Question:
My last weekend as an outsider looking in, as of Monday at 7am I will have taken the small step for me but the giant leap as far as my bank manager would see it
I will be going to Millis Transfer located in Cartersville, GA for my 3 weeks in class training and then onto 5-8 weeks of OTR training with hopefully a nice person.
I have like those who went before me, decided to post my training journal on here so that I can:
A: Entertain you
B: Educate you
C: Watch for the all important feedback........
So as someone once said ........
...............WATCH THIS SPACE..................
I will try anything once....

Answer:
Thanks Pogo! Will look forward to reading your journal.

Answer:
Millis is one of those companies you very rarely hear anything bad about.

Answer:
Really looking forward to hearing about your experiences Pogo - and good luck!
PP
_________________
Keep electing the same kinds of politicians and you will keep getting the same kind of government.

Answer:
Originally posted by Pogo:
My last weekend as an outsider looking in, as of Monday at 7am I will have taken the small step for me but the giant leap as far as my bank manager would see it
I will be going to Millis Transfer located in Cartersville, GA for my 3 weeks in class training and then onto 5-8 weeks of OTR training with hopefully a nice person.
I have like those who went before me, decided to post my training journal on here so that I can:
A: Entertain you
B: Educate you
C: Watch for the all important feedback........
So as someone once said ........
...............WATCH THIS SPACE..................
I will try anything once....
Hi POGO! I notices that you mention your bank manager, were you in the banking business. And how you come to the career move. The reason why I ask is that I'm a Fireman in Jackson,MS (don't believe the myth we do not make alot of money in the southeast) and seriously thinking about becoming a Professional Driver. Let me say that this is not an overnight thing, I have research alot of information going back to the end of last year. It's just three months ago I started thinking about it again. I also have the backing of my wife, we are in our mid 30's. I also had a fellow Fireman buddy who left the department to go into trucking, told me it was the best move he made he was loving every moment of it. Well not getting to personal just wanted to know your deciding fact.

Answer:
Week 1 Day 1
Well I got to the training facility on Sunday night and checked into the hotel, found out my new roommate was already there, his name is Mike and he is from Syracuse NY. He had only arrived an hour earlier after enduring a greyhound bus ride of 26 hours, I only came 50 miles away…. -->
I wont even tell you about the night at the hotel, lets just say it was like spending the night at a Turkish bath. I needed a shower just from sleeping…Phew. -->
I spoke to the hotel manager before leaving he said he would have the AC fixed before we got back that afternoon…(not holding my breath on that one).
Got to MTI (Millis Training Institute) at around 7.15am, we had to be there at 7.30am, took Mike with me. Well the Instructor turned up at 7.20am and we proceeded to wait until the other 4 trainees turned up…7.40…7.50…. 7.55
Just as I thought, Wow just the two of us, great, all that driving time……In walks 2 other guys, it seems someone did not realize school started at 7.30am SHARP.
Well that’s all the people who turned up…. So it’s a class of just 4 People, not as good as 2 but I’ll take it…. -->
Ok so the class consists of myself and Mike and Sam From Atlanta and Kevin also from Atlanta, So Mike is the only odd one out in the bunch.
So we start the day Finally and it was worth waiting for, that is if you like going thru a forest worth of paperwork…
After we got thru that our Instructor Greg went thru our Schedule for the next three weeks, seems like we will be driving the truck by the end of the week, but first today we are going to look at HOS (Hours of Service). Ok its Monday morning and I have a video of a guy explaining to me what I can an cant do as far as my driving hours are concerned, hang I need a coffee to let all this info leak into my brain…. -->
An hour later and after numerous practice scenarios I think I am getting the hang of the HOS setup, time will tell.
Ok now its onto Logbooks, This at least is easier to get my head round and after a few more practice scenarios on this I am very happy with how to keep this under control, don’t think I will have a problem with this…
That’s about it for this day, it mostly loads of, HI WELCOME SIGN HERE then a few hours of actually training, tomorrow is going to be more intense I am told, we will see….
Oh Yeah, The AC is now working…Thank God…
Week 1 Day 2
Ok, well everyone turned up on time this morning, so we got into the swing of things pretty quickly, we went over yesterday’s topics as a recap and then we moved onto Map Reading.
Let me just say that I thought I pretty much new how to read a map, and of course I do, except I know how to read a map when it involves getting from Ga to say some friends house, of course the difference I have found out from doing that type of trip planning to one where you have to think much further ahead is very very different.
Lets just say I have better understanding about what all those weird lines and funny numbers know mean on my atlas. Especially after all the practice trips we had to plan, we did this most of the morning and after lunch, I finished all mine in a good time, however Sam is having big problems with how to keep track of his mileage in each state, his roommate Kevin is going to help him tonight back at the hotel.
To finish of the day we watched 2 Videos about the techniques required to shift, one was made by CAT and was about using the RPM`s & torque to attain horsepower an the other was mainly about the specific transmission system, especially about the one we are going to start using tomorrow, the 13 speed transmission. These are the training trucks the actually transmissions on the trucks will will train in on the OTR training portion will be 9 speed.
Oh I also found out our trucks are limited to 69 miles an hour, not sure if this common or not maybe someone will tell me.
I will try anything once....

