J.B.S. Carriers and my "memoirs"

Hello to everyone out there,

I am about to partake on another, hopefully eventful journey. I would like to give you a brief background of myself and my experience as I want you to understand who is about to tell you this story.

Name: (for all intense and purposes) call me SRV
Age: 33
CDL-A obtained: 1998
Driving history: 12+ years
Miles: 1.7million+
Mindset: OUTLAW

This thread is going to be a detailed account of my journey with J.B.S Carriers, but it will be told in a hopefully entertaining story format and there is 12 years of journey to tell before I even get to J.B.S. Carriers. I guarantee that although I want it to read as an entertaining story and want to throw in humor, sadness, and any other emotion I feel, this story will contain nothing but the pure, true facts. I will, with each new post, write a new chapter. I believe this may work well in this forum format. So, I begin.

"Memoirs of a Truck Driving Fool"

Chapter One
"Modest beginnings"
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My life was going pretty well in 1998, no responsibility, no real ties with family, no job, no money and sleeping at friends houses most of the time. Yeah, you guessed it, I was being sarcastic. With nowhere really to go I decided that seeing the country and living in a truck and making money was just about the best thing I could imagine, so I set off for my new career.

Getting myself into a truck driving school seemed to be a job in it self. I was only 20 years old and knew nothing about the industry. Never imagined that in what is called a free country you could go fight wars in foreign lands but that you were not allowed to drive a commercial vehicle across state lines. Surprise wore off fast as I was in need of money. I visited my local unemployment office and informed them that I no longer wanted to be a burden on society and that I wanted to become a prosperous member of society and that I was looking into the professional trucking industry. Little did I know at the time that this would prove to be the biggest oxymoron known to man. She informed me that if I could convince Bradway Trucking, out of Vineland, NJ, to give me a job after completing the necessary schooling which Cumberland County Commercial Driving School was offering, in association with Bradway Trucking, that she would see fit to extend federal funding to me. I immediately accepted and went to discuss this option with Bradway. Sure enough, it was a deal and I was off and running.

My trucking school was a long one, not the 3 week mill that I thought I wanted to attend, but a 9 week, Mon-Fri, 9-5 job. We were in a truck and backing from day one. Half the day in class then half the day in the yard driving. The instructors were very knowledgeable and the training A+; the only thing I hated was the equipment. They were training with '83, '84, what they called "west coast" tractors. At the time I had no idea of what that was or even that there was an alternative. I did my time and when I was given the chance to go out on runs while in school for the learning value of pulling real loads, I accepted. While in school my opinion of the mills totally changed. I realized that even though my training was much more extensive then that of the trucking mills, I still knew "nothing". I was extremely nervous when I made my first solo run up to Newark, NJ to grab some beer from Anheuser Busch.

Getting a grasp on my new found profession proved to be somewhat of a challenge. The driving didn't seem to be a problem as I was trained very well and truly stand behind my theory that if trained in old, west coast equipment, you can drive just about anything. A 230 inch wheel base with a straight 10 is child's play. What seemed to give me the most problem was the serious lack of intelligence about commercial vehicles out on the road. You dealt with ignorance at every turn. From the four wheelers cutting you off or hanging out in your blind spots, to the dispatchers who had never stepped foot in a commercial vehicle but who would try and tell you how to drive, where to park, that you could make the run, just general things that the driver needed to have control over. I don't disagree that a dispatcher looking at a screen is qualified to advise you of what he is reading off a computer screen, or that they can repeat what they are told, but I know that they are unqualified to tell me my truck will fit, I am allowed to run on that highway when everyone and every sign says I'm not, and things of that nature. I'm sure you understand. "The best defense to ignorance is intelligence," I don't know if this is my own personal quote or if I had heard it somewhere, but it is a very true statement non-the-less.

I don't refer to this instance as "ignorant" as accidents can and do happen, but dealing with stupidity is sometimes worst then dealing with ignorance. I had a driver continue to try and work his trailer into a dock next to the one I was in even after he had clipped my mirror with his trailer doors and gotten out to look at the damage. Instead of pulling out and starting over, he simply kept working it back and forth until he finally ripped the west coast mirror completely off my truck. In my own defense, as I guess you could consider me allowing it to happen to be pretty stupid, I did advise him both with the air horn prior to contact, by banging on his door after contact, then by reporting it after he cursed me and told me he knew what he was doing. I realized then and there that a "professional driver" was something completely different then I had previously thought.

You see, I was under the assumption that completing an approved commercial driving school, passing some exams, and getting your CDL license made you a "professional driver." Little did I know in my early years that being "professional" was a state of mind. To be truly "professional" you need to be truly competent of what the laws are, what your responsibilities as a driver are, how to handle the rig you drive, and take responsibility for all of your actions. You need to have integrity and take pride in what you are doing. These things once learned and mastered are what make you "professional", not the fact that you posses a current CDL license.

Well on to driving. Each and every day I was learning. I had since left Bradway and was now 21. I could leave my state and run the open road. Ecstatic with joy I started to make my living attending orientations. Yep, you guessed it, I couldn't get hired without experience, but can't get experience without getting hired. I learned fast that most recruiters were liars and that OTR was the only experience that counts as driving experience in the truck driving industry. Having the mindset that I have, I used this time to see some different towns across the country and get paid doing it without having to work. Would fill out applications and listen to the recruiters set me up for orientation and claim "I see no problems or concerns with your application," get me a bus ticket, pay for my hotel, feed me, then send me back home. It was fun for awhile but the money wasn't too good. Let's see, I visited Star transportation, Compass & Falcon transport, Transcontinental Refrigerated Lines (TRL.inc), CRST, and a couple not so well known outfits. All with the same m.o, get me there just to send me home. All other "big" companies that I knew about and applied to would simply say "NO".

