New Driver training for wife and I.

For those unfamiliar, My wife and I attended CDL school and chose to hire on with a local company (less than 100 trucks) that will run us as a team eventually. First, we need to complete about four weeks of Company training which includes a lot of local driving with our trainers.

My wife has been doing dry van the last two days which includes running out locally to pick up loads And bring them back to the yard for the over the road guys to come back to and drop & hook to. She thinks she dropped about seven loaded trailers yesterday and seven today. Lots of good experience, docking, backing, dealing with paperwork, and just in general learning how the business works.

i’ve been doing flatbed the last two days because I expressed an interest in it during the interview, and our company does a lot of flatbed out of our area. They decided to let me get a taste of it and it has been quite an education. Learning how to pad the loads so they don’t rip the tarp, Put the plastic down, strap or chain the loads, And then finally tarping the loads. We have done steel tubing, metal sheets, and an oversize load of farming equipment. They decided not to let me drive the oversize load on my first day but I was involved with chaining and learned a ton about the process. Today we actually picked up a load on a step bed And then drove 80 miles to meet a driver who was coming back empty. We swapped out trailers at a truck stop so we could take his empty RGN trailer back and he could continue on with a load to be delivered. In the first two days, I’ve pulled regular flatbeds, step beds, and now an RGN. Learning To dump the air out of the rear axle around corners was interesting.

two days is too soon to make sweeping judgments, but I will say that our trainers have both been with the company’s over 10 years, are willing to teach us And let us drive. It’s also nice that we drive to work together and then drive home at the end of the day together comparing notes the whole way about our days. At this point, we feel pretty good about our decision to hire on with this company. It really is a testament when you walk around and talk to drivers and find out just how many have been with this company for a long time.

 

Holy crap, flatbed docking is no joke! A couple inches on each side of a concrete alleyway…

 

if I said, yes, would you believe me?

 

For those who are new and don’t know about flatbed docking. You don’t just back up to a wall But down a narrow Alleyway, with cat walks on either side. Its snug.

this picture isn’t a concrete alleyway like some customers have but a metal catwalk instead

 

I’ll be honest. I lined myself up but had to pull forward twice because I’m really not used to the split axles. (And I’m just not that good yet ) My trainer said that they were waiting with the forklift to load so he wanted to go ahead and put it in. He was nice about it and said normally they’re not ready so soon to load and thought I was lined up to do it, but this turned out not to be the right time for me to practice docking the flatbed in an alley.

 

Unfortunately, this is a “better luck next Time” scenario.