Which headquarters? KLLM

Discussion in 'KLLM' started by Twisted turtle, Feb 11, 2009.

  1. Twisted turtle

    Twisted turtle Bobtail Member

    46
    26
    Feb 11, 2009
    Norwood, NC
    0
    This is my first real post anywhere for anything. I'd like to start off saying thank you to everyone in this forum for all the information I have been studying since June of 08 especially Road Toad for all your invaluable info on KLLM. Also, to Turbo trucker for his post on questions to ask when interviewing a company. I think some of them were actually impressed that I knew which questions to ask.
    Road Toad, I had been looking at KLLM for quite a while but your posts made me feel confident that I was making the right choice to make them my first choice of companies to try getting a job with. I just got my CDL with endorsements for Tanker and Hazmat. I also was hired by KLLM and all of this in two days. If you can imagine being 59, a lumber humping carpenter for 26 years and a "Don't even think about it." cab driver in Tucson, Arizona for 12, then I hope you can imagine how great it felt to walk out of that NC DMV with my CDL showing my ugly mug looking back at me. Hope I can make it through my orientation in Morrow GA. and my driving training so I can run into you to give my thanks personally.
    I have seen posted here by more than one that the terminal in Miss. is a better one to attend for orientation than the one in GA. Specifically, I'd like to know why. Do they have better instructors there, better trainers? I need to know because I'm scheduled for orientation in GA. on March 17 and I really do need a good trainer. Also, my school only offered 20 and a half hours of actual driving time (you know, the kind with four other people in the truck) and, as yet, I don't feel as comfortable with my shifting skills as I think I should. Can this get me thrown out of orientation or during training? I feel confident that I can master this with a day or two of practice but now that I'm out of school I don't have a truck to practice with....unless I can talk to my neighbor about riding with him. Hmmm. Will a minor amount of patience be shown on the road test? Information from any KLLM drivers about these subjects or any others will, as always, be greatly appreciated. Thanks again. :biggrin_25519:
     
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. RoadToad69

    RoadToad69 Mistress of Mayhem

    273
    332
    Sep 20, 2007
    BFE, TX
    0
    A major thing to remember when driving a rig is that you cannot just drive the front of the rig....you MUST drive the REAR of it too. The rear does NOT follow the same track as the front in a turn!

    YOU MUST WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!
    YOU MUST WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!
    YOU MUST WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!
    YOU MUST WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!
    YOU MUST WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!

    This is a problem area for a LOT of newbies. Make your turns as wide as you possibly can....take every bit of room you have available and as much room as you need to make that turn safely.
    From experience I can tell you that there are times I have had to make cars back up so I could take their lane in order to ensure my trailer cleared the turn. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TELL CARS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE ROOM.
    Willie tells a story of one guy he was road testing. The guy went to make a turn during the road test and there was a car in the way as the guy was going to have to take the lane the car was in in order to clear the corner. The guy is leaning out of his window, beating on the side of the truck, yelling for the car to back up and move and generally making a huge commotion. The car finally moved, the driver made his turn and Willie passed him on his road test....because he did what he had to do to make the turn safely and ensure the trailer cleared the corner.

    YOU MUST DRIVE ALL 70 FEET OF THAT TRUCK....NOT JUST THE FEW FEET THAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU!
    TURN WIDE AND WATCH YOUR TRAILER!!!!

    When backing- set yourself up but BEFORE you ever go ONE INCH in reverse, pull your brakes, get out of the truck, walk to the back, eyeball the setup AND make sure the area behind your trailer is clear of people, traffic and obstacles! Get out and look as many times as you feel is necessary in order to back that truck up SAFELY!

    Remember this.....
    G.O.A.L.

    Get
    Out
    And
    Look

    NEVER let anyone rush you! The sun will still rise tomorrow and the world will still be turning...everything after that is just a bonus so they can flippin' well wait until you get done....and you take the time to do it safely!

    Do not be afraid to ask other drivers to spot (guide) you. Let them know you are new and they are usually happy to help if for no other reason than to keep you from hitting their truck...LOL!!

    All it takes is ONE SECOND of inattention to turn 80,000 pounds of freight moving machine into 80,000 pounds of rolling death. No delivery appointment is worth taking stupid risks for.....there is no freight we haul or client we service that is worth dying for or killing someone else for. PERIOD!
    AR .. No More To Follow (military folks will understand what that means).

    SAFETY
    SAFETY
    SAFETY

    Remember that primary rule and goal and you will be just fine. Driving one of these big trucks is a heck of a lot of fun but it is also a MONUMENTAL responsibility.
    There are 1,000,001 ways to kill yourself or someone else in one of these bad boys and only ONE way to avoid the same.....SAFETY!
    Embrace it and become one with the concept....

