Redapple here, sorry for the delay in the update.  So I ended up getting fired from CRST and here is what happened:

My second trainer at CRST after dilivering the load in Lerado, picked up another load and then got a Quallcom message saying that they were sending me on a Grehound bus back to a terminal.  So we get to San Antonio TX and I get a taxi to the bus terminal.  I take the Greyhound to the terminal in Oklahoma City.

When I get to OK City I call my dispatcher in Cedar Rapids and a guy from dispatch asks me whats going on.  I tell him that I am having some problems driving.  My trainer told him that I had some wrist problems and had some problems with lane centering.

I did not tell the guy from saftey about the problems I was having with the trainners, I only told him that I thought I could drive safely with more practice.  Well, he says that he will get back to me.  I end up calling him a few hours latter and he tells me that they are letting me go. 

At this time I am hanging out in the drivers lounge at the terminal.  So I start telling another student about what had happened and his trainner overheard what I was saying and he said he could train me.  So latter that night he gave me a drive test in his truck and he told me that he would be able to train me if CRST would let him.

So I spent that next 2 days hanging out in the terminal talking with this driver and the saftey department to see if I could get it worked out.  I ended up talking to my dispatcher and he checked on it and said that it was to late since I had already gotten fired.

After that I got a bus ticket back to New York City and found another company to go to.  One of my friends who used to drive for Covenent offered to train me but since he hadn't driven since '03 all the companies we called wanted him to go out and drive for some time before he would be able to train me.

Now I am in Allentown PA and am going to be going to orientation for Werner Enterprises and am going to be going out with a trainner in a few days.  I can't wait to get on the road. 

This time it is going to work.  I just need to remember that the wheel is not going to go anywhere when on the interstate and to not jam the stick into gear.  I know that I am going to do this and I am going to be very serious about this and make it work. 

I can't wait.

Redapple

So I was in Cedar Rapids at the Super 8 Motel for a day and then I got a call from my dispatcher saying that my trainner thought her teaching style was not getting through to me and to get me a new trainner.  I also had to go take a drive test.  So on Wed. the 18, I went back to the yard and took a drive test.

The test consisted of putting the truck in motion, making some turns and going on a truck route for a short time.  Then the guy giving me the test had me back into a spot on the yard with him being my ground guide.  The sheet he filled out about the test said I only had to work on shifting, my trainner said I was having problems with lane centering when on the interstate.

After passing the road test I go and see my dispatcher about getting a new trainner.  She gives me a new trainner who is a few states away and won't be at Cedar rapids for a while so she tells me to go back to the motel. 

I get back to the motel and am there a couple of hours when I get another call from my dispatcher telling me there has been a change of plans and there is a trainner on the yard ready to pick me up.  So I get all of my stuff together and get back to the yard.

As it turns out, my new trainner still had his last student and was taking him home.  So I get on the truck, and the trainner starts driving.  I come to find out very quickly that this trainner is a stickler for everything and wants everything done his way, which is fine.  He wants no mistakes on the log book at all. 

So he pulls over into a rest area and he gives me a wheel.  I start to drive and he imideately knows that I need alot of work.  I drive for about 4 hours and then he lets his other student drive.  The other student drives for 11 hours and gets us to West Vergina.  At this time we are under a load that is dilivering to Virgina. 

He lets me drive again.  I drive for an hour, but once I exit I come to a stop sighn that is on a hill and I can't get the truck in motion, I keep stalling out the engine.  He says that I should have learned how to start on a hill in driving school, but since we are heavly loaded I am having trouble with clutch and throtle control when starting.  He takes over and gets us to the wherehouse to diliver the load.

We arrived at the wearhouse early so we end up waiting for 3 hours before getting  to a door and waiting another 2 hours to get unloaded.  After that he drives us to a nearby TA truckstop where I fuel the truck.  Then the other student drives us to North Carolina where we drop and hook another load and the other student drives himself home to Georga.

