10 day review of my new job

As I've posted in the past I'm a relatively new driver. For the last 8 months I've been driving a 1999 378 day cab pulling a 53' potato trailer. 425 Cat with a 13 speed manual. I was running 5 days a week & averaged 450 miles a day from central Oregon to Portland.

I'm now driving a 2021 Cascadia pulling a 53' refer. The company specializes in heavy hauling & I usually gross close to 90,000. The truck has a DD15 with a 12 speed auto. I love the truck. It's quiet, comfortable, & very stable to drive. It's tuned for fuel milage so on the hills I yearn for a bit more power. I've averaged 500+ miles a day & spent 4 nights in the sleeper which is interesting since I was supposed to home "almost every night". I have been getting my 34 hour reset on weekends so that not too bad.

First time using elogs. I'm constantly running hard against my 11 hour driving limit which explains four nights in the sleeper. I didn't realize the pressure I'd be under to not go over my driving hours. Friday afternoon I ran out of hours in the middle of I-5 downtown Portland so I had to PC to a truck stop.
We hauling dry products to Portland, mostly bagged seed, so no refer needed. In Portland we load refrigerated loads like dairy products or groceries. Learning to operate a refer was a new experience as well as learning to sleep as the refer cycles on/off.

Getting in & out & loading at the big distribution centers has also been an interesting experience. Docking, & following each shippers procedures has been a bit of a challenge too. I'm amazed how little room for backing some of the facilities have. Our trailers are triple axle & we don't slide tandems so I need all the room I can get.

I did have one screw up. I took a tight corner in Spokane, bounced over a curb which bent two rims causing the tires to go flat. The tires were okay & the boss was fine about it. He just suggesting I not travel that route again. Les Schwab replaced the rims in a few hours & I was back on the road.

Overall, it's been a great experience & each day gets easier as I get familiar with the shipper/receiver locations. I'm in my mid-sixties & wanted to drive all of my life so I'm fulfilling that desire.

Thanks for listening (reading).

 

I was a pilot/flight Instructor in my early 20’s. I retired from being a Sales Manager for two different John Deere dealerships. I did that for over 30 years. I retired from that one year ago to return to aviation but COVID-19 took care of the pilot jobs.

My father was a trucker all his life & I ran with him a lot. That’s how I got the truck bug.