Living in a truck with some dude you just met
 

I want to hear your stories about your first trainer, good and bad. What did you like about it, what did you hate about it? What did you bring with you? How did you sleep?

I had the worlds BEST trainer. The month that I was in truck flew by and we had a great time. He taught me everything that a trainer could teach before setting me out on my own. It was because of him, that I got on gordons best dedicated fleet (since I was trained on it) and was never late. We were both on the same fleet running between Albany,OR and several target stores in Idaho. I would stay at his house every other night. His family is like my family. I talk to them every night at work and I'm leaving on tuesday for 3 days up there with them. I lucked out for sure.

I sleep better in a truck than I do at my own house and man, I brought so much crap with me, probably too much, but when I was sleeping my stuff was on the passenger seat and on the floor and when we were driving, it was on the bunk. We never ran team and did 3400 miles a week. I was trained right.

Man do I regret quitting that job...doh :oops:

Even though PST "sucked" beyond belief.... I was my trainer's first student and was 10 years older than he. But Dave was a good guy. For having only driven for about 6 months :shock: he actually had a clue as to what he was doing. He worked hard at learning what he had to know. So my experience with a trainer wasn't bad...it was actually pleasant for the most part. And while it was "team" training....he drove as much late night as I did. 8)

How much do showers cost out there? When you fuel up at a certain place do you get credit for a free shower? I'm a "like to shower daily" person.

My trainer was a grumpy, impatient idiot. He would always want me in the passenger seat to watch what he did for 10 hours and then get pissed when I could not stay awake and alert long enough to drive another 7 or 8 hours after he was tired and went to bed. He would also get mad when I did not back a truck into a dock on the first attempt and would have me get out and he would do it.....Usually in 5 or 6 tries. LOL.

We almost came to blows after he decided to take 2 1/2 days off at his house while we were under load. He lived about 2 hours south of KC and the load we had was suppose to deliver on a Monday between midnight and 10 am. He did not want to leave home until 8 am that Monday and then accused me of informing him wrong on the delivery date and time even though he did look at the load info himself and told me I had read it wrong before he took his time off.

When I told him of this he then called me a liar which is one of the few things that will set me off in a hurry. I was driving at the time and pulled the truck off on the side of the road about as fast as someone could do in a Porsche and told him in no uncertain terms that if I did not hear an apology in 2 seconds flat and that if he did not pull his head out of his azz just as fast I was going to drag him out of the truck and settle things right then and there.

I tried to get a new trainer after that but was left with the choice of quitting the company or staying with him until completion. The saving grace came in the last week and a half of training when he came down with the flu. I was pulled from the truck and put with a local KC driver to complete the cycle. In that 8 days I drove with the local guy I learned more than I had in the 5 weeks before.

My trainer was pretty much cool as hell. H hooked me up with everything i needed to know. never ever got smart with me or yelled at me for anything. He had a brand new truck that he was almost over the top on about keeping clean so it was always nice and fresh and comfortable in. He was on a high mileage dedicated run so i made pretty good money...or at least as good as you can while training. All in all a good experience.....especialy since his run brought us back to nashville after every run so i didnt have to really live in the truck with another person. good deal for me.

And showers are usualy 8-9 dollars a pop unless you use the frequent fueler cards...then you get them for free when you get over 50 gallons of fuel....5o at some 75 at others. I have never paid for a shower.

all truck stops give you a free shower with fuel, usually 50 gallons minimum. otherwise its about 9 dollars. the major ones give you a card that you swipe at the fuel pump. it retains your shower credit for a few days and it also gives you 1 cent for every gallon of fuel you purchase, you use it in the store just like money

Thanks all for the replies.

What did you take with you during your training period? I know it is cramped enough with 2 people to a truck, let alone 2 people's stuff. Also, I was told to bring bed linens. Does the bunk have a mattress? Am I better off bringing a sleeping bag or blankets/comforter?

Alot of new drivers bring sleeping bags, that way if your trainer doesn't like you, he can ask you to sleep outside under the truck. :shock:

Just joking, :D

Some bring sleeping bags that way you can just sleep on top of the mattress. I wouldn't trust the mattress in there, never know what or who slept on it before.

Bring a week and a half of clean undergarments and a change of clothes because you might not have time to do laundry.

Don't bring too much, overpack, because sometimes the trainer has his truck stuffed full and barely hs room for his own things. Then you might have to leave some of your things behind in storage at the terminal.

Bring your own calculator, work boots, raincoat, gloves, pen, paper, ruler for logbook, and other things you think you might need.

Be prepared.

I trained with Stevens Transport:
4 weeks with a super trucker, he taught me how to pee into a bottle while driving (I was only in his truck for 2 days and he pulled this crapola), how to fudge my logbook, how to cheat on my fuel bonus, he would park near his home at a Walmart call his wife to come get him, and leave me sitting in the truck for 3 days at a time.
7 weeks with a training team member who crapped in his undies and stored it on the top bunk,had shoes that stank so bad it made me sick, had a hooker while we we in Vegas (gaakked up my bunk) truck smelled like crotchrot, and every single time he drove,....he would hit the rumble strip, sometimes he would get us lost by 100's of miles, and he sang opera in the front seat,...OH,..and he looked like Duke Nuk'em.