When I wake up in the morning we are in route to Lerado TX where the next load dilivers.  The trainner tells me that he thinks I am a very unsafe driver since I have a tendency to jerk the wheel when on the interstate and have problems when starting.  He told me he told dispatch about this and that they will be talking to me about it. 

Now we are in Louisiana parked at a TA truckstop.  I don't know whats going to happen, but I think I might be let go from CRST.  I also need to decide weather or not I think I will be able to drive a truck safely if I work on it. 

The trainner is sleeping right now and I am going to ask him what he thinks and I am also going to call Mr. O from Central Tech and ask him what he thinks I should do.  I think I can solve the lane centering by simply driving alot in a regular car, but the clutch problem I need a truck to solve.  I'll think about this some more in the the morning.

That's all for now.

Redapple

So after waiting at the drop yard for the other CRST truck to relay us the load, we get a messag from dispatch telling us that the other truck didn't make it in time.  My trainner was upset because we could have eaisly picked up the load ourselves.

Luckly they gave us another load leaving Washington State that we were to drop at Cedar Rapids.  So we have to go to this place called Romac Industries and pick up a preloaded trailer.

So we get to Romac and finally find the trailer and find out that no one is there and the bills are no where in site.  So we decide to spend the night at Romac.  Apon awaking in the morning my trainner finds out that shipping and reciving are not going to be in all day since it's Saturday. 

Damn that sucked, so we decided to go do some shopping since we were bobtail.  We end up finding a suppermarket and then going to a Wallmart.  Let me tell you that Wallmart is a bad place to be because you will end up spending money no matter what.  I ended up buying over $60 in dvds.

After that we returned to the truck to find a message from dispatch saying that the bills should be somewhere near the trailer.  After that we go back to Romac and find the bills in the box on the nose of the trailer.  Good, so we hook up to the trailer and hit the road.

We drive and drive and making no stops except for fuel and food and get to Cedar Rapids at the ternimal on 4/16 at around noon.  Now my trainner is taking two days off and I am in a Super 8 Motel waiting for her to come back so I can finish up the trainning.  I need to improve on alot and fast cause this trainning is almost over.  The good thing is that I can request more if I feel I'm not ready to get my own truck.

Another piece of advice is that when your on the road, take a shower whenever you can cause you don't get them all that often.  I finally got to take one today which felt really good cause I havn't taken one for about four days.

Thats all for now, I will update soon.  Until then be well.

Redapple

Hey, it's been a few days but here's whats going on:

After spending the night in the TA truckstop we procided to go across the street to th Pilot to get fuel at the company fuel stop, then we sent a couple of qualcomm messages to dispatch to try and find out where we were going to get a trailer.

Our dispatcher told us to go back to the USF site where we dropped our last load and find a trailer.  The only catch was it had to be an air ride.  So we get to USF and the only CRST air ride trailer on the lot is still being unloaded and will be ready in about 3 hours.  So we tell dispatch and they tell us to wait untill it is unloaded.

My trainner goes to sleep and we don't get rooling again for another 3 hours or so.  Once we get rooling I take over on the highway and we find the "first pickup site".  We are late at this point because we had to wait for the trailer.  As it turned out our "first pickup" didn't really exist because once we got there, no one was there, so we procided to our second stop.

Once we got to the second stop we met another CRST truck that was waiting for a local driver to bring a loaded trailer.  It also turned out that we were waiting for the same thing.  The local driver took the other tucks trailer and got us our load going all the way to Washington State, having 4 stops, all dilivering airplane parts to Boeing.

After getting the loaded trailer we hit the road and I drive up 15N to 90W.  My trainner drives the first shift but then I take over and Drive the next day from about 3pm untill about 2am. 

During my shift I had to enter 2 ports of entry and one scale house.  Since I moved on the scale when the light was red I had to take all of my paper work inside and have it looked over by the DOT.  I was nurvus about this since it was the first time it had ever happened to me but the officer was nice.  He asked me for my logbook, trailer registration, permits, medical card and license.  Since I only have a temp licence he called and had it checked.  He ended up not doing a very through inspection and sent me on my way quickly.  After that I proceded driving and got to the next fuel stop where my trainner took over. 

