Starting out for rookies

Yes, pull them one at a time and the tank will push out any accumilated moisture out. You won't have to do it daily or weekly. More like monthly. It all depends on the temperature and humidity outside on how quick the tank gathers moisture. The main thing is to drain them before winter so water doesn't freeze in the brake system. Your spitter making different sounds will clue you to excessive moisture. I see drivers out here that never drain their tanks. They pay for it in the winter when their brakes are froze up.
They do make brake line antifreeze. Always keep a bottle with you as you'll pick up a dropped trailer every now and then thats frozen. Just remove your glad hands and pour plenty in the lines. Hook your lines back up and cycle the red button several times and depress the brake pedal several times. This pushes the antifreeze back towards the trailer brakes and melts any ice. Repeat as neccessay. I have had one extreme case where we had to drag the trailer inside a shop to warm up.

 

Hey all! Today was my last day of classroom work. 1 more week of range and road. My road test is next Saturday. I have 4 pre hire offers to make my decision. I am very excited and ready to go. Any advice as to what to bring with me while I am out w/ my trainer. I don't want to over pack or carry anything I don't need until I get past training. Thanks

Dambry2Gsbo

 

I would ask your trainer for a list, since you will be sharing their rig for a few weeks. Best of luck. Who do you have pre hire offers from?

 

basically everything you need. just cause u r in training dont mean anything. you will still be living in the truck. just dont bring a fridge, microwave that sort of thing. i brought everything with me.

 

Congrats on your progress in your CDL school and on your pre-hires. I guess by now, you have graduated and are driving full time.

I am in a situation similar to yours. I am 57 and what I did is not there anymore, either. I am seriously considering truck driving.

I was impressed with the fact that your CDL school lasts 200 hours. I would like to look into a school like that. Safe and thorough is the name of the game, as far as I'm concerned. There's no sense attending a school that just skims the surface. May I ask the name and location of the school you attended?

I was also encouraged by the fact that you received 2 pre hires with companies that have told you that OTR is what is available for new drivers. May I ask what companies those are? You need not be concerned about telling me their names. We are not in competition in any way. You are waaay ahead of me in this process -- I haven't even decided on a school yet.

So, who are you driving with? Have you been with them since graduation? How are things working out for you? Are they treating you well and paying you well? If you had it to do over again, would you do anything differently?

 

Why do you say to make sure Swift doesn't train him on a dedicated run?

 

I have been with Roehl Transportation since 4/8. They were one of the pre-hires I had while going to CDL school(Received CDL on 3/25). I also had a prehire with TMC, but did not want flat bed. There are a number of companies that will hire OTR out of school. Roehl had the best mileage pay,safety record, and training program that I could find. They are a good company to work for coming out of CDL school. The money right now is disappointing for the time you spend in the truck and the money you need to spend while you are out(have to budget). There is down time when you are waiting for a load or being loaded, unloaded. There are good weeks and bad weeks. You can stay out longer and help yourself out. Sometimes I feel guilty going home and trying to catch up coming back out. I live around the Chicago area so there are a lot of trucking jobs to choose from. I personally would like to be home daily or at least weekends and get paid hourly and/or have a guarantee for miles. But those companies want you to have at least a year in(non training company).
As far as getting into Truck Driving I would not do anything different. Roehl is a good company. You need to adapt to the lifestyle and be patient for the income. CDL school does not make you a truck driver. That being said you do want a training company after CDL school. I would also check out Prime Inc. They seem to have an extensive traning program also. Good Luck!

 

My pre-hires are from Magnum, Con-way truckload, LC Trans, & KLLM. Looks like I am leaning towards LC

 

Thanks for the info! I will bring all I need to get by!

 

Thank you. From what I've been hearing, Roehl is a good company. They're on my list of companies to consider. All the best to you.