Another "Boomer" team starts an adventure

[Roadie]

Greetings all,
I have enjoyed Devildice's story from SAGE to Davis, and now there is RJ with his wife, and also Colt's Fan at various SAGE schools.
Now OUR adventure starts. I am a baby boomer, age 51, wife is a kid (10 yrs my junior) and we are starting SAGE tech tonite.
I had a career in the USAF and for the past 10yrs+ have been a Flight Simulator tech and facility manager in Salt Lake City. Wife and I have also run a Motorcycle rental business for the past 4 years, and I teach motorcycle riding (MSF course) weekday evenings during the summer as well as some weekends, and also weekends during spring and summer. Needless to say, we are used to putting in many hours a day. We wanted something we could do together and be together. That just hasn't worked out that way with our business. Team driving trucks seemed to be the best answer, and even better when we found out it actually paid quite well.
We rented our house to our son for the first year, then will sell it if all goes well. We have a 40' motorhome that we live in now until we move to start with our new company. I will continue working until Nov 1, and hopefully we will have school complete, and are looking to go to Interstate Distr. Co at the moment.
I have been researching this move for months, talking on forums, and researching internet, talking with trainers, and teams. I believe DevilDice said in posts several times, research, research, research. We were originally planning on a different direction with CFI, but decided to change course and go this way. We pay for school, then Interstate will re-imburse us while we are there.
SOOO, we pulled the trigger, and signed up with SAGE here, got our DOT phys this morn as well as the pee test (hope I passed, I DID find the cup!)
I will update this as we go, and looking forward to hearing from others, and comparing notes.
Cheers

BTW, also have a blog at www.roadieandwingz.blogspot.com

[sgtmujica]

Roadie,
From another AF member I want to say thanks for your service! Please keep us updated on how everything goes with Sage and IDC because my wife and I have simular plans. I have 9 more years until retirement from the AF but we have decided we are going to team as well when we start our second careers. Now I know 9 years is a little ways down the road but one can't plan too soon. I have been doing quite a bit of research about different trucking companies and schools and these are some thoughts I have been having about me and my wife's situation and how the trucking industry is currently.

I believe Sage is going to be an awesome school. I like the fact they conduct training one on one. I have done some tractor trailer driving in the AF myself but I think my wife is going to need the extra attention My main concern is for my wife to be able to successfully drive one of these huge machines safely and of course pass the CDL driving examination :wink: I have confidence she will do well with having the one on one interaction. Another school I thought about was Central Tech out of Drumwright, OK... I've read a lot of great things about this school. If I'm a OK resisdent at the time my wife and I go to trucking school we will have a hard decision to make because you can save quite a bit of money going to Central Tech vs Sage. Saving almost $2000 each. The thing is Central Tech doesn't have the one on one instruction though. So we'll see which direction we'll take when we come up to that bridge but I'm still leaning more towards Sage. So please keep us informed on your adventure at Sage.

As for the company my wife and I want to start at... wow where to start at, so many decisions. We decided we wanted pull a dry box so that narrowed things down a little bit. My wife would rather drive an auto transmission then the manual. Right now the industry standard is the manual transmission but that may change in the future. We liked the idea that IDC trains newbie teams together but according to their website they train for 6-7 weeks...that is a long time to be in a truck with 3 people. Please let us know if they end up training for that long for a team. IDC does have an excellent practical milage pay and benefits package but from what I understand they don't pay layover, breakdown, or detention pay. So if you find out more specifics could you please share? Some things I heard about IDC I didn't like was they make you chain up instead of shutting down in winter during bad weather and if your in any type (even minor) of accident (god forbid), preventable or not, they are known to let you go... then you have to search for another job with a not so good DAC report. These are things I read about the company through different forums so take the information with a grain of salt but I would just be aware or at least ask the questions from the source. Some good things I did hear/read about IDC is they equip their trucks with a fridge and convertor, they pay something like $10 each time you bump a dock/drop & hook a trailer (not sure if they pay this for the first one or not). Something I was curious about was do they pay of lumpers? They mention something about offload pay on the website but I think the max was around $60 but from what I hear lumpers cost a lot more than that. One thing my wife and I don't want to be doing is downloading our own trailers. So if you do find some info about that could you let us know?

Another company I was looking at was U.S. Xpress. I have heard some horror stories from them but they were from mostly solo drivers and I believe USX caters to teams. There pay isn't as good as IDC because USX pays HHG (shortest route) miles. From what I understand they have a really good training program but teams will be seperated for approx 3 weeks. The current pay is .40 per mile to the truck, if you have a hazmat endorsement it's another .04 cents per mile to the truck (paid quarterly), and another .02 cents per mile to the truck for actual hazmat loads you pull (also paid quarterly). So as a newbie team you could make up to .46 cents a mile paid to the truck. So I would say the pay isn't bad. I like the fact USX gives their teams Volvo 780s (the pics I've seen show them as quite roomy) If you search CAD I believe "flood" has posted some pics of his truck, he's a current USX team driver. USX also pays for lumpers.

