Where are the Trainers at?

Think of boot camp and paying your dues.

 

Well, usually the company assigns you a trainer.. if you know someone who works for the company you are going to and they are a Trainer for that company thn you can request them...

There is one important thing to understand.. when you are training.. you are in the truck with your trainer pretty much 24/7... both trainers and students get tired, grumpy and frustrated.. and you are in very small quarters togther... So, even if you know and are friends with the person who is gonna train you outside of the truck... doesn't mean you won't have the same frustrations and getting on each others nerves... so, much so that it can actually take a toll on your friendship...

I am out with a trainer now.. I am fortunate that my trainer is on a dedicatd account and goes home every weekend.. I stay at a super 8 while she is on hometime and that is awesome.. we get a break from eachother, I get to do my laundry, I don't have to gt dressed to go to th bathroom if I wake up and need to go... and there is a swiming pool here.. so some nice little R&R for us both..

My trainer and i have bumped heads a few times, and there are some personality differences that can cause friction at times.. but, w are adults and work through them.. then you got to let it go.. or the time and miles will go slow... if, we can't I can call and say I want a diifferent trainer.. but, there may not be one available and I would hav to wait.. which means staying on training pay longer... so, I have good motivation for working through things..... Now, my trainer can also call and say she want me off her truck if things are not going well... and again.. there may not be another trainer for me and i may have to wait... so, again. there is motivation for me to work things through with my trainer and get through my training so I can move forward...

We all want and hope for a trainer that we gt along great with and they teach us everything and we have fun doing it... but the reality is.. you get through it and glad you had a trainer that you were able to make things tolerable with...

So, be prepared... I think a lot of students get tripped up when they are not ready to be in a truck with someone they don't really like, have personality diffrences, and such and lose sight of their goal... get through it.. get through training as fast as you can.. if you can tolerate your trainer, and you are getting exprienc and time in the seat bhind the wheel.. then stick it out and get it done... otherwise you may take almost a year to gt trained...

Now, of course, if your trainer is doing something very intolerable... or is verbally abusive or anything like that.. call the company and gt off the truck...

 

Which Super 8 has an indoor pool?

 

The thing thing to prepare yourself for as well is.. when you gt on the truck.. you are in the real trucking world now.. your under real loads and dispatches.. what that means.. is hustle and go... the trainer doesnt hav all day to show and explain everything like in school... For example.. if you arrive at a shipper and will be dropping an empty trailer and picking up a loaded one.. you want to do it quickly.. find your hole, get in it, unhook the trailer pull out from under it and go find your loaded one, get under it, hook it up and go... and you want to do this as quickly (safe and right) as you can... I see trainees out ther that don't have a hustle to them.. and it erks everyone.. not just their trainer.. but the other drivers waiting on them... time is money... and your 14 hour clock and 70 hour clock are ticking away.. For example.. the other day was at a shippers.. I was going down the row to gt to my hole.. there was a driver who just hookd up and pulled out so he could slide his tandums up.. no biggie w all do it and it does not take long.. ther was no room for me to go around him.. he was in training and pulled farther than he needed.. Okay, we wre all new once so just wait.. won't be long.. he slowly gets out of the truck.. he stretches and then slowly puts on his gloves.. I mean h was moving like a friggin sloth.. then h slowly saunters to the back of the truck,, his trainr gets out and doesnt really yell but tlls him to stp it up.. he just shruggs and meanders along.. he was pissing me off and the other trucks waiting.. so, his trainers does raise his voice a bit and says.. "You can't wast time and block the way like this" and just takes over..


So. be prepard to hustle.. and it may seem like your trainer is bossing you and pushing you a bit.. but, trust me.. if you keep that slow pace on your own another driver will school you because you are messing with their paycheck..

