Orientation in less than 2 weeks

So it took me two days and four different sittings, but I finally managed to get through the sticky thread "New to Prime" (yes, all 200+ pages). Lots of great information, but since it was primarily dedicated to Springfield, there was little mention of SLC. I actually live about 8 minutes from the SLC terminal, so of course my orientation will be there and I was told by my recruiter that I would likely get a trainer who also lives near SLC to make it easier with home time.

My application was approved 3 days ago for a scheduled start date of Nov 29th. The following day, I got my DOT med card and I passed all my CDL tests at the Utah DMV.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knows about the staff and facilities in SLC and could comment on their orientation experience at that terminal.

Also, I've been able to infer some things from all that I've read, but still have one lingering question about days off. I don't have a need to come home every chance I get, so I will probably be willing to stay out 6 weeks or more at a time. That said, I've read that Prime only allows you to take 4 days off maximum unless it's paid vacation time. So, if I stay out for say 8 weeks, do I just stop earning days off after the 4th week? If not, how many would they let you accumulate in total and how would you be able to use them if they only let you have 4 days off at a time anyway? Just curious about how this works in reality.

Very excited to finally be doing something I've wanted to do my whole life but timing/money situation was never right until now. Unlike many drivers, I'm really looking forward to the OTR experience without concern about how often I'm home or not.

 

Thanks for the reply guys. Didn't ever think I'd actually be doing this and I'm doing everything I can to prepare myself the realities of what lies ahead. UsualSuspect, I will try to get back on this thread after I'm through orientation with more info.

 

So I promised I would try to come back with an update. First day of orientation in SLC today. It was a very interesting day. It started with me thinking I was going to get sent home right off the bat. I've never done a drug test before, so I didn't know it would require a pretty much full bladder and I wasn't told it would be literally the first thing I did when I walked in the door. I tried to give the amount needed, but came up far short. Then I learned about a DOT rule that says I had exactly three hours from that point to produce ample urine for the test or it would be an automatic fail and I would be sent home.

I spent the next two hours trying to work on the Computer Based Training modules but was having a really tough time concentrating, thinking I might be going home before I even got started. Just over 2 hours into this clock counting down on my career, I managed to provide what they needed. Whew! Then it was over to the urgent care for my second physical in as many weeks. Passed that with flying colors. Got back to the terminal around noon and had lunch by myself because everyone else had already eaten. I forgot to mention that I was the only one on the schedule I was on because of the early morning bladder problem. Everyone else got it done right away and moved on to the DOT physical earlier without me.

After lunch, the next four hours were all spent on CBT modules, quizzes and paperwork. I was the only one in my group to get it all done today. The others were taking more breaks, watching others on the simulator, etc. Salt Lake terminal only has one sim at the moment, but there are also a lot less students coming through than in MO. Also, because I live close by, I was the only one not required to get on the hotel shuttle at 4pm and was able to stay a little longer to finish.

I think the thing that surprised me the most today was the lack of a schedule or agenda. I wasn't sure what was going to happen throughout the day and I have absolutely no idea what I'll be doing tomorrow, or the day after. Although I can guess there will be some time on the simulator, starting with shifting school. I was thinking after the day was over that maybe the lack of a schedule for the students is intentional, to see how we react to each situation as it comes up without any real warning.

All in all, it was a positive experience, but I'm not gonna lie... there was some real stress early in the day. I had a chance to chat with a couple of drivers and also get to know a little about some of the other newbies. I'm hopeful that most of the "business" stuff was handled today and that the next couple of days will be spent starting to learn the basics of driving and vehicle inspection.

 

Update for TurnpikeTourist: In asking a few questions Wednesday, I found out that they do things differently in SLC due the much smaller class sizes. The days are also very short. Tuesday was 7:30 to 4:00 and Wednesday was 7:30 to 3:00. In answer to ExOTR, I'm going reefer for the time being.

Wednesday morning we went over company benefits, logging and got our logbooks, but were told not to fill them out until we had a driver number which wouldn't be until at least Thursday or maybe Friday. The rest of the day was spent on the simulator shifting, shifting and more shifting.

This week there are only 2 other brand new students in my group. But there are a bunch, maybe 8-10, from the last two weeks that have yet to get a trainer. Some already have their CDL and are waiting for a TNT trainer and some are PSD who haven't gotten a trainer because of the Thanksgiving holiday. This leads me to think that I may have to wait a while before I get a trainer because these guys will get available trainers first. I hope I don't have to wait a full week or more, but at the slow pace (short hours) we're putting in for orientation, it almost feels like they are trying to stretch it out and go slow because they know there won't be trainers available at the end of the week. I could be wrong, but we'll see. It could also be because they don't have an around-the-clock staff like they do in MO.

Regardless, I'm enjoying the new learning experience and have very little problem now with double clutching on the upshifting. Downshifting is getting better, but still needs some work. I'm anxious to get my CDL so that I don't have to keep doing the double clutching, but for now, I have to learn it for the test. I did talk to the third party tester/trainer and he said as long as I can demonstrate the ability to double clutch in the yard, he doesn't care how I shift out on the road. I know this part is different in MO. I suspect Thursday we'll actually do some driving and backing in the simulator and hopefully we'll start getting some hands on with vehicle inspection.