Would you get off the truck?

Seen t

Like the ones in the truck stop or loading dock that like to make it known that the driver with them is his "trainee". Guess it makes them feel special to say "trainee" loud enough the rest of us can hear it. Then we find out the trainer only has 8 months experience himself.lol

 

Thank you kindly for not letting him past the first cut.

I teach people what is in those trucks and they have to sprout back to me what it has. Even the wife. Granted the wife wont know a shift fork from a dinner plate fork yet but by same token I wont know a body transfer in a nursing home from a engine hoist.

One poster made a good thought, some people should not be trainers it gets to the heads. You can detect that pretty easily. Pop that bubble. Another thought was that trainees make poor teams, I disagree. By the second week wife and I was a new team, a bit rough and short on hours but making it work. Dispatch was over the moon with her. I was too believe it or not, I thought the winter rockies would break her but nope. In fact she got strong in winter weather. Oh joy!

 

It's funny you mention that. I had a lady trainer once for a while, as long as necessary to sharpen my teeth on the bulk tank operation. Some places unfamiliar with her would treat her as a nobody, I tell them back off, she is my trainer you should not treat her this bad. Oh the looks in some of the yankee plants... that could be frozen and stored for future auction. Some people cannot deal with that.

It was a industrial time dating back to the 1910's in some of the facilities and certain behaviors and what have you were expected. Just not exactly welcome when a female shows up to unload a tanker. They hand ME the paper work thinking this pup is training her. It's not happening that way.

As a crew boss with up to 25 people in ADESA, I had a specific task to serve the crew and if you looked at everyone we are all moving. No one being a stick or stupid. The problems come in when someone needs a little extra help delivered by yelling to fix it right quick. If I aint yelling, all is well. Especially the CDL drivers who might not be familiar with the auto or the older manual trans or even the older older trucks from back in the day. I teach in a few minutes what they need to know to make it to the barn and back and not screw it up. They have fun.

I might get back into it and reclaim my spot, but I have to iron out several problems first in life and they are quite challenging.

 

OP your 100% right. That said, take a chill pill.

The truth is almost all mentors are tools and using the student in one way or another. Jess.... why else would you shack up with some other dude in a truck for six+weeks.

Your mentor is lazy, can't manage money, and is looking for an easy way to make his fleece payment. Swift has 1000s of drivers like that, and ones much worse.

Most mentors will hardly not teach you a thing. You got the CDL and that should mean you shouldn't need any hand holding to handle OTR or Flatbed. If your School didn't teach what you needed to do the job blame them not your mentor. The mentor-ship was never meant to train you to be a truck driver. That is what you paid a school for. Mentor-ship was always their just to teach company policies, conventions, and provide the company with some assurance you are responsible enough to handle a truck on you own.

Change mentors if need be. But you only got a couple weeks left you could make things work out if wanted. And if you get another mentor, you will be best served to approach him with no attitude or animosity carried on from the first relationship.

 

Exactly.

 

To the OP... Don't stress on the small stuff. Keep a level head on your shoulders, never be afraid or too proud to ask for help and advice when you get on your own, and use good judgment. You will be fine. Anyone who ever laughs or belittles you for a question you ask is an idiot and isn't worth the time of day. There's good guys on the road who will help and be happy to share knowledge with you. You'll pick a lot of experience up as you go along. Some things you just have to learn by trial and error. Stay safe, protect your CDL, and don't tear up equipment (priorities in that order) and you'll be fine. If you're close enough to getting cut loose it may be wiser to just play that guys game and get on to your own truck.

 

I will say that the Trainee benefits from extra learning for Flatbedding etc. There are things not taught in school for Flatbedding for example. Flatbedding is a higher expressing of trucking professionalism and not everyone should try it.

Yes some trainers will abuse a trainee for gain of some sort. And such abuse should not happen on any level.

 

Not if you're the trainee. That load's assigned to him, not you.

 

There are no tricks to be learned from winter driving. Use your head. When there's reduced traction, then just SLOW DOWN. Look farther ahead. Leave more following distance.

Just do everything slower. A lot slower. Everything.