Orientation/Getting A Trainer

Gooood Lawwwwd so much has happened since the first blog!!! It has been constant, and new experiences that have been truly eye opening! The cool thing about coming to drive for PRIME is that your training is essentially *free* meaning that once you are hired on, you have to work for the company for a year and you don’t owe anything for training.

So far I have been through my Orientation, which was pretty straight forward (Many adults do not know how to follow instructions lol). We did an actual face to face interview and verification of documents, got our meal cards, and hotel room. Yes we get a lil hotel room to ourselves and 3 square meals, one thing that I learned early, is that you will not starve around here. Because of COVID, every student had his or her own room at 1 of like 5 hotels close to one another in Springfield, MO. There is a Shuttle that will take you to the main terminal, the plaza, each of the hotels and of course Wally World. During orientation, we were split up into 3 different groups, who were to stay together for classes and things most importantly simulator class. (basically a big video game with 3 TVs in front of you and a truck set up, which was pretty sweet) We also had to do self paced computer based training, thank God I brought my own laptop, so I was able to do my CBT’s in the comfort of my room I got group B, and we had our morning roll call, and times for sim class. Sim/safety class was a bit intimidating at first, I wont lie. But we made it through. After orientation was over, we then were assigned to go to the Plaza building, where we would begin actual class. There we had a tire and loggs class to learn about the tires for the trucks and trailers, tread depth and tire wear etc. After tires we learned how to log our times and things down for payroll. Next we were handed a 10 page document. I bout passed out, because it is the pre-trip, which is what we have to complete for our test. This pre trip includes the engine compartment, driver’s door/fuel, coupling, lights, trailer, and in-cab. We all thought we were gonners in that moment. But once we started working through it, it hasn’t been too bad. I just now feel that everything is “properly mounted and secured, not cracked bent or broken.” lol

After we started with the pre-trip at the plaza, that is pretty much what we were assigned to until we were placed with a trainer. I will tell you right now, that with me not being mechanically inclined, it was difficult to learn, and I’m still reciting and getting everything down. But once I was assigned my trainer, we met and gave introductions nd things, and he pretty much gave me the run down on how everything works. We set boundaries right off the bat which is all good so we know where each other stand.

Right off the bat the next morning we meet and took a tour of his truck, he is in a 2020 Peterbilt which isn’t all that bad. nice bunk area, decent room and air vents on the top bunk. After that we go over pre trip on his truck and what’s different since every truck is a little different. From there we go to the pad, which is where the backing maneuvers are learned for the driving portion of the test. Day 1 needless to say I was trash lol, but its a work in progress, no one gets it on the first try. Day two we do pre-trip again and some more pad time, Im starting to figure out which way to turn the wheels of the truck to get the trailer to follow. After some backing, we go on a little route around Springfield with an empty trailer. Driving forward with a trailer isn’t that bad other than having to turn wide and watch where the trailer is tracking while turning. Other than that we’re in a car lol, just sitting high.

Day three we were going to wait and get pad time in the evening, but the pad was filled with students and their trainers, so we decided to chill, and I would wash clothes and pack and things. We get a load from Springfield to Oklahoma City so I was stoked, it was about 300 miles/4.5 hours. My trainer picked me up at the hotel, I threw everything on the top bunk and we took off to get the trailer and hit the road. I drove the whole way to OKC with no issues, chillin and chit chatting to help time go by.

So far everything has been good, I have a whole new respect for truck drivers, this life isn’t easy. These truckers literally keep the world moving. (this will be another post later on lol) But after delivering to OKC, we were dispatched to get loaded in Fayetteville, Arkansas and then drop off in two different locations, those being Medford, OR and Woodland, WA. Yes, I will be driving a good ol’ 2,600 miles one way lol and then we will make our way back to Springfield so I can get some pad time in before I test. Stay tuned, as the next blog will be the details of the trip, as we make our way from Arkansas all the way to Washington! Driving in parts of the country I have never been! Cheers to the new adventures!

~Ron