Changes

We have had several changes to our plans. With the buy out of CFI by Conway, and Conway folding its over the road division into Cfi, we decided against CFI at the moment. CFI seems abit overwhelmed at the moment with more drivers than they can efficiently handle. A lot of sitting by drivers waiting on loads, planning, etc. So we'll let the dust settle there for awhile and look at them again at a later date if we need to.
With that change, it also changed our school plans. There is SAGE Tech here in Salt Lake. They have schools all over the country and their program is very well respected. Their big advantage is when driving starts, it is one on one in the truck. Most other schools will put up to 4 or 5 in the truck and go out for 4-5 hours. You get an hour actually driving, but log the 4 or 5. With Sage when you go out for a 4 hour drive, you drive 4 hours. Seems like alot better training.
By going with SAGE here while we are still working, we will be able to complete our school by Nov when we leave here. That is a BIG plus for us, as we won't have a month and a half without any income.
We are now thinking we will be going with Interstate Dist co after school (if they hire us), based in Tacoma Washington. They are geared for team drivers, and seem to really take good care of their drivers. The trucks they have already have a fridge in them, an inverter (for 110V for coffee makers, tv, computer, etc) and an onboard APU (generator) so we won't have to always idle the truck for AC and heat and power. Many places now have anti-idling laws and more are going that way all the time.
We called SAGE Wed. morning about starting and was told to go get our DOT physicals and a medical clinic they recommended. The ed clinic bills Sage, and it is part of tuition.
Well, we made it to school Wed nite with DOT physicals in hand. We did the general knowledge in class wed nit, took 2 pretest. I aced both, Kim is running about a 95 average, so we're starting out pretty good.I took a coupe of sick days, (cough, cough) and we spent all day Thurs in school. Did classes on air brakes, tractor/trailer combinations, tankers, doubles/triples, and hazmat. 2 pretests from each section. So far I have a perfect record, and Kim is still running about a 95 average, she aced a couple also, so we're still doin good!
We went to DMV this morning and took the state written tests. We had to do General knowledge, air brakes, and combinations to get our learner permits. Both of us got it first try. Then we took some endorsement tests for doubles/triples, tankers, and hazmat, I got all 3, Kim missed the hazmat, but will take it again Monday.We were surprised to learn that regular stuff like perfume, milk, some teas, etc, are considered hazmat. More and more stuff is, and they pay extra to haul hazmat. Most companies do not require it, but it is good to have the capability.This afternoon we had a class on preflights (errr, I mean pre-trip), and hours of service. Monday we start class on trip planning.Everything is going well. We're anxious to get thru some more of the classroom stuff so we can start driving. That should be around the 1st part of Oct.