Hey guys, how busy is maverick? I've heard that freight has been really slow for everyone for a while. Still getting good miles?

Does anyone know how long the wait list is for orientation now? I'll already have my CDL as I'm going to take the class on my own.

Thanks,

Arky

I was told the wait is about 3-4 weeks for orientation.

i was told last thursday by a recruiter that it would be a 2 month wait to get into their sponsored driving school in newport ARK, but was told i could come on right away if i got my CDL on my own.

Pets
 

Does anyone know if Maverick allows pets.

Re: Pets
 

Hey there Deerhunter. I found this on Maverick's drive for us page under FAQ. I am hopefully starting orientation with Maverick this Sunday Oct. 1st. Waiting for my recruiter to call me today!

I applied to maverick said i could work for them but wouldn't send me to school because already had class a cdl but I got that with drump truck and trailer never attended a school . nothing against maverick but they said i already have cdl no need for them to send me to school. Well I think there is big diffrence between dumptruck with trailer than semi and trailer.

tom, I drive the same and got my CDL the same way, no school used. It is not much of a difference for me. My overall length is about 60 feet, a 48 ft flatbed and truck are not much longer than that. Are you saying they hired you on??

Well its official
 

Its official I start CDL training on monday the 2nd. It was kind of hard to decide with my situation right now I have to work fast here at my current Job to get things ready that fast. And my grandmother just had a heart attack. So I am kind of leary about leaving right now but Kevin told me if I had to postpone, or cut class short it would be ok I would just have to get back on the list. I hope it wont come to that. Ill keep you posted when I get the chance. I am really excited but very nervous at the same time. Did anyone else here have those feelings when they started. My wife is still a little in shock from the point of how fast everything is moving. Well i rambling gotta go.

Re: Well its official
 

Little Rock
 

Yes I will be in Little Rock on Sunday Evening.

Good luck to you guys and i hope everything works out. I hope to see ya on the road soon. 8)

Hey Steve and Deerhunter, I'll be in L.R. Saturday afternoon also! We'll have to figure out a way to meet up. I'll probably show up around 7-8 pm as I live close enough I'll be driving down on my own. They told me that I would be reimbursed for whatever the bus ticket would have cost. That wasn't necessary, but it was cool...lol.

Deere29, great talkin to ya today!

Good luck everyone!

Arky

CDL
 

Hey ARKY are you going to CDL also. If so Good luck to you as well Ill be down Sunday evening. Ill be driving also so I wont be there stranded and so I dont have to leave my family 2 days early . The 3 and a half weeks or so is going to be ruff enough as it is. If you want PM me your phone # and Ill call you when I get in.

Deere29 what is the " pre hire test like." What is required

Hope to see you guys soon.

not sure that I'll be there after all. I can barely even type this message. I woke up this morning with one of the worst pulled muscles in my neck/back area I've ever had. Not sure what to do, but there's no way in heck I could pass their agility testing like this. I couldn't pick up a fork right now, much less a tarp...lol.

I'll let ya know what happens.

Arky

Re: CDL
 

It is not to bad. They will test your joint movements and stuff like that. Then you have to pick up a tarp off the ground and place it on top of the trailer and then you will have to climb up on a box that is on top of the trailer.

Sorry to hear that ARKY hope you feel better tomorrow

Arky go buy a gallon of Bengay and a bottle of pain killers. You will be fine :D

Well....As bad as I hated to do it, I had to cancel out for Sunday. I talked to Kevin and he basicly told me that I was better off to cancel and reschedule than to take a chance on getting sent home during the agility testing.

I've been waiting for this day for a long time and was almost in tears when I called, but there's no way I wanted to go down there less than ready. I did go to the bone cracker today and he helped some, I'll probably go again tomorrow or Monday. I can only hope that cancelling out doesn't effect my future at Maverick. Kevin gave no indication that it would but I'll only know when and if I get another slot in orientation.

Deerhunter, we'll probably miss each other completely as I've already taken the classes at newport. I went to school on my own dime to avoid the waiting list.

Best of luck to Deerhunter and Steve!!


Arky

Yes it sucks and I'm really pissed about it, but not a lot I can do. My neck is still pretty locked up, but I think it's better now than it was. I'm sure I'll be feeling great Sunday, just in time to be really, really pissed that I cancelled...lol. It's a tough call to make, but the last thing I would want to do is to have a problem once I'm there.