I finally got hired at another company that was based locally but ran regional. It was a mom and pop shop but I was finally free to see some of the country and actually get paid, serious money, for doing it. I worked for H & R Trucking out of Millville, NJ for a few months. I was making round trips to Lenoir, NC. My best time was 19 hours and 45 minutes. 601 miles there and 601 miles back. I figured that as long as I could make it past the scales there on I85 I was golden. Would back log, switch trailers and head back. I just figured that if I was going to be taking time off, I might as well take it at home. Hell, they didn't know I was back and I had to account for the 8 hours in the sleeper I was supposed to have taken in North Carolina. It gave me much more home time and I was making lots of money, not! This was about the time I started to learn about the difference in pay throughout the truck driving industry.

You have flat-rate pay, mileage pay, hourly pay, dead head pay, hazmat pay, detention pay, retention pay, lumper pay, all kinds of different pay. Sounds like with all this pay someone is making a killing, unfortunately it wasn't me. I was earning a flat-rate running glass. The company was only out for their own benefit, as was I, but they had the upper hand. I made roughly $300 a week and knew it wasn't what I could be making so I continued my search.

Chapter Two
"The Hunt for JB"
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Well I finally did it! I made it into the real world of trucking! I was hired by JB Hunt Transport (Lowell,AR), one of the biggest truck companies of all time. Benefits, great mileage pay, miles, getting to see the country, all things that I had been looking for but was unable to obtain until now. By this time I had a few years in the industry and some of my employment was actually verified so they took a chance on me and I gave one to them.

Horror stories you hear about JB aren't really as bad as what you may think. disclaimer: The horror stories you hear may have actually happened to the people telling them, but there is a huge difference between them and you. You must understand that your experience with a particular trucking company is going to be as different and as unique as you are. There is good and bad at each and every company and sometimes you may not fit the company or the company may not fit you. This doesn't mean that those same companies don't thrill others.

I have to say that my own personal experience with JB Hunt was one which I can not complain too much about. I was hired, had my orientation in East Brunswick, NJ and was domiciled out of their Philadelphia terminal. My employment only lasted a few months as I was not allowed to bring my tractor home with me. Trying to take hometime which they stated started when I got back to the terminal was pretty tough. Parking in Philly then trying to drive through rush hour traffic in my car was no fun at all. It would sometimes take me 4 to 5 hours to travel a distance which should normally take no more my 45 minutes so my hometime was always shortened.

I quit; the grass is green somewhere else. It wasn't. So in my 4 concurrent hirings with JB Hunt I was employed by Pepsi Co, Optimum Staffing, and attended a computer school while collecting unemployment. Each time I quit was for a different reason and under different circumstances but one thing remained the same, I would keep going back to them. They really weren't that bad of a company; you just had to be a little smarter then most to actually make money and run the miles there.

Their fleet managers were all different as well. I worked under Jerry Slankard which was an excellent fleet manager. He must have been as he is the only one that I remember. My first trip to Lowell, AR and he was ready to take me to lunch and show me around, I had other plans though and he fully understood. That doesn't make him a great fleet manager as many will take you to lunch as it's a write off but this guy let me run and wouldn't bother me. It was great, he got me the loads, I delivered them and we both made money. I had another male fleet manager that was ok, let me do my job and left me alone.

The only problems with fleet managers I've ever had in my entire career were both with JB Hunt and were both females. I have nothing against female fleet managers in particular but these two just wouldn't leave me alone. I am a truck driver, not a child. It was the FM's job to send me a safety message each and every day to remind me about safety. These two wanted me to send them a message, one every day. I didn't and still don't have time to be bothered by such nonsense. This is one simple thing that could make or break your own personal experience with a company.

I with my mindset had different plans. I simply ran and cut off all communication with them and simply started working strictly from the qual-comm or with upper management when I was at a terminal. Also, like I said previously, you must be smarter then your opponent and I was. I knew that they would try whatever tactics they could to punish me. They had already shown me their true colors while I was forced to help out on a Walmart opening. I'll get to that in a moment. First what I did was prepare. I was and still am a very meticulous record keeper. Not only would I keep records of my loads but I would keep detailed directions to every place I had ever delivered and every place I was sent to pick up an empty trailer. This works in your favor and is good practice no matter who you work for. It saves you time and energy when trip planning. They started by first making sure my preplanned loads left me without an empty trailer. That was fine, I knew where to go get one within 25 to 50 miles of anywhere I had ever delivered for JB Hunt and we delivered to routinely to the same customers. It would irritate them so much when I would send in my empty call and then send a message asking for my trailer number to be changed to such and such trailer number. You may ask how I knew they were irritated. I stated I cut off communication with them, I simply would not respond to their messages and my preplans were not governed directly by them, they were governed by the planner and your ETA and your empty call and availability. All these things were easily accomplished without direct communication with my FMs. Again, excellent documentation is the key here. Just one thing they tried. The other was when I scheduled my home time. She or they would try and get me home a day later then I requested. Their hometime policy was pretty straight forward so with a little tweaking was able to get over them on that as well.

Now for the Walmart opening. She threatened to not pay me and take me to safety because, as she stated, I intentionally made myself unavailable for a dispatched load. She was wrong, I intentionally logged completely legal and accurate for the first time in my life because I was irritated from being pulled off the road to go run for Walmart. I was doing just fine out there without her. I was forced to check in for a load every 30 minutes and I did. I logged it as on duty not driving for 16 hours then as I logged off duty not driving and laid down to rest a Walmart employee knocked on my door and said they had a hot load ready to go. I told them I was out of hours until I completed my 10 hour break and that wouldn't be until morning. Boy was he irritated, no other trucks in the yard. The first thing he did was call JB Hunt and inform them that I had been sitting there all day and now was stating I was out of hours. I legally was.

These are just a couple examples of things that you may run into while working for any company but it's all about how you deal with these situations and what your mindset is at the time. I myself made the best of it. It was like a game to me, but I assure you that you must be on top of your game or you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. You must know every rule and how it can be implied as well as how it is meant to be applied in different circumstances. Only then will you have the knowledge to start to explore the wonderful ways the rules can work for you.

