[Contradude]

I was wondering what life during the over the road training period is like. I have heard some companies allow the trainers to drive as if you were a team, and others make the new driver do all the driving. Do the trainers stay in motels, do both sleep in the truck or are these short trips? Any experiences good and bad would be helpful.

[rickstephens]

ok might depend on co your with, i was on the trk 6 weeks only home 2 days we drove has a team drove over 40,000 miles but we did have a few days where we sat . when one was driving the other tried to sleep which is hard because the trk bounces alot u will be tired it is hard work if u have a good trainer he will have u do alot so u can get a good idea what it will be like solo im sitting at a trk stop for the nite if u have any other ? maybe i can help only been on the rd now for 6 weeks rick

[got mud?]

Originally Posted by Contradude

I was wondering what life during the over the road training period is like. I have heard some companies allow the trainers to drive as if you were a team, and others make the new driver do all the driving. Do the trainers stay in motels, do both sleep in the truck or are these short trips? Any experiences good and bad would be helpful.

I was with millis transfer for training and the truck did not run as a team as you dont have your cdl until the 3rd or fourth week. you sleep in the truck with your trainer. I was lucky and my trainer lived 5 min from my house so I went home when he did. its was a good time as I really got along with my trainer. bol to you.

[NevadaJim]

Originally Posted by rickstephens

ok might depend on co your with, i was on the trk 6 weeks only home 2 days we drove has a team drove over 40,000 miles but we did have a few days where we sat . when one was driving the other tried to sleep which is hard because the trk bounces alot u will be tired it is hard work if u have a good trainer he will have u do alot so u can get a good idea what it will be like solo im sitting at a trk stop for the nite if u have any other ? maybe i can help only been on the rd now for 6 weeks rick

Rick,

I thought Swift had a policy that the mentor was supposed to be up front for the first two weeks. Based on what you say, that 40,000+ miles in 42 days probably averaged 20 hours a day between the two of you. Did this guy do any training or just use you for mileage? These kind of stories of so-called training are scary to hear. I'm not sure what the guy was making per mile. But let's just assume it was 35 cents. This guy that was supposed to be training you saw a $14,000 paycheck for taking you out for 6 weeks? Somebody got hosed on that deal and it sounds like it was the trainee.

Does this happen to any other Swift trainees? Just curious to know.

[rickstephens]

Jim lets start off by saying riiiiiiiiiightttttttttt my first day and most everyday after that yepper in the sleeper watching movies don't get me wrong he did do some training but i most deffenty did all the work and u have to watch that they don't use u as a log bl also had to tell him a few times it was my a.s not his as far as other trainers i have a friend now with the same co she has only done one back as of today co wants to at least do a min of 28 she is done with training 4/3 i know of some trainers who try to scare u if u don't like what there doing they will throw u off trk so u do what u have to do myself got off trk first time my understanding of training pay is they get pd for all your miles when solo for a yr

[silvan]

Originally Posted by Contradude

I was wondering what life during the over the road training period is like. I have heard some companies allow the trainers to drive as if you were a team, and others make the new driver do all the driving. Do the trainers stay in motels, do both sleep in the truck or are these short trips? Any experiences good and bad would be helpful.

With me, we ran team, but the other guy had to be awake when I was in order to show me the ropes in our particular corner of the world. It was a real ordeal. I got schooled in How To Run Three Logbooks 101, and all kinds of stuff during those weeks. We were doing some seriously crazy crap, like running 48,000 miles a week on 96 logbooks or something. I can't quite remember.

The best part about training was getting the damn trainer out of my truck, and doing my own thing my own way.

[rickstephens]

i agree silvan could not wait to be on my own trainer keep pushing team well yea team with another student of his meansmore miles since teams never stop but after 6 weeks with him im solo tuff at times not the cks i wanted but getting there

[west_coaster]

When I trained with Gordon, we did not do any team driving for the first couple weeks. As I got more and more comfortable we did some super-solo type driving (each drive about 8 hrs a piece, then sleep for a good 8 hrs stopped). A few times my trainer would go into the sleeper to take short naps or watch a movie. I think that it inspires a bit of confidence into the trainee if the trainer gets up and goes into the sleeper every now and then. I didn't mind it, but I think these companies that use trainees just to get their trainer's a huge paycheck is B.S. If I were you I'd go with a company that doesn't allow trainers to run as a team. After all, you area probably going to go solo when you're done, why not learn to run as a solo driver not a team? Just my three or four penny's...

West_Coaster

[coastie]

When I went out with my trainer, and the first time I sat in the drivers seat, he sat out with me for 15 minutes to the second. He then got up and moved back to the sleeper. I drove from Chyenne, Wy to east of Denver, Co. He then came out an took back over.

Later I asked him did he do that with all his trainees? He said "No, but he got really comfortable with me. "

We got along fairly good. He was from Calif, and I was from Georgia. We had one load to Calif, he would not allow me to drive there. Reason was at the time so many people were trying to cause accidents with the big trucks for an insurance scams. His name was Brain CB handle MudFlaps.

[jnk2001]

Originally Posted by NevadaJim

Rick,

I thought Swift had a policy that the mentor was supposed to be up front for the first two weeks. Based on what you say, that 40,000+ miles in 42 days probably averaged 20 hours a day between the two of you. Did this guy do any training or just use you for mileage? These kind of stories of so-called training are scary to hear. I'm not sure what the guy was making per mile. But let's just assume it was 35 cents. This guy that was supposed to be training you saw a $14,000 paycheck for taking you out for 6 weeks? Somebody got hosed on that deal and it sounds like it was the trainee.

Does this happen to any other Swift trainees? Just curious to know.

When i trained with swift 10 yrs ago, the first thing my trainer told me, was the lower bunk was his and it was his truck. well, you aren't suppose to sleep on the top bunk when it is moving. you get really tossed around up there. If I'd known that when I started, I would have never left the yard. If someone told me that today, I'd be on the cell phone filing a complaint with my dispatcher. all this guy wanted to do was drive like a team. the only thing he talked about was money. If someone just wants to run teams, run away from him. he doesn't care about you, just how much money you can make for him.