Truck Driving Jobs

ZiggynCali · Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 8 Location: California

Hey guys i'm going through school right now, I'm on my 2nd day in the truck, we have done the air brake test once, drove 1 lap an tryed to dock between cones. i'm wondering how you guys felt at about this sametime going through school. I never drove a truck before so I was getting nervous just trying to find where the gears an clutch were. I really don't know if its normal but they show us once have us get in the truck then we do it one time an move on to the next thing. I was really hoping to get alot of practice but they seem to really be rushing us. At this point i'm starting to get really nervous I think I might not be able to pick it up, I never drove a stick before an now i'm learning on a big rig an only gettin one chance at each exercise. What if any advice to you guys have? did anyone out there think they wouldn't get it an know they know it like the back of there hand, anyway thanks in advance if u can share some thoughts.

DDCavi · Joined: 12 Apr 2008 Posts: 115 Location: Maine BABY!

How many hours is your course? I had a 200 class and I had 25 hours of on road time, which was good but Id always like more. You paid for this schooling, speak up and tell them what you want. They should not move on if YOU dont feel comfortable.

Jimbpard · Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Posts: 553 Location: Irwin. PA

Nobody starts out knowing what to do, and if they say they did, they're full of :dung: .

However, if you are truly only getting one shot at each exercise, that is unacceptable. Dont sweat it. Just come right out and tell them that you need more seat time to get the hang of things. Afterall, YOU ARE paying for this. It aint no salvation army course. They owe you!
Rushing into things that your not sure of will only result in accidents.

Just keep on it and try not to get frustrated. Just realize what your doing wrong and then work on fixing the problem. It's no cake walk. The guys that have been doing it for a little while make it look easy as chewing gum, which it is once you know what your doing, but remember there is a reason why you need a different license than all the 4wheelers to drive one of these trucks.

Good luck and hang in there. You'll pull though. Dont be scared to speak up.

Flashmann · Joined: 11 Feb 2006 Posts: 79 Location: Colorado

ZiggynCali wrote: Hey guys i'm going through school right now, I'm on my 2nd day in the truck, we have done the air brake test once, drove 1 lap an tryed to dock between cones. i'm wondering how you guys felt at about this sametime going through school. I never drove a truck before so I was getting nervous just trying to find where the gears an clutch were. I really don't know if its normal but they show us once have us get in the truck then we do it one time an move on to the next thing. I was really hoping to get alot of practice but they seem to really be rushing us. At this point i'm starting to get really nervous I think I might not be able to pick it up, I never drove a stick before an now i'm learning on a big rig an only gettin one chance at each exercise. What if any advice to you guys have? did anyone out there think they wouldn't get it an know they know it like the back of there hand, anyway thanks in advance if u can share some thoughts.

When I was learning,I knew less than you,if that's possible....Nervous doesn't begin to describe how I felt.....I was scared to death when they had us back up straight,well straight as we could,for 50 yards or so....I just knew I was gonna jack-knife it...The 1st time on the driving course to run through the gears was terrifying....Every time I grinded a gear,which was almost every shift,I figured they'd tell me,That's it....Get out.....Go home...But they didn't....

One guy told me he'd been driving for several years and still grinds a gear pretty good now and then.....He also said try to calm down,it will all come together with time and practice.....Danged if he wasn't right....

Rawlco · Joined: 25 Jan 2006 Posts: 1160 Location: Central Maine

If you are not a little scared or nervous then you are DANGEROUS and should not be behind the wheel. Confidence leads to mistakes.

You can think through some things outside the truck, like shifting you can practice moving your feet and arm in the right order so it will be easier behind the wheel. Watch closely how others do and what mistakes they make. It is easier to learn from others mistakes than your own.

Good luck and don't give up. If you need more practice that is not a bad thing, because it is easier to make mistakes and correct them as a student then to find out you have no idea when you are actually behind the wheel. One day at school I pulled out of the angle dock too short and ended up with a cone in front of a trailer tire. I could have moved the cone but I played with it and got out around it within the confines of the "dock" It was much easier to learn that way than if I took a corner too short on the road and had traffic honking at me. If you practice more than someone else that means you are learning more.

Suppose you start out backing it perfectly, then suppose one day it goes wrong and you have no idea how to fix it. If you can do it wrong and fix it you are a better driver than one who gets it right the first time.

knobs · Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 21 Location: central in

ok you might laugh but when i went threw school i had been shifting gears in cars for 40 yrs but in school since they teach you to double clutch when your in your room try using a toilet plunger might look weird but it might help some.

cdreid · Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 227

Stressed!!! scared a bit. Theres a lot on the line and a lot of hurdles.

If you want it you'll make it.

You dont really learn to drive a truck til you're in training. Right now you're mostly learning to pass the test. Just get as much time behind the wheel as you can and learn to recognise and counter the stress

cdreid · Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 227

remember the practice trucks your driving are probably junk. Anyone would grind. Heck 6th in this old freightliner is worn out and hard to ingage so sometimes i have to grind it on purpose

DDCavi · Joined: 12 Apr 2008 Posts: 115 Location: Maine BABY!

cdreid wrote: remember the practice trucks your driving are probably junk. Anyone would grind. Heck 6th in this old freightliner is worn out and hard to ingage so sometimes i have to grind it on purpose

Werd. We learned on Volvos that had 800K miles on them. One was an Eaton-Fuller which I definately prefered. I could shift that no problem all day. Then the Rockwell. Goddamn the Rockwell. That sucker took me awhile to get a hold of. You had to shift SO much quicker. I got the hang of it, but till prefered EF.

