My Central Thread

Maybe they will not make you do a 45.
In most cases they will just point to a hole and you park the trailer in it.
So you may have room to pull well up and not have to 45 it.
Heck it is rare that I 45 anything. I set up at an angle with some counter steer already in it. So that it is an easy back and uses less space than a 45 would.
A 45 to me is almost a jack back. I can do those too, but to do them you have to learn exactly where to put your tandems. And if you are off a foot then you will be off on the hole by a foot.

 

Congratulations Scott! Make sure that you go over your truck with a fine tooth comb before you pull out of there. If you feel the truck needs anything or needs repair make sure to do so before you head out with a load. Also make sure that they give you a new mattress! Not a used one, or one put back in a bag for storage! Your next stop may want to be walmart so that you can get everything you need for your truck to survive. Remember that it's winter so make sure to get your emergency supplies too! Also either at walmart or when you get home it's a good idea to throw every possible tool in your truck. Get yourself a half way decent CB if you already haven't done so. You are going to need one and during the winter months it is very important to have. Another must have that you can get at wally world is a carbon monoxide detector. It looks just like a smoke detector. This could save your life one day! One optional item would be a 6ft or so piece of carpet (again at walmart) put it in your truck and you can trim around your shifter and cabinets. They are real cheap and will keep the grease, diesel, mud and snow for getting all over your truck. After about three or four months just chuck it and get another one. It really keeps your truck nice. You can get some good floor pans (mats) for the driver side and passenger side too. Make sure that you get the ones that have a deep lip on them so that they hold the mud and snow and water. The one on the passenger side is a good place to take your boots off and park them. There are a ton of other things like a fridge, tv, microwave etc... but these are just some of the more important things to get you going. Oh yeah, one more thing, a good back scratcher! Not only for your back but you can use it to reach things while you drive. Get some erasable markers too so that you can write your directions and important things such as fuel stops, times etc.. right on your windshield or side window.

As for riding with your trainers guys/girls, take your time. If your trainer is too mad at you for driving slow then call safety and tell them about it. Request a different trainer. This actually happens quite often so don't put yourself at risk by being out of your comfort zone! These trainers haven't gone to college to learn how to teach education so don't think that they are above you in any way. There are a good percentage of them that don't know what the hell they are doing anyway. When in doubt get out! Keep this in mind too even when you guys are driving on your own. Don't let other drivers push you or heckle you on the radio to do something you are not comfortable with. Also don't trust the other drivers when it comes to road conditions. A lot of those super truckers will tell you its fine and to push on when its really not. Pull over and wait for conditions to improve. Once you get back on the road chances are you will end up passing those super truckers who have slid off in the ditch or ravine due to bad road conditions and excessive speed. Anyway good luck, drive safe guys/girls!

 

Congratulations Scott. I think its awesome that you are all upgraded and getting your truck. I have thought things over and I would like to team drive for the winter. Just because I want some more winter miles under my belt before I go Solo. I talked to a girl from my class that said she would team with me for the rest of the winter if I wanted to. I think it would be good and give me a chance to get some more experience after training.

I talked to my trainer last night about getting backs in. I only have 2 and I was starting to stress about it. Well the comment he made just set me up to feel like I wasn't good enough. He said that I don't have a sense of urgency when I shift. I'm too hesitant and that I'm afraid of the truck. Now I'm not a crier but it took everything I had to keep from having water works. I thought I was doing OK with shifting and driving the speed limit like he asked me to. I just kinda shut up and didn't say much of anything. I drove most of the night and hit a deer. Didn't scare me but I took off about 1ft of his bumper off on the driver side. He didn't yell at me didn't say anything mean. Which I was expecting him too. I pulled over about 10 min later to check the front end. Just the damage to the bumper and nothing else.

This morning I talked to my trainer at breakfast. I told him that I did really well on shifting last night going through towns and stuff. And he agreed with me. He said he didn't feel me shifting bad or anything while he was in the bunk. Even after I hit the deer. So he told me I am doing much better and that we would work on my backing this week. We are in Ft Worth until Monday because he wanted home time. I nearly quit in CO on Wed. I had a friend of mine that lives there on Standby if I wanted to go home. I just felt so defeated and just not happy with myself. But after talking with my trainer this morning I feel 10x better and more confident that I can do this.

 

Smurfette, this is all normal. Not only are you getting the shock of a new life style while riding around the country with a stranger, tired and stressed, but you are trying to learn how to maneuver an 80,000lb vehicle all around too! It's normal to have your breakdowns. My wife did many times with the trainer and when we were by ourselves. More so when we were by ourselves. You are also going to have many more days in which you will call your friend to stand by to pick you up. Just keep that in mind. One thing about trucking is that when you have a bad/tough day you can't just wrap up and go home and come back the next day. You are stuck in that truck! Once you have your own truck though after a little while it will be your little house. It is going to take you a good three months before the crying days subside and you are used to life on the road. The good news is you will probably get the hang of driving way before then. It's a good thing that you have this forum to come to and vent and talk about your frustrations. Also your good days. It helps get it out and makes you feel as if you have someone to talk to. Sorry about the deer but guess what, it happens. I commend you though. You did the right thing by hitting it and not swerving! That is very, very important! Excellent job! Keep truckin and drive safe you are well on your way!

 

I think that hitting that deer is the biggest test of any new driver.
90% of drivers with your limited experience would have swerved and wrecked the truck. You did awesome but keeping it straight.
I have seen plenty of experienced drivers loose it trying to miss a deer.

The shifting will come, so will the backing and the confidence. If you were over confidant I would be more worried. It is scary out there alone at first.

 

OTR makes it tough on hometime,

I see you already found out .....

 

Thank you all for your support. I am spending the weekend in the truck in the Albertsons parking lot in Ft Worth TX. My trainer wanted home time so I spent all day yesterday here. My trainer didn't want me to just sit all weekend so he had his Son play tour guide for me last night. I have never been to the Stock Yards in Ft Worth. So we went down there and walked around. We drove to Dallas as well. That was pretty cool. So I'm hanging in the truck today just relaxing. The Tripac isn't working on the truck so I have to idle. I dont keep it on for more than an hr at a time. I don't like being cold and the sun has been out so I don't want to get hot either.

As for the deer. I thought about swerving to miss it. It went through my head and I thought if I just move a little to the right I could miss it. Then I thought yeah but I don't know how to control this things if I over steer. Poor Bambi there was another truck coming northbound that I think hit the other side of the deer. Hopefully he put the animal our of its misery.

We leave Monday and pick up a load in Irving and drop it in CO on Tuesday. I'm trying to make my time alone stretch as much as possible. I need to do laundry and other things but I just want to relax and be lazy. I have gotten more sleep in the truck alone than I was getting when the truck was moving. I know I have to get used to that and hopefully I will I just need figure out how to relax when the truck is in motion.

Again thank you guys for your support. I don't have any other job I can do and I don't want to work in a bar or at a grocery store. This is the best job I could think of that I could save the most money with. It will be an amazing career for me I just have to tough it out till the end of training.