Suburban to Conway

Hey Everyone,

Just thought I would share my story for any newbs that may find value in it.

I contacted Conway Truckload and spoke to a recruiter about five weeks ago. She explained the Conway Tuition Assistance program to me and I immediately knew it was perfect for me. Conway has four schools, two in MO, and two in the metro Detroit area. The school that I chose to attend offered a zero money up front program. Conway pays for 2000 of your tuition UP FRONT, and the school finances the other 2000 with a GUARANTEED loan that gets payroll deducted from your Conway checks for two years. No one gets turned down for any reason as far as the loan goes. So I filled out an application with Conway and did phone interviews and background checks and all that jazz before I ever went to school. I was hired by Conway before my first day of school. So then I went to Suburban Truck Driving School in Romulus, Michigan for their 16 day program, which is actually 18 calendar days cause the school doesn't operate on Sundays. I found the school to be a really great place to learn. I thought the 16 days was plenty of time to learn enough to pass the state test and be a somewhat safe driver. Others needed more time and were allowed to stay as long as they needed to be ready. One guy had been there two months when I left and they were still working with him to get him done. The yard at Suburban is small but big enough to suit it's purpose and the trucks are beat up, but again they do the job. The instructors and staff were awesome and taught me a ton. I would definitely recommend this place. So I passed my state test on the first try on day 15 and then hung out and continued practicing till I started my orientation with Conway which was four days later. Then I went to orientation just down the street from the school at Conway's terminal in Taylor, MI. Conway gave me a physical agility test, backing test, and a road test similar to the state test which I also passed. I am now sitting home GETTING PAID while waiting for a "finisher" to take me out and show me the ropes for my first 10,000 miles. If Conway does not think you are a good, safe driver you will be asked to leave orientation. My whole class of four made it, but usually one or two from each class go bye bye. Which is cool cause that means they are serious about having safe drivers. Conway has been top notch from the first time I called them. I really love this company. Everyone has been super nice. They really have their stuff together when it comes to operations and they take care of their drivers. They preach safety, safety, safety and I get the feeling that they actually mean it unlike many companies. I'm super excited to be a part of Conway and I can't wait to get out on the road.

 

Normal stuff. They aren't looking to send people home. You will learn all the deal breakers when your getting ready for your state test. I saw three classes go to Conway before me. Of those, one guy hit a construction barrel while on his road test, one guy backed into another trailer during his backing test, one went past a stop sign before stopping (Stop sign was back about ten feet from where the road was), one ran a yellow/red light, and one went around a corner out of gear which is referred to as an "out of control" truck. I can tell you from my personal experience that my road test at Conway was far from perfect. I was downshifting into a rolling turn and couldn't get it into gear before the turn. I stopped the truck before I started my turn, went back to 3rd and made the turn. I also put my trailer wheels up on a curb once, and I had a period where I didn't look at a mirror for 33 seconds according to my examiner, and I passed, so they aren't looking for rocket scientists.

 

Yes I am local. I was told that FAST cards are only given to the Canada fleet and there is a wait list to get on that fleet. Is this accurate?

 

Here is an update. It took me a couple weeks to get a trainer because of the Thanksgiving holiday, because most trainers go home for the holidays and it created a back up. Conway pays you 60 bucks a day to sit home and wait so it's not too bad. I have been out with a trainer for a little over two weeks. He is a really awesome guy. We get along really well and he is really calm, patient, and a great teacher. I have heard it can be a roll of the dice with trainers so I feel very lucky to have a good one. First week we ran like crazy and ended up with 3200 miles. The second week we ran 2600 miles. This is paid at .26 cents a mile while you are with a trainer which ain't too shabby. My trainer is always in the right seat when I am driving. I have not been doing any modified team driving like I have heard about on here from other companies. Conway put me on a Greyhound and sent me home for the holidays because my trainer is going to be home for the holidays. So now I am hanging out at home until the 2nd. My experience has still been nothing short of stellar with Conway. I am super impressed. Everyone in the office has been great and very prompt from dispatchers to driver managers to finance and payroll. My reimbursement for my hazmat was on my first check for petes sake. I expected that to take at least a month or so. As far as the driving it has been much more challenging than I expected. There is a lot to learn and the only way to figure it out is to do it. I have encountered lots of interesting situations and been introduced to a new world that I never really knew existed till now. Backing in actual situations at shippers and truck stops has been my toughest challenge. When you have people waiting on you and other truckers watching and waiting for you to get the hell out of the way it can be very intimidating and you have to move quickly while still being safe which is tough. Figuring out when to downshift in different situations has also been kinda tough. For instance, if your doing 10 miles an hour you may need to shift to fifth if your light or rolling down hill, but if your heavy or moving up a hill you will need fourth, and if you miss an initial gear now your speed is continuing to decrease and you now need a different gear than you originally wanted and it all happens real fast when your in traffic or coming up on a light or stop sign. I'm making good progress and I know I will be fine with another two weeks of practice. I have so much more respect for drivers now than I did before I started school. It is not as easy as it looks. Well that's all for now. I will update more after I finish up the training and upgrade to my own truck.

 

One last update on this one and I will let it die. I finished up my 10,000 miles with a trainer. I completed my testing at the headquarters in Joplin and all is well. The process in Joplin was as follows: Arrived in Joplin on Saturday for testing that was scheduled for Monday morning. We were supposed to use Saturday and Sunday to practice and prepare for the testing on Monday. As soon as I arrived I went and introduced myself to the gentleman in the safety office and he tells me we can do the testing right now if you want, we don't have to wait till Monday. I was a little nervous about doing it without any practice but I knew I was ready so I agreed. First was a written test covering everything I should have learned during training, Second was a pre-trip inspection, then a scored trip around the obstacle course, a 45 degree backing between two trailers, straight back into a dock, unhook the trailer, drive around the parking lot then hook back up to the same trailer, then go out on the road for a road test. Conway definitely wants to make sure you are ready to go out on your own and if your not you may be going home instead. They were very fair and if your prepared you should have no problem. See you all out there on the road!

PS. My CB handle is "Highway Pilot" and it will be written on both doors. Say hello if you see me.