Schneider Paid CDL Training - Ohio

School may be officially done but the learning has not stopped. I took my CDL test today and passed. Believe me when I say that is a huge weight off my shoulders, especially since failure would have meant another 450 mi. round trip that I wasn't really budgeted for.

I'd like to give a shout out to all of those on TTR that have come through and answered my questions or explained things to me. I don't know if I would have taken this opportunity if it hadn't been for all of you increasing my understanding of both Schneider and this Industry.

I'm sure that I will have plenty more questions to ask as time goes on and I run into different situations. I will also try to keep this forum updated for any of you who might care to read it and for those who might be looking at this account themselves in the future.

The next leg of this journey will take me to Orientation which ought to be an adventure all on its own. Oh, and while I did finally start getting more comfortable at alley dock the examiner wound up giving me sight side parallel

 

Indy actually. I thought it would be Carlisle but I guess I thought wrong.

 

Sorry folks failed to update last weekend. Currently in Ohio running a dedicated load with the TE and another student.

So far training is going well. Me and the other guy split the drive time.(around 333mi-day)

TE is very cool and disarming. We should finish up here Friday morning/ afternoon and then head back to Indy.

This morning I got some good experience with wind while driving through a tornado warning area. Don't worry nothing too severe just some wind and rain made slightly more interesting by an empty trailer

 

Next in the adventures of getting into trucking. (Might be long. Sorry.)

This past week was spent with the TE running actual loads! There were two of us sharing the same TE so we stayed in the motel each night which is fine by me. We happened to be on a dedicated run this past week which made things super easy.

We would meet our TE at the truck stop 4 miles from the hotel at 0500. From there we would run down to Georgetown, KY, with Guy A in the driver seat, for a live load, usually on took 15-20 min. to get loaded. After loading and setting our tandems we drove up to Anna, OH where we would drop the loaded trailer and pick up an empty, Guy B driving. Guy A would take back over and drive us to the Truck Stop where we would park for the night, do a PTI, and go our separate ways.

Next morning, Guy B would start out driving to KY with Guy A getting the "long haul" that day. So back and forth we would go. The full round trip only ran about 333 - 334 which isn't a lot of miles when split between 2 drivers but we got a little of everything in while we were at it so the quality was there if not the quantity.

From the time we got into the truck on Monday until we left the truck for the final time on Friday the TE never got behind the wheel or moved the truck even an inch. He was also very disarming and fun to get along with. He pushed us a little but mostly just corrected us on small mistakes. Apparently neither one of us made any big mistakes which was nice to find out.

As I said above we got a little bit of everything while we were driving. Heavy traffic, night miles, heavy rain, a bit of snow, warm dry roads, idiot 4 wheelers as well as considerate ones. There were, however, a couple of pucker moments during the week.

Wednesday morning, when all the severe weather and tornadoes were coming through, I got to be the driver on the way down to KY with an empty. Cruising down 75 with some moderate to heavy rain from time to time, I wasn't too worried as things were not that bad. I started passing another truck north of downtown Cinci and just as I get the tractor past his nose I see rain and a bunch of trash go flying across the highway a split second before the wind bashes into me.

I kept my cool and kept her straight. I got my speed down as quick as I safely could with flashers on while I listen to the other guy say, "Warning, Tornado in the area, seek shelter immediately". I glance over at the TE who shrugs and says, "We ain't got no time for that keep rolling......If you feel comfortable doing so".

At this point I've got a good feel for how the rig is reacting and I'm not feeling like I'm in any immediate danger. I've got her down to 30 riding 8th and so I slide on over and keep on rolling. Within 10 minutes or so the winds have died, the rain has slowed, and I'm getting ready to cross the Ohio River. Another 10 minutes and the skies have cleared and I'm setting the cruise to finish out the run.

Later that day on our way from Anna to the TS, I'm driving again, the sun is out, the roads are dry, and the hammer is down. The winds seem to have picked up again but seem manageable. That is until I try to pass another truck. Just as I get past them I get slammed again. This time hard enough to see the empty trailer I'm pulling slide over in my driver side mirror. Slow her down again since 63 seems to be too much.

Over the next 5 minutes or so I end up at a cruising speed between 50 and 55 through trial and error. Anything over 55, I found, made that trailer get loosey goosey and a struggle to keep in my lane. This added a few minutes or so to our trip but I was able to keep the shiny side up and now new metal from showing on the rig. Aside from telling me to slow down a bit when I first got blasted by that wind the TE didn't even bother trying to talk me through it and commended me on my performance.

I'll end with this: In the course of the last week I haven driven through all 4 seasons. Where do I get my Super Trucker card? Oh wait, I already have an Ohio Driver's License

Thanks for reading.

 

Thanks. I couldn't agree more about the wind. Bad part is the other driver cruised right along and said he had absolutely no problems with the wind. I guess a little over 24k in the box gives you the ability to buck the wind better lol.

The route is in fact a dream route. It took the TE 6 years I think before he got it and loves the fact that he can get home every night and not deal with a lot of the hassles that other modes of trucking tend to have. However, That also comes at a price. He doesn't make as much as he used to OTR. He does still make enough to be happy with his pay vs amount of work vs bills so I guess he has it made.