May trucking

You capped it very well. Driver is paid for what he knows (Load weight distribution, best way to get from A to B, via C if needed, avoid scales, roadside inspections if necesary due to circumstance, etc) , not what he does (Sits on his a!! and guides the machine) which anyone can do. They just can't do what is needed NOW to get the job DONE right.
Changing jobs. I always knew or found out with in one week: What the former driver was making, what he did or didn't do, why he left and where he went. Keeps down a lot of aggravation later on. If the weather changed or I got spoken too harshly, I might even jump on over to where he went.
Too many people want the 3 BR brick, wife an SUV and him a pickup in the double garage, bass boat alongside, off every weekend for beer and football.
It don't happen fellows. Never did and never willl.

 

You capped it very well. Driver is paid for what he knows (Load weight distribution, best way to get from A to B, via C if needed, avoid scales, roadside inspections if necesary due to circumstance, etc) , not what he does (Sits on his a!! and guides the machine) which anyone can do. They just can't do what is needed NOW to get the job DONE right.
Changing jobs. I always knew or found out with in one week: What the former driver was making, what he did or didn't do, why he left and where he went. Keeps down a lot of aggravation later on. If the weather changed or I got spoken too harshly, I might even jump on over to where he went.
Too many people want the 3 BR brick, wife an SUV and him a pickup in the double garage, bass boat alongside, off every weekend for beer and football.
It don't happen fellows. Never did and never willl.

 

Ego...
And from many of the posts here, it might be he was being matched with a poor excuse for a driver trainer.

 

Me, too ------->
Laid back, that is ---- generally speaking, and by preference based upon experience.

As far as others treating me the way I WANT to be treated, --- that's fine with me. But if it takes being treated in a way I DON'T like to be treated to get a necessary point across,
HurT Me! :smt075

If I'm, somehow, benefiting from whomever delivers the correct information (read learn), by golly,.....................
why shoot the messenger?
I have a pretty high tolerance to odd personalities.
I can and do get along with just about everybody. And when the term "not get along" enters the picture --- it's more often others who choose not to get along with me.
I can accept that.

I crave stimulating conversation(s).
And the truth of any given matter.
Even opposite opinions are cool --- IMO.

Did anyone show you how to use a 379's radiator doo-dad/hood-pull ?
It's like a gun sight.
I love the long noses.
But I appreciate safety and aerodynamics.

Where did I read a poster mentioning it's important what a Big truck LOOKS like. Stylin' -------
Whereas that IS a concern, as long as they're well maintained, it comes down to what a driver feels most comfortable in.
How she FEELS, if you will.

I don't have all that many miles in a 379, but enough to know I'd like drivin' one. I think a Pete is a driver's truck, and I think a 379 is the best looking.
I felt comfortable piloting a Pete, but I didn't care for their bunk area.

W-900?
I like 'em.
Might wish they'd turn a tad tighter,
But they sure taught me how to set up a tricky back and/or tight area.
WE won't get into my first New York City encounter in a W-900!
Five years and around 450,000 miles experience in cab-over Internationals just doesn't get'cha ready for a rather stretched frame W-900 --- with NO scratches on it, ........ yet.
Good news is, I didn't put any scratches in her either.

Where IS that right fender?!


Have y'all ever heard of someone having a limb amputated,
and they claim they can still feel it?
Well, ........ I believe 'em!
YuP!
I know that feeling with the (invisible) right fender.

I've driven Freightliners I've liked.
One of 'em was a triple digit Big truck.
And one driver was ticketed for 113 MPH.
Said he wasn't flat out, ....... yet.

REALLY liked a custom ordered Freightliner Classic.
But I did worry about where I be hangin' if I were to put 'er on 'er roof.
That's a loonnng drop to the ceiling.
I always carried a rope/seat belt cutting knife, just in case.

I think I rate the T-600 as my favorite.
And it didn't have so far to fall to the ceiling ---
and the ceiling had a moon roof/escape hatch.
Wayyy cool for a fine cigar smoker!
That T-600 taught this rookie a LOT about drivin' a conventional Big truck. And after experiencing the W-900's first, a bit of a welcomed relief.
And I liked the KW bunk, best.
Even though the Custom Classic's was bigger.

And gimmie at least a 13-speed transmission.

What's the PERFECT Big truck?
Hmmmmmmmm
The one that's ALL paid for --- and STILL runnin' strong.
I reckon.

 

YuP!
There's always that possibility.
Of course, from time to time, --- it goes the
OTHER way, too.

