Fifth Week of Training

Fifth Week of Training thus far has included submission of our take home tests and Skills Qualification Testing (SQT). So far, I have passed both of these tests. The SQT included evaluation of my driving/road skills, coupling/uncoupling the trailer, and backing into a parking space between two other trailers. Now I need to practice my backing, straight line, parallel parking, and 90 degree/alley dock before I take my CDL test in Canton, Ohio on Sep 5th.

I can see light at the end of the tunnel of training.

Fourth Week of Training

The Fourth Week of Training was a continuation of the third week. More driving and delivery experience and practice backing into the loading docks. This week took us to Mobile, Alabama; Suwanee, Georgia; Greenville, South Carolina, and then back to Kenton, Ohio. I lucked out, if you call it that, but next week the training engineer is taking the next student into New York through the Bronx, Queens and into Manhatton. I am dreading the day I have to drive into New York City, but it is part of the job if I have to go there.

Below is a picture of my personal truck, the Ford F350 next to the type of tractor that I will be issued to pull my my loads of freight with. Moving on up, eh? Oh, that is me between the trucks.

Next week will be my SQT (Skills Qualification Training). This will be my last week of training before taking my CDL (Commercial Drivers License) test.

Stay tuned for more as I experience more.

Third Week of Training

The Third Week of Training involved hooking up with my Training Engineer and extending my learning in the practical sense with actual customer delivery runs along with everything involved with examing/driving the tractor/trailer prior to/after the runs.

We met up near Mansfield, Ohio where he lives and made two runs to the east coast and back, one near the state border of Pennsylvania and Delaware and the other to New Jersey. My driver training has taken me through Ohio into Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey now, so my email signature blocks will include the following maps that will be filled in as I drive the semi tractor in each state and province. For those who receive emails from me, watch the map as I begin to color in the states and provinces.















My Training Engineer (TE) is really a cool neat person. He used to be a Dallas police detective and is very knowledgeable. He retired from the police department and then started driving a truck. He indicated that he has trained folks from all walks of life and professions to become truck drivers, including pilots.

I have one more week with my TE and then I will move onto Skills Qualification Training (SQT) to prepare to take my Commercial Drivers License (CDL) test in the state of Ohio. SQT lasts one week. The CDL is scheduled at the end of the SQT.

Stay tuned. More to come as time warrants!

:-)

Fourteenth Day of Training

Graduation Day!

The Fourteenth Day of Training was graduation day! We took the final exam, which I got a 94% on and then we went through a bunch of paperwork to get our personnel file set up. We received CommCards which we can use at ATMs to get cash out when needed and to fuel the trucks with as needed. We also got our boots that we are required to wear while on duty to protect our feet.

We received several other briefings throughout the day related to safety, logging, and what to expect during the next couple of weeks of training. We will go through 7 - 10 days of on the road training with a training engineer and then go through a skills qualification test (SQT). Once this is done we take our CDL test to get our license. When we get our license a tractor will be issued to us and then we will begin hauling freight on our own.

I hook up with my Training Engineer (TE) tomorrow and start the on the road training. My first trip will be into Pennsylvania. My TE said we would be out on the road through Friday and will return home for the weekend.

Keep watching as I plan on continuing to update this blog with all of my experiences as a truck driver.

Thirteenth Day of Training

The Thirteenth Day of Training was more practice on the road and advanced trip planning.

It was interesting getting around town this morning since the President of the United States visited Green Bay today. Add a few extra police and crowds of people to the mix of driving around town in a big rig and you have a very interesting situation for someone just learning how to drive a semi.

The advanced trip planning was not very difficult. All it was about was combining the things we had already learned about the satellite communications coming into the truck to planning a trip to pick up and drop off freight.

We stopped by a truck stop today and I saw quite a few 12 volt items that can be used in the trucks. Things like a little fridge, skillets, fans, etc.

Well, have to get off here now and study for the final test tomorrow. I am sure I will do fine.

We will take our final, get our boots, fuel card, and ID cards tomorrow and then be on our way back home for a short break.

"After the break", I will meet up with my Training Engineer who I will go out on the road for a week or two to learn the ropes of the trade, practice driving more in a practical situation, and then I will go through preparations for taking my CDL test. Once I pass my CDL test I will be given a truck of my own to drive and be out on the open road.

I will be getting paid by the mile, so I want as many miles as they can dish my way. I will get two days off every two weeks, plus if I plan my trips right I may be able to be home on some of my 10 hour breaks if I am driving in my home area.

I will sign off for now and continue this blog over the weekend to let you know how it went for my on my Fourteenth Day of Training, Graduation Day!

T-1 and then I will be putting the hammer down to get back home.

