Hard Time # SWIFT

Hi Folks, been a while since I last posted. I think the last post about SWIFT was I was complaining about them taking too long to get me with a trainer. A few days after that post, I was in a truck. About 2 months I think was the time with the trainer. I lucked out and had a pretty easy going trainer who was very patient and non-smoker which I initially requested. I did pretty good as I am a decent driver to begin with. I had to do about 40 back ups which the trainer watched me closely on of course. One thing you should ALWAYS REMEMBER, is GOAL. Get Out And Look! Always! You never know when some jackoff will come behind you even though he sees your flashers going and try to make it before you get to him. Crazy! Always check for wires, bridge clearances, closed routes, road construction, restricted routes. One thing I highly recommend is to get a Truck Stop book, sold at almost every truck stop. Get one. It helps me plan how far I can go and also helps me to maximize my driving time. In a typical SWIFT company truck, they are governed at 62 mph. On flat ground w/o mountains, my best mileage is 645 miles and that's with a 45,000 lb load.
More advice, if you want to maximize your mileage and make decent $$$, don't drink or eat too much during the day. Before you start the day, a small breakfast that ain't gonna make you #### for a while is a good start. If you like greasy bacon, eggs, pancakes, waffles, and other processed crap, I highly recommend finding another food source that isn't going to add 30 lbs to your body in a few months. Plus, if you're a coffee drinker, one thing you already know is that coffee runs through most of your bodies super fast and next thing you know, you're crappin' out breakfast and perhaps dinner too! Coffee is a diuretic and makes ya #### n' piss, plain n simple. So the bottom line is that you need to limit the liquids in the morning or else you'll be stopping at a truckstop every hour. Time is $$$.
I will sip water a little throughout the day to stay hydrated. I like sunflower seeds and they keep me awake when I need to stay awake.

Swift has been a pretty decent company for me, except for hometime. It can be a ##### sometimes trying to get where you need to be and balancing out hours. I need to be places pretty time specific and I have learned the hard way if you want to be somewhere on or before time, set your hometime request 3-4 days ahead of time, especially if you need to be there by a given time.

I have no wife or kids and minimal expenses. My main bills are food and phone, that's it. So obviously trucking is different for me than it is for many other people. I have been on the road for about 6 months now and I will occasionally go back home, NY State, and visit family n friends. But I'm in it to save money, pay back people I owe money to, and to eventually buy a piece of land to build on somewhere out West.

This is Crylozeus in Utah,
-Peace Out

I will try to answer any questions you have ASAP.

PS. I recommend Garmin 465T for a GPS. But I use it in conjunction with my Qualcomm and Trucker Map.