I might get to see you anyway Steve. From what they explained to me, you'll be there for flatbed training for a few days after orientation.

Good luck!

Arky

I am on the list as well. They called me Thursday to see if I could go this Sunday, but I missed the call and someone else got the position, but they said dont be surprised if I get a call this next week. So we might end up seeing each other Arky. GL

stevedb28, wish you could have gotten my spot. It was noon Friday when I cancelled out and I hope they were able to get someone in that spot. I think that was one reason the recruiter encouraged me to go ahead and cancel so that they could have time to fill the spot.

With hindsight being the true test of any decision, the advise from the recruiter seems to be have been correct. If I hadn't cancelled, I would seriously be worried about the agility testing. Although I feel a LOT better today, I am far from 100% and wouldn't want to be obligated to lift and throw a tarp right now. Tomorrow may...and probably will...be better, but I think it would be cutting my luck far too close. Waiting through next week is gonna be hell knowing that I could have already been there, but life is life and there's not a lot we can do about that...lol.

I'll let you guys know once I find out if I make the list or not for next week.

Arky

Just to let you know Stevedb28 I had my spot on WED so I didnt take it but you will probably be there next week. If you want tell me your name and Ill look for you next week. Im Jim from Indiana. Good luck. Well gtg the kids are making breakfest before I leave. Im leaving in a couple hours.

I dont know if you would call it hired on I filled out app. talked to recruiter found out just come on down take road test and start securment training dont think he relized i was saying 1 I read book took permit test 2 went and took driving test only ever been behind wheel of automatic trucks execept for about six months and that was with an old international with 8 speed wasn't taught to doulbe clutch. and I was taken around a country block three time once to see how to float the gears two times to practice then turned loose up shifting is ok but down shifting thereis alot of swearing and grinding[/quote]

This may be a question for a current maverick employee. I am looking to make a change in my life. I'm currently a supervisor for a small company and I'm as far as I can get with my job. I not happy and I've been thinking about going back on the road. I ran dedicated from NC to CALI from '85 to '87. So I somewhat know what to expect in the trucking business. I never drove a flatbed so I'm not familiar what it takes to secure a load. Back in 2001 I tore my bicep muscle in my left arm. My left arm is limited to lifting 50 lbs max. If I have to lift anything over 50 lbs over my head I put the most of the weight on my right arm. I can get up to 75lbs over my head but It gets tuff after that. Don't get me wrong, I'm not lazy by no means. I do alot of heavy lifting at my current job but it's rare I have to lift over my head. I'm 49 years old and not in bad shape, but I'm not as strong as I use to be. My question is Would this slight disadvantage be "looked down upon" Maverick? I read somewhere that the fitness test requires you to lift a 140lb tarp from the ground up on to the trailer. And I just can't do that, lift 140lbs over my head. I will get that tarp up on the trailer but it won't be lifting all the weight up at once.

hey bob mack there is a post by pronghornracer i will put under this and you can see what she went through the first day to get with maverick


Well, here is the latest.....
I thought I would try out for flatbed, so I applied for Maverick.
They sent me a bus ticket, got there Saturday and I showed up for orientation on Sunday.
There were probably about 30 guys there, and I was the only woman.
Orientation on Sunday was really long, we started at 7:30 and didn't get out until 7:30-8:00pm at night.
They discussed the company, and we watched videos, took tests, filled out paperwork, and had a log book assignment for the next day.
Monday we had to be there at 6:30am for drug testing, D.O.T. physical,
interviews, strength/agility tests.
Sooo......I had a drug/dot test, went to an interview, came back to the main building. They had us filling out more paperwork, took our blood pressure ....again...because most of us had drank coffee that morning. I
guess that it raises your blood pressure or something.
Then we had to do all kinds of stretching, they took measurements of everything, they examined your spine, knees, everything. We had to do grip tests, cardio tests, strength tests, weight tests.
Then we had to show them that we could get on /off the trailer safely. We
had to get on a 5 foot something box that was on the trailer, and off of it safely. We had to get in/ out of the cab of a truck safely. We had to walk a plank/ or narrow piece of the trailer that was on the floor....I guess a balance test.
Also, we had to put a rolled up tarp on the back of the trailer.
They said put it up there, any way that you can.