Pay was better then most but it's true that you wont usually run more then 2500 a week unless you get a good FM and start doing some other tricks of my trade. My trade was a truck driver who ran hard, was on time every time and spent a lot of time doing what I wanted when I wanted. How I managed all this while still making some pretty good money was not only running hard, but working even harder. I have a very good work ethic, depending on how you look at it, and would constantly go well beyond the call of duty. Don't get me wrong, this was for my benefit, not theirs. What I would do is receive the preplanned load. It was usually a 400 mile run but would pick up one day and deliver the next. There were simply too many hours on each load. I found out early on that most customers would not talk directly to the driver when it came to details with the load or scheduling the load so I instantly became and employee "with" JB Hunt who was calling on behalf of my driver, me. After making sure I had the hours available I would simply call the shipper and state; "Hello, my name is SRV from JB Hunt Transport." "I am calling about load _____ which is scheduled to pick up at ________ in ________ and be delivered to _______ on such and such date and time." Most of the time they too would be courteous and polite and would simply acknowledge me and simply put, make themselves aware of the load I was talking about. Then I would inform them that due to the error of some other fleet manager we (JB Hunt) was unprepared for the load as it stood but, "However, I do have a driver that is running through that area on his way home." "I would gladly have him swing by and pick up the load early if that is at all possible." After I would secure the pick up, I would then move to start working on the delivery. Again, this is where it is extremely important to keep very specific and detailed records of each and every customer you interact with. They would usually ask me what time I could have the driver there and would make arrangements for pick up. If they ever had to get back to me I would simply state, "Let me give you my direct number so I save you the hassle of going through the JB Hunt operator, they have been so busy today with all these screw ups." Yes, I would place blame on whomever it took to get the appointments reset. I wanted miles and I got them. I also have a very personable personality and am extremely intelligent so I can usually talk my way into things and out of things and I can surely sense when I am getting in too deep with someone and oops, phone call dropped the call. At first it was a lot of trial and error but over time I got to know the names of people that worked for the customers JB shipped to and from and they got to know me under the guise of simply another fleet manager from JB Hunt. Brilliant I might add.
"You have to know your enemy before you could ever hope to defeat them."--SRV

Chapter Three
"JB Hunt's Only Super Trucker"
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JB Hunt's ONLY self proclaimed "Super Trucker". That's right, pass JB Hunt and there slow trucks. You weren't passing this JB Hunt "Super Trucker". I had gone to the diesel doctor in Illinois and had some modifications done to my company truck. I know, I know, but hell, I was a "Super Trucker" #### it. I could do what ever I wanted as long as I logged legal and wasn't caught right? Well, sort of. I never got caught with the modifications I made to their truck. The guy plugged in the computer, scrolled down to the emissions screen and upped the MPH on the emissions tab as it would be less noticeable to JB Hunt's mechanics when they did routine maintenance. At least that's what he was telling me. That and my "big" radio, an RCI 2950 with a 500 watt linear, was what I thought made me their only, again, self proclaimed, "Super Trucker".

I was nervous when I left the good doctor as I was, at this time, becoming very aware of the scams that are rampant out on the open road. I figured that what he was telling me made sense, but sounded like I may have just been ripped off $50. I gave him the benefit of the doubt and pulled out onto the road as I had a load to deliver. To my surprise, not really, I was duped. My truck only reached 62 mph and there it stayed. I was no longer a "Super Trucker" but reality came back and I realized that maybe I should just be happy to be out there making money.

I delivered the load and it was a cool night so I shut my truck off and went to sleep. Got up in the morning and headed off to get my next load. It was headed somewhere, I don't remember where but it had some good miles on it. After picking it up I got my things together, my drinks, my sandwich, my snacks, placed them within reaching distance and set off. I was rolling for a while, maybe a couple hours when all of the sudden I heard a man come across the radio, "JB, where you going in such a hurry?" After looking around and realizing I had been dazing off into space; you know 62mph will do that to you, he was talking to me. What did he mean "hurry?" I was simply day dreaming in the right lane where I always was just trying to get this load down the road. What I did not realize was that I was no longer doing 62 mph but that I was actually doing 76 mph. Must have been the very slow acceleration that didn't warrant my attention nor my even realizing I was going that fast.

JB Hunt's only self-proclaimed "Super Trucker" was back in business. The diesel doctor sure knew what he was doing and my spirits were back. For good or worse, I was happy I was able to be a rebel again and fight the man. Back on the radio I went and replied, "I am JB Hunt's only Super Trucker," "Loud and Proud with the hammer down!" He laughed and said I needed to slow it down cause other JB Hunt drivers could report me. I thanked him and told him I was good and that I would head his warnings. Sooner then later I did see a JB driver up in the distance so I got within a 1/4 mile of him at 76mph then slowed it down and set the cruise control at 64mph and slowly creeped by. I would wait till he was kinda out sight in my mirror then hammer down again. This was fun because it gave me something to do other then wish for a fancy seat cover to come by.

I ran some good miles while at JB. I even got to go out west with them. This is nowhere near the norm and if you are a solo regional, solo OTR, or live east of I35, you will probably never get to see the west coast. With that said and you understanding JB Hunt runs east of I35, I will tell you of my only trip out west while employed with JB Hunt Transportation.

Chapter Four
"Blazing a New Trail West"
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I was having a bad time at home and had asked my fleet manager to keep me out over Christmas but informed him that I could not be sitting at a truckstop over the holiday. I needed to keep my mind from wondering and needed to be moving. He told me he understood and would work on something for me. About an hour or two later I got a preplanned message on my qual-comm. I quickly excepted and then called and thanked him. I was headed to Georgia to pick up a load that delivered to the Oberto factory outlet in Seattle, WA. This would definitely keep me moving and would be lots of fun.

My trip out west. Well, everything started out well enough. Just getting the load was great. I went and picked it up and started out west. My first encounter was simply the fact that I was going out west in the winter time. I had never been west of I35 and you will hear stories all the time of places such as Cabbage patch, Donner's pass, the grapevine, all kinds of highways and passes that are treacherous and deadly. Well that's the hype out here on the east coast from drivers who say they are "professional" anyways. I was very optimistic and although a little nervous was up for the task. Hell, remember, I was their only "Super Trucker" and now was the time to prove it.

