What important skills of truck driving did you learn after your first year of trucking?

At speed, it takes over a football field to stop a loaded semi. Found that out the 1st year,,,

 

Patience, you’ll need lots of it if you plan to be OTR for years. Don’t let the four wheelers get to you. Trust me, they will try. And they will try daily. Lol. Just when everything seems to be going perfect, this is when you can expect things to get interesting very quickly. And when you least expect it.

If you stay out weeks at a time like I do, get out of the truck, when you have an opportunity to get off the truck, take it. Don’t be lazy and just sit there in the bunk. It makes a mental difference to get off the truck and be around people in a normal setting.

 

#5 is wrong, in NC it's only illegal where posted as such.

that is mainly in city areas

 

After the first year? It's always an ongoing process. Most of this stuff was learned in the first year and fine tuned afterward.
I learned how to tie down anything that we hauled without damaging it. In those days we used chains, snap binders, cables, and rope. I learned to tarp so the load was protected and the tarp didn't get destroyed.
I learned how to change a rear end by the side of the road. I learned how to change a u-joint in the mud. I learned not to whine at the mechanics.
I learned that shippers and consignees will remember you forever if you do a bad job. If you do a good job, they'll take you for granted. There's a lot of freedom in that.
I learned not to piss off fork lift drivers. Or anybody with a clip board.
I learned how to lie convincingly to cops. I learned that most cops don't believe you anyway.
Mostly, I learned that if I watched close enough I could learn how to do something without pissing anybody off with dumb questions and an argumentative attitude.

 

one thing I learned after year of trucking that it was not the brightest idea at all ....

 

MSN - Proper load securement.

 

Try it again. All I got was some click-bait about privacy from MSM.

 

I'm trying, but it works fine for me.
China: Vehicle load tilts dangerously off one side in Yunnan, China
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