Computer needed for orientation and training?

Ya im not liking where this thread is going.... I like to think that im slick 10 second silent ninja then shut eyes. The noise the tractor makes is so loud on its own plus i crack open the top bunk window which creates an annoyingly loud convenient sound buffer that for some odd reason the noise also helps me sleep.


Win win win all around lol

 

No Ma'am, he won't need a laptop or the smart functions of a smart phone in school but a regular phone to call home and talk to Mom would be nice for both of you. If you have a little money and want to buy him something for school that will come in super useful the day he graduates then go to the nearest truck stop and buy him a Rand McNally Motor Carrier Atlas, and tell him an old hand on the forum suggested very strongly that down time he doesn't feel the need to be studying class material would be VERY well spent studying the Atlas. Make sure you get the one that say Motor Carrier on it. Have him read the front real well to gain an understanding - or a beginning of one of what all is in the book and how to use it. He can start by studying Michigan and learning how the map codes different roads and what the color of the road on the map means and such because he will be familiar with the road from having driven passenger vehicles on them. Most schools don't teach much at all about map reading and trip planning and despite the cool gizmos most of us use; hardly any driver will roll without his or her Motor Carrier Atlas, and his trainer at his first company will love a trainee that knows and understands the importance of that book and is already familiar with it. Most of us get the laminated one because the spine breaks pretty quickly on the paper one BUT the paper one does have more detail than the laminated one. Not a whole lot and the laminated one is fine.

Best of luck to your son and be safe both of you.

 

Best send off gifts a Mom can buy. He might not appreciate the full weight of that in school, but once in the field I'm sure he will.

 

I worked for Cryogenic Transportation Inc. as subsidiary of Kenan Advantage last year and they REQUIRED us to take loads of on-line "training" after being hired. I was local so for me it was no big deal, I completed it at home on my PC, they paid so much per lesson, I forget how much it paid now, but I know it was required even for the OTR drivers as well.

 

I started out with a Trac phone for calling dispatcher and home and such things. Moved into a smart phone, with a decent company discount program, and it is a very good tool for trip planning, looking at Google earth at shippers and receivers, truck stops, rest areas, Google maps is a wonderful tool, DAT Trucker is a good tool. Only time I use laptop generally is for dvd movies, and a couple of single player games installed for if you get stuck doing a 34 hr. reset on the road. Hardly use laptop during a 10 hr. break, the brain is drained and needs rest and sleep. Stay safe out there...

 

Another good one, cheap at that, is the "pocket Truck stop guide".

While sitting at a shipper's or receiver's, I would "plan" where we were going to stop. 6 hr's drive time left @ 50 mph ( everyone trip plan's at different speed's, my husband thus I, was taught at 50) 300 miles, so somewhere between 250 and 300 is a truck stop we will be aiming for. Could we get further, why sure we might or get stuck behind a hwy wreck. I'd pick out 3 or 4 stops and he would aim for the furthest...until we couldn't make it, then they go backwards to the "nearest" on the list.

We ended up with favorite T/S's and "other" parking, which I "starred" on our google map, drew a star next to in the book and made notations... about the type of food, parking lot's, safety...etc. Every time we were on 78 ( I-22) in Miss, we at least ate at Flick's... if the timing was right we stayed over-nite, Hated west Memphis, wouldn't stay their unless no other choice.

 

Been driving 7 months, been to school, training and 2 company orientations and haven't used one yet. Do what I do to pass the time, crossword puzzle books