Making move to tanker

Well, it happened about six months sooner than I thought it would, but I'm dropping the skateboard & picking up a tanker! Yep, spending my last night in my McElroy truck & will pick up my last flatbed load in the morning on the way to the main terminal to turn in the truck. Next up is oreination & training with Tidewater Transit. That'll happen next week & into the following week. I'll be running out of their Decatur, AL terminal.

Won't go into a long story about how it all came about, but it's been interesting to see God's timing in it all. Looking forward to getting started with TWT. I do have to add though that I'm very appreciative of McElroy Truck Lines for the opportunity, training, & support these past six months. They've stood by everything they've ever told me, have always shown me respect, & honored requests when asked. Can't imagine having had a better experience starting out in this industry. Okay, so that might beg the question, "Then why leave?" Simple -- I knew in CDL school I ultimately wanted tanker. Actually was offered a spot with Schneider tanker division, but the commute to get to the truck would've been 155 miles one way. Just couldn't pull the trigger on that. After spending a lot of time talking with the terminal manager in Decatur (both on the phone & face-to-face), my bride & I feel this is the right move at the right time. So, it's on to the next great adventure!

 

Thanks! Yeah, I've been reading up on dealing with the surge. One of the reasons I went with flatbed to start off was b/c of the various type loads, many being top heavy, & the coils. Those coils can really jerk a truck around, do goofy things to the trailer, etc. Just sort of figured that experience might help with the transition. But hey, what do I know? Just another rookie, but it seemed to make sense to me. lol

 

Yes, that was definitely a contributing factor!

 

It's an '02 Suzuki Intruder 1500 LC. That's the second LC I've had. Good solid road bike. Put over 57K miles on my '01 in just over four years, not an inkling of trouble. Had an '06 Ultra Classic. LOVED that bike......until I decided to try to push a Tahoe with it. Crunch! I guess that little fender bumper they put on 'em is just for chrome deco!

 

The 1500 has hydraulic clutch. Just keep synthetic fluid in it & ride the thing. I've ridden a 1400. Those things run like a scalded dog!