Millis OTR journal

Best of luck man. Let us know how you did.

 

Regardless of your trainer's thoughts and opinions, the option of where you test is up to you. NOT HIM. If you decide to try again and you like your trainer, stick with him. But the conversation needs to be had about testing. It's always your choice. If he doesn't want to deal with that, maybe he shouldn't be training. Ohio is extremely tough, I know. I live there too I hope you try again. This is far and away the best job I've ever had, and it gets much easier as time passes. Good luck to you, no matter what you decide.

 

Oh...and fyi...being tested by a third party tester is, in general, a smarter move. More patience, more understanding, and definitely more truck-educated than a friggin trooper.

 

Wassup y'all. Tonight I'm in a little flea speck on the map town called Bellville Ohio. It's very close to Mansfield. Nice little area. And this isn't a truck stop, just a parking lot set up for trucks and RVs in the middle of a couple gas stations and restaurants. This is my first time here, but it's a guarantee that it won't be my last. Only room for 8-10 trucks and I grabbed one of the last remaining spots. If you look at Trucker Path and see a "P" on your route, sometimes those spots are worth checking out. It'll be nice and quiet here tonight and I'm gonna sleep like a baby. Today was relatively smooth. I had a little wasted time at my delivery due to poor instructions at the final, but it happens. No biggie. I was given my choice of a few loads, so I had to spend a little time mapping and calculating. The training wheels are definitely gone. I chose a load that didn't have a horrible destination and I could reach with the time I had available. Tomorrow will be very time critical. I picked up a beer load at the brewery in Trenton. By the time I was hooked, then fueled up and scaled, I had a one hour cushion to work with for a 500 mile run. I needed to go far enough tonight to make sure that I didn't have to take a 30 minute break before delivery. I absolutely cannot afford to lose any of that buffer. So I took a chance and came here. I can't go any further unless I want to park on a ramp and risk a ticket. I am 7 hours and 8 minutes from my final, and I need to be sitting behind the wheel as soon as my 10 is done. There is literally not one minute to spare. My pee breaks will have to be on the side of the highway because I can't spare the time to hit a rest area or truck stop. I LOVE this! Every once in a while, I need a run like this. High pressure is good for the soul. It makes you improve. I'm heading to New York with a full 11 but barely anything coming back the next day. I may have to park for the night after delivery unless I get some Opie magic. My remaining time will be pathetic but he has a knack for keeping me moving. Only tomorrow will tell. Alrighty guys, I'm outta here. Time to sleep while I can. Be safe out there, keep the rubber side down. Peace y'all.

 

Quick side note...the scale at the shop in Trenton isn't accurate, don't rely on the ticket you get. I got scaled at the brewery but hadn't fueled yet. After fueling I moved my tandems and scaled at the yard and reading was way off. I needed smokes so i hit the closest truck stop and scaled again. I'm glad that I did. I won't be wasting my time on that scale again. I calibrated my suspension gauge a long time ago and I should have trusted the guage. Lesson learned. 5 minutes isn't much, but if you are tight on time, every minute counts. I'm pretty fond of my nearly-perfect delivery record.

 

Just set a personal record...I drove 343 miles straight this morning

 

Sup folks, I'm in Phoenix NY tonight. Today was friggin fantastic. I had the smoothest ride I've ever had as far as traffic goes. I might as well have been driving around after the apocalypse. I got to my final and was unloaded (relatively) quickly. I am really low on hours, so I let Opie know exactly what I had left and what's coming back. He asked me if I could handle the load I picked up and I guessed that I could. I'm gonna have to call him when he comes in tomorrow morning and tell him I was wrong Thankfully there is plenty of time to correct it. I'm a little disappointed that night dispatch didn't have a solution, but whatever. I wanted to get to Weedsport tonight but I was too low on time. I have 27 minutes left on my 70. And I'm only getting 3 hours back tomorrow. Should make for an interesting day tomorrow. I got a ton of good news today, so I can't be in a negative place even if I wanted to be. I'm on top of the world. And, just like last night, I'm in a very quiet spot. Time for some killer sleep. Hope all of you are good, I'll see you tomorrow. Peace guys, I'm out.