This is good stuff for us rookies!

Yeah they work but the bigger truck stops make you pay for it... If you want to be online much you probably need an air card.

 

What school are you going to, if I may ask? I'm simply curious. I am enrolled in AIT personally. I might be able to answer a few of your questions. I've posed them to my instructors recently, as well.

From what I've picked up, most truck stops now-a-days ... the larger ones, anyway ... have Wi-Fi. The catch is ... they tend to charge you for it. There are pro's and con's to it. I recommend you pick up a decent wireless internet card from like Verizon and use it delicately. The reason I suggest using it delicately is due to the fact that most wireless companies now impose a 5GB limit on you and rape your wallet if you exceed their limit. Use the Wi-Fi at truck stops for heavy surfing ... use the wireless Internet card softly.

As for your time out with your trainer ... how long will it be? Personally, after I graduate AIT ... I'll be with a trainer for six weeks OTR. Expect the most miserable time of your life for six weeks as you'll be practically living with someone you barely even know. Anything better than miserable and you're doing pretty good.

As for specific questions you should ask ... everything. Ask everything. As you progress into this field, the questions will start flooding in. Trust me, I've been there - done that. What you think you know about this field right now ... trust me, you are not even close.

Make sure when you're with your trainer, you do all the backing. When you two stop at a truck stop, find the hardest parking places to back into. Put yourself in some of the most difficult situations you can, albeit safety, and let him do his job. Some trainers look at you as nothing more than a second log book. If you feel your trainer is railroading you, and not giving you the driving time YOU NEED, contact your dispatch or trainee supervisor and request a different trainer. When you are in training, it's all about you. Ask as many questions as you can. Don't take any ######## from him. You're there to learn. He is there to teach. Make sure it happens that way. IF YOU DO NOT GET ALONG WITH YOUR TRAINER, GET A NEW ONE. THIS IS IMPORTANT. I cannot emphasise that enough.

 

Hey! I was born and raised in Marshfield and lived in Springfield for several years. You're clearly a superior human being and will do just fine on the road.

I would say my biggest piece of advice for training is to be honest with your trainer upfront about what you consider your weak points. Then see how he or she handles that information. If you tell your trainer right out of the gate that you don't feel like you got enough experience doing 90-backs in school, a good trainer will have you out there working on them whenever possible.

A bad trainer will try to avoid the situation or will do it themselves to save time. I can understand the time factor once in a great while if you are on a tight load or whatever, but the bottom line is that you are going to be doing those backs all by yourself in a few short weeks and need all the practice you can get while you still have help available.

 

You're a little ahead of me then, Abafrog, as I graduated High School from Marshfield in '83. I haven't been home in years now.

Can't mention who we drive for because our company has a strict "no blogging" policy and Stace and I have a blog where we dish lots of company dirt on occasion. But we have never mentioned them by name -- we just call them "Those Who Must Not Be Named" or TWMNBN for short.

They're just one of the really huge starter companies that it's fairly embarrassing to be working for with eight years experience and a spotless record.