and the bus driver took my driver's license allowing me to board the bus. In return, at the next open terminal, I had to go get my ticket and show it to him to get my license back. I am glad that worked out for me but I was sweating over it. Greyhound said it would be up to the driver if he would let me do that and I was not sure if my trip was going to end before it began.

After the long and grueling bus ride to Joplin, Mo. I was exhausted. It took over 24 hours on the bus to get 400 miles. If you can afford to pay for your own transportation I would highly suggest it.
I arrived in Joplin at 10PM on Sunday, July 28th. I was told to call AAA Taxi and my fare would be covered to the hotel by Conway. When the taxi driver arrrived he informed me that they no longer allow the fares to be paid later by Conway so I paid $9.00 for the ride myself. At this point I did not care because I was so tired. I just wanted to get some sleep.

I had to wake up at 6:00 AM the next morning and a cab would be waiting for me at 7:00 AM in front of the Lobby at Holiday Inn. By the way, Holiday Inn is nice. The beds are comfortable. There are 2 swimming pools (insided and outside), a business center which has computers and internet access, gym, and great food at the bar. Don't bother drinking there - remember you're there for business. AAA Taxi was waiting outside when I went downstairs so I rode with them to Neosho - the cost to me was $45.00.

Do not think you are going to be shown your room the first thing to put your things away. You are going straight to class at Crowder on the first day. You can leave your things in a secure office until this day is over.
Right off the bat you are taken one at a time to pay for your tuition and a $75.00 deposit if you are staying at a dorm. You will not get this deposit back until Crowder is cleared by Conway to give it back to you.

Class is Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:15 PM with a 45 minute luch at around 11:15 AM.

There is usually 7 ppl to a class, we had 6. Three guys and three gals. One guy did not show for whatever reason.

The first day of class consisted of a general knowledge test similar to the test you took for your CDL permit.
We all were asked to tell the class our name and why we would like to become a professional driver.
After show and tell, we started on the simulators. They have two simulators which look like this one below.


We practiced shifting a straight 10 on the simulators. Double clutching, foot control, steadying the tachs and raising rpms when downshifting.
We also started skipping gears up and down. (My favorite thing to do)

At lunch you can walk over to the cafeteria which is about two blocks away and get an awesome salad from the salad bar. They have a variety of different foods each day. Conway pays for your food or it cost you around $6 for all you can eat.
After the first day the instructor will give you a ride to your dorm room. I did not like some things about the dorm at Crowder. First, your dorm is on the opposite side of the campus as the driving school. Second, you are segregated from the other college students (like I have cooties or something). Also, the dorms for the driver's are older the the other student's dorms. They do not have a fridge in the dorm. You have to use a comunity fridge in the laundry room at the end of the dorms.
One good thing is that you do get your own room. By this I mean you walk in and there is a community living area, two bathrooms with showers and double sinks, and two or three bedrooms. Each bedroom has 2 beds but they give you a room to yourself because they are usually not full. You do have a lock on your bedroom door with a key. Your key will lock/unlock your bedroom, the main entry to the dorm room, and the laundry room doors.
You do not have a stove or hot plate. There is only a microwave. There is no vending machine at the dorm so I would suggest bumming a ride to Wally World and stocking up on snacks and drinks.

 

During the first week at Crowder we had class during the morning. We are all given a thick book on trucking and each night we are assigned a chapter to read. We would read about Hours of Service, Turning and Handling, Shifting, and DOT regulations. We had quizes on the chapters the next morning. We are also given a log book and we are expected to log our time in class and driving the entire time while we are at school.

For hands on that week we drove on "the range". They have an isolated abandoned US Army sector in the back that use to house soldiers at Fort Crowder. The barracks are nothing but slabs of concrete now and some of the roads have weeds grown up but there is a good portion that is drivable. I would say about 4 blocks. We practiced shifting, squaring off left turns and button hook right turns. We also practiced straight line backing.

At the end of week one we took our skills on the road. We drove around the airport in Neosho. The first drive was intimidating because you feel like you just got there but after it was all said and done it was nothing to worry about.
My instructor was Kelli. She was great and had plenty of patience. Her favorite quote would be "Just Work With It"

All the instructors are good. They see tons of new students a year so they know what kind of mistakes are going to be made and how to help you learn to overcome them. Darrin is in charge of the entire Trucking School at Crowder. He is very approachable and full of knowledge. Paula works in the office and takes care of all the paperwork. She is funny and proficient.

The second week we began being graded on our road tests. We drove on the road twice this week. This includes small town and highway. They grade you for things like:
Turning : Checking traffice, approaching speed, signals (on, too early, too late), unnecessary stopping, correct gear for turn, checking mirrors 2/4 times in turn, lane position, short or wide turns
Starting & Stopping : Too fast/slow, Coasting, Rought Braking, Checks Mirrors, Lugged Engine,
Intersections : Slowing down, Covers Brake, Shifting Through Green Light, Checking Mirrors
Driving & Curves: Checking Mirrors, Staying in your lane, speed, observing road signs, monitoring gauges, perceiving hazards
Shifting : Right RPMS Up & Down, Throttle Control, Usages of Tach, Correct Gear, Riding Clutch (Deep or Single)
Lane Changes: Checking Mirrors, Signals, Smoothness, Space
General: Palming wheel, Rude behavior, Controlling speed on grades
Major: Curbing, Forcing Gears, Excessive RPM, Coasting, Following to close, Charging traffic lights

At first I was intimidated by someone penciling down all my flaws while I was driving but later I really didn't care. I just concentrated on driving the truck and figured being safe was way more important that a score they would give me for driving.

During this week we also tested on straight line backing. We started in front of a lane surrounded by orange cones then we backed until we were behind the same lane. Put it in neutral, put your brakes on honk and get out. That's it.

Then we began practicing parallel parking. What a quest. It was drawn out for us to take it one step at a time. But I kept at it and finally got it down. I thought the day would never come. It was a hard task to complete. But after it was completed it was like I climbed Mt Everest or some kind of extraordinary accomplishment.