After you factor in the timing of the run, winter, then you must actually factor in the weather. First mistake of a rookie driver. When I say rookie, I intend that to only mean that I had never been west of I35 and was a rookie to the west. I started out and eventually made my way to I80 and headed in a westardly direction. I went over mountain passes that had what looked like train track guards that would block the road if they wanted to put them down. Didn't know what they were just knew that in the blizzard I was running through they were up and not down. I was running at 40mph in a sea of snow, white knuckled grip on the steering wheel, and no thought of slowing under 40 and was loving it. Couldn't see too far in front of me but the pass wasn't covered, just remember I was the only truck on the road that night. Was sort of an eerie feeling. I crossed the pass and stopped at the first truck stop I came to. Don't remember which one but I remember the girl asking me if the pass was open as she hadn't seen a truck come over it in hours besides me. I replied, "What do you mean?" "How can you close a pass?" "I hope you didn't mean those things that looked like they belonged on railroad tracks." Her smile went to a sudden look of terror, "They weren't down were they?" "You didn't go around them did you?" I assured her I had not and then she commenced to inform me what they were. It was kinda a funny moment. I proceeded to get my chains.

Onward I run, my sights, Seattle. I get out towards Iowa, stop at I80 truckstop of course, bought a t-shirt to prove I was there and continued running. Drivers were saying how I80 was shut down due to ice and accidents. I was talking with a driver about how this was my first trip west and he kinda took me under his wing. He informed me that I was to follow him off I80 and that we were going around this mess. If I80 is shut down, how the hell could a side road be better? But, being the same guy who after being told time and time again to take RT33 and NOT RT250 out of WV headed east to Staunton, VA but did it anyway; you know what I did. I got off the interstate and followed my new friend off into the woods, snow and ice everywhere. It was actually a very good ride and we stopped at "The Presidential", he told me it was the oldest truck stop in America. I don't know if that's true, but it was nice learning from him. I got back on the road and back to "familiar" ground, the interstate system, and I continued my journey.

Oregon; well that was interesting. I get to the inbound scale house and have my chains as the chain law is now in affect. Everything is going well until the officer asks me for my permits. It's JB Hunt, they have every permit for all 48 states, only problem is I didn't have it with me in my permit binder they gave me cause I ran out of East Brunswick, NJ. The officer was a little upset but I quickly went over to the little truckstop next to the scale house and made the calls and got the fax. Off and running again. Now I would like to inform you that I was running in a snow storm the whole way. Or at least it felt that way and there was tons of snow everywhere. I head up I84 and prepare to cross Oregon.

At this point any old JB driver would have parked his truck hundreds of miles before they even reached this point, but I was gaining ground and experience and was fearless. I84 came to a halt and tons of CB chatter and drivers talking about the fact that there was another four wheeler who was stuck and blocking traffic on the road. This is where the fun really started. I want to assure any newbies if they are reading this that trucking can be more then a job and adventure but that you can have an extremely good time out there on the road, even in bad conditions.

I started talking to an Interstate Trucking driver who was parked beside me as I was out of my truck throwing snow balls in what I believe was the only official I84 snow ball fight. We had everyone involved, truckers, regular folks and just about anyone who we could coarse to get out of their vehicles and join in on the fun. It was great. Traffic started moving a bit and the Interstate driver told me he was going to pull into the rest area and chain up. I told him I had never done that before and had no clue what to do. He showed me how to do the first one and I completed the job. We weren't stupid, we were going to keep trucking. We pulled out of the rest area and back into the parking lot on I84 and at that very instance a plow had come and plowed out the car that was stuck and cleared the roadway. I immediately was irritated, I just put my chains on and now I have to take them back off. The Interstate driver told me not too and that I should follow him. "There's a shoulder isn't there?" that was all I needed to hear from him and it was on.

I stuck close by him the entire way through Oregon. We were thicker then thieves and were having a great time. Don't get me wrong, the weather was terrible, we were in and out of blizzard conditions and it didn't take long before we could stop running the shoulder and get back onto the roadway. We were leaving the mess behind as we had kept our chains on and were now in front of the pack.

Cabbage patch. Now there is it's own adventure but it's still on this great journey west and a memory which will last a lifetime. The Interstate driver and I continued to run together talking on the CB and getting reports on the traffic and weather the entire ride. As we approached the base of the mountain, within a few miles it was getting dark and we were advised that the mountain had been closed. Again, a first for me, how do you close an entire mountain? Well it was party time at the truck stop there at the face of the mountain and as we were making our way off the interstate it was like a war zone. Trucks and cars everywhere, in the street, on the side of the street, people trying to help motorists get their vehicles unstuck and truckers in the ditches. We were both told to stay in the center of the road which you couldn't see and wait till we reached the snow fence before we commenced our left hand turn into the truck stop parking lot. See there was a ditch somewhere between the entrance to the parking lot and us but you could not see it. All you could see were other trucks which had tried to pull into the other entrances, or I guess the exit, and had went into the ditch. We listened to what we were told and made it into the parking lot safely. I actually had to use my truck as a plow to park, that's how deep the snow was that day. It was a mess and the truck stop was jam packed with all kinds of truckers and stranded motorists. Boy was it fun.

Morning came and I awoke to partly cloudy skies and snow flurries. The word of the day was "chains." The mountain was open for chains only. They were going to start working on the mountain to make it more passable but for now, somewhere around 8am it was only open if you wanted to chain up and take your chances. Me and the Interstate guy, I have never been able to remember his name, I don't think we ever addressed each other formally. Just a hey, or man this is crazy, or look over there, point is the only drivers talking about heading out were him and I. Everyone else we talked to were going to wait and see what the day brought. The forecast was for more snow so him and I were going to run it. We finally talked a female driver from US Express in going with us and I believe there might have been one other truck. We got everyone situated and headed out together to conquer Cabbage patch with about 2 foot of snow still covering the roadway. I would say it was about 2 foot of snow, I remember jumping out of my truck at the scale on the top and the snow was up almost up to my knees. It was no better on the road so it's close. Anyway, we made our way slowly up the pass all the while talking and me giving reports back to other drivers about our progress until we had reached the top. Like I said, we stopped and we checked our chains and made sure everything looked good for our decent off the mountain. We had to wait for the US Express driver to catch up so we had a smoke and just hung out. Probably waited for a good 20 minutes or so. We had been just talking away and every once in awhile would call and check on her as we were coming up the mountain but somehow we made great time.

