New Driver Trainee with PTL

Well today was my first day with PTL. I am starting this post so that new drivers who want to know about PTL Trucking will know what to expect.
First of all you will be signing a lot of paperwork the first day and take a drug test. Trainees will get 15 cents per mile while in training but after driving 6000 miles with a trainer they have to team with another trainee for 40000 combined miles but you also get paid for his miles. you get 150 dollars for the two days of orientation. as my training goes along I will let you know more about how it goes. What I will tell you about PTL is they don't lie or sugarcoat the training process. After the training period you go to 33 cents per mile in your own truck. What I have seen so far and talking to the veteran drivers is the tractors and trailers are newer models and well taken care of with APU's for power when you are shut down you do have power. They are a very safety oriented company. well as I said, as the days go by I will continue to get posts out to you guys so you will know how its going.

 

No problem. I will give all I can to help make the choice. So far PTL has been honest to me.

 

They may not be perfect as no company is but they have good trucks and their trailers aren't falling apart. Plus they don't just throw you in a truck and say have at it. They seem to be very oriented around safety. But you and I know time is the true way to know. I will tell it like it is right here.

 

7/18/13: Well I am out with my trainer Jerry. PTL puts you with a trainer for 6000 miles. Trust me if you haven’t been an OTR driver before you need this. These veteran drivers are able to impart some very useful wisdom. Plus they will make you a better Professional driver. That is the one thing you have to understand is that anyone can be a truck driver but not just anyone can be a professional driver.
Well my first load was when I got into my trainers truck in Murry, KY and we drove to Houston, TX. I have learned a lot so far and know that I will learn more. I am very lucky I got a very good Trainer. That is not to say that all PTL trainers aren’t good. They all might be as good. I just know what my trainer is like.
7/19/13: Well we have to wait till 6 pm to unload. Guess I will do some more studying and taking the five tests I am required to take while I am with my trainer. One good piece of advice….forget what you learned in CDL School. That was just to get you a CDL. Listen to your trainer and ask questions.
Well we got unloaded and went and got our next load. Going to Allentown, Pa. Well gotta run but I want to impart to you new guys this piece of very good advice. Always check your trailer height before backing under. It may look as if it is low enough but don’t assume!!! Always remember that curves are the enemy, take them slow. You don’t want a rollover. You will be fired for stupidity. Take the curves slow!!!
7/20/13: Well made it to Vinton, La. 9am about to hit the road. Remember guys and ladies, you aren’t truck drivers you are professional drivers. Think of all the people who depend on you. And always…always, listen to your trainer. They aren’t chosen at random. These people are PROS. Take the wisdom they give you and apply it to your life. My trainer has 400,000 safe driving miles with PTL. I only get to be with him for 6000 miles but honestly I wish it was longer, because I wonder if he can get all I need to learn jammed into me by then. Even after you leave them remember they are only a phone call away. If you’re not sure about something call them. They aren’t just trainers, they are your mentors. Respect them. Use their knowledge. It may just save yours or another’s life.
7/20/13: Made it to Meridian, MS today. Had my first run in with a traffic jam. I learned a lot from it. One thing is that some of the drivers out here try to drive their trucks like they are cars, whipping in and out of traffic like it’s the Indy 500. Look guys, I am only a trainee buy even I know that is a bad idea. When you hit a problem like that, take your time, don’t change lanes. You have over 65 feet of truck, take your time, stay in your lane, remember there is someone out there who cares for you even if you don’t care for yourself. Yes PTL want its load on time, but not at the expense of someone’s life, or your truck. If you get in an accident that load doesn’t get there and they lose. But most importantly someone my lose a loved one. So take it slow, be safe. You will get the load there. Something else I want to point out. When you are very tired stop and rest. I watched another truck pass me and he went into the grass on his right side on HWY 59 over five times. He was too tired to be driving. So if you are that tired stop and don’t push it. Is your life worth it? Do you think that PTL wants the load delivered at the expense of another’s life? I don’t think so. So get rest when you need it. Pay attention to the small cars. I watch them passing me like they won the lottery and if they don’t get there now they lose it. It is our responsibility to watch out for them. Yes they do stupid things but they aren’t Professional Drivers we are. So be safe.

 