Answer:
I'd be interested in hearing a little more about the 13 speed. The trucks at Chipley (FL) were 9, 10, and super 10, for OTR.
Remember trip planning very well......Approved routes, clearances, weight limits, distance, and book time.
Folks who travel cross country on vacation have no idea what FUN they 're missing.
Glad the a/c works.
I plan where I'm going
'Cause I know where I've been.

Answer:
Week 1 Day 3
Everyone got there on time again, good, got to keep the Instructor happy….
Ok, after going over the review for what we did the day before, Greg outlined what we would do for the day, or at least what he hoped we would do, weather permitting.
1. We would start out with getting accustomed to the transmission in both training trucks, both of which have a 13 gear ratio on them.
2. We would after lunch…(A) go out for a local drive around with just the Tractor unit. …OR. …(B) We would be back in the classroom looking at more training videos
The Morning
We went out into the Millis Truck Parking Lot and Greg took all of us around the lot in the 6-seated training truck. He went thru the general idea of how to change the gears, showing us that matching the RPM`s with road speed would allow us to change the gears in a timely and smoothly manner. We where to change up and down from 1-4 only to start of with.
He said that “the best RPM`s to change at when up shifting from 1 thru 4 is around 1200” it turns out he was right, it is indeed the best way to get a smooth gear change, I say this after going around in circles on the “MILLIS 500 TRACK” as it is so named by everyone who has gone thru the driving course, why, because you go round and the big parking lot going up and down in the gears for about 2-2 ½ hours.
So after the length of time I can say that you do finally get the hang of the smaller gear changing. We had 2 trucks to practice on so we split up in 2 groups of two and managed to spend a good length of time driving and practicing the gears and also swapping between trucks so as to not get too comfortable, I definitely appreciated the fact that the class was so small, gave me personally loads of time to get some of the bugs out of my shifting, I hope this helps later this afternoon.
I have teamed up with Mike today and he seems to be having problems with his shifting in the downshift from 3 – 2.
After Lunch
It’s Pouring with rain. Or as Greg put it “Sounds like a cow pissing on a rock.” -->
So its into the classroom and more videos for the rest of the afternoon, here is a list of all topics on the Videos we watched:
Controlling Speed
Hazard Perception
Extreme Driving Conditions
Traffic Patterns
Positions
Pre-Trip Inspections
Backing
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,
Oh sorry I fell I sleep, the videos themselves are interesting but have the most boring people telling you about them, and personally need to be updated, I am sure I have heard the music on some of them on old 70`s adult videos, the bad ones. -->
Ok, then tomorrow we will finally get out onto the main roads to get some practice…cant wait.
Week 1 Day 4
Like I said before I only live about 55-65 miles from the Training center but opted to stay at the Hotel, seeing as it was included in the Training cost, Well last night I had to go home after school to attend to some matters, and I decided to stay and set out early the next day. I left about 5.50am and arrived at the hotel at 7.10, good job I did my roommate was sound asleep, I think he was relying on my alarm clock for the past few days, me not coming back last night thru him and he was sound asleep when I walked in, that’s when I found out that Kevin the guy from our group had QUIT, right after class yesterday, it seems he was having problems with changing the gears and had a few other personal issues at home and just decided that truck driving wasn’t for him .
So then there was…………….3
I am sorry for him, but I am happy for me……EVEN MORE DRIVING TIME -->
So we start the day as usual reviewing yesterdays activities and then instead of heading for the truck we have to get our paperwork out and do some tests about the previous few days topics…..I have always hated POP QUIZES….ah well, get this done and then onto the Driving.
Wrong, Were now going to do some work on our mapping until lunch……..
Ok finally lunch has come and gone and we are out into the truck, Greg takes the wheel and drives us out of the yard and about 4 miles away, he stops and then starts and goes thru all the gears 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 and then go to 8th overdrive, of course I had to ask what happened to thirteen greg went thru the gears again and pointed out that if you went thru the gears correctly you would go like this:
Low 1 2 3 4 5
5th overdrive
6
6th overdrive
7
7th overdrive
8
8th overdrive
All of which add up to thirteen, but I was under the impression you had to go thru all 13, but you can go from 8 to 8th overdrive, and its acceptable, which I think is cool, less gear changing, Before anyone asks I did not ask if this is the same with a trailer attached I will ask tomorrow.
So Mike takes the wheel and of we go, not the best of starts but its his first attempt and I think pretty good for his first time behind the wheel, but I am not the instructor.
He needs to work on his clutch work and gear changing and also his braking when slowing down for traffic, including downshifting. Total Drive Time 1 Hour
Ok My turn and I am happily surprised I thought the first time would be a nightmare, but I am pleasantly surprised, I went thru the gears smoothly and maybe crunched just twice in my whole drive time, the things I need to work on are slowing sown quicker and changing to the right gear for stopping quicker, stop using the truck like a car, the truck needs more time to slow down. I am not going to beat myself up to much as this is my very first drive. Total Drive Time 1Hr 15 Min
Now Sam`s turn, he was doing pretty good until Greg started giving him a bit more direction then he could take in, leading to him missing gear changes and also he needs to work on his clutch and braking when downshifting. Total Drive Time 1Hr 5Min
We get back to the yard and check that everyone filled in there log books at the tight times, when we swapped over during the drives, luckily we are all good so no red marks from Greg ( He loves using his red marker, for any future trainees).
Ok we went over the Map tests we were given and then got given a separate one each for homework, to be completed by next Thursday.
Tomorrow we will be backing all day.. -->
Back to the hotel room…..to sleep….I am exhausted..up to early…… -->
I will try anything once....