The decent. I went first. Inexperienced and hands gripping the wheel I pulled out of the check point and headed down. It was really slow going until I came to the last grade. It is a straight run and you can see for miles. Was told the cops usually sit at the bottom to ticket anyone letting their trucks roll the last bit of the decent or for the trucks that have burned up their brakes but today there wasn't anyone around, believe me. I started down the grade and was trying to slow my truck down but every time I would hit my breaks I could feel my trailer start to slide. I tapped them, then released them then tapped them again all the while the Interstate driver behind me was cheering me on. "Hey, did you feel that cause I just saw your trailer slide?" "Uh, yeah I felt that, I'm the one in this truck getting ready to die." I replied. I was almost done, sweat pouring from my brow when at last I was almost down. I let it roll and all I could hear was the chains slapping against themselves. I was rolling at about 35 or 40 mph when I reached the bottom and it leveled out. I allowed my truck to slow on its own and drove the rest of the way to the truck stop there at the bottom in Pendleton, OR.

Before any of you come to the conclusion that this is simply a truckers story, I assure you like before, I will only state the true truth here. It took roughly 2 whole days to go from the scale house in Ontario, OR to the truckstop in Pendleton. Was worth every second.

Well low and behold I made my delivery and was getting ready to head back when I found out that yet another snow storm was coming from the west. I got reports that Interstate 5 was closed going south because after all I had been through I was ready to run south to LA and then come back across I40. Yes way out of the way but would have been such a nice trip compared to what I was in for. Interstate 5 was closed, I84 was barely passable and I80 was still a sheet of ice, so what did I do? Wasn't going to sit there and wait for the next storm to roll in, I headed north to I90. That's right, I headed north. I forget where I had to return my chains but that was exciting. Was yelled at for using them and breaking a few links. Oh well, told them that you shouldn't have given them to me if you didn't want me using them. JB Hunt used a chain bank so I didn't have to drop them off where I picked them up. The problem was that I had to turn in my chains, or at least I turned in my chains before I got over Fourth of July pass and ran that with no chains. It was definitely an adventure but like I said before, that is what I love.

Chapter 5
"Leaving the Road, for what?"
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Well in the previous few chapters I have given you a vague look into my life as I have gone from a boy to a man in the trucking industry. You can still argue, that as jokingly refer to myself as a "Super Trucker", I may not have grown up very much or maybe you think that I am an unsafe driver. I assure you that I am not. I have learned from many and from all walks of life. I have driven OTR, Regional, Local, LTL. I have driven equipment such as a '73 Mack with duel shifters, a 2010 Freightliner Century Class, roll-off, cement mixer, doubles, reefer, van, flatbed, operated knuckle booms and shifted everything from an 8 speed, 9 speed, 10 speed, super 10, 13 speed, 18 speed, inverted 10 speed, and my qualifications go on. One thing that I have learned is that no matter how much you think you know, you still have much more to learn. I am a very accomplished "professional" driver and do not take risks while out on the road. I have a certain driving style that would make many cringe but I assure you, I do nothing without knowing first what I am doing.

I left JB Hunt to except a job which paid hourly and which allowed me to be home more often. Much more often. It is and would be considered a "great" job by all standards of the trucking industry however, like I stated previously, "great", "good", or "bad" they are just words to describe one's own views of their unique situation. I worked for this company for almost 5 years and was very well liked by my supervision and was asked on many occasion to try and instruct them on how to make the company more prosperous in there trucking division. My views and ideas were welcomed by most of management but were hated by the employees. Why? Because I truly believe that most people these days have become accustom to the entitlement way of thinking. What can "I" get? Not what can "I" do? I believe that hard work and a great work ethic and a great attitude will let you advance in everything you do. But you have to give to get.

I was injured in May 2010 when I had an accident while loading my flatbed trailer. I was the guy that would not report minor injuries as I would be ok. This was in no way a minor injury but I still questioned taking the load out and making my delivery. Not for the benefit of the company, I could care less about them or any other company, but because of the integrity I have. I was hired to do a job and was going to do it, would take care of myself later, once the job was finished. Unfortunately I was stopped by another employee which urged me to get in contact with supervision and to take care of it now. I did so. In October 2010 I received shoulder surgery and was placed out of work on Workman's Comp insurance and in November the company informed me that I was to be fired because they had to replace me and couldn't hold my position. I was recovering from October till February of 2011 and have been collecting unemployment since February of this year.

My pride and integrity will not allow me to continue to burden the over burdened tax payers, like you. That "great" company that I left the road for, well they won't even verify that the job I had was a truck driving job, so think about that. Don't let it change who you are or what kind of work you preform while working for any company, as the work you do only reflects on you. But be aware that a "great" company can turn into a "horrible" company in the blink of an eye and vice verse. It's all about your perception and this worlds unique experiences.

Chapter 6
"Just Another Orientation"
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Ahhh, 2 a.m. and I'm awake. I have to catch my flight from the Philadelphia airport by 6:02 a.m., and because the T.S.A. feels it necessary to molest all the passengers, I have to arrive two hours early. So I wake my girlfriend and I grab my bags. Mom's up and sitting on the couch, did she want to say goodbye?, or could she just not sleep? I'm going to go with the first one there. Anyway, I said my goodbyes, placed my bags in the back of our truck and I headed to Philly.

The ride up there was a hard one. I was trying to explain to my girl how trucking was and how it would be hard on both of us. You see I met her while being off the road with a shoulder injury and she knew nothing about truck driving or my career, but we had a baby on the way and I had to do something so that I could provide all the things one should provide for his family.