A couples weeks back I took my road test with Superior, went in the truck and saw Rockwell. Right off the bat, I knew this was going to be trouble. Been a month since I was on the road and then this bastard pops up. Well it definately wasnt a displayed Id like to relive, but that truck shifted SO much better. The gears were closer, and not nearly as sloppy.

Moral, the trucks will get better. Unfortunately I spent $6300 for training in JUNK equipment :?

ZiggynCali · Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 8 Location: California

Thanks for the advice guys, I think at some point soon I will ask for more seat time, I am paying 3000 so its only right. We just had our 3rd day in the yard, today we had to take the air brake test an pre trip inspection I passed both on my first try. I was really sweating the air brake test since I only actually practiced it two times before. There are 8 guys in our class, 4 failed those test on the first day an the other 4 me included passed, they get another shot to pass tomorrow.

matcat · Joined: 09 Sep 2007 Posts: 560 Location: Sumter, SC

When I went thru swift school, after the first in class week, the 2nd week is all range work. We started at 6am, and went until 4pm. We spent 2 hours at each station. The first day was all about learning the clutch and shifting, and the only movement of the truck we did was go back and forth in a straight line. The second day we did that for a half of day, then went to the rotating range positions. It was basically 2 45 backing stations (In different spots), 2 Virginia curves (Paralleling), and 2 straight lines. Though there where 2 of each station, they where both radically different, plus on top of that every single truck had a different issue (on purpose) you had to work around. The worst one was the one straight line station that had a trailer that dog tracked like a mother. One of the 45s had its 5th wheel dry as a bone, and one of the Virginias had a mirror that refused to stay where you put it. Ontop of it the clutches where about as bad as they get. That first week was a lot of cone running over, grinding gears, stalling out, 'jumping' the truck, etc etc. After that week of range hell, was the week on the road, also 6am to 4pm. 4 to a truck, each person got about 2 to 3 hours drive time a day, totaling 12 hours drive time for the week. First day we went to an industrial park, that had barely any traffic of any kind, and used that for our learning to up and down shift at speed, as well as simple turning, stopping, etc. After the first day, the rest of it was all spent in and around the city of Richmond, a descent mix of hills, city driving, highway driving, etc. Really most of the time was spent going in and out of downtown Richmond!

I also never drove stick before, and believe me, you are at the advantage, you don't have bad habits to unlearn. I learned it very quick, and in fact during the swift driving test (before going to dmv), I was told I was one of the quickest to pickup shifting, and at the DMV I was told I was one of the best at shifting for a newbie. Actually, that reminds me too, after my 6 weeks out with my trainer, and I came back to my home terminal to test out to go solo, I did my road test floating, and the guy evaling me didn't even notice I was floating until he happened to look down at me feet when we where pulling back into the terminal, and said, "Damn you shift so good I didn't even realize you where floating that entire time, just make sure that in the future if you are doing a test of any kind double clutch!".

ohiomohawk · Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 5:41 am Post subject:

Shifting gears and backing was so easy :?

Just joking, I couldnt shift gears to save my life the 1st week I was in a truck. I was sent home after 13 days with Schneider because I couldnt shift nor could I back into the broadside of a barn.

I kept trying and trying and now I can back and shift pretty good. I have driving for 1.5 years now.

Be patient and it will all come together.

Hawkjr · Joined: 26 Mar 2008 Posts: 56 Location: Virginia

when i first started the only problem i had was i would dump the clutch!! lol and rock me and my trainer to hell!! I could get through the gears like it was nothing... another problem was i couldnt set my self up for a right turn.. i would go in to high of a gear or coasting... but i got it all down pack before i left and actually was told i was one of the best shifters the school had ever seen... backing up was a whole different story.. my trainer gave me the keys one day and told me to go play with it.. hell i sat in the truck for 2 hours trying to learn how to back!! with no trainer!!!but three sessions later i was hitting the dock backing like it won't nothing..

as long as you have at least an hour or two behind the wheel every session you will be find.. get into a grove and you good.. if u share the truck with 5 other students sitting in the sleeper than good luck!! lol

dewercs2 · Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 162 Location: Hemet, CA

ZiggynCali wrote: Hey guys i'm going through school right now, I'm on my 2nd day in the truck, we have done the air brake test once, drove 1 lap an tryed to dock between cones. i'm wondering how you guys felt at about this sametime going through school..

Where in Cali are you and what school?

Redcoat wife · Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Location: Boerne, TX

First post here. Been lurking for over a week. My husband just finished with Roadmaster's school in San Antonio. He did really well but he is definitely of the opinion that it was a lot of money for the amount of actual instruction he received. I agree with his assessment. Their equipment was also crap but I figure if you can learn to make those trucks move with their knackerd gearboxes then you should be able to shift anything.

To dewercs2: I've asked jvnd to forward you an email I sent him asking your thoughts on the company you drive for as my husband goes to their orientation next week. If you read this before he sends you my mail, email me at candrejak@gmail.com. Since you've gone through it so recently, I'd like your opinion.

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