    Hope to see you at one of our terminals someday soon :yes2557:

    RT
     
  4. Twisted turtle

    Twisted turtle Bobtail Member

    46
    26
    Feb 11, 2009
    Norwood, NC
    0
    Thanks RT for your reply. I'm afraid I don't know what "Ar...No More to Follow" means. Safety is one of the big things that drew me to KLLM at the very start of my searching. After driving a cab for 12 years, but even before that, I drive like everyone else on the road is a stark raving lunatic. Which they must be 'cause they keep doing all the things I wouldn't. But, not having driven a big rig before, I will be watching myself even closer. I was also a safety carpenter for 2 of the 26 years I did carpentry. Most of the other safety carpenters I observed during that time didn't take the job that seriously. Murphy's Law applies strongly here. I took it very seriously 'cause I was tired of seeing myself and friends of mine get hurt and I'd probably be the one to tell their old ladies. A lot of carpenters snicker at safety carpenters (as I did before I took the job) because they aren't actually involved in the construction of the building. That's true. We're just the guys on the edge of the building putting up handrails and hoping we see that nail someone forgot to pull that could throw us off the building 14 floors up.
    Corrections officer, huh.:biggrin_25512: I couldn't do it. A friend of mine did it in Tucson for years and finally couldn't take it anymore. Now he's a plumber. I just had a renovation job in a prison in Lorton, Va. for three weeks and was really glad when they transferred me to another job. The company was good, the pay was good (for carpenters) but whether you're an inmate or not you're still in prison. My hat's off to ya. Whoops, sorry for the high beam.
    Back to trucking....KLLM says 2700 miles per week is the norm. I don't even expect that at first but out of curiosity have you made more than that in a week and how often as I intend to stay out for long periods of time my first year or two. Eventually, I hope to have a laptop with me when I get my own truck so I can still keep learning from all of you and eventually, maybe able to help out someone else like myself.
    Whoops. Almost forgot. I'd like to know anything, good or bad, about KLLM's maintenance department.
    Well, guess it's time to amble. Keep 'em turnin' an' earnin'.
     
  5. jasondt2001

    jasondt2001 Light Load Member

    92
    26
    Feb 3, 2009
    Salinas, Ca
    0
    Toad, what a GREAT response! Thanks for sharing.

    I see alot of KLLM's in my area, I've been thinking about them or Watkins Shepard, although I do see more KLLM's here than anything else.
     
  6. leannamarie

    leannamarie "California Girl"

    KLLM's biggest customer is Fresh Express. You should have no problem getting hometime if you live in Salinas.
     
  7. jasondt2001

    jasondt2001 Light Load Member

    92
    26
    Feb 3, 2009
    Salinas, Ca
    0
    Well I just gave Mike a call; nice guy!
    He said being home every 2 weeks should be no problem at all!
    The only thing I don't like is being with a trainer for 6 weeks, grrr. LOL.
     
  8. RoadToad69

    RoadToad69 Mistress of Mayhem

    273
    332
    Sep 20, 2007
    BFE, TX
    0
    6 weeks pretty much just covers the bare basics. You get out on your own and you are going to find times you wish that 6 weeks had been longer.....believe me. :biggrin_2551:

    RT
     
  9. jasondt2001

    jasondt2001 Light Load Member

    92
    26
    Feb 3, 2009
    Salinas, Ca
    0
    I really need to give the trainer thing a chance, I don't know why I'm so against it...What if I like the guy/girl that's helping me out? I keep thinking the worst of the situation unfortunately...
    I keep seeing KLLM guys everywhere and thinking it's a 'sign' of more hometime and being able to get out there also...
    I think this is the hardest part of the whole process :biggrin_2553:
     
  10. Twisted turtle

    Twisted turtle Bobtail Member

    46
    26
    Feb 11, 2009
    Norwood, NC
    0
    Don't worry Jasondt, you're not alone. I'm going thru the same stressing here and I haven't even been to orientation yet. Wondering what the hometime will be like here in NC when I'm ready to take some. More worried about getting thru training and getting the full benefits of it. Good luck.
     
    jasondt2001 Thanks this.
  11. Twisted turtle

    Twisted turtle Bobtail Member

    46
    26
    Feb 11, 2009
    Norwood, NC
    0
    I'm going to Atlanta for orientation Tuesday, March 17. Wanted to go to Jackson but it's just too far from NC. Pay for orientation is $225 but weekly pay for training is still $400 while cpm's are down to 32 cents after I get my own truck. I'm going directly from orientation into driver training which I wasn't expecting but I'm really glad about it. Nervous and exhilarated all at the same time. Gotta take the Greyhound so the wife can have our truck. Haven't been on a Greyhound since I was 15 but at least I'm only going to Atlanta this time. Last time I went from D.C. to KC and swore I'd never get on one again. Between Greyhounds and the economy all I can say is BARF:biggrin_2555: I won't have the laptop with me during training so I won't be posting unless I get some hometime during it or after I get done and I'd just as soon git 'er dun. I will be home through Sunday if anyone wants to give me any last minute advice. Jasondt, if you're ahead of me in training I'd like to hear how it's going for you. Road Toad, I'll see you out there hopefully. Well, here goes the Twisted turtle with my(as Jim Morrison put it)scaly legs furiously pumping their stiff green gallup. Adios.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.