So...we were lined up doing the weight tests; one of them consisted of
a box/crate with handles on the top of the box, and on the bottom.
The lady conducting the tests would put sand bags in this box, and you
would have to lift it, once using the top handle and once using the bottom handle, she said lift as much as you can, you have to be able to lift a certain amount, which was supposed to be the minimum amount of whatever the required amount was, but she couldn't disclose how much it was.
Well, a couple of guys went first in front of me, and they would lift what she had in the box, and she would ask them, do you want 10 or 20 more pounds added, she kept adding weight as they would ask for it, but before it was said and done, you lifted this thing twice each time as weight was added. The guys in front of me had one or two bags left on the table.
Then it was my turn, she put a few bags in, and I squatted down and lifted it twice, she added 20lbs, and I lifted it 2 more times, she added 20
more and I did it again, asked me if I wanted more, and I added a small 10lb one...and that's as far as I went. I still had a few left on the table, a couple of 20's and a couple of 10's.
Then I went out to lift the tarp on the trailer...well I was still a little tired
from lifting the box of weights, but I gave it a try. I lifted the tarp up to
the bumper, but I couldn't get it on the trailer. So, I sat down to take a rest. I asked the other lady if I could unroll it, and she said "any way you can get it up there"
So, I unrolled it half way, and got it up there one section at a time, took it down and did it again.
I did the trailer, and the box test, and the other tests with no problem.
Then that other lady called me back in and said that I could not qualify for the position, because I didn't lift enough weight.
Needless to say, I wasn't real happy.
So, I went out to the lounge, and was talking with a couple of other guys,
who also were disqualified. One guy missed it by 5lbs. According to him,
the qualifing weight that you had to lift was 140lbs. I was like... "Good grief!"...Why would you have to lift that much weight? Couldn't you get the forklift driver to help you with whatever it was?
Another guy, whom was a re-hire, he had worked there for 2 years, quit for a couple of years and came back was also disqualified, because that lady felt something in his knee that didn't feel right. He has to go get checked out by a doctor. He said he never had any knee trouble. He also said that they never this type of testing when he was there before; used to, all you had to take was a drug test, and you made it in. I asked him
if he ever had to lift anything that was 140lbs, and he said he didn't ever remember doing so.
So, after a long bus ride, I am home again trying to figure out what to do next. I need to find another job soon, before I forget what I've learned.
I'm going to research a few more companies. I'm still interested in flat bed, but I'm wondering if they are all going to be that way. I'm going to check into a few of the other types as well.
So....this is where I stand.

pronghornracer
_________________
"Art is making something out of nothing and
selling it"

Ridiculous! You'll never have to lift 140lbs by yourself. There's almost always going to be someone to help you out, and if not, use your head and invent a way. Once, I got loaded with a Lowe's SDC load out of Ennis, TX going to Rapid City, SD. One of those crazy loads with ladders and bundles of OSB and shed kits, etc.. Problem was I had to tarp the front of the load and the forklift guy had already taken off. No one to help. So, I did like you and just unrolled the 140 some-odd pound lumber tarp and shoved it up there bit by bit. Then I climbed up and spread it out, then very carefully climbed back down. Probably the hardest load I ever had to tarp, but I managed it, and I didn't have to lift 140lbs. Just 140lbs a couple pounds at a time! 8)

If you have to lift 140 lbs, then something is wrong. I understand the tarps can get mighty heavy when wet but asking someone to lift 140 lbs by themself is asking for someone or something to get hurt.

Ridiculous is right. That's a whole lot of bull in pronghornracer's post.

For starters the tarp is not 140 pounds. It might be 120, but I would say closer to 100 definitely than 140. It's really not a big deal at all. Don't underestimate the tarp, grab the sucker and put it on the back of the trailer, then drop it off and do it again.

When I was in securement training there was another woman, story was very similar to this post. She was given probably 15-20 minutes and tried every way imaginable, but she couldn't do it. I thought the woman's forehead would pop, it was beet red with veins popping out all over. I felt sorry for her, but truthfully after a couple of tries I would have given up and headed to the nearest dry van company if I were her. It had nothing to do with her being a woman either, there was another woman in the same class, smaller in stature, and she did it with not too much of a problem. This woman was older, overweight and out of shape and I'm pretty sure that she smoked about 4 packs per day. (nothing against smokers, I'm a pack a day man myself)

I'd also highly doubt that the box is 140#. It's more like a milk crate actually, it even has handles and you simply squat down, grab the handles and lift it to your waist. Again, no big deal. I never saw anyone have much trouble with that at all.