She drove her shift to our next fuel stop and then gave me the wheel to take the load to our first stop near Seattle in Everett.  We ended up getting to Boeing after hours and was told to come back at 6am.  By that time it was about 5pm pacific time so we went to the nerest rest area, hung out for a while and then went to sleep around 8:30pm.

Apon awaking at 6am central time, we hurred over to Boeing in Everett.  This was supposed to be a one stop deal but ended up being about 5 stops and the same plant to get there freight off of the trailer, (3 pieces and one door 2 at another ect.).  It took about 4 hours to get all the freight off, it was a nightmare.  (don't diliver to boeing, it sucks).

After that we went to 3 other Boeing plants and got all the freight off much faster.  All the mutipule drop loads suck and take so much time.  At the second stop she even gave me a chance to backup to a door which I failed at completing.

Then we had to find somewhere to get rid of our trailler.  Our "great" dispatcher finally told us to go to a CRST drop yard to get rid of it.  After we did that we were both starving cause neather of us had eatten all day (big mistake) so since we were bobtail we found an IHOP and we both got ridiculous amounts of food and man was it good.

Now we are sitting and a drop yard waiting a another CRST truck to bring us our next load which is going to Des Monies IA.  It is womens clothing.  I can't wait to get moving.

Some advice for people getting into OTR, if you get a dispatcher who is brand new, giver them a chance but if they really suck get a new one.  Our dispatcher is new and has never driven a truck before and she is really bad.  She gives us incomplete information.  For example, we don't have the number of the trailer we are waiting for.  Another example is that on our way up to WA she had us wait in Silvercity CO while she figured out where we could get chains.  We waisted 8 hours waiting for chains that we don't need and that made us late for our dilivery.  Besides that dispatcher I am having a great time out here and have a great trainner.

This is a ausome job and lifestyle and I love it.  I can't wait for my trainner to teach me how to back up and for me to get better at making tight turns.  I really want this and my trainner says I can do it so I know I can and am going to.  This job is not easy but that is part of what makes it fun.

Anyway, thats all for now.  I will update again whenever I can.  For now stay safe and be happy it's the only way to live.

Redapple

4/03/07

Hello again. It's been a few days since I last wrote. Here is what happened since I last wrote:

I hung around the motel on Friday and Saturday morning and got to the terminal at about 1:30 on Sat. I met my lead driver. She is a lady that knows what she wants and isn't affried to get it. At first I was scared of her because she told me that not a lot of students made it all the way though trainning with her, but after I got to know her better I relaxed.

She is a solo driver who trains students. When I met her she was under a load going up to Massachuchits. She ended up driving all night to get it there and once she started driving I knew she meant bussiness.

I stayed up watching her drive till about 1AM and then went to sleep. I woke up a few times when she was slowing down and what not but other then that I slept right on through. I woke up in MA at the cosighnes yard and was awake while she backed into the dock. After that I fell back asleep until we were unloaded and ready to leave. At that point I got up and we drove to a rest area which is where we are sitting right now waiting for a load.

Well once we get a load I am going to be driving, right on the Mass Pike, wish me luck. I know I'll be fine.

Anyway I'll keep updating whenever I get a chance. Until then keep driving and be safe.

Redapple

4/10/07

Hello again. Here's what's been going on:

So as it turned out we got a load a few days latter going to Fontana CA. Damn, that's a long way to drive. My trainer ended up driving in MA and I took over someplace in NY and drove us back to the yard in Charlisle PA. We then took showers and she drove us the rest of the way out to Fontana.

At that point I was getting discouraged because she was not letting me drive much, but I told myself that I would give it one more day and if she didn't let me drive then I would ask for a new trainer.

Once we got to Fontana we dropped the load at the Sports Athority warehouse and went bobtail to the suppermarket. By this point we had already gotten a load going to Kansas City MO which we needed to picked up by 4pm pacific time on Sunday the 8^th and be delivered on Monday the 9^th by 9PM.

