Sharing my experience at Averitt (July 2014)

888 967 5487 is the number I have.

 

Ah chopper I know where u were then. Yeah there was 2 DG trucks here. I think I waved to you when you were heading to fuel, I was alley docking over and over again yesterday. Anyway, take it easy!

 

Having a little fun in backing school today. Nose in then back into same spot without pulling up. Took a few tries but then I was nailing it on each attempt.

[video=youtube_share;-wXiXHV_ADM]http://youtu.be/-wXiXHV_ADM[/video]

 

To answer TBtoolman's question. I would say between drop and hook and live loading its about 50/50 At least it has been for me so far. Even with live loads, ive never had to wait longer than 30 mins or so for them to get to me and start hitting my trailer. 2500 a week is VERY likely. Most of the guys in my class hit this mark easily with their trainers. Some even broke the 3000 mark. You dont seem to sit long with averitt and you will keep the wheels turning for the most part. Granted, I am not out there solo yet, this is just based upon what others have said combined with my experience with my trainer.

Ok on to the update:


Backing school is complete. Here is the rundown. They have 4 different areas scattered around the service center. I attended the one in cookeville but I would imagine the others are about the same. First section is pretty much straight line backing. They are slightly angled but there is enough room in front of you to pull way out and back in. Those who do not have driving experience start here.

Next is the actual alley docks. You will dock your trailer over and over again at a real dock with real trailers on each side. You will slip into a slot here where the daycabs are loaded, pull out, circle the building, and do it again. Good practice.

Parallel parking is next. I have NEVER had to do this in the real world but I knew the basics because I had to do it for my CDL many years ago. Like with anything else, its all about lining things up and finding your "groove" as to when to cut the wheel and when to straighten out. Its not something someone can tell you how to do, you just have to find your own system.

Last was the barrel course. This was great because not only was it the most difficult, but also the tightest so it simulated how its like at some shippers and truck stops. You start by backing into slots but you have to do so at a pretty drastic angle. You just about have to jack knife the trailer to get it in there. Then you will do some pull thrus while facing forward to work on your depth perception and make sure you dont hit the steps on the tractor with the barrel. They only give you about 2 inches of wiggle room. Then you will be doing right hand turns. Sounds simple but ohhhh no. They make it more difficult with each pass by moving the barrels forward which limits the amount of room you have to make your turn. By the end, you are having to back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward..... jack knifing the truck to where the sleeper and trailer are almost touching to get it in there. Good practice. Chances are you wont be THAT tight in the real world, but its a good way to show you how the tractor and trailer behaves with different maneuvers.

So we just completed the last day. Along with myself, there is one other guy who has had driving experience before. I posted the video of the 180 degree turn. We decided to make it harder by doing it blindside. Instructors said no one has ever done or tried it before. We were able to get it done in a single attempt. Made me feel good anyway. We were blowing our horns and stuff, it was exciting. I know not to get overconfident but when I did that on my first attempt, I felt like I really had a grasp on how the trailer behaves and what the limits of it are.

Tomorrow we have a safety meeting in the class room. Followed by lunch. After lunch, we go home for the weekend. Not sure if Ill get put under a load before I leave or not but either way, they ship everyone home.

The backing school was helpful. Boring as hell for someone like me with experience but it never hurts to sharpen the edge of your skills. If I were a student, I could see where this backing school would be a God sent program for them.

The ONLY complaint I have with the school is they didn't do any blind side alley docking. Dont know why, and I know everyone tries to avoid them when possible but there are situations where you have to do it. To me, blind side alley dock would be used more than a parallel park. If I can do a blindside 180 back, I know I can blindside alley dock. But we were just doing that for fun, everyone else here didn't do any blindside stuff and that kinda concerned me a bit. Hopefully if the students are faced with that, they will GOAL. Really, thats all you need to do to blindside.

Tomorrow is my first week solo. I expect miles to be rather low because I wont have a load right off the bat and Ill have to have a few days to find my own groove as to what works for me best in doing the job. Drivers know what im talking about. Everyone has their own routine, their own place to put papers and forms, their own priorities.

Have a good weekend everyone. Ill post again next week sometime and give you my actual miles and load information. If you have any questions, just ask and Ill reply as soon as I see it.

 

Best of luck to you man, if you have any questions about Averitt or trucking in general, feel free to ask me via a PM or something. I was in the same boat when I first got into trucking years ago.