Ok I know I'm rambling now but I just wanted to share with you my research and please let us know what you find out and your experiences with school and your new company. Thanks again for your service and be safe on the road.

[Roadie]

SgtMujica
WOW, thanks for passing on your research as well. And THANK YOU for your service. It has changed abit since I was in. My daughter is getting ready to ship Oct 2 to Lackland! Boy,her world is about to turn upside down! :wink:
I appreciate the heads up on what you have heard about IDC. I had not heard some of that but will definately do some more checking. As far as the training, yes we heard 7 weeks, but in 2 stages. 1 is local running local roads, highways, backing, pre-trips, etc. 40 hours local. Then OTR with trainer for 200hrs each. You run a "super solo" type runs, and shut down for nite. Trainer gets hotel, team sleeps in the truck, but that give advantage of showers every nite.
WE had also considered Central tech (ex okie here) then CFI. If we went that route, we would have 4.5 weeks + with no income. Makes it a little tight. By going to Sage here, we keep working (kinda :wink: ) and pulling in a check, then when I quit, I sell my vacation time for another paycheck while we do the training.
We also do not want to be unloading trailers all the time. While running team, our understanding is mostly drop and hook to keep teams from sitting too long.
WE also plan on bringing a dog along with us, so that limits our choices somewhat. Don't remember what USX is, but will look at them a little more maybe. Heard some stories so to be honest, didnt really look at them to much.
All the IDC drivers on the forums I have seen seem quite happy with IDC. Another advantage to training out here with SAGE, and further training with IDC out of Tacoma is we will definately get the mountain training. The Okla hills just dont do the Rockies any justice!
Thanks for the reply, and we will keep you posted on the adventure.

[sgtmujica]

Roadie,

Yes the AF is changing quite a bit... a lot lately! Hopefully, I think for the better... we are doing things a lot smarter and getting rid of the reduntcies. The problem is they are also reducing personnel... I'm sure you know how that goes. I wish your daughter the best of luck as she goes through basic training... BT has changed a lot since I went through 11 years ago but if she does what she's told, doesn't volunteer for anything (remember the question who likes bowling? The first one who raises their hand... great you're now my latrine queen LOL!) and keeps a low profile she'll do just fine.

When you train local with IDC are you still training together with your wife? Did IDC mention what type of equipment teams get? I know they have Freightliner and Volvo but wasn't sure which models they have for teams. I believe equipment to be very important, especially for those who plan on living out of the truck (which my wife and I are going to do). Need as much room as possible. USX website states they allow pets with a $500 deposit (refundable/not I'm not sure).

I wish you the best of luck and we'll be reading about your new adventure. I hope you don't mind answer questions I may have as you go through your journey as I forsee us in your exact shoes in the future.

[rjallen]

When you train local with IDC are you still training together with your wife? Did IDC mention what type of equipment teams get? I know they have Freightliner and Volvo but wasn't sure which models they have for teams. I believe equipment to be very important, especially for those who plan on living out of the truck (which my wife and I are going to do). Need as much room as possible. USX website states they allow pets with a $500 deposit (refundable/not I'm not sure).

My wife and I have been pre-hired by USX. We too have a dog. Yep, its $500 non-refundable for a pet. All other USX on target.

My wife and I are in our 2nd week at Sage Missoula Montana. Good school, good instructors.

Good luck to you both.

Rick

[worldisnotenough]

Good luck Roadie. I think you will enjoy teaming. being from Oklahoma I agree that the Rockies are quite a site. as for Interstate. I have talked to several drivers from there and I use to think that CFI still outranked them in categories that were important to me but of late I believe the tide has shifted. Please let us know how it turns out for you. Hey maybe once you get situated you can give us the inside scoop!

[sgtmujica]

For those of you attending Sage... do all Sage schools have third party testers or do you have to go to a DMV location to conduct the skills portion of the test? Thanks for the info!

[Karnajj]

Good luck Roadie. I think you will enjoy teaming. being from Oklahoma I agree that the Rockies are quite a site. as for Interstate. I have talked to several drivers from there and I use to think that CFI still outranked them in categories that were important to me but of late I believe the tide has shifted. Please let us know how it turns out for you. Hey maybe once you get situated you can give us the inside scoop!

IDC has nothing on CFI and this from a Crete driver! To even consider them in the same breath is an insult. Look at the payscales if nothing else.

[worldisnotenough]

I just talked to Interstate drivers when I was a solo so I don't know any facts, lol funny how that works. But CFI is changing a lot of policies and are slowly moving down the pay scale as other companies move up. Sometimes I wish I would have originally chose Crete when I started. But I got caught up in the hoopla that is CFI.

[Roadie]

IDC has nothing on CFI and this from a Crete driver! To even consider them in the same breath is an insult. Look at the payscales if nothing else.