I assured her that everything would be alright and that even though we would be apart for long periods of time that as long as the love was true and real, we would prevail.

Arriving at the airport was fun. It was pouring down rain and all I could think about was her safe return home. I asked her to try and hold her emotions in until she got home as I knew that if emotions started at the airport, it would only make things harder. Watching her drive away was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

Well, I was hoping she was alright and I was praying for a safe return home for her but it was time to check in. I waited in the ungodly line and when I arrived at the terminal check-in I was informed that they no longer accept cash. What? What is this country coming to? I had to proceed to a different line and there I was finally able to check my bag.

Moving through the airport security was a flash. I removed my boots, belt, and all metal from my pockets and proceeded through the check point. Replaced everything that I had discarded and arrived at my terminal where I awaited the arrival of my flight.

Flight was ok, had a layover in Chicago's Ohare and then off to Denver international. I arrived two hours earlier then the van which was to transport all that were coming in for orientation that day to the Clarion Hotel in Greeley, CO.

The hotel was nice, much better then where we heard the former class of orientation attendees stayed. However it was not without its downfalls. First off there is a train that runs right along side the hotel every hour or so. I guess the conductor feels that if he is awake, he must make sure everyone else is also. The train horn is a bit annoying. The other misfortunes were the fact that the hotel was having some issues with its water and phone lines. I noticed that on the second day the lobby's floor was sort of soggy and that repairs were being done. No biggy, just problems every hotel could have. It was nice to see that they weren't just ignoring the problem but actually trying to fix it. The menus in the rooms claim that breakfast starts at 6a.m. however J.B.S. Carriers has a contract with them and have made special arrangements for the orientees as they are to be ready to roll by 5:45a.m. You catch a hotel shuttle to the J.B.S. terminal in Greeley, CO which is only about 5 mins away from the hotel.

So you've had breakfast and you have arrived at the terminal. Time to start the arduous process of trying to become employed by one of the most respectful companies in the trucking industry. Dan is your host for this event and he is a very funny man. He uses wit and humor to try and make the day roll by and less stressful. I give him 2 thumbs up for how committed he is in trying to inform the newbies and veterans alike that if they plan to have a future with J.B.S. Carriers they will have to now do everything completely legal. This may sound like an easy task as we should all know the rules of the FMCSR handbook but understand this book only perpetuated me to manipulate it. I know the rules inside and out and always thought that you must know the rules before you can bend and break the rules. No need to run 3 log books, that just shows you don't know how to run 1. I my friend could swindle 1 log book and run as though I was using 3. Just saying. However here at J.B.S. you will only use a log book for the first 8 days of driving but you must keep a paper log book in your truck incase your ELOGS goes down. Yep, I said ELOGS.

J.B.S. Carriers was forced by D.O.T. to install ELOGS into all their trucks or face high fines for some infractions they incurred a couple years ago. This in no way should turn you away from them. Like I said earlier, or maybe it was in a different memoir, anyway, J.B.S. is determined to become an ELITE Carrier. They are currently firing and hiring like no other. If you do complete orientation and you are a true "professional" you will find that you have found a home.

The dreaded ERGO testing. You will be poked, prodded and anything else they deem necessary to ensure you up to their standards, and YES, they have high standards. You will be made to go through not only a basic medical evaluation for your D.O.T. physical card, but you will go through their test. They check your ability to stretch and to what degree, they check your movement and any limitations you may have with your movement, they check your strength by having you lift 30, 60, and 90 pounds from floor to waist level and then from waist level to shoulder level and they monitor your pulse and your blood pressure multiple times while doing so. If you're honest about any issues you may have you will be treated with the respect you deserve. If you lie, your done. It is not as bad as it sounds and if you are in decent shape, meaning you're not ready to have a heart attack the first day out in the truck and if you can lift 90 pounds as described above 3 times each, then you will pass. They are not out to fail you unless you are seriously unhealthy, not physically strong enough, or if you are dishonest.

You may hear others talk about J.B.S. Carriers on this site but what you must realize is that J.B.S. is not the same as it was 10 years ago, 5 years ago, or even last Wednesday when I was in orientation. What do I mean? How could they not be the same carrier they were just a week ago? Well let me tell you. In their pursuit to become elite, they are firing everyone who does not have "honesty" and "respect", for both J.B.S. Carriers as well as their drivers as their ultimate goal, at an alarming rate. They just fired their own C.E.O. the Wednesday I was there. So alarming that what you may notice in orientation is a lack of communication and a sense of disorganization. But what you will get is an understanding that everyone that is there overseeing orientation has not only J.B.S. Carriers best interests at heart, but ALSO yours.

I would like to repeat something their Operations manager said. "We have approximately 900 human beings out there on the road." Did you catch that? "human beings?" I challenge you to get me proof of another "large" company referring to their equipment as human beings. Oh wait, I said equipment and human beings aren't equipment. Human beings are people with families, with feelings, with thoughts and ideas and who deserve respect. Like I said way back in chapter 1 or 2. I have been to many orientations and you will never hear a company refer to you as a human being. They say things like this, "We have over 13,000 trucks on the road." - J.B. Hunt transportation; "We have over 14, 000 trucks on the road." - Schneider National; Do you see the trend here. Every orientation I have ever attended referred to you as a truck. You are nothing more to them then a means to revenue. At J.B.S. you are much more then that, you are a human being but you as a professional must understand that you are here to make money and to make the company money and are asked to do so. If you want to succeed with this company you will have to forget the fact that you are out here for your own benefit, but must start to think differently about how you could help this industry and more importantly J.B.S. Carriers so that they can intern help you. I would have never stood by any company I have ever worked for, but I can tell you that in my short time here I can honestly say I would stand with J.B.S.

