What to expect at Orientation with KLLM

I got a Columbia. A rather dirty Columbia. First thing I did was take it to a truck wash, went to Wally World and got some cleanin' stuff and started scrubbing. They're giving me a load to route me for some home time, so I'll have 5 or 6 days to clean on it. And it will need it. Later, Newb

 

Don't know about Atlanta, but the guy in Jackson took me on a tour of Downtown with right and left inner city turns, and narrow streets. He then took me to the yard where he had me do an alley dock between two very tight trailers. Just stop and Get Out And Look if you need to. You can pull up once or twice if needed. If you can do the alley dock pretty clean, you're done, and won't have to straight back. He's just looking to see if you can handle the truck on your own, without Momma Trainer holding your hand.

 

Yeah, that's the way it was with me. I just wanted to go home. They gave me a load with two stops in Houston, but then told me to drop it on the yard, then decided to do a swap in Hammond, La. The guy was late, so he delivered my swap and brought me an empty at the Petro. I gave him the Houston load and went home. It was really good to get home after about 7 weeks and 3 days. I'm going back out in about 5 days and will try 3 to 4 weeks this time. I found that after about 5 weeks, I get agitated easily, frustrated and homesick. So I figure for now, I'll try to keep it just under that and see what happens. I'm home now and about to go start cleaning on the truck. It's not really as bad as I first thought, but will still take some cleaning, for smells if nothing else. I'm not a smoker, but he was. Thick dust and dirt are plentiful. I think a little Mr. Clean and FeBreeze will do the trick. Also, getting MY stuff in the truck and setting it up like I want will help make it "Homey".
Another thing I don't like about this Columbia, is that the seat doesn't go back very far. I'm 6'6" tall and 350 lbs. My knee is against the dash board, the pedals are awkward, and I'm uncomfortable. I have to stop more often. The Cascadia was alot more comfortable, leg room wise. The bad thing is, I see all of the girls and guys that are 5' 2" tall and skinny as a rail, driving the Cascadias. Oh well. I wonder if the shop can solve the problem?

 

Yeah, they told me they would. My trainer even said they will give me a cleaning fee in addition to the supplies. I'm saving my receipts. It'll clean up nice. When I got it, I thought it was a rag. The outside was so dirty and dusty, but one quick trip through the Blue Beacon and Taa-Daa!!! A nice clean, shiny truck with shiny wheels, tanks and everything. It's actually a good looking truck. Just needs the cleaning job on the inside.

 

Laredog, Orientation is 3 days of Policy, Safety, Paperwork, explaination of benefits, logs, qualcomm, and info about your training period. You will also go through the DOT Physical, and a light agility test to make sure you can climb in and out of a truck, lift 50 pound boxes and crawl on your hands and knees. Nothing too straining, just making sure you can do the job. The hotel has free breakfast every morning, and the company feeds you lunch. They put you up in a hotel, and you will room mate with someone in the class. They take you back and fourth to anywhere you are required to go, on the little KLLM bus or van. A short walk will get you to a variety of places to eat and shop if you want. After 3 days, you will be assigned a trainer. They make every effort to team you up with someone that you will be able to work with. You hit the road for 6 weeks. Your trainer works with you on driving, maps, logs, etc. Of course you should know how to drive and shift a truck, but all new drivers are not pros, and they understand that. It's just that, by the end of the 6 weeks, you should be doing things on your own, enough that they can give you a truck and you can do the job.

There is no driving test before your training. One word of warning. KLLM will be straight with you and tell you the truth. They expect the same. If you have any problems in your background such as arrests, DWI's, whatever. Tell them ahead of time. They WILL find out and wash you out of the class before you even see a truck. 3 people in our orientation were shown the door before the middle of the 2nd day, when KLLM found out about felonies on their record and one DWI that they decided not to tell the company about. Needless to say, it was very simple. They were called into the office, and were told to gather their stuff and exit the building, and be out of the hotel within a couple of hours. Be truthful. KLLM treated me right and always told me the truth from the first phone call to a recruiter, until I got my truck assigned to me, and went for hometime. I can't ask for anything more than that.