As nrvsreck said, the forklift drivers will put up there for you almost 100% of the time. I never ran into a time when they wouldn't. However, I did have one problem in Russellville, SC once at GP. When I got out to the tarping lot, which is after you scale out and go out the security gate, far away from forklifts, I unrolled the back tarp and just as I was climbing down to pin the corners a gust of wind kicked up and the damn tarp beat me to the ground... I tried your method, pulling it bit by bit, but with the wind blowing that was nearly impossible so I rolled it back up and heaved it up on top the load. It wasn't exactly easy and it took me a minute or two, but I did it and I survived.

Anyone who can't make it through Maverick's orientation tests would never make it out on the road for them, plain and simple. Let's not make it out like their tests are impossible...

Well, guys and gals Im in at Maverick. I leave Sunday at 10:00 am to get to Little Rock at 5:15. Wish me luck because if i really have to lift 140lb crate when I weigh 135lbs, it just might kick my a$$. Ill get to find out Monday tho. Thank you all for youre help and Im taking my laptop with me so I will keep you all posted.

Ok...here we go again..lol

Angie called today and set me up to start orientation this Sunday. I'll be heading to L.R. Saturday afternoon. She made a couple of sly comments related to me cancelling last week, but it really didn't seem to be a problem. Her comments are not demeaning, in fact she and I usually end up joking around at least some when we talk and today was no different, she's a very nice and friendly person to deal with. The fact that apparently there is no hard feelings tells me that they are probably a pretty good company to work for.

stevedb28, maybe we'll get to meet after all.

I want to try to clarify something for some of the newbies who might be reading this thread now or in the future. There are actually 2 different schedules in play here. Some will start on monday. This group has not been to school yet. They will spend Monday in L.R., then go to ASU/Newport on tuesday to start driving school...when they finish in Newport, they come directly back to L.R. and begin orientation and flatbed training and then out with a trainer. I am on the other schedule in that I already have my driving school behind me ( I paid out of pocket), I will start orientation on Sunday along with any experienced drivers that are hiring on. I will go through orientation, then flatbed training, then out with a trainer.

Hope this helps, I'm not 100% sure of this information, but this is what I've gathered from talking to recruiters and the guys that were in the Maverick sponsored training at ASUN while I was there. I think this is a fairly accurate description.

Later, Arky

hey arky, yes I may meet you sunday if you arent too busy. I am one of the ones going to Newport tho. In your post though, Angie told me I would be in Newport for 3 weeks, then go to Little Rock for 4 days orientation, then after that, I would go home for a few days and a trainer is to pick me up. I think the difference there is that you are not going to spend 3 weeks in the driving school. See you there

Yes, as I understand it, you are correct. Although I think you will be in L.R. Monday and then go to Newport. At least that's the way it went for the guys that were in my class. You will be in Newport for 3 weeks, actually you'll come back to L.R. on Thursday of the third week and start your orientation on Friday.

I should get to meet you sometime anyway. I'll pm you my name and cell phone #.

Arky

well maverick offered me a job today but as i am still in school until the 23rd i am weighing my options its definately alot better going through school first and then looking for a job....you have many more options

That info is pretty accurate. You will get home for some time off somewhere either between school and orientation or between orientation and when you go out with your trainer. I've seen it work both ways. I think it has a lot to do with whether they have a trainer close to your home available at the time you will finish orientation or not. If not, they will send you home for a few days after school and bring you back for orientation then you will leave with your trainer straight from there. Don't be afraid to take a trainer that doesn't live close to you. Mine was from just up the road in AR and I am from OH, but I felt like I got the best trainer that they had we really clicked and still talked to each other on a weekly basis even though I'm not with them anymore.

Good luck!

Appreciative of all the Mav info!
 

Have spent all weekend reading through the various Maverick posts and am very excited to attend their orientation next week. Haven't been in trucking since having left Alaska 7 years ago and wasn't sure of which companies here in the "lower 48" would be the best fit. Must say that Maverick certainly looks to be as good as it gets for company drivers who value safety, $$ for their efforts, and hometime with the family. Thanks again for the posts!

Northern Lights, are you required to take a refresher course since it been so lond since you drove, or do you go straight to orientation. Thanks

Can anyone working for Maverick tell me alittle about there insurance, and average miles per week driven? Thanks