Put a newbee with anxiety, nervous and lacking confidence with SOME trainers, and there's a potential for a disaster.
SOME trainers see that as a problem trainee.
While some driver trainers see that as a challenge.

To my way of thinkin' --- part of learnin' the Big truck truckin' industry, is learnin' how to deal and put up with less than stellar conditions --- like a trainer who gets on y'all's nerves.
As long as y'all are learnin' --- deal with it.
When learnin' ain't happenin' --- those turnin' wheels are just spinnin'.
Change driver trainers who aren't teaching necessary skills.

Whinin' and cryin' won't work.
It's said that the saueeking wheel gets the grease, ...
but in the truckin' industry,
the squeekin' wheel
gets replaced.

 

My trainer and I had a 379 for a few days while his freighliner was in the shop.
He told me about the hood pull the only problem He wanted me to drive at night bad idea.
I told him maybey it would be eaiser if I could drive durning the day so I can see the lines on the road and get use to the lane position during the daylight.

I did drive a freightliner with a big hood in school once or twice but it had bad brakes alomost put the instructor through the windsheild a few times. That truck if you hit the brakes lightly it would do nothing hit it a little harder then it would almost lock the brakes up.

My instructor chewed on me I told him get this pos truck's brakes fixed or do not have me drive it again other wise shut the f up.

I did yard manuvers in the freightliner and a big kw but alot of the time I was using a freighliner centry.

 

Glad to hear you're doin' well, Ray.
Flexibility helps success.

 

Why does it seem that so many experienced Big truck truck drivers who have been off the road for awhile are so reluctant to go out with a driver trainer to re-enter the industry? :smt102

It depends on the circumstances.

In my case I was still driving, just not OTR. At least May does not penalize you for not driving OTR for awhile so there is no need to fear refresher training, if it is needed.

When I drove intrastate as a contractor for 5 years. USX started me out all over again like I had never driven a truck because they did not count any driving that was not in at least 3 states. And they could start you out at bottom scale again.

I think in most cases it is being treated like a newbie, and not someone who needs to brush up, is why some are reluctant. But some drivers did not want a trainer the first time around, let alone to do it all over again.

 

I find a LOT more right than wrong in your assessment, BigBlue.

As for local and/or intrastate driving skills compared to interstate OTR drivin' experience --- I think it all boils down to the fact that there's a lot more to OTR drivin' than just drivin', and an aspect that many don't seem able to grasp.
That being trip planning and time management.

MANY times, I've heard and/or read newBees who like to stop and smell the coffee brewing at every truck stop along the way to their deliveries, and wind up running late, or out of hours as a result.
Can't git 'er done --- they tell their dispatcher --- time and time again. That gets REAL old REAL quick. And isn't really the fault of their dispatcher. Rather, it's a result of poor time management, and a facination with opening the left side door of their Big truck.
HaiL!
They wear the hinges out before the tires.

Or, they'll spend MANY hours playin' the Cherry Master games at truck stops, then run like a bat outta hadies tryin' to make up for lost time. Even though they think they've "won" at Cherry Master, they are, none the less, tryin' to make a dollar outa 99 cents, --- at 27 cents a mile.

Think I'm kiddin'?
Just read their whinin' here at TTR.
They WANT the miles --- they just don't know what to do with 'em WHEN they get 'em.

Once a newBee, trainee, rookie learns how to PROPERLY manage their time and PROPERLY trip-plan when out OTR, the sooner things start falling into place in a managable order, and flexibility is discovered. For some, that comes quicker than for others. If it NEVER is learned, they'll never be content. Every day will be a pain in their, as well as support staff's, buttox. And they'll continue to blame others for their own short comings, as they job-hop their way through the doors of every large truckin' company that will put up with their attitude and lack of professionalism.
And dispatchers can make or break a Big truck truck driver.
So, when they ask, WhY, Oh WhY is EVERYbody ALWAYS pickin' on me?, I reckon we might know the answer.

Also, it takes time to learn which OTR routes all across the Fruited Plain are the better choices. And I don't care HOW much "drivin'" experience one has, there's ALWAYS room for improvement.

With over a million mile markers in my back pocket, with NO preventable accidents or moving violations, I STILL wouldn't consider it benieth my dignaty to be considered a newBee again.
NopE!
I'm an old dawg --- still able, and willing, to learn NEW tricks (of the trade).
And I'd STILL go with the truckin' company offering the BEST and LONGEST necessary training program.
The rest is up to ME.