I was a bit slow at hooking and unhooking the glad hands.. so, at the truck stop I had to practice and get fastr at it.. and it was cold out.. now, it was not my trainer being mean.. in fact, it was something I chose to do on my own.. cause you do need to be able to do it quickly.. so you can have more hours to earn money... or at least get out of the way of of the other drivers.. if you are pulling a trailer out of a slot and another truck is waiting for that slot.. they do not like seeing you fumbling around.. nothing screams rookie louder than fumbling around with things..

also, sometimes your trainer just nds to tell you what to do and have to explain it later, or may just have to take over and do it.. like at a guard gait with a line of trucks behind you and an impatient guard waithing for you to fill out the Slip.. sometimes, actually most times they use that slip for everything so not all the spaces need to be filled in.. so, the trainer may just do it or talk you through it quickly.. and thn explain it to you later..

So yeah, training is a lot like boot camp... different than in school when they have the time to explain and often over explain stuff...

every trainer is differrent.. some just throw everything at you and hope you catch most of it.. and what you didn't they throw at you again along with more stuff.. other trainers have a methodical system.. maybe the first day they want you to master the qualcomm.. because you need to be able to master that.. then the next you will do the qualcomm and backing.. or whatever their system is.. but, as a student, it is always gonna seem like your trainers method is not the best and you would do it differently.. but, you have to conceed that thre is still a lot you don't know and understand..

The biggest thing I think most studnts to not understand.. is the hustle and not wasting time... maybe a trainer will have a different take on it.. but, that is my thoughts.. so, be prepared to hustle and learn on the fly... the classroom is now rolling..

 

The one in Bonne Terre MO... it is a small indoor pool.. heated and clean.. what more can ask for whn th company is footing the bill...

 

Good stuff Rider, thanks for your input here. I'm with my trainer and tomorrow we set sail for my first day out. I'll keep your tips in mind. 'Preciatcha taking the time to point out these things.

 

1st week of training I instill in my students. That I am the boss. Super trucker extraordinaire. What I say goes, and I don't care what some DOT book or youtube video says.

2nd week Sleep deprivation techniques. I use toothpicks, red bull, mountain dew, and 5 hour energy.

3rd week Potty training. Teaching the student how to make portable potties out of any and everything that is in reach.

4th week we do voice training. I teach the student how to say yeeeee hawww and come on back the proper way. Along with a few lessons on how to make people mad on Channel 19 withe the echo and roger beep on the galaxy 88.

5th week I give you the keys to a shiny K W and get those bananas to Chicago from National city in 1.5 days, and we have our self the next graduate of Supa Truckers R us

 

You shouldn't be giving away trade secrets like that for free dinomite lol

too funny

 

I came from a company using loose leaf paper logs.. so, things were easier and slower cause you can always back up your logs and make it legal... Now on qualcomm.. whoa, totally different.. you actually have to manage your time and clock... for example, the other day we were rolling along, doing good, then got caught in some heavy traffic and a major slow down, then into snow.. We rolled into the truck and got settled with just 1 minute left on my drive time.. if I had wasted just a couple of minutes during the day I would of been in violation...

Now, it can be said too.. that we did not have to grab that last load.. we could of made it an easy relaxing two load day... but, that is no fun on pay day.. you only get 14 hours a day with 11 driving hours to earn as much as you can..

So, I am glad that I have a trainer who is about the hustle.. showing me how to earn and make money.. cause, there are those that don't even know that themselves..

Some of the things that can get frustrating.. you are living and working in a small confind space with a stranger.. they more than likely will have habits or querks that annoy the heck out of ya.. from the music they listen to, the fact they they sing along with the radio out of key and tune.. and, you will have a front row seat to this persons life as they make their personal calls while your driving.. if you are lucky, they will have good hygien and not smell.. hope and pray they do not have gas.. chances are they will snore.. and loudly.. you start off wondering how you are gonna sleep with the truck running or the reefer kicking on and off... then you need the truck and reefer noise to drown out the snoring of your trainer.. not to mention that the heat rises and so you need to get use to sleeping in a oven.. cause trainers seem to need to have the cab at 75 to sleep which makes it feel like 90 in the top bunk.. I open the little little top bunk windows and have a fan blowing on me just so I don't die of heat stroke in my sleep.. Finally, you have to remember that if your trainer has been a trucker for awhile they will be like an only child.. they think they think they are the funniest and coolest person you have ever met.. and it is easier to just play along and feed that friggin sensitive ego of theirs... cause they are like children... those are some of the things that I have learned from the 3 trainers I have had over the years...