:-)

Twelfth Day of Training

The Twelfth Day of Training was a surprising one. Upon completion of my driving today I was told that I had already passed my road test. This was a surprise to me because I did not even know that I was being evaluated for a final road test. My driving instructor told me they do it that way so people don't freak out when they are being tested. It made my day because I was already worried about having to take the test on Thursday, so it was a relief to find out that I had already passed it. I was really working on fixing my weak areas today so I would be ready to pass the test tomorrow. It paid off.

This afternoon we learned about the satellite communications device they use to communicate with the trucks that is supplied by QualComm. We also learned how to prevent cargo claims and prevent theft of the freight we will be moving.

We started with a class of about 65 and as of today we have a class of about 44. People seem to drop out like flies in the beginning when they figure out what they have gotten themselves into and did not think it through enough before committing to do the job.

Some leave due to hardships and other reasons as well though, so it is not just giving up. If you don't have the teamwork of the family at home agreeing to do their best to take care of things at home, then you will fail, because you cannot keep your mind on studying and doing your best to succeed. I have been fortunate because my Wife, Deb is strong and has the support of her family behind her to make sure she is doing ok.

Deb and I talk on the phone at least two if not three times a day. Her support has been tremendous. Thank you Deb for being there and supporting me.

One of the guys left training because his wife was going out partying after he left, and another just left today because his wife could not handle taking care of a dozen or so horses that they own. That shows you some of the reasons why people leave, but it is only a small fraction of the reasons.

T-2

:-)

Eleventh Day of Training

The Eleventh Day of Training included more practice parking, making turns, simulator training and sliding the tandems and fifth wheel to balance the load.

The tandems are the eight wheels all the way to the back of the truck, the trailer wheels. The fifth wheel is the saddle plate the kingpin on the trailer seats into. If I did not have the gooseneck on our fifth wheel camper you would be able to see the kingpin. It is the part that slides into the slot on the fifth wheel hitch.

You slide the tandems and fifth wheel forward or backward in order to balance the load on the truck. Legal weight limits on semi tractor trailers is set at least to 80,000 pounds on highways and interstates across the country, in most cases.

The simulator training today was how to handle getting lost. They provided tips like asking directions, using maps, reading street and road signs, and of course using the satellite communications in the truck. We also dealt with some more skidding and backing into docks on the simulators.

Tomorrow will be my last day of driver training. On Thursday I have to take the driving test and have to do 80 percent or better in order to pass. On Friday I take a written exam and also have to get a 80 percent or better to pass. Once I pass these two tests I will graduate from the training and will become an full fledged employee of Schneider National.

T-3 Days and counting!

:-)

Tenth Day of Training

The Tenth Day of Training was a full day of driving along with parking. Yep, if you drive one of those big rigs you just have to be able to park it! We practiced several methods of parking including 45 and 90 degree angle parking. We drove around the country side and in town practicing turns left and right. We also went out onto the four lane highways and drove.

I guess Green Bay Packers had a practice game between their offense and defense this past weekend. It was all over the news up here. I guess it gives them good practice, but as my instructor said, "Who do you think is going to win?".

I thought I would add another tidbit of info onto this blog. When I was young and going into the Air Force I wanted to be a pilot but I was not able to be because of my glasses. So another reason for getting into driving a truck is the similarity to being a pilot, it is just two dimensional instead of three.

I did do a lot of work on avionic navigation/communication equipment on military aircraft during my eight years of military service in the Air Force, including weather and beacon radar and IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) equipment.

Four more days and I will be outta training!

Woo hoo!

Ninth Day of Training

The Ninth Day of Training consisted of trip planning and Hazardous Materials training. The day was short. We were let out at 1:30 today.

A couple of us went to Walmart and picked up enough bottled water and food supplies to last us the rest of this week.

We also visited the Green Bay Operations Center (OC) for Schneider. I picked up a trailer hitch cover plate from the OC that has a flag with a head of an eagle on top of it and Schneider National on the bottom. This will go on the back of my Ford F350. I also bought a Schneider hat and a Schneider coffee mug that lights up when you sit it down.

This afternoon I worked on more of my homework and then took a dip in the pool and got into the hot tub.

Now I am back in the room, updating this blog and getting ready to head to bed.

I have been getting up around 4 AM CDT every day. Only five more days to have to do that.

I am so ready for a day off and a break.

This is kind of like basic training all over again but without the strictness and military mind set, and not as long. At least here, I am still in contact with the world and what is going on. When I went through basic training I had no contact with the outside world for 6 weeks.

We have lost about 20% of our class. People who were not committed enough to stick it out to the end of the training and/or decided driving a truck is not what they really wanted to do. Some of them were just not able to understand the material that was presented to them and could not translate it into practical use.

My room mate decided to give up and move on to something else. So now I have the room to myself.

Well, time to get off to bed. 4 AM comes awful early.

Eighth Day of Training

The Eighth Day of Training consisted of map reading, trip planning, permit books and a survey by the University of Minnesota.