I'm not sure I follow you. If you look at team scales, both start at .41 after training, after 6mo IDC is at .44 and CFI is at .43 at a yr.

Looks pretty comparable to me in the team department anyway.

Cheers

[Roadie]

Thanks for the well wishes Rick and World, it is appreciated.

Well, tonite we went to class, filled out paperwork, and we are the only 2 starting right now. We did the general knowledge v-i-d-e-o (can you say slloooooow?), and took both pretests on it. I aced both, Wingz only missed a couple, so we're in pretty good shape to start. We have been reading and studying a CDL study guide for quite awhile already.
Tomorrow we go in and will do airbrakes and combinations, then Fri probably go to DMV for the tests.
Sure am glad we studied prior, makin it start out alot easier and go faster.

Hope all is going well for you guys at the other schools.

Cheers

[Roadie]

2nd day of class was a long full day for us. We were planning on doig this kinda part time while working. Well, I am using a couple of sick days at work, and spending some time getting this going.
We did the General Knowledge last nite.
Today we started with air brakes and went all the way thru with combinations, double and triples, tankers, and Hazmat. WOW, 10 pretests today.
The studying we have done up to now helped alot. We only have studied the basic 3, gen knowledge, air brakes, and combo. The doubles, tankers and hazmat was pretty much new stuff today. One of the instructors stayed abit late so we could finish up hazmat. They are really willing to work with our schedule,and keep us going whenever we can be there.
I ended up aceing all of them , Wingz aced several and got a 92 at lowest, so we're in petty good shape.
Tomorrow morning we go to DMV and will take all the written tests!
Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Cheers

[Roadie]

Did the DMV thing today. Took all 6 tests, gen knowledge, air brakes, combos, tankers, doubles/triples, and hazmat. I passed them all first time, Wingz got all of them except hazmat. She wil do that again Monday.
Afterwards we went to school, did a preflight (lol, pre-trip) and had a class on HOS.
This Sage is off for the weekends, at least most of time, but will drive sat if we need to. Will start monday afternoon with trip planning.
Kinda slow at first, until you get the permit, then they say the fun begins.
Lookin forward to it.
Cheers

[worldisnotenough]

Tell wingz no biggie on the hazmat. I screwed up my first test too. Got it with ease the next time. Learn your preflight. Learn it, live it, love it! everything else is just practice. Good luck.

[Roadie]

Thanks World! She only missed it by one question, so a little review this weekend and she should be good to go monday.
Hope everything is good with you guys and your gettin the miles!!
Cheers

[rjallen]

Congrats

Its funny how different the Sage Schools are in reality. They make the claim of standardization but they are different. Our first week was a bear :nervous: Started Monday; took the CDL Wednesday was on the range Thursday. Included one 10 hour day

I did all the CDL except Hazmat on my first visit to the DMV. Just wanted to concentrate on every thing else. Once I got into the Hazmat materials, I realized the actual Hazmat Test was not as hard as I thought from reading the CDL Book.

I know your wife will do it next week. She just had a lot to digest at one time :P

Rick

[Coach]

Roadie, besides the CFI merger and the grumblings of some of their drivers, are there other reasons for not going with CFI? You were pretty high on them.

[worldisnotenough]

Roadie, besides the CFI merger and the grumblings of some of their drivers, are there other reasons for not going with CFI? You were pretty high on them.

I wouldn't call what a driver states to be happening, "grumblings", coach. I drive for them and what I say is what is happening to us. Others it is not. But I put a lot more stock in what a driver says is happening than I do in what a bunch of people on another website in which half are not even drivers for the company. Opinions are what they are, just that. But I don't profit from anyone coming or not to this company. And I don't plan to either. The same guy that I tell what I think of this company is the same guy that I will help slide tandems whether he is in a red truck or a swift truck. There are just as many good things about CFI as there are bad things. Which in my mind makes them average.

[Roadie]

Thanks for the comments guys! Ya there some grumblings by some just because its different. I just try to weed thru opinions and grumbling. I look for facts. Facts are there is alot more sitting than before. Fact is no preplans, etc. Fact is CFI is a public company now instead of a small family run outfit that knows the drivers. Fact is they are not the same company they were a couple of months ago.
Going to Sage here in town while still pulling in a paycheck is also alot better for us. When we graduate, we can go to a company and start pulling in a paycheck still. We realize it wont be the best at first, but it still is income.
SOOOO, it was several factors that made us change our mind away from Central Tech and CFI.
Interstate seems to be more oriented to teams, trains teams together, and does alot of pre-plans to keep you working. They are also non-forced dispatched, have apu's on board, and refridges, and inverters.
Sooo, Sage to interstate, or even someone else if we find someone better, just works out better for us.
Cheers

[Coach]

World, I chose the wrong word when asking Roadie my question. I didn't mean any disrespect towards anyone.

Roadie, thanks for the info. I'm trying to make the right decision as well.