Maverick Transportation

I graduate the 28th of this month, how long is the wait normally until you get an orientation letter or phone call? Are there any driver trainers in TN? Thanks in advance and yes Maverick is the best carrier out there. I have done the usual driver school applications and called different carriers about the pre-hires, but no one compares to Maverick!

 

I am attending Apollo Truck Driving Academy, and Im up to bat at 830 am tomorrow morning.

 

I am attending Apollo Truck Driving Academy.

 

Hmmm, if u can't tell im new at this posting business.

 

I am looking at both TMC and Maverick.. TMC will reimburse me for my Tuition and they work with the VA, which means while I am driving for them, I will be getting paid my GI Bill benifits as well. I also live right outside Indianapolis and TMC has a terminal in Indy...

If Maverick could reimburse me for my Tuition, then maybe I will look at them a little harder..

 

Good Luck at 8:30 man. Let us know how ya did. I thought maybe it was roadmaster in columbus, you where attending. How do you like apollo?

 

sewerman's hung out this weekend. "on vacation under a load of drywall that delivers in shreeveport, la on monday" as he put it. He loves the elogs and has since day one. In a nutshell, elogs maximize your time by no longer requiring you to use 15 minute minimums for items such as pretrip, fueling, etc.

if your running legal now, which all should be, it actually maximizes your times due to elogs being minute by minute rather than 15 minute quadrants. BTW jim, he says he's had nothing but headwinds since you gave him that wooden nickel. lol. did you jinx it first? just kiddin of course

 

As a driving instructor (i don't like trainer. animals get trained, people get instructed) i can only answer your questions by how i am with my students. At maverick, students go out in a trainer truck for a minumum of 21 days. the student can request to stay with the instructor longer if he/she so desires or the instructor can keep a student longer if they think it is required ie: if a student is having problems with trip planning, backing, qualcom, etc. In my truck, a student will usually not drive until the 3rd day in the truck. this is so they get used to the sights, sounds and driving habits they will be expected to follow when in my truck. once my students start driving they can drive as much as they please as long as they give up the wheel at a safe place to switch drivers at the first sign of fatigue which i discuss at length before they take the wheel for the first time. People are different. i've had some students ask me to take over after 4 hours and others were ok for 8.

WE DO NOT NOR ARE WE ALLOWED TO RUN THE TRUCK AS A TEAM!!! and when the student is behind the wheel, the instructor is required to be in the bobblehead(passenger) seat.

The recruiter will tell you the necessary items to bring but may i suggest a few: rainsuit, tennis shoes, non mesh style laundry bag, sleeping bag, pillow, shower shoes, proper cold weather gear. I'm US division with maverick so i could be anywhere from northern minnesota to southern texas. The 2011 trainer trucks have a full bunk for students which folds into the back wall of the cab when not in use so compared to the columbia model trainer trucks THERE IS ALOT LESS STORAGE SPACE. Basically if your not going to use it everyday, dont bring it. If you chose to bring items such as a briefcase, in my truck, you can either sleep with it, stowe it in the cubby that i have reserved for students stuff (the large one under the refrigerator shelf or cooler in my truck) or move it to one of the front seats everyday when you go to bed.

As a driving instructor, the biggest issue i've faced with my students to date over the past year is their snoring, their dirty socks falling down onto my head at night because they didn't put them in the laundry bag when they took them off. Lack of self confidence because they think they have to apologize because they think they are doing things too slow. not heeding my advice to mark the locations of fuel stops in their atlas using the challenge magazine for trip planning when they get out on their own. and listening to them complain because i dont idle and they are hot or cold. My columbia trainer truck had heat but no ac but i wasn't in that one for cold weather. My current cascadia model has an apu that provides heat and ac without idling BUT the heat is not working, and twice i have had it in the shop for repairs to fix it but it still isnt working. I have both a turbo fan that i gave my students to use when it was hot, and a heat/massage pad that i offer my students to use when it is cold. I tell all of them the same thing. be prepared for the territory i run but they are forwarned by the orientation instructors that I DO NOT IDLE as well as myself and i would not take it personally if a student choses to go out with an instructor that idles every night or has a working apu. in today's cold weather as i have done in all the trucks ive been assigned at maverick, i sleep with socks on in thermal top and bottom in a good sleeping bag with a nightcap on my head(i shave my head) and have a blanket on top of the sleeping bag. I've spent the night in -20 weather and have been quite comfortable. Call me crazy, i've been called worse and am crazy all the way to the bank with my fuel bonus paychecks (over $3100 net fuel bonus alone in 2010). If a student chooses to spend his money on snickers bars and potato chips rather than a thermal top and bottom, that's his choice but i like pepper jack cheese to go with any and all whine that they are "too hot or cold"

 

You have a lot of the same good habits I have. I believe one has to be organized, hygenic, have good planning skills and use them daily. I don't require a lot of space and am VERY clean. I too shave my head, lol, it just plain feels better. Once I get my own truck, I plan to keep it like my own personal vehicle which is meticulous. I also respect other peoples property and treat it as I would my own. I conserve energy even in my own house by keeping dressed appropriately and keeping heating and cooling turned way down. Only makes sense if you want to save $$$ and thats why we work after all. I constantly observe and absorb what I learn daily so I can implement it in the future. I am ready to put those skills to work for Maverick and my "Instructor" and prove my worth. Thank you for your valuable input. Is it possible to request a certain instructor such as yourself to instruct me as a student?

 

They try to match you with a trainer in your area. So you can get home on weekends. They also try to time it so one will be available when you are ready so you don't have to camp out for weeks on end waiting on one.