TMC Orientation on the 22nd

Well I have survived the first week and a half and all is going well. I'll do a short post on how its gone so far. I won't include the greyhound trip as I don't care to relive it....
Mon-thurs week 1- Lots of paperwork and testing. Most forms and tests are all on the computer. Watched videos on safety etc,.. The classroom trainer is a good guy and tries to keep it interesting. Our class started with 29 and was down to 21 by the end of the week for low test scores and drug tests. What idiots to waste their time traveling here and fail a piss test.
Fri-sun is learning load securement. Lifting and folding tarps, learning how to secure all the different loads, and climbing up and down, up and down . You take a test sunday
Monday we started driving on the road and range. Oh how sweet the 13 speed transmissions are!!! Makes you wanna forget about 10 speeds. Sorry thisis so abbreviated but its 500am and I am draggin my butt. I'll try and post more when I get home this weekend but for now I am gonna go get some more coffee and try and wake up.
Yall be safe out there
Gator

 

Well day one with my trainer is in the books. Picked up a load in Norcross Ga headed to Louisville. Pulled in the pilot in Serona Ky for the night. All went well today. I did all the driving and got to secure and tarp my first load. Ill keep ya updated as I can.
Be safe, Gator

 

Well, two weeks down and I am really enjoying the job. We were out for two weeks (I approved I was ok with staying out) and all over the place!!
We started out in Norcross Ga with a load of mixed steel. Was a trial by fire with all the different securement used. The load was delivered in Louisville Ky and we were sent to Silver Grove Ky for a load of sheetrock going to Huntsville Al. The plant had a tarping station that made tarping the load simple. All we did was throw some straps and bungee it. Then we picked up a load of millwork with two stops in Missouri. One was delivered to a plant and the other to an apartment complex in Joplin. We also had to go into the terminal in Joplin to have our starter replaced. Nice chance to get a hot shower unexpected Then we were dispatched to Parsons, Kansas for a load of concrete reinforcement on a preloaded trailer. We strapped it down, no tarps required, and headed to De Moines, New Mexico. It was off loaded at a staging area for road construction and we went to Albuqurque and picked up a load of sheetrock. We took this load to Salina Kansas for a load swap. We got a load of Griffin pipe headed to Modesto, Ca. The ride to cali was awesome. Got some experience on Echo mountain and Donner pass. Was a bit unnerving at first but I gained alot of confidence and Donner seemed like a cake walk. We delivered in Modesto and headed to Burney, Ca for a load of stick lumber to deliver in Independence, Iowa. On the way through Nevada I was about 30 minutes from the truck stop for the night and we had just passed Battle mountain and climbed the next mountain when out of no where snow was blowing sideways and blinding. Trainer told me I handled it as he would have and we made to safely down the hill. We delivered in Independence and picked up a load of insulation headed for Conley, Ga. Got home today for a reset and we deliver on Monday.
I'll try and update more often but the internet at the truckstops is pretty shotty.
gator

 

Sitting in cartersville waiting to be loaded with steel... Taking forever... Appointment my ###