Once we got the load she drove us to the highway and I took over. I drove about one hour and stopped because she needed to sleep. She slept until 5pm on the 9^th and then we got rolling again. I drove to Oklahoma City OK and we got fuel at a Pilot. Then I drove us out of OK City and drove until about 11pm. Then she took over and drove us into Kansas City. We got to Kansas City at around 3am. We were late for the drop, which didn't really matter since she notified CRST about it.

So we dropped the trailer at a USF warehouse and preceded to find a place to sleep for the night. She found a rest area on I-70 so we head toward it but before we got there we found a parking area off of 70 which is where we slept.

By the time we went to sleep it was about 3am and we didn't get up until 12pm on Tuesday the 10^th. Then we spent some time waiting for a load at the parking area. Then she got a call from CRST saying that she had to got for a random drug test. We drove to the testing site and she parked in a truck stop. I hung out in the truck stop while she took the test and then we found a Waffle House and got some food. Then we spent several more hours hanging out at a truck stop before going to a Wallmart.

Let me warn everyone now that Wallmarts are very dangerous because even if you go into one with the intention of not buying anything you will by something. I ended up buying over $100 worth of dvds. They will come in handy on the road during down time though.

So now we are sitting at a TA in Kansas City for the night. I just took a shower in a very nice clean shower room. I am adjusting well to this lifestyle and am really having fun. Also on the way out to Fontana I got to see a lot of butiful country that I have never seen before and would probably never have seen had I not decided to pursue this. All those states in the southern Midwest are really butiful.

Well that's all for now. I have to go to sleep, cause once we get loaded and get a trailer I am going to be driving and practicing alto of shifting so I can really get this driving down. My trainer does not want anyone coming off of her truck not knowing how to do the job. I can't wait.

Wish me luck.

Redapple

Hey.  So I finally got hired by a trucking company, yeah.  I can't wait to hit the road, I have a trainner who had a load to dilliver in Indiana a 4pm and she is going to be in Carlisile to pick me up tomarrow (that the plan at least). 

Basically we went over a few things in the classroom today, we had to plan an entire trip from Lerado TX to just outside LA in CA.  Everyone in the class planed the trip taking all interstates.  That was wrong, because the shortest route was to take a truck route out of Lerado until it got to I-10 and then take that all the way to LA.

We also saw a movie about the smith system for defensive driving, we also talked out the 4 most major accidents. 

Then in the afternoon we got our Comdata, and ID cards and our dispatchers name, phone number and our trainners truck number.  They also sold us a motor carrier atlas and a truck stop directory for only $20.  After that we had to call our dispatcher and find out what the plan is to get us all to our trainners truck.  My trainner should be through Carlisle tomarrow, so I should be on the road then.

I finally made it.  Yeah, now all I have to do is be very very very safe while I am driving.  Man I can't wait to hit the road.

Wish me luck and keep checking this from time to time because I will update it when I get internet access.  I will most likely post huge long posts of multiple days activities.

Until then wish me luck.

Redapple 

Hello again.  So day 3 is over and here is what happened:

All day was spent in the classroom and most of it wasn't really necessory but it was what it was.  First we took photos for our ID cards and filled out a card for that.  Next we went over things about descrimination and other information.  We had to sighn a release saying that we were told these things.  Another thing we did was to fill out a form so CRST can look and see if they can use your schooling as a right off (I guess that only applies if they paid for your school upfront).

In the afternoon we had a talk with the head of repairs in Carlisle PA and he explained about how to have repairs and matenance done on your truck.  Then we got a lesson on trip planning.  After that we had a phone conferance call with the head of operations for the north east division.  He talked about how dispatch works and what they handel.  He also discussed some things about hometime (1.5 days off for each day worked, max 6 days) as well as some other information that was already discussed.

Thats it.  I also talked to my recruter and he said that I was hired and he had and ID number already made for me and he was going to put in for my bonus.

I finally made it on with a company, I can't wait to get on the road.  I will keep this updated as much as possible while I am on the road so keep checking back and I will let you know how it all goes.

