Con-way Truck Load Finishers

My time with my trainer was great. He was very easy to get along with. I learned quite a bit that they don't teach you in school. Sharing a truck with someone for any period of time is no fun, but I survived. I was out with my trainer just shy of three weeks and we covered 7600 miles in that time. We traveled coast to coast. Just wish I would have stayed at Con-way. Working toward getting back with them now. Hope it works out.

 

well, i was with my trainer for about two weeks and a half. its fun and a great learning experience. i had a great trainer he is from england. i mean they polish your skills and you must know how to drive before you get in that truck. they wont take you if you dont know how to shift manual. overall you get used to the truck and bored and tired of your trainer. thats normal. my trainer was a clean man, so it depends on the trainer for that. right after we hit 6900, we headed back to joplin to drop me off and complete my 7500..after that, i waited at the holiday inn for the weekend and monday i had my truck..

 

All I can say is learn as much as you can in those 3 weeks. It goes by fast and just hope you get someone that is compatable with you. I say hope because if your not getting along due to..... oh, let's just say hygiene issues....... Oh well.... Suck it up and just get through it, you'll be glad you did plus you'll have some funny stories to tell
There's enough info on these posts to give you a good idea of what to expect , good luck you made a great choice to start your trucking career.

 

Sounds like we maybe had the same trainer. Was it James?

 

Oh ohhh...I saw James' name mentioned...there are a couple of them in the department. Are we referring to Storm Chaser?

If so, great guy. I made a good friend after 3 weeks in his truck.

I am now a finisher too. I go by Road Realtor here but it says Rooster on the truck. James gave me that handle. He preferred to sleep in, and I just wanted to get up and go. I would rise at about 5:30, go shower, shave have breakfast, do a pretrip and was done by 6:30 or 7. If the curtains weren't opened on the truck yet, I would slam the hood to wake him up!

From the finisher point of view, we want you to succeed. We have succceded, and are now sharing our knowledge. It is dicey on the first day with a new student because they are not real sure which parts of the truck are on the road at any point in time. By day two or three, they are fine.

For you students, I am not making fun of you, I was there. You are in a new truck, new shift pattern and oh by the way, the truck is loaded! My last student's first load was 44,000 pounds. I think we had one under 40k during his whole training period. I named him "Heavy Load". When he gets out of the truck he doesn't weigh 130 pounds so it is comical.

Yup we have a revolving door of people that we share very close quarters with 24/7. Most finishers are gregarious in nature so it isn't a big deal. When I was a student, I blogged that you are a guest in the finisher's house, so be nice. As a finisher, we try to be gracious hosts and hostesses. We want you to be comfortable.

Bad finishers get weeded out. The company doesn't want to see the majority of students from one particular finisher fail. The students review the finisher after they get off the truck, and the testing process gives clues to management if the finisher did their job.

All shifting problems are usually gone by day 3 or so.

The program is now 10,000 miles as of this week. And, you will take an exam upon returning to Joplin. The exam tests the finisher as much as it tests you. It is a good thing.

That boils down to .26/mile for about 4 weeks. That is better than most companies. I selected Con-way for their student program. At the end of your first delivery, school commitments are paid and at the end of year 1, I made about $43,000. With some very reputable companies, your student commitments weren't paid off for 20 or more months and your earnings were still under .30 per mile. That's why I chose Con-way.

At the end of a year, I knew I could go anywhere. I stayed here.

Be safe out there, have fun. And for Pete's sake, say hi if you see the Rooster wagon at a customer or terminal.

RR

 

Yep, that's the one. I remember him talking about you. I believe I have seen your truck somewhere. ####, I sure wish I would have stayed at Con-way.

 

I bet he didn't talk nicely about me....but beneath his gruff British exterior, he probably still shudders when he hears a rooster crow. Mitrucker, what happened, how come you are gone? If its none of my business, just say so.

 

I left to take a job at the company that owned the school I attended. i wound up getting canned from there after six weeks because I refused to take one of their shabby daycabs with no a/c on another 1000 mile run in 90 degree heat (yes, I was stupid enough to do it once). That led me to where I am now, still driving, but not at all content where I am. I spoke with a recruiter there at Conway (Karen) who told me that I needed six months at a job before I could be rehired. Well, I found out from a recruiting manager there (Gretchen, I believe) that my six months has to be OTR, so the dedicated run I am doing now does me no good at all. I sure wish Karen would have told me that back in late August. So that's my story, and btw he never said anything bad about you. I remember a few early mornings during my time out with him.