Orientation in less than 2 weeks

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. Today the orientation trainer said the same thing about shifting in a truck - that it's easier than with the simulator. Thursday (today) was almost all backing exercises, which I didn't have any trouble with. I've been driving a 39' fifth wheel RV for almost ten years, so it's just a matter of adjusting to the extra length. Orientation trainer also was pretty confident about me getting a PSD trainer by Saturday. Good news is, because I live just minutes from the terminal, waiting is a lot easier because I'm at home. One more day of orientation and I'll be ready to go, but we're still waiting on the drug test results. Tonight I got everything packed and ready to go so that when I get word a trainer is available, I will be prepared to go quickly if needed. As each day passes, I feel more and more excited and confident about what I'm doing. Even better, all my family and friends are just as excited and happy for me.

 

Update for the past few days. They've all been pretty short (about 6 hours each day). Over the weekend spent a lot of time on the simulator. Monday, had a trainer that was in SLC take me road driving for the first time. Tuesday, had a different trainer (actually someone in training to become a trainer) do most of the pretrip on his truck with me, worked on the pad for a couple of hours backing and then bob tailed out on the road for a couple of hours working on shifting. These past two days have been very productive in terms of getting more comfortable and learning things in a real world truck.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, they were a little backed up on available trainers, which is why I'm still not out on the road yet. However, Friday afternoon they found me a trainer, but he won't be in Salt Lake until Wednesday morning. He sent me a text earlier today saying he would be ready to go around 9-10am, so tonight I'll just be doing some laundry, finish my packing and be ready to head out with him for PSD tomorrow.

All in all, my experience in Salt Lake has been great. The orientation manager is easy to get along with and the two tester-trainers have been extremely helpful and actually fun to work with and learn from. From what everyone has told me, Salt Lake is more laid back in their approach than Springfield, but I would say it's been perfect for me and my personality.

One of the good things about my PSD trainer is that he runs a dedicated route between Idaho Falls and Dallas, which means we'll be close to or passing through Salt Lake a couple of times every week. So, when he feels I'm ready to test out, it will be very easy to get back here for the testing and move on to TNT.

I also have to say how impressed I am with Prime in general. They are clearly a company that wants to do things the right way in terms of safety and and training. Plus, the compensation makes a long-term commitment that much easier. Since I'll be on the road starting tomorrow morning, I'm not sure when my next update here will be, but I'm very excited to be moving forward with my training.