US Xpress...my experience so far

It's been good so far, we added a cooler and upgraded the bedding with memory foam, made a big difference especially when you're trying to sleep in a moving truck. I just got a laptop and Verizon hotspot ($200 off the laptop if you buy both at Best Buy) and we have a power inverter ready to be installed so we can start cooking instead of eating out every meal. We haven't made it home yet other than a 2-hour stop to get tools and more clothes but we're planning on going at the end of our first 8 weeks. Are they letting you do the dedicated before the 8-week trial period?
As far as the FM goes, ours has been ok but she's pretty new so she doesn't have some of the answers we need right away. On the longer runs it doesn't matter much but on some of the shorter runs it sucks having to wait for an answer when we could already be halfway there.
Anyway, good luck on the dedicated run. I may end up doing something like that eventually but for now I'm happy doing what we have been doing.

 

We've been good friends for around 15 years so being in the truck together hasn't been difficult at all. We run a lot of miles but we also stop regularly for breaks and food. If one of us is driving and the other needs to stop we stop right away, no need to be uncomfortable, hungry, etc. As far as youtube goes, I thought about bringing my go-pro with me but I didn't yet. I may grab it on my next trip home, he mentioned making some videos while we were still in school so we may try it. I have a few on youtube already (same screen name) but they're a little higher paced than a tractor-trailer.

 

I'm still here, we got stuck in Laredo TX for the weekend but we're rolling again. We sat for over 2 days and still managed 4,800 miles this week. We went to Arkansas to deliver 2 loads and pick up another one and let me tell you, those were some of the most challenging roads I've ever been on in any vehicle, let alone a tractor-trailer. Look up hwy 123 between Clarksville and Mountain Home, Arkansas and imagine that in a tractor-trailer, and don't forget there's a lot of elevation changes as well. I had to go down to 4th gear twice just to make it up the inclines, didn't help that the load was 42,xxx lbs (76,800 total gross). Then from Mountain Home back to Laredo, now we're on our way to Denver to do a re-power and take it to Michigan. Should be a good easy run compared to last week's adventure.

Hey Piratetrucker good luck with the school, just take your time and drive very slowly at first til you get used to the rhythm of double-clutching and shifting. Also, don't forget when your backing to Get Out And Look where you're going. Step back from the truck and imagine the path it is taking and if you need to fix anything do it in your head before you start moving again.