Answer:
Sounds real good so far Pogo - and congrats on doing well. Please keep the updates coming - I am thinking of Millis myself, and although I would go through the Ohio school, I have to assume the two are run pretty much alike, so your experiences will help me know what to expect. Thanks again!
PP
_________________
Keep electing the same kinds of politicians and you will keep getting the same kind of government.

Answer:
We started off with the usual recap of the previous days work.
Then it was out onto the range to do our first Pre-trip Inspection, Steve the other Instructor showed us all how to do the pre-trip, but i ve got to admit he went so fast on it, I didnt take it all in
For the rest of the day we started on learning the backing exersises, which are:
With regards to the backing, I was unsure how I would do, But to my surprise I aced the Straight Back over and over again, never once hitting any of the cones set up. -->
But my fellow students were not so lucky, Mike & Sam just could not get it at first, so even though after a while it was getting boring for me to keep doing the exersise over and over again, it had to be done so that the others could master it, Mike finally got the hang of it but Sam is still having problems
We will be doing more backing after the weekend, and hopefully sam will pick it up and we can move onto something else. -->
So the end of the day is here and also the end of my first week, Its been really intresting and educational and I cant wait for the weekend to finish so I can get back out there and learn some more. -->
I will try anything once....

Answer:
The governed speed of 69 is not that bad faster then a lot of the majors. My truck only gose 63 and I still pass a lot of trucks. Most Road way, ABF, Swift, and a few, very few others. Suprised they only had 4 students the fist week. Makes the 300 a week we have look like a lot.lol Good luck!
_________________
Wood's Country Store
202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
Well the weekend came and went, and here I am again back at the school after leaving my house this morning at 5am, the price you pay for staying at home to be with my wife for one extra night, Let me just say that my wife has been very understanding about me going into the trucking industry, she dosent like the fact i will be a way alot but she undestands, that means a lot to me, she is one in a million. -->
So we are at school and there is still just the 3 of us, We started late today due to Greg not being well, but he didnt let us down and turned aup about 30 min late, and off we went to hit the range....
We started the day as we finished it on Friday.
Backing, more backing and yet more backing.
Yep, we spent the whole day on 2 exersises.
straight backing & serpintine backing
Well I say we, myself and Mike spent the day on the serpintine and Sam spent the whole day on straight backing, Sam is not having a great time at backing the truck, he spent all morning losing the battle of the truck, but towards the days end he finally started to get it, which is good, he is starting to fall behind with the rest of us.
I myself did not have a good start to the day, well i did my first 2-3 attempts at the serpintine was great, nailed it without too much steering, but then after lunch I spent the first couple of attempts all over the place, I managed to get it right by the end of the day, and hope I remember to do the same way tomorrow. -->
Tomorrow we will move onto Alley Backing and Parrell Parking.
Hopefully Sam will catch up with us.....??
I will try anything once....

Answer:
Greg said to say "Yes, I remember them well" said with a slight smile... -->
What did you guys do to leave a lasting impression.
I will try anything once....

Answer:
Today was the worst day, as far as learning anything goes -->
Why am I mad you ask, well....