Wish me luck, best case I should be in a truck tomarrow and on the road.

Redapple

Hey.  So day two is over and here is what happened:

We all arrive at 7am and get to the orientation classroom.  We spend the first hour or so filling out forms for the health, dental, vision, life insurence and 401K plans. 

After that we watched a video on the Highway Watch program.  Highway Watch is like neighboorhood watch except it is a national program and you are looking for potential terrorist activity.

After that we had a talk about fatiuge and that no load is worth dying for.  CRST was stressing that if you feel exusted, to stop the truck and rest.  They also stressed that you can't get into the habit of doing this all the time for long periods of time, but if you do it every now and then it's ok.  They also told us that they have a policy that if a driver does not feel safe driving in certain weather conditions that it is up to the driver to shut the truck down and let dispatch know, but that is ok to do.  Another thing CRST does is they have mandnatory compeny shutdowns due to weather.  They might shut down all trucks and a given road or area due to savear weather (i.e. black ice, and high wind).

After that we had a phone conference with the vice presedent of operations.  He explained about the history of the company and what to expect once we started driving over the road.  It all sounded really good but I'll see.

In the afternoon we got some logbooks and had a lesson on the CRST policies about filling them out.  We also learned about a great technique where each driver drives and works for only 12 hours a day before the other driver takes over.  The major advantage to this is that your body can get into a ruteane and your body will get used to sleeping at the same time everytime every day.  If you log any other way you will be driving and sleeping at different times every day.

Next we talked about accidents and how to prevent them.  They showed us photos of trucks after they had been in major accidents and explained the accidents.  The trucks were totally destroyed but the main reason for the accidents was sleep defect and other stupied mistakes like dropping a cigarette while driving.

That's it for now.  I will update this thing tomarrow. 

Later.

Redapple

PS: I passed the drive test I took yesterday, it was easy, only about 2 miles or so with a few turns.  I just barly passed though cause I missed alot of downshifts.

Redapple here.  Haven't had a chance to update lately.  I didn't get hired by CFI. 

Here is what happened:

The day I graduated from Central Tech I got a drive to Joplin MO (CFI main terminal).  CFI put me up in the holiday inn in Joplin, and let me tell you, it is nice.  Private room and a jacuszie and pool.  CFI also provides a free shuttle that takes drivers around Joplin to different locations.

So I hang out in Joplin for the weekend and get to day one of orientation on monday.  Everything was going fine, filling out paper work and what not.  Then in the afternoon we all went out to the range to take the first part of the drive test.  The first part involved going around an obtecle course, making tight turns and manuvers.  The object is to not make the turns to wide or to close.  You must get at least a 40 on this course out of a possible 120.  I got a 19 on it.

Now, you must remember that spacing was my biggest problem while in school and then being in a different truck (we used Kenworth T2000 for this) didn't make it any eaiser for me.

The next part of the test was to complete a 45 degree angle back.  It is not impossible and if you know how to angle back you will do fine on it.  The object here is to back into the lane without hitting the barriers.  You get two chances at this.  I failed on both attemps.

What happened because of this is that on day two of orientation I was sent home.  As I was waiting for the shuttle back to the Holiday Inn I got a tip of another company form a CFI driver.  He told me about Stevens Transport, which was the company he started with.

That day I applied to Stevens and two days latter I was on a bus down to Dallas Texas.  This company is a great trainning company and they don't expect you as a student to be a perfect driver.  I got rejected from Stevens because of a medication that was against there company policy.

After I got sent home form Stevens I got on the Greyhound bus back to NYC.

I was upset that Stevens didn't work out but still want to be an OTR Driver so I decided to find a school in NYC to keep my driving skills up and apply to another company.

I proceded to find a school out in Queens that has a 10 speed Ford day cab with a 43' trailer.  I ended up practiceing on that truck for a week and improving my skills alot.  I now know why drivers hate to come into NYC, its a nightmare to drive a big truck in NYC.

