Knight 2011

Alright, back to some Internet. My Blackberry is giving me fits & wont connect me. I'll have to wait til I get home & visit Sprint. Anyway I'm dry van division. Also Knight doesn't require you to have Hazmat.

The only thing I was told about parking at a terminal or drop yard was if under a high value load. Other than that I can bobtail to the house during home time. The road test was easy...get to the interstate, head west a couple exits, return to the terminal. Orientation was a breeze. We covered everything in about 7 hours with a couple long breaks and lunch brought in.

I've been issued a 2008 Peterbuilt. It's been since 2009 that I've driven a hood, so I'm glad to be in this truck as the ride, electronics, gauges, & overall driver ergonomics are steller! I have to get used to again backing all that wheelbase again in tight truckstops at night. Took me 10 minutes to get in because I found a blind spot with my stacks. It'll get easier.

On to the meat of the matter. I elected daily pay. What that means is after each trip if I Transflow my paperwork by 10am Phoenix time, my earnings will be deposited into my bank the next day.

I did some local work Friday for the tune of $90.00 + $100.00 Orientation pay. Friday about 3pm I grabbed a loaded trailer going to Indiana with 1486 paid miles. It delivers Tuesday morning at 0700.

The elogs seemed to intimidate the others in Orientation. I paid attention to what the system is looking for & seem to be getting it right thus far. Everytime I stop I immediately bump myself up to line 1. The system will automatically bump you to line 3 after you get moving again & after 7/10 of a mile....it'll wait to up to 3 miles if you are doing under 20 mph. For my pre-trip; I perform one, then get in the cab & move myself to line 4 & fill in the necessary macros describing the condition of Trk/Trlr.

Anybody have any tips/tricks for the elogs it'll be greatly appreciated.

 

Well week 1 is in the bank. Thus far it's still the honeymoon & I'm really liking my new company. My 8 day total for hours adds up to 67. I'm in Dallas so I'll break today, which is good 'cause playoff football is on, and I'll get started tomorrow...hopefully through the house.

The ride started in El Paso & took me to the Midwest. I bopped around from Indy to Nashville to Chicago. The miles were very good as well as the daily pay, though I did miss a deposit on Friday. I had turned my paperwork in before the deadline on Thursday. I did get the message this morning, (Saturday), the funds will be deposited.

The miles broke down as follows.... 1406 + 71 + 47 + 484 + 305 + 38 + 85 + 871 + 10= 3317 paid miles for the week. I don't turn down loads as I know a good dispatcher is working to set me up in collecting a final tally for the week. The real positive is the fact the planners are doing their jobs & the dispatcher is doing his sifting through were the freight is moving and keeping me making money.

Also a positive is I truly have a 14 hour clock with the electronic logs. So I feel & I am more rested than I have been this last year on the road. I like the fact I shut down early, get a good meal, some exercise and off to bed at a decent hour, getting ample amount of rest. I should mention this Pete 388 doesn't get the fuel economy my Prostar did, so I'm fueling every day instead of every 3rd day. All this means to me is I shower everyday without coming out of pocket anymore buying one...

The only negative is every trip has been consistently 10% + over the paid miles....except this last run of 871...it came in only 12 miles over.

The Indy terminal is clean & has all the amenities as in fuel, shower, t.v., shop. So does the Joliet terminal. I'm about 4 miles north of the Dallas terminal & the paperwork says it has everything, but doesn't mention a boob tube. So I can't risk missing my football. I've decided it's best camped in a truckstop.

I've had the opportunity to talk to fellow drivers. Only one had a bad taste in his mouth. I could tell listening to him & his detailed excuses he was offering up he probably was just as much at fault in having a poor experience.

Well stay tuned as I'll post it just as it happens to me.....

 

Well it's still early on a verdict for this week, but the miles are really hurting thus far, and it's Wednesday night. The tally so far; 104 + 151 + 308 + 208 + 98 + 23 = 892

I have to say not very good. I will attribute I needed to get through the house for a Dr. appointment. I let them know last week. My hope is they would have thrown me east & brought me west this week to give a little more respectable total.

I'm heading back out tomorrow late morning, so I'll trust there is still time to pull off a decent paycheck.