The day started with all 3 of us turning up as required at 7.30am, and then we waited for Greg to turn up...7.40.....7.50....8.00.
As you may recall from my post from yesterday, greg was not well, this was due to an eye problem, it turns out that due to this Greg wont be able to teach us today, Well thats fine, These things happen after all, cant be helped, they must have a back up plan for such an event..DONT THEY.
Well in a way yes they do, Steve, the other instructor is winding down his class from the 2nd June, they are on there final day of paperwork after finishing the course last week, Steve says he will be with us ASAP. Ok, sounds good....
He instructs us to go and do our pre-trip, which is fine we need the practise, even though it is 90 degrees outside..
So 10.45 comes around and we have done the pre-trip until we are red in the face, As it turns out Samis really good at this, were his driving lets him down his memory on the parts is spot on.
So 11am comes around and we decide to head back to the office, just then steve and his class tuen up and we all think ok, maybe now we can get onto to some backing practise...guess again
Steve decides that we can join his group and he will show us the things we need to do after we graduate,(which I am thinking at this rate might not happen if we dont get back to the program) So we learnt how to load the trailor and how to adjust the bulkhead also we learnt how to move the tandem on the trailor,This all took about half an ahour, so then it was onto backing...nope
Time for lunch..... -->
Ok, back from lunch and we are gasping at getting into the trucks for some training....Not so fast Steve has do "10 things first" his words.
After what seems like forever, we hit the range, but instead of moving onto a new exersise we are told to redo the serpantine which is fine, I suppose...
After an hour of this Steve stops us for a new exersise....Nope, a break.... -->
We ended the day finally learning the blind side parrell park...in total I did it 5 times before the end of day was called by steve at 4.30pm.
Know, Before anyone says anything, I know **** happens, but I would have thought that they would have a good back up plan in place to deal with a problem like this...Afte all we are to be tested on this on Friday so all the practise we can get is like gold....
Hopefully tomorrow will be better, the other class is gone, so the worse that can happen is if Greg is still out then steve can start with us tomorrow, the better result would be both instructors being on hand....we will see
An update so far: Sam is still having problems and to be honest it is not looking good for him if the test is on Friday. Myself and mike are more or less on the same level, except mike needs to get his turning down, he is still turning the wrong way but manages to correct....JUST
Until tomorrow........CYA
I will try anything once....

Answer:
Week 2 Day 8
Well we got to the Training center and thankfully Greg was there, so we headed of to the Range to continue our backing exercises for our up and coming Test on Friday.
We started were we finished yesterday, which was on the Drivers side parallel parking and then moved onto the Blind side and then after a few hours we moved on to the Alley Dock, which turned out to be the most easiest exercise of them all. Well I think so anyway.
During all this, Myself and Mike could see Sam on the other side of the Range still working away on the Blind Parallel parking exercise, I have to say that at this moment in time I cant see Sam making it thru the Friday test, But maybe with some luck..
Not much else happened today, Except that we did do an extra 1hr and 15min after our normal finish time, It doesn’t make up for the lost time yesterday, but at least its something.
We will be doing the whole circuit tomorrow, probably for most of the day, then the test on Friday and I think we will start of doing more driving with the tailor in the afternoon.
I will try anything once....