Anyway I applied to Shaffer Trucking in New Kingstown PA but they didn't accept me.  Then I filled out the genaric application on Classadrivers.com and they sent the application out to about 15 different companies. 

I ended contacting Covenent Transport and CRST.  I decided to go with CRST because they sent me to Carlisle PA for orientation which is only 4 hours west of ny by bus.

So here I am after one day of orientation complete with CRST.  They are mainly a team company, which is fine for me.  They use Freightliner's with 10 speed transmissions. 

Today was spent learning about company policies and taking the drive test.  This drive test is easy and consisted of making a few right and left hand turns and shifting.  It is only about 2 miles at most, very basic.  Another thing is that if you fail it the first time you get a second chance at it. 

I did fine, except on downshifting, the evaluater said that if I had failed he would have been driving.  I am really not sure if I passed or not but if I didn't I am sure that I will do alot better now that I have driven the truck once.  CRST dosen't have the same feel as CFI and dose not seem like it is as good of a company, but I will see. 

There deal is that after I get hired I am out for 28 days with a trainer and then get a team partner and start running teams.  We will see what happens.  Also CFI told me that I can reapply to them, once I get 6 months experience with no accidents.  I just can't wait to hit the road.

I'll continue to keep all of you posted and good luck to all.

Redapple

Hey.  Long time no post.  I was busy finishing up school and getting my stuff packed so I didn't have time to post, so here it is; the end of school.

On tuesday (day 20) we arrived at noon, since we were going to be night driving.  Tuesday was really all about preparing for the backing tests that we had to take to graduate.  I spent from noon to about 4:30 practicing 90's, bullpen and some driving around the range.  At 4:30 Mr. O set up and obstacle course in the wagon wheel that we all were going around in low gear to practice our turning and spacing.  I went around that course a bunch of times but never did it without hitting anything.

After dinner my partner and I went into the bullpen to practice truckstop parking.  I thought I was doing well on them.  Then we practiced some 90 degree dock backing and drove around the range in the dark before going home.

On wednesday we took all three backing tests and our second solo road trip which was graded.  The class started with the straight line backing, I got a 90 on that.  Then I did the bullpen park and got a 70 on that.  I was not set up correctly to start, pulled up 2 times and did not back into the space in a straight line.  I did however get into the space correctly in the end.

Then I took the 90 degree back test.  I thought I knew how to do it and I do, but I get really nervus and completely messed up.  I pulled up who knows how many times, turned the wheel the wrong way, crossed every single border there was to cross and did not end up straight in the lane at the end.  I got a 40 on that.  After that point I was alittle nervus about being able to pass the entire course and figured that I needed to get a 81 or better on my solo road trip or I would fail the class.

I went on my solo road trip which was the same route as my first solo road trip.  I didn't think I did well because I grinded alot, but ended up getting an 88.  I passed the course.

After dinner we went on a night road trip.  I drove first and did fine, except for the fact that I barraled over the curb with my trailer tandems on a right hand turn.  I am still having trouble with spacing.  Another thing I should mention is that night driving is much harder then day driving because you trailer is much harder to see as well as objects.

On thursday I got to school at 7 and everyone else got there at 8.  I got an extra hour to practice for my CDL road retest.  I took the retest at 9 and passed.  The one thing the evaluator told me is that I needed to check my mirrors alot more often, especially before slowing down.  He said that you can never over check your mirrors.

In the afternoon we vacumed and scrubed our trucks down before Mr. O drove them through the truck wash.  Then we drove around the range to dry them off.  After that we droped our trailers and parked our tractors in the bullpen.  We all had passed the class by this point and knew that we would be going to CFI.

On friday we first took our post-test on the computer, which was the same as the pre-test.  Then we watched a video about Highway Watch, which is a way that drivers report suspicious activity when on the road to the athorities.  After that we took a break and then got a short lesson in map reading and trip planning.

After that our recruiter and a man from CFI came into the classroom and we asked them questions.  After that we recived our cirficicates and final grades and took a class photo for the school. 

Then I jumped into the car with one of my classmates and she drove me to Joplin.

Redapple