how many average miles are you runniibg a week

Thanks NaNa, I hope somebody from the east replies.

sonya called today, said that she would start proccessing my app, asked if I would be interested in flat-bed division, said hell yea right now i would drive a horse & buggy. Does anyone know anything about the flat-bed division???

I'm not positive about the FB division but from the very limited amount of details about it on their website it seems that they are mainly concentrated in the Southwest (I could definatly be wrong) I would love it if I am and they run FB in the 11 western or Northwest (the primary areas I want to stay in) I have done lowboys and flatbeds in the past and they are my favorite... more physical work but depending on the load there are times ya might not have to wait to get loaded/unloaded... well at least at the last place I pulled them since we hauld equipment (tractors,forklifts etc...) had keys for every type of equipment so could pull up check the equip #'s load it up drive to the destination and drop it off it was a blast... (don't think Swift offers that kinda fun though ) ..

If anyone knows more about the FB side of Swift I'd love to read about it as well !!

When I asked my instructor about running flatbeds, he said they are all out of the Phoenix Terminal. That is all I have learned.

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Running in Heavy Haul division with a great mentor. Not getting OTR experience yet, but some great training!

Today was day 10 and it was a great day to be in Lewiston, ID. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I love the weather here. In eleven days I have only seen a little rain, and has never been cold enough for long sleeves! I did not check the high temp today, but I bet it was about 85 degrees.

So, day 10 started on the range. Today was TEST day, and boy did that scare some of these people. So Dave (my team student), and I started with the 100' back and the offset back. We both passed with no problems and moved on to the 90 degree alley dock and 45 degree alley dock. Again we both passed and moved on to the Pretrip test.

On the pretrip we both did really well. I missed a few points, but squeaked by with a passing score. Dave did even better than I did, but he missed a step on the airbrakes test, so he will need to retest in the morning. Not a big deal, and he will make it just fine through that test.

After the pretrip test we moved on to learn how to couple and uncouple to a trailer. We both picked this up pretty quick and had a lot of fun with it. We even got to drive bobtail around the range so we could line up to the trailers from more than 5' away like all the other students were doing.

After lunch Bob, our instructor, threw me the keys and said let's go. We headed west on highway 12 to highway 127 and continued over to highway 26 in a town called Dusty where we traded seats and Dave drove. I logged 2 hours on line 4 and 74 miles today. This was a greatroad trip with a bunch of little hills and a few small towns to navigate through.

Now I turned on my GPS when Dave started driving in Dusty. He headed back over towards Highway 95, where he was able to run down the Lewiston Hill like I did on Tuesday. Dave logged 2 hours on line 4 and 79 miles of driving.

If anyone is interested, I have uploaded the GPS Tracker for today. I also shot a video from the back seat as Dave drove down the Lewiston Hill, but i will need to edit that a little bit before it is posted anywhere.
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When we got back to the range we learned that all the other students spent the entire day on the range trying to pass the tests. As far as we could learn, everyone has taken the tests and a few need to retest in the morning. I will have more information on that later.

For our team today was a fun and rewarding day where we got off the range and out on the road. For everyone else it was just another hot day driving circles and practicing their backing skills. We started day 10 with 10 students, and when we went home there were still 10 students, so all in all it was a good day for everyone.

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Running in Heavy Haul division with a great mentor. Not getting OTR experience yet, but some great training!

The last I heard the FBs run out of Phoenix. But I could be wrong.

Sounds like you had a great day. Your hard work is paying off, right on, man.

FB Div has (or had) two terminal centers..Phoenix and Gary, IN. Swift used to have some good contracts with the steel industry in the Gary-Chicago area. If anyone is considering FB..don't plan on a lot of NorthWest, as in Portland, OR and Seattle...FB is usually strong Phoenix and I-10 and I-20 last I was aware of...not even that much into the LA Basin area..so keep that in mind when thinking about FB...also the initial training is in Phoenix for tarping, strapping, and bindings..so very hot and ugly working in those conditions learning the basic ropes..Mentors are also (or were also) in short supply..just a couple things to consider.

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When every boat has sailed away,
And every path is marked and paid,
When every road has had it's say,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
When every town looks just the same,
And every choice gets hard to make,
When every map is put away,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
Reach out to me,
Call out my name,
And I will bring you back again today.

The Sears dedicated, out of Columbus, OH terminal is the strongest dedicated fleet Swift has, as far as consistent year round freight and decent steady miles. Swift in the midwest was always good. I used to start out from Sacramento, CA, get a load from Willows, CA area (insulation) and run that back to Kansas..then stay in the central zone for two or three weeks before heading back home to CA. The only negative from what I am hearing,(and it is still the same as far as solos go) east of Mississipi is OK as long as you don't get hung up in CT, MA, ME, or FL. Otherwise it all runs fairly well.

If you can get yourself down to Columbus terminal, make it a point to get inside and introduce yourself to the Sears planner..he can and will keep you moving as soon as you prove yourself to him. But this brings up a good point for ALL YOU STUDENTS AND ACADEMY FOLKS: When you get to your own truck (and also when you are with your Mentor, if possible find out at each terminal who does the planning, is he/she accessible, can you get the Quallcom code to shoot them a message. Once you are in your truck and solo, when you get to a terminal, volunteer for local work, give them a hand for a day..make a friend and it could reward your efforts in the future. Don't bother with Fontana/Mira Loma...they don't return favors much..Phoenix night crew is good to get to know,...well just check around and it never hurts to make a friend if you know what I mean!

__________________


When every boat has sailed away,
And every path is marked and paid,
When every road has had it's say,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
When every town looks just the same,
And every choice gets hard to make,
When every map is put away,
Then I'll be bringing me back home to stay.
Reach out to me,
Call out my name,
And I will bring you back again today.