7/22/13: I was a little tired last night and I needed to do another of my tests for the company. Three down two to go. Now, a few words about floating gears. If you have never learned how, this will save your left calf muscle. Pay very close attention to your trainer as he shifts gears, listen to the engine and it will tell you when to shift. It gives this light sounding whine. That is when you shift. Not at so and so RPM. But your lower gears shift them before 1000. Now on to other things.
Safe parking: Plan ahead. Right now we are 35 miles from our first drop (we have two). And our delivery time is 9:00 am. You can’t park at the drop point. So you may have to stop short of your delivery point. Now what you have to remember is that there may not be a safe haven close to where you drop. In the northeast safe havens are few and far between.
Now in the Midwest and west as you know have a lot of places to safely park for the night. But not the northeast. So park short of your destination and considering the early morning traffic start early enough so that rush hour traffic will not delay you. As I said we are 35 miles to the first drop. But we will still pull out 2 hours early so that we have plenty of time. If you don’t plan for the rush and unforeseen delays you will be late.
How often has it taken you to drive 5 miles with bumper to bumper traffic? Even with a car it could be an hour. Now you have a vehicle over 65 feet long. With the car you could take advantage of that 20 foot space to your left or right and move along a little faster. Now that 65 feet plus that you are driving now, you can’t do that, so instead of 1 hour it takes an hour and 45 minutes for 5 miles. So plan ahead, expect the worst, and hope the traffic favors you.
Now on to something I hope your trainer teaches you. Alley or 90 degree backing. If you aren’t being taught this ask your trainer to teach you. This will most likely be the most common way you have to dock. These places we deliver to don’t have the amount of maneuvering space we wish we could have. So learn to deal with it. My trainer Jerry has me 90 degree back almost every time we pull into a truck stop. I am grateful for this because I was never taught this at CDL School. Even if it’s just a drop and hook, you will probably have to back the empty between two trailers with very little room to your front.
Now on to driving. You are going to have to learn to not move the wheel as you did in a car. You have to keep it straight. If your trailer sways out 15 degrees you will jackknife. Don’t sway left-right-left-right. You are asking for trouble. As my trainer has said, that trailer is like a two year old child, if you let it, it will do whatever it wants. I know that sounds funny but its true. You have to lead it by the hand. Make it follow you and keep it between the lines.
Curves: Now earlier in my journal I spoke about curves in passing. Well time to really discuss them. How many times have you came to a curve in a car and the yellow speed limit sign said 35 MPH and you took it at 50? I know I have many times, and while I was doing it I was asking myself, “why was it posted at 35”? Well let me tell you something. I don’t know how they come up with those speeds but if you take that truck through there at 35 you WILL ROLL!!!! When you see the curve ahead, start dropping gears. And not right at the curve. Slow down early. Every single curve you go through is a potentially major event. (accident) Now if you don’t slow down and you roll that truck, first you or another may die. But if not, you will be fired. Here you have just destroyed a $ 150,000 truck and probably a load worth over $ 75,000. Do you think PTL will keep you working? Wrong!!! You will be fired and no other company will want a driver who destroys trucks and loads. Now you have no job, a family to support (unless like me you are single and no kids) bills to pay and no paycheck coming in. And if someone did get hurt or killed. You could be in jail on the way to prison for 15 years for reckless vehicular homicide. So slow down for the curves. And yes like I have been doing you may in the beginning slow down for a curve that once you get into it you didn’t have to slow down. Well I and still going to slow down. I would rather slow down some than misjudge the curve and roll. And yes on the freeway most curves are real big sweeping curves that take a mile or more to curve. These are not the curves I mean. But still respect them.
Now onto following close: DON’T!!!! Stay back far enough so that you can see the hazard before it becomes a danger. Yeah I know, you are thinking “I heard all that at CDL School” Well let me tell you something. If that is what you just thought. And if you ignore all this advice. One day you will (not maybe) but will have an accident. We are all destined to have that big event. The thing is if you pay attention, and drive safe, you will be able to see it when it comes and avoid it. I am not saying you are going to wreck. But there is that point in our lives that comes and if you are well trained you will see it and no how to avoid it. I know there are some of you reading this that are thinking what an idiot I am. Well I don’t care what you think of me. Maybe only one person out there listens to what I am saying. Hey, that’s one life or more that I have saved. To me that’s worth it. I am not here driving for PTL to please you, but to deliver loads, and support myself. But doing so in a safe and legal manner. Well its 4:30 am and I have said enough for today. But I am not finished. I will continue to put down everything I learn out here. I learn something new every day. And will continue doing so for the rest of my life.
07/26/13: Sorry that I haven’t updated for the last couple days but we have been running. What I mean by running is, we (me and Jerry) aren’t the type to be late. When a company gives you a load, get it there, But do so safely. See, I want to be known as a driver that PTL can depend on. I hear guys say, “man I have been sitting here 2 days waiting on a load”. Well the first thing that comes to mind is, that’s your own fault. Because if you drive for a company and they know you will get the load there on time everytime without a bunch of fuss and problems then you will get loads. So don’t blame the company. You also have to remember that sometimes there just isn’t a load around. It’s part of being a professional driver. If you are one of the drivers they can depend on and there is a load you will get it. Sometimes things just happen. You have to take the good with the bad.
So guys don’t blame PTL if you aren’t getting the miles you want. First look at yourself and your performance. Don’t be so quick to blame the company.
Well on to how it’s been for me. Yesterday we ran into a storm in Iowa that was just incredible. We had to slow to 35 mph on 35 south about 70 miles north of Des Moines, Ia. But we didn’t stop. Remember, even if you stop that 14 hr clock still runs. So even if it’s only 35 mph keep going if its safe to do so. Don’t waste time sitting. Even if you only get 10, 20, or even 30 more miles, at least you are that much closer to your drop. Because we didn’t stop we don’t have to push so hard to get to Laredo, TX. If we would have stopped we would have had 60 to 80 more miles to go. We drove through the storm and were able to get back up to speed and make the miles. Just be careful when you do go through the storms. Watch the small cars around you, they do stupid things even when they can’t see where they are going. They tend to follow us because we give them something that they can see to keep driving. Well about to hit the road again. I will put down more as I get the time.