July 14th Burleson Class - Journal

Lunchtime on Day 2. We are filling out our log sheets each day as if we are drivers. Once we start messing around in the yard, we will be able to put drive time on there. This morning has been all about Trip Planning. What a pain. I remember back in my high school and college days, using an atlas on all my trips. But i admit, since the advent of GPS ive been assimilated by the Borg. So now i have to reaquaint myself with maps again. Which is a good thing, and coming back to me. I never plan on using GPS solely to do this, but im sure i will have it as a tool in my toolbox. As a car driver my favorite part of having a GPS is knowing what the speed limit is all the time, because if i have one Achilles heel its my heavy foot. Ive been better the last four years. But i do have to look at my GPS a lot to remember to watch my speed.

 

Day Three is in the books.

Today was super cool. We finally got behind the wheel. We split up, 3 people in one truck and 2 in another. We spent most of the day doing the Millis 500. We drove around the yard NASCAR style. We practiced shifting and downshifting.

We were told to stay in low gears. But it wasn't long before some of the guys experimented switching to upper gears. I got to 7th once. But you can only drive fast for so long because either the other truck was ahead or the yard was bumpy. I also tried Reverse a few times.

Here's the thing about learning to shift. It's like climbing a tree - real easy to go up, but harder to come back down. Upshifting comes pretty natural. Double clutching isn't so hard. I accidentily floated the gears a few times because it's ingrained. But I tried to double clutch because I know it's necessary for the CDL test and I don't want to learn bad habits for now.

Downshifting is another ball of wax. It's still hard for me to find the right gear. I sometimes am off on where I think the gears are. It's not always easy to find and it's frustrating to grind. I have a tendency to take too long between clutch's and lose too much RPM. You have to tap a little on the accelerator while downshifting into a lower gear. It's not intuitive to give it some gas (Fuel!) while trying to slow down.

But all in all, after a while it gets easier. I wasn't as good as the other two guys in the truck. But I had enough stretches of no grinding that I feel confident it will come to me. Overall, I'm much more confident now than before today. I believe I can do this, with practice. I'm still by no means great, but I think getting my timing down and finding the gears will become smooth over time.

Learning to drive a rig is a dance between getting too ####y, and embarresing yourself. After a minute of success, your head starts to get big and you feel like it finally clicked - then getting brought back to Earth and doing some nasty grinding, and realizing you have a ways to go still. It's a humbling experience. You alternate between feeling really good and feeling really terrible. But it's only the first try. It seems within reach.

Tomorrow we have another classroom day. Then it's back to the range. I can't wait. That's a good sign. I'm not worried. I'm excited, so I know I'll become good. I'm especially excited about getting on a smooth road and trying the upper gears. And Backing. I'm sure I'll be brought back to Earth aplenty. Today has just been the tip of the iceberg.

The other guys seem to be doing well. I was impressed with how well they did.

I have to hand it to Harold. Doing his job must take a lot of patience.

 

Also, stepping out of the truck after driving awhile is funny. Your leg gets so tired from fighting the clutch that you get a case of sphagetti legs. It feels like I'm going to end up with one huge leg and one anemic one.

 

The fun thing about these threads is we can go back and read everyones accounts corresponding to the days we, ourselves, are currently on. It's intresting to compare notes and feel that everything is on pace.

 

DAY 4

Today wasn't very eventful. We spent our last full day in the classroom before we move outside full time. We covered coupling/uncoupling, backing, pre-trip/post-trip, and road communication (signals, flashers, etc.). While it's all necessary stuff, I'll be thankful to get out with the trucks. I'm a hands on kind of guy.

We have homework - Go over the pre-trip checklist. There's a lot to it. It's probably easier to learn as we actually do it, as opposed to staring at a piece of paper. But I'll familiarize myself as best i can.

We made our appointments for our CDL test in Waxahachie. I'm scheduled to take mine first, on Tuesday the 5th of August. Now, I guess I better learn to drive by then. =-)

 

DAY 5 - Wrapping up the first week

Today was a great day.

We started by going over coupling and uncoupling. No big deal. Although I did forget to deflate my airbag before pulling out once. Egg on my face. But there's not much to the procedure.

Then we went over pre-trip. There's a lot to it. But it's much easier to digest while using an actual truck than watching a video or reading a checklist. Again, no biggie. It will just take repetition, like everything else.

Guess who made a guest cameo today? The man, the legend - Steven Neill and his son. Steven was dropping a load at the Burleson terminal and stopped in to say hello for about 45 minutes. He got to listen to Harold go over the pre-trip. He was probably thinking, 'sure am glad I'm past boot camp and training.' It was definitely great to meet him. What a cool dude.

Then we got to straight-line backing the rest of the day. That was fun (the first 5 or 6 times). It wasn't near as hard as I imagined. But I know the tougher backing is still ahead, so I refuse to celebrate, because I know as soon as I do, I'll make one of my blunders.