We were issued 2006 Rand McNally Atlases for Motor Carriers and then planned several trips across the country to familiarize ourselves with the Motor Carrier Atlas.

The University of Minnesota is doing a two year study about truck drivers and asked the folks in my class to participate. They will follow us for two years with occasional surveys to determine different factors about truck drivers.

Seventh Day of Training

The Seventh Day of Training was spent on driving for half a day and then more simulator training. We also learned how to use pallet jacks to pick up and move pallets with freight on them.

The driving portion included in town and rural driving as well as back in parking of the big rig. I had to do a 45 degree back between barrells that simulated a loading dock and then had to drive up and back into another dock that was also simulated with barrells.

We did the skid pad and snowy roads on the simulator which teaches us how to recover from sliding on ice so we can avoid jack knifing.

One week down and one to go!

Sixth Day of Training

The Sixth Day of Training was more driving in both the trucks and the simulators along with pretrip inspections. The pretrip inspection is part of the commmercial drivers license (CDL) test.

Today we drove around town making left and right turns, went to an obstacle course, and then drove out of town on one of the four lane highways.

The idea of driving around town making turns is to get driver trainees to learn how to handle different types of turns while maintaining control of their tractor/trailer. You have to make the turns without hitting a curb or knocking over a telephone pole or running into a car. Keep in mind this is live training with real people driving their cars around town. They have no idea if you are one of the driver trainees or an experienced driver. There is a licensed CDL driver trainer sitting in the passenger seat to teach you how to make the turns and drive the truck.

The simulators present examples of driving probabilities of things that can come up during a driver's day. Things like driving through a city and pedestrians walking right out in front of you without looking, very small streets with tight turns, emergency vehicles, car doors popping out in front of you, motor cyclists zooming in front of you, building and car fires, and low clearances.

Tomorrow we will have more driving, simulators, pretrip inspection practice, and learn how to use pallet jacks to load/unload a truck. Since I used to unload trucks when I worked at Krogers using pallet jacks and fork lifts, the truck loading/unloading is not going to be a problem for me.

Tomorrow, the class that came in the Saturday before mine will graduate. This Saturday another class of new driver trainees will come in and then next Friday my class will graduate.

I am looking forward to getting out of training, get my CDL, and get out on the open road. I know it is not a 9 - 5 job, but hey, neither was my last job. I was working day and night with not much time to myself. At least this way I can enjoy the view while I work! I will get home to see my family for two days out of every two weeks.

Hats off to my Wife, Debbie who is taking care of the house, our miniature Schnauzers, and for being understanding and supporting me through all of this. If it were not for her, I would not have the strength and stamina to make it through.

Thanks to Jo Ann, Pam, and Jay for being there for Deb. Thanks to Pam and Jay for mowing the lawn and edging it.

Feel free to add your comments. I would like to hear them and I am sure others would like to read them. Supportive comments are always nice to read.

Fifth Day of Training

Fifth Day of Training went well. We spent half a day driving solo with our driving instructor and the other half of the day driving on the simulators and learning pre trip inspection procedures.

I drove 105 miles today around town and out in the country. Out on the four lane highway you cannot even tell you are in a semi, but in town you know real quick you are in one. It takes special knowledge to move one of those big trucks around in town, making turns while missing curbs, telephone poles, and other things that are not a problem for cars. The granny gears are something to get used to. You need them in order to move the heavy loads of freight but getting used to shifting at 3, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35, 45, and 55 and at what rpm is a bit to tuck under your hat. Yes, that is 10 gears. Before you start to make a turn when coming out of a light, you have to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear, you are not allowed to change gear during the turn.

Another thing that a lot of people do that you cannot do in a truck is run a yellow light. If the light turns yellow you have to stop since the truck is so long.

The simulators made me a bit dizzy and nauseous, but it was an experience. We had to drive through a simulated warehouse, following the signs without hitting anything. A parking lot was also simulated that we had to drive through without hitting any cars, trucks, and other objects that were there, including pedestrians.

Tomorrow is another half day of driving and a half day of simulators. I have been driving in the mornings and doing the simulators in the afternoon.

Fourth Day of Training

The Fourth Day of Training was spent on doing pretrip, enroute, and posttrip inspections along with driving around town, 30 miles or more of freeway driving, and rural road driving. We worked on shifting gears, driving in traffic, and turns. We were broken down to where we had a ratio of 2 to 3 drivers per trainer.

I ground a few gears but am sure the grinding will go away once I get better at it. I need more practice on the turns as well. The freeway was not bad at all. I was able to set the cruise control on for a while going down the freeway and just enjoy the ride.

The spring breaks were set once on myself and once on my training partner by the instructor. In both cases it was warranted.

Tomorrow we go out solo with the trainer for half a day and spend the other half day in the simulators.