When do you get to load your truck?

Depends on the company... I was tossed the keys a few hours before I needed to leave... But when I switched trucks, that was done on a 10 or 34 hour reset.

 

Your new company is PROBABLY NOT going to assign you a truck just as soon as you show up.

Most likely, you're going to be sharing a truck with a trainer for a few weeks, until the company is confident that you can make right turns without ripping the trailer axles off.

During training.....gloves, boots, seasonally appropriate clothing, flashlight, pen, notebook, and a box of protein bars; all packed in a grip or backpack you can carry easily in case you have to get off the truck in a hurry.

Have enough cash, or room on the credit card, to get home from anywhere in the continental United States......$100 should get ya all the way home, or at least pretty close, on the Grey Dawg. $150 would be better, $200 better still.

To answer the question I think you're REALLY asking.....it took me about an hour and a half to load my bedding, clothing, tools, cooking utensils, canned goods, PPE, perishables, and hook up my CB, if I had to take everything out due to vacation or having to switch trucks.

Loading up, I'd go to the yard and load up the truck, then sleep in it until start time.

Unloading, I'd get back to the yard, book Off Duty, move everything from the truck to the car, and come home.

If I was just going home for a 34 or a little more, I'd just leave everything in the truck except my toolbox. We had assigned trucks, a three shift garage, and a three shift washbay. Lots of eyes on a well-lit yard....

 

The way it worked for me, is if the boss says you're hired, they expect you to be ready to go. I carried most of the things I needed with me in my car, and was trucking that very afternoon. Today, depending on the situation, they may give you a day, but if you are far from home and applying, telling them you can start right now, is huge plus.You know how many people say they'll be back and never show? A lot. If they give you the keys, a load is probably already waiting, so in short, take what you can to the interview and buy the rest down the line. That would be for an experienced driver.
Now, if going in "cold quarter", meaning schooling and training, a whole different story, and you'll have plenty of time to prepare. Quite honestly, all that's needed today in trucking is a cell phone and a credit card.

 

That was the old school way. Show up to a job with your license and SSCard. Boss (usually the owner) would have you jump in a truck, do a short road trip, and when satisfied, “when can you start?” Right now. Just need to grab my duffel from the car.”

 

Just remember, only have what you can carry when they fire you in Arizona and you have to take that greyhound back home to Pennsylvania.

 

I did the company training thing. So I had clothes and bedding from when I was with trainer. It was not local company near my house.

They assigned me a truck give you the keys. I had go put my stuff in truck and pre-trip the truck. Write up everything I could find that needed repairs. So the company shop could fix everything before leaving. The company shop also looked at truck and found a lot more stuff then I did, like the truck needed a new clutch.

I cleaned the truck and put my stuff away while waiting to get in the shop. Once everything was fix they gave me my first load.

once I got home or out on the road by myself that when I got more clothes and TV and bed sheets anything else you want.

 

If you get your truck far away from home just ask to be given a load that runs you by the house so you can load it up with any gear you need. Nobody totes all the stuff they have or might need to orientation. If you dont have a lot of stuff and just want to buy a few things and go, terminals sometimes have courtesy cars for drivers to take to the store for supplies before rolling. Or you can just hit up a truck friendly Walmart while on the road.
If you’re indirectly asking how you let the company know you are not quite ready to roll then there is something called pta (projected time of availibility) that you set that tells dispatch when you’re ready to roll. Just set it to include time that you may need for stuff like prepping the truck with gear/groceries.

 

Like most, I had to drive with a trainer in his truck for a month. I brought a duffel bag and a sleeping bag.

After that was finished and I was assigned a truck and my first load, I came in a few hours early with my stuff: dorm fridge, toaster oven, clothes, toolkit, CB radio, cooking/eating utensils, etc.

 

That's the way to do it. Show up to orientation with a flexible duffle bag, not a hard suitcase, and a sleeping bag.
All the other stuff you won't need until you're assigned a truck. Riding with a trainer in the beginning, you won't have room for more than a flexible duffle bag and sleeping bag.