So you stress yourself out and you finally get everything verified. What's next? Well, if you are straight out of school you will find yourself with a trainer who, if not grandfathered in, will only have your best interests at heart as the pay for their new trainers suck. On the other hand, you know either the person who will be training you is either very dedicated to ensuring your success in the industry or completely stupid, but it is one or the other. I hold nothing against the other trainers and I hold nothing against J.B.S. for doing what they did with the pay. They are trying to eliminate the problems which you see throughout this industry. A trainer at J.B.S. makes .02 cpm more then his/her normal pay and you will be dispatched on "solo" miles. This is to ensure you get the best training and that you will not be taken advantage of by a person who simply wants to use a student to fatten his/her own pockets with no regard to what you are actually learning if anything.

You will earn $300/wk for approximately 8 weeks. 4 weeks out then you will go home for a few days and then another 4 weeks out. The trainer and you will need to fill out paperwork each day showing your progress. It's 8 weeks or 15,000 miles with trainer approval. If you have any issue with your trainer, you "REPORT" it immediately. Like I said, J.B.S. is looking for the "elite" not the norm and you need not worry about reporting a delinquent trainer. They will be dealt with appropriately and you will need not worry about termination unless it is your fault. But there is no "it's the trainer's word against yours", it's the truth against the lies and J.B.S. will know who is telling the truth and which one is lying. Don't be afraid to speak up at this company as long as you are not in the wrong and you do it respectfully.

If your approved solo then you will get either a 2009 Peter-built 387 or a 2012 KW T-700. Both excellent equipment but they both have faults and pluses. You will run OTR or Western Regional or Mid-West Regional with the east coast secondary and you will be on your way to being gainfully employed with an exceptional carrier.

Next Chapter coming SOON!
"2942"

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Chapter Seven
"2942"
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So, that was fun; the uncertainty of being employed right up till the very end. Nothing new for me, but this time I have a lot more at stake. The last day of orientation came to an abrupt end as we were all eager to here whose name was on the list.

They read off a list of drivers who had made it and were being assigned a truck. Don't worry, too much, if your name isn't on the first list as you still have a day or so to get everything verified. Some may have issues with former employers or with documentation that they failed to bring with them to orientation; point is, if your name is not on that first list it does not automatically mean you will not be employed here.

I was handed a set of keys and immediately noticed they were not Kenworth keys but Peterbuilt keys instead. My heart kind of sank for a minute as it's always nice to know you are getting a brand new shiny truck no one but you has driven. This wasn't my destiny but a 2010 Peterbuilt was. The drivers are immediately escorted over to the main building where they are lead through the drivers lounge and out the back door. You are told where the trucks are located and given some paperwork. The first task to see if you are truly qualified to even attempt to drive their trucks is to find yours. Locate your truck, inspect it thoroughly and if there any defects or missing equipment, you pull it up to the shop and write it up. You place the write-up sheet in your drivers side window. Simple enough I would say.

Went in and spoke with the parts guy and requested all the items I was missing and he quickly gathered them for me and I wheeled them out to my truck, placed the items where they went and waited for my write-ups to be repaired. I only had one major complaint and that was the passenger side rear, inside, driver tire. Flat spots? Hell, this tire looked as though it has been locked up and drug with the anti-lock braking system engaged. It was in terrible shape. As a driver I wanted this replaced immediately. I waited, then was informed that my truck was done and ready to go. I was happy to get in my truck and get my things situated but as I walked over I noticed that the tire hadn't been replaced. Surely they couldn't have missed it, it was blatantly obvious that it needed replacing so I went in and asked for the shop supervisor. I wasn't trying to get anyone in trouble as it was my first official day and I was just trying to stay out of trouble myself and just get my load and start heading down the road.

The supervisor came out and gave the tire in question a once over and to my surprise told me that it was ok and that the tread depth was still within legal operating parameters; you know, that 2/32nds or 1/16th if you can simplify fractions. I was astonished especially after the wonderful performance he presented to us about safety and maintenance in orientation.

I knew the tire was in poor condition and if stopped by D.O.T. I would have been found in violation of something, maybe even placed out of service but I kept my mouth shut and simply said, "OK, as long as you sign off that it's alright to take, I'll run with it." I wasn't planning on running with it very long, that's for sure.

It was around 6 p.m. or so when I finally had all my things in my truck and was sitting in the lounge when Julie walked by. I thought she had gone home for the day and that we had basically just been forgotten. Some of the orientees became trainers and had actually grabbed another orientee as their first trainee and gotten dispatched, some who were still waiting on paperwork or verifications had gone back to the hotel, and still a couple of us were sitting there wondering what to do as we were assigned trucks but no loads and no real communication. Julie had stayed! She was working hard trying to get us loads and get the computers to except us into the system so that we could be on our way. The problem turned out that it took longer then they had expected to get our company I.D.s and our Com-data Cards. By approximately 7:45 Julie was ready to go home and she respectfully said she was sorry for the inconvenience and that we would get our loads in the morning but that she had to leave.

What were we going to do now? Guess it was as good a time as any to pretend we were truck drivers and sleep in our trucks for the night. I wasn't pretending, I was a true "professional", no need for sleep, so what did I do? I got a ride from another driver and we went out on the town. After waiting for 2 hours standing down by the guard shack the courtesy vehicle arrived and we were on our way. Three of us in total and well we went places I wouldn't care to mention in my memoir as I am unsure who reads it. You know what? I'll tell you anyway. We went to Walmart, Pizza Hut, and even pulled into the Golden Coral and stopped at the truck stop. Like I said, "professional". We were just trying to get the minor things we had forgotten and make sure we had everything we needed for the next day. Oh, and we were also pretty hungry by then. I think it was all the waiting we did for the courtesy vehicle.

Back to J.B.S.' yard and back to my truck. Your NOT supposed to install your own C.B. as they will tell you that only the shop is authorized to install your C.B. and if you attempt it you can be fired, however, a little bit of the "SuperTrucker" came out and guess what I did? I had gone to the truck stop and bought not only the little screw knobs that hold your C.B. onto the bracket, but also a power chord for my radio which I had forgotten. What was even worse is that I connected the power wire to my C.B. and screwed those little knobs into my radio all on my own. I was so nervous while I was doing it all, I thought that someone would catch me doing this common sense thing and hell, I don't know, report me for being competent.