Next week starts the meat of the course. We are having 10 hour days next week, and it looks like it's all driving from here on out. Couldn't be happier. Next Monday we start out with parallel parking. Harold has jury duty, so another will step in to instruct.

I'll see how many barrels I can hit.

We have some reading assignments and a Week 1 test to do, over the weekend. But I also came home to see my wife so I'll have to shut myself away in my man cave and study a bit tomorrow.

One week in and I feel really good about my decision to go with Millis. Everybody is really nice. I striked up a conversation with a Regional driver and he said he loved the company and he was very friendly. He said ask any of the drivers anything - 'We are all willing to help'. It's good to see such a nice attitude among the drivers. Steven's parting words to us were something along the lines of 'Millis is a great company. They have never lied to me. Some companies, the recruiters say all kinds of things. But everything the recruiters at Millis told me is true. I'm getting 3200 miles a week and am happy.' Getting two drivers in one day (that have actually seen combat) give such glowing recommendations, really reassures me. I'm going to like this company and job.

 

Just a note to prospective students...

Recruiters may tell you not to worry about doing your Air-Brakes or Pre-Trip tests before you get here, because technically you CAN do them on a Saturday during your time at the academy. But I recommend doing them before you report to school. They both have to be passed before you do your drive test.

Neither one is that hard if you read through the manual and pay extra attention to any increments of measurement (distances, pressures, heights, times, amounts, weights, seconds, etc.). The Pre-Trip is done on the computer, instead of a walk around (thank you Texas), at least until they change it next year.

I feel for the other students who still have to do these tests. Because One, they have to cram it in on a Saturday. And Two, it's an extra stress to worry about. Even though neither is super difficult, it's still nice to have it out of the way.

You don't have to do Double/Triples, Tanker, Passenger, Bus or Hazmat before going to school. Millis doesn't require them at all. But I did them anyway, because they really are easy and your at the DMV anyway, so why not knock them out for sh**s and giggles. I haven't done Hazmat though. It can't be done until after you have your actual CDL. But the rest only take 10 minutes each and are fairly simple if you've read the manual or used some online practice tests.

 

Pro Driver Cards - Reward Points

The big truck stop chains offer Reward programs. As you purchase fuel and stuff from them you get points off future purchases, wi-fi time, showers, etc.

I applied online a few weeks ago for my Ultra One card from T/A - Petro. It finally came in the mail to me on saturday.

I drove by, on my way back to Burleson, and picked up my Love's and Pilot / Flying J cards. Those two you apply in person at the register or kiosk. The T/A is through the mail.

All three cards have corresponding apps for your phone, to help keep track of your points and shower credits.

With those cards in my wallet, I feel a little more prepared to hit the road.

 

Day 6 we were thrown into the fire. The July Texas heat did a number on us while we waited our turns to drive. It was sweltering.

Harold had jury duty for the first part of the day, so a cool dude named Patrick substituted.

We did backing all day long. Parallel parking and offset backing. At times I get driving Dyslexia. I can do something a few times the right way, and then suddenly, out of know where, my brain goes on vacation and I forget Left or Right. Then I overthink it and outsmart myself. But I think all 5 students showed good progress today.

It's certainly tough on the clutch leg. I couldn't do more than 2 or 3 attempts before switching out. I have really short legs, so I think the angle that I have to work the clutch is tougher. I don't get as much leverage as a long leg. But no biggie - it's good for my character.

In the afternoon Harold let us drive out on the road. We practiced shifting in the upper gears. We went up to 10th and back down to 6th. Back and forth. I loved doing this.

I can't wait for the open road. I'm going to be a truck driver!

 

DAY 7

Did I mention it was hot? If you come here to train during the hot months, bring shorts, sunglasses, hat, and drink lots of H2O. The heat and humidity take a toll. By the later hours of the day, the mind turns to mush and patience starts to wear thin. The Ten hours days are long.

Harold is going to come in an hour early tomorrow for anybody who feels they need extra work. How do you tell if your mistakes are at a normal pace, or you really need to scramble?

I feel I made good strides today on the offset backing. I'm feeling more comfortable. At first, I felt the need to make every move, step by step, perfectly. But now I'm seeing that it's more about feeling where the trailer is, and adjusting. I sometimes feel better being slightly out of position and then correcting for it, because I then feel like I'm orienteering instead of just following rote instructions. It's about feeling and reacting, not thinking. Of course, this is easier said than done. I still make my wrong moves. But when i DO make wrong moves, I have a better idea about how to rescue myself. However, I still sometimes do a brain dump and feel like it's DAY 1 again. But things are getting much better.

We did ally dock backing later in the day. Surprisingly, it seemed easier than i expected. (Until I sleep and forget it all). Again, it's mostly less about learning to back in, and more about learning to recover from a bad angle.

I think we are working on these all day tomorrow. I can definitely use it. We all can. But we are doing well. (I think).

I'm exhausted.