Con-Way TL Student Orientation

Figure I would start this thread to help people with there decission or questions concerning hiring on with Con-Way truckload from a recent school grads perspective.

Once you have your confirmation I highly suggest you ask your recruiter a few days before you leave to make sure you are in the system and set up for the date you were told to report to Joplin. For some reason they were not expecting me so had to play catch-up with some paperwork but other than that things would go just fine.

You can expect to leave at 6:15 sharp monday morning from the Holiday Inn. Make sure you take all your bags because you will be going to Neosho at the end of the day. Bus will take you to Headquarters. You will meet for a quick roll call and a brief on what to expect for the rest of the day in the main conference room. Roger, Mark and Chris were very proffessional and welcoming, got a good vibe right from the start. The facillity is top notch and you can tell this company means business, very professional first impression. The conference room is divided into 3 or 4 groups. o/o and seasoned truckers, students and grads from last weeks bootcamp. We all split up into our seperate conferance rooms. So this thread will only pertain to what a student will be going through.

We filled out some paper work then headed down to the basement for our physicals. Physical was a typical DOT exam. Piss test, Diabetes screen, BP, height & weight, touch toes, check breathing, hernias, eye exam. Very straight forward no lifting boxes or pushing pallets.

Back upstairs more paper work then off to meet with recruiting to answer and confirm what we had already filled out on our applications, get to meet your recruiter. Keturah was very nice and a pleasure to meet.

We broke for lunch which was provided for in the cafeteria, then it was off to meet with the Safety Dept. Had an integrity interview and went over passport requirements, then back to finish off the rest of the paper work, payroll, etc...... wrapped it up around 5pm. Shuttle took us to the Boondslick Lodge in Neosho which is about 20 miles south of Joplin. Oh yeah, I thought it was very cool they give you $100 cash to help with your first meals and will follow up with another $300 on Monday

As I said before my first impression has been nothing but positve. I think I've made a wise decission going with Con-Way for my first carrier. I will post each day with a blow by blow for anyone who's interested. Time to catch some of the Home Run Derby before hitting the sack, later.

 

R.C and John our instructors picked us up this morning at 6:45. Both were very cool older seasoned vets of the road. We filled out some paperwork, watched a movie and went over what to expect for the rest of the week.

I have to admit the classroom was very impressive. All information pertaining to trucking was current and relevant and the class was fitted with a Smart board. They have two shifting simulators and a fully functional break system mounted on the wall which I thought was very cool. If your going to be going to Crowder for the full school I think you will get your money's worth. Unfortunately the Skid Pad is down because FEMA has taken over the lot to store there emergency trailers for Joplin. Not gonna ##### when people have been through so much. We were told whenever it re-opens we can attend by setting up a slot when coming through Joplin and time permits, so will take advantage as soon as I'm able.

Lunch is served at the Crowder cafeteria and by noon we were at the shift track in the T2000. There are 5 of us so R.C took us around for one lap to show what was expected of us and how to progressively shift up and down to 5th gear and to use "Buttton hook" around some right hand turns.No floating is allowed.

I was 2nd in the seat and by half a lap I had the tranny down and was shifting up and down with no problems. The next round we would take the truck around the track by making left hand turns and running through a serpentine course marked by small cones. Went pretty smooth, if you feel your shifting is not up to speed I know they will work with you because they do want you to pass but on the other hand I am sure there is some kind of cut-off were they will let you go if you haven't grasped the shifting.

I am pretty sure we will be practicing backing and then hitting the road to drive through Neosho tomorrow. so far still very impressed.

 

Today I was assigned to Johns' truck. The morning was spent going over homework then out to the pad to practice the 45* backing. Fairly simple, basically simulates what anyone would do in a truck stop or loading dock. Was able to get 3 docks in before we hit lunch. By the third time I think I had it down pretty well.

After lunch we headed out to run a circuit around Neosho. The trip was about 10 miles and had us traveling through industrial parks and small town state roads. Our primary concern was to show the instructor we were using our mirrors, progressive shifting proper turns and overall awareness of our surroundings. I went first and found out I don't really like talking and trying to concentrate while driving but I got the hang of it and overall ended up with a decent score. Need to work on a few things but John was fair in his critique.
So far so good. We will be taking off for our night drive 3am in the morning so I'll wrap it up for now and post tomorrow to let you know how it goes............later.

 

Glad thats over. Night drive through Neosho wasn't to bad, just a few minor hiccups but once I got out of the tight industrial area I think I did OK. The button hook maneuvers we were practicing Tuesday came in handy because you had to button hook in order to make some of the turns downtown.

Headed back to school to take a written test....(96) then to breakfast. After breakfast is was to the 45* docking pad to practice for final backing test tomorrow. Finished the day around 11:45 and headed to the chow hall to finish the day. Tomorrow we take our final backing and road test, everything is within reach and all I have to do is chill out and do what I've been taught. My other 4 classmates seem to be on tract too. So far the experience has been a good one. the instructors have been more then helpful and not to mention pretty funny too., all good people.

 

Started the day with backing test, went smooth no problems and everyone passed. Worked on sliding our tandems and pre-trip then went to lunch.

After lunch we hit the road for our final road test. Happy to say all 5 of us passed and I have to admit I love the 13 speed even though you really don't need to use any high gears but I did a couple of times .

Tomorrow will be morning pre-trip test, then wash the trucks and that should be a wrap.