Anyway, I had gotten my C.B. mounted on the bracket that was already installed in my tractor and fired it up. Oops, I forgot my channels didn't read 1 through 40 and I had no idea what the frequencies where. I hadn't used my C.B. in almost 5 years. 27.195 IS NOT channel 19. Guess I didn't feel too stupid because obviously no one could hear me calling for a radio check if there's no one on the channel. Just for reference, 27.185 is channel 19.

Well off to the drivers lounge I went and had some pizza and wings the other driver had bought and offered. Wings were hot, but good. Hung out for a bit and smoked, thought about what I was doing out here again, and thought about my uncertainty, my girl and my insecurities.

Out walked one of my fellow orientees and we started talking. My biggest concern about the events leading up to this was the fact that I had only been out with a trainer for 3 weeks on a reefer and that was many, many years ago and the video I watched in orientation wasn't even close to what I felt I needed, so I asked the veteran.

Newly hired and definitely "professional", we scurried across the lot and started messing with the reefer units in the yard. I say messing, but I mean, he taught and I listened. Shortly after firing a couple different units up and him showing me how to use the controls and change the "set point" a cattle hauler pulled into the yard. I don't know if he was checking up on us or not as we looked like we were up to no good, I'm sure, but he was courteous, polite, and surprisingly happy. I say surprisingly as most of the employees at J.B.S. which I had ran into in the past couple days all seemed to have smiles on their faces. What kind of trucking companies have employees that aren't disgruntled and who actually smile? Guess this one.

The next day arrives and I wake up early. Not too early as I didn't have to suffer the 5 a.m. wake up call anymore. I was above that, I was an EMPLOYEE. Rubbed my eyes, put my boots on and went inside to see what the plan was for the day. Nothing had really changed from sun down to sun up but the fact that this was day two of my employment with what I thought was a company with great potential and lots of respect for its drivers.

I hung around for a short time, got something to drink from the vending machines and waited patiently for someone to come and let us know what we were doing. Finally I had my load, bob-tailing to Hyrum, UT to pick up some beef to deliver somewhere. That's right, they said to bobtail to Hyrum and they would send us our pre planned load (PPL) if we had not already received it. I was on my way. Grabbed some directions from a driver, jumped up in my truck and headed to the gate. He simply checked my repair sheet and I exited the property. I was well on my way to making history.

What? Dead end? The driver told me to make a right when I left the property. Let me save you a very short 1000 foot adventure. Do not make a right out of the Greeley yard, ever! There is nothing down there to see but your own stupidity. Spun around and passed the Greeley terminal hoping no one had seen me make such a rookie mistake.

I bob-tailed straight through to Hyrum, UT and slept in their lot just in front of the fuel islands they have there. Not too bad of a place, fuel, scale, courteous employees, what more could you ask for? I know! How bout a "NEW" tire? You guessed it, first thing in the morning I pulled my truck into the shop there and asked their mechanic to take a look at it. He immediately knew it needed replaced and replaced it for me. I thanked him and told him I was a lot more comfortable now that I knew I would pass a D.O.T inspection and that my C.S.A would stay completely clean. Well, off to get my trailer.

Pulled in and figured since I had used their lot for sleeping, their shop for tire repair, their fuel island for fuel and knew I was going to use that scale to weigh that I might as well make it a perfect trip and use the only other thing they had to offer, their wash bay. I actually went through the wash bay instead of the gate where the guard was, didn't know if I was supposed to but ignorance was my out if I needed one. I actually ran my truck through twice before going to get my paperwork and find my trailer.

The guards were pretty helpful and kinda joked about the fact that I had stopped a ways back from the scale by the trailers when I went to get my paperwork. I told them I was unsure of the procedures and that I didn't want to block the incoming truck which looked as though he wanted the scale more then I did. They informed me of the procedures and I was on my way.

I don't want to throw out all my business on here but it makes for a good read so hopefully they won't reconsider my employment as they have already considered what is coming before assigning me a truck, and by now I hope they can see they made a good decision in assigning me as solo and not a mentor, so here goes. So I got my trailer and I scaled; over on my drives by 2000lbs and had to think real hard about how much weight each hole would reduce or increase. It had been awhile since I had driven over the road and I was trying to access my long term memory. I settled on 250lbs per hole and adjusted accordingly and re-scaled my load. Weight was good, I was good, and I was outta there.

Heading down the road seemed effortless and I was regaining confidence with each mile. I had gotten hurt and had been completely off the road for awhile and not calling it nervousness; I guess I would call it being a little unsure of myself at first. Yes, I do have over 12 years experience with Van, Flatbed, Doubles/Triples, and even Tanker, but when I looked in that mirror all I could say was "####, that's a long ### trailer!" I think I may have even stuck my head all the way out my drivers window just to see if what I saw was real. It was, it was long. My girlfriend had called just about then and I had to hang up with her almost immediately. I told her I was not about to talk on the phone and drive. I was not going to do anything, but drive. I was totally committed to that truck and trailer and to the road.

About 200 miles later I was feeling much better, the trailer was shortening up in the mirror and confidence was coming back. Just like riding a bike is what I used to say. I was just glad that the saying holds true. The next big obstacle was backing. Yeah, I had passed my road test but backing in an empty truck stop is far different then trying to find and back into a parking spot at 10 p.m. , especially a Pilot or a medium to small truck stop. I found a hole and with precision, placed that trailer where it needed to go. #### I was good. Wait, was that luck? Did I really just back into that spot that easily or did I just get lucky? Yep, I did what you may be thinking "No he didn't." After parking in one fluid movement of truck and trailer, I put the truck back in gear and pulled out of that spot and drove around the cramped parking lot and found me another spot. Backed in with one pull up and again, the confidence skyrocketed. I was back! Not the "SuperTrucker" of old but the well defined and knowledgeable "professional" that took its place a few years ago. I was back and on my way hauling my first load for J.B.S. Carriers. That load took me 2942 miles east and right back into the loving arms of the one who gave me the courage, the strength, and the determination and the conviction to succeed.

Next Chapter Coming Soon
"Irene"

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