im in michigan ... freak in cold... i need warmer weather to function properly... i just finished packin my truck and dirtbike yesterday and got them stored at the step dads in a really nice heated pole barn and im packin my clothes and the rest of my stuff i wont need into my car and storing that too.....its suppose to snow storm here good this weekend... i hope the greyhound can out run it ...lol... ill be in memphis by 7am... sucks thats the latest GH had... so hope i can find some wifi somewhere
You 4 (or 5) soon-to-be Swifties have a golden opportunity to form a support team for each other. I'm still in touch with several of my classmates from Millington. Each of us had our own hurdles to jump to get through the school but we hung together and each of us got through the school, completed the CDL road skills training, got CDLs and, now, each of us are solo drivers for Swift. There will be a tendency, though, for TOO much help when learning to back. My advice is to listen carefully to the instructors, take notes on each step for each backing maneuver, practice those steps in your mind, and TAKE YOUR TIME! Hurried steering wheel movements/adjustments usually cause you to have to start over with a new set up. If you're anything like me and many students, you will feel like you're the worst backer ever...ain't so! Pushing a trailer backwards is weird. Accept the weirdness and make mental adjustments for it. Bottom line: If you want to drive a big truck for Swift, you've gotta go through the crap at Millington, the crap during Orientation, and the crap during OTR training. Try to take it all in stride...it gets better when you go solo. BETTER, not wonderful. Good luck to all of you! Oldnew...
backin isnt too bad... ive done alot of dump truck an flat bed backing an backin straight trucks down long narrow alleys ways in DC..... a 53 footer is gonna be harder but i feel i have the basics down.. im ready for the challenge... arnt u guys! lol..
OldNew, Do you come back to your home terminal for the week after school, say mine would be Columbus, and train there with a Swift road trainer. Then take your CDL Test. Thanks
i wonder what happens if u attend the school like me ... and have already abtained ur cdl A ... anyone ever done this? i mainly wanted to go to the school to learn how to do the log book and learn mapping skills and time management skills...oooh and cant forget the cdlA driving skills...
Yes, but I wouldn't swear that it will be your home terminal, but it should be in your home state or an adjoining state. For example, I'm from Mississippi and I did my CDL road skills training in Tupelo MS (about an hour from Memphis). There was another student there, in Tupelo, who was from Alabama. The Alabama CDL testing site is close enough to Tupelo that he did the majority of his skills training with us but went to Alabama with one of the trainers to drive the test course and, eventually, to take his CDL road test. There were students in my class at Millington that were from Arkansas but they trained in Memphis (Millington) with students from Tennessee. Because Columbus is a major Swift terminal, I would venture a guess that you will be in Columbus for road skills training. Just a guess though!
getting everything together, last day to make sure I got stuff b/c of the weekend. Johnny, got my CDLA permit, as required by the school. I've never driven anything larger than a rollback type tow truck, and have always sucked at backing trailers, unless I can just put my arm over the seat and look out the window...lol...not really an option here. I've watched the videos on youtube from swift trucking, watching, it looks pretty easy lol. If yall had to have a physical to get your permit, were you told to bring your "long form" and not just the med card with you? My recruiter says don't worry if you don't have it, they're gonna do another one anyway...but I've read on other posts that you've got to have this, and that would mean driving up to cincinnatti tomorrow for me as I went to the swift doctor to get mine done.... Trying to get packed and prepped for the trip, as I've said I'm driving, heard there's supposed to be some snow....old jeep needs to make one more trip for me...and I'm trying to get out of buying a new battery right now, think I have a dead cell.... Looks like my home terminal will be columbus as far as I can tell, and for me it's like an hour and a half drive, so not too bad. I look forward to seeing yall there, best of luck.
Xeebodog... good luck on the trip.. we'll do good.. i heard they will give us practice time on backin so u should be fine...lol
I just have my CDLA Permit I didn't have to get DOT Physical to get it. Plus from what I read first day we get DOT Physical and Drug Test at Memphis terminal. I have never driven anything bigger then a Straight line dump truck (6 yard). Although I have driven both bumper pull and gooseneck horsetrailers so I have some limited backing skills. I have watched the jimmycee Youtube videos on backing I don't think I'll have a difficult time getting the hang of it. The recruiter put my home terminal as Columbus but, I just Googled both Oh and Mi terminals and Mi is actually almost an hour closer to my house even tho I live in Ohio. Not that it matters to me and I think actually Columbus is in a better location for shipping lanes. Lol xeebodog, Old Jeep battery all depends on the transmission manual no problem, automatic would suck hard.
