Trainers? - What should new guys be looking for in a trainer?

Who are you going with?
Doubt most will let you pick trainer anyway.

 

Checkout the overall appearance of the trainer and his truck , no need to be stuck in a rolling PIG PEN with PORKY THE PIG

 

1. Make sure that trainer has several years experience OTR and driving in various weather conditions, traffic, and has patience. He or she was once a trainee.

2. Make sure your trainer is in that passenger seat while you re driving. Laying in the bunk while you re driving isn t training.

3.Make sure your trainer believes in personal hygiene. You d be surprised how many trainers go 3 or 4 days or even a week without a shower. Baby wipes don t count.

4a. Make sure your trainer is a Professional. Meaning he or she don t pull up to shipper or consignees with a chip on their shoulder. You d be surprised how many shippers and receivers remember the driver and the company they drive for
b. Make sure your trainer has the passion to want to train, not just training for the miles and money

 

Your not likely to find out a lot about the trainer until you meet him. Only option I had at Werner was a smoker or a non smoking trainer. The company you choose probably won't care much about what you want. If problems arise they will tell you to call your dispatcher or whoever is in charge of training. If your concerns and issues sound like whining they won't do much about it. If they know its not going to work because of differences that you can't overcome, then they'll get you another trainer. My guy was great, he was half my age with a good head on his shoulders. He was the son of a Trucker and was a good trainer.

 

Lol I'm in training right now in flatbed where you get dirty and sweaty. We left out Sunday and just now getting a shower in Thursday night. His response "wash your face and balls with baby wipes times money." He's in the bunk if were on the highway which is 75% of the time and he likes to take over when we get to shippers and consignees not sure why maybe he thinks I'll hit something.

 

When I trained for flatbed we took showers every other day... Your trainer is a slacker.

 

A trainer first of all should have a clean truck that is presentable and organized so you can square away your stuff easily. If it's a mess and he says something like, "I'll clean this up", or something to that effect, then take your gear and walk back to the terminal building and let him know you'll come back to the truck AFTER he gets it clean. If that's inconvenient for his schedule then let your driver development/dispatcher know you need another trainer. If the trainer is a professional then they will start each new relationship with a trainee on the right foot, with a clean and organized truck.

Ground rules for the truck should be clearly understood. For example, in my truck shoes are removed in the front seat area. Only socks are allowed in the back. No need to start tracking mud into the area we sleep and eat. Rules for how to live together are important, and should be mutually agreeable.

Be sure YOU as a trainee are involved in e-log communication (Qualcomm, Peoplenet, etc.) so you become familiar with how the company communicates. Take leadership with dealing with shippers and receivers as well. Many trainers may want to do all that themselves, and then when you hit the road you aren't clear on how the system works. Make sure by the time you get off the truck you know the step by step "macros" used from the time you pick up a shipment to final delivery and empty call. I think the best way to learn is to DO IT. Don't let your trainer do it, YOU should do it.

Get as many opportunities to back in difficult situations as possible. Regarding backing, I've seen very confusing directions from trainers out on the road in backing situations. Make sure you have a clear set of directions for backing. Frantic waving of the hands isn't communicating anything. Hand signals should be clearly established for the following: jack it (get into a jackknife), get under it (get out of a jackknife), follow it (keep the angle of the tractor to the trailer), etc. Whatever lingo the two of you work out should have a clear set of hand signals so both of you don't look foolish at a truck stop or customer, mostly it makes the trainer look foolish.

 

Training sucks. It's borderline inhumane. You're going to have no choice of trainer, just smoking or non smoking. Probably have a while to wait for that non smoker. Might have a while to wait period. These companies don't line up trainers ready to pick up all the kids that just got out of orientation. Once you're hired, then they start working on getting someone over to you. The people that are telling you to reject the ones you don't like. Yeah, you can do that. Then you can also wait another few days/weeks for another trainer to get to you. Chances are, it'll be the same problems, maybe worse.

The reality is that being a trainer sucks. It's dangerous and means you have to share a truck with an annoying new guy. People only do it for money. The best trainers out there wouldn't do it if it weren't for the money. Because of this however, many trainers seem to just go out of their way to teach as little as possible. If you get a lease operator as a trainer, you have very little chance of learning ANYTHING. I had two partners at US Xpress, both had lease trainers, and neither got squat out of training.

What I'm getting at, is training will more than likely be the most miserable X weeks of your life, so just get it done with. More time waiting for trainers/training means less money made.

 

Yeah you gotta watch out a lot of companies allow drivers who just got their cdl to train after 6 months of experience. In my opinion that sounds like a recipe for disaster because at 6 months your still learning yourself.