Watkins & Shepard - The Adventure Begins October 8th

Day Eight

Today, we did a lot of paperwork. We filled out insurance forms. We had a few conference calls with people from various parts of the company (billing, fuel, insurance, etc) Tim and RL looked over the trip envelope exercises we had last night for homework. We also had our Qualcomm lesson and we got to play with a unit at the end of the day and send a series of messages to RL.

We still have training videos to watch and Tim's going to give me another lesson in backing/docking. Not sure what else needs to get done before I leave here. This has been a great experience and I've enjoyed my time here.

I was told today that I will probably be leaving sometime Friday to take a truck (and a load) up to the terminal in Michigan. If that happens, I'd be leaving that truck at the terminal and taking a different one when I left. Not sure where I'd be sent after that.

Excited about being out on the road. I live in Indiana just across the border from Michigan. I'm hoping I can get routed near my home on the way back so that I can pick up a few things for my truck that were too heavy/cumbersome to bring with me on the bus down here.

I need to do laundry tomorrow night so that everything's ready for Friday.

 

The list they give you is pretty good. I didn't bring any of the tools or things for the truck (you have no idea whether you're going straight into a truck or home first), but I heard from another student that they'll FedEx anything you want to bring, but can't fit in your suitcase.

Since you're driving here, bring it all now. If you were riding Greyhound, I'd recommend to either ask about the FedEx thing (I'm not 100% sure that they pay to FedEx your stuff, it's what I heard) or plan to buy some of it here. I'm planning to go to Lowe's tomorrow to pick up basic tools for the truck.

As far as bedding, one of the drivers measured the bunk in his truck for me. He said it was 82 x 40" which makes it a X-Long Twin. That's the size of sheets I bought, but I haven't tried them on a bunk yet. I'll let you know.

As far as the knife, I think they're talking about something in the realm of a basic pocket knife. Just in case you need to cut something like rope or tape or something. You never know. It'll probably just come in handy at some point.

Bring any of it that you already have with you (since you're driving). Anything you don't have yet, there's plenty of places here to pick it up. If you don't have a Motor Carrier's Atlas, you can pick a 2012 one up at the truck stop here for less than $10. They take you to the truck stop on the first day to cash your T-check ($100).

I only brought a week's worth of clothes (limit of 50 pounds of your suitcase if you're riding Greyhound). There are laundry facilities at the hotel and they're cheap ($1 to wash and $1 to dry).

Keep in mind that it may be a few weeks after you leave orientation before you get home... so anything you absolutely need within that timeframe, bring it with you just in case.

If you wear contacts, bring extra. And make sure you have eyeglasses as a backup and bring those as well. If you take medication, make sure you bring enough of it with you.

 

Day Nine

This morning, we had more safety instruction with RL. How to avoid accidents, what to do in case you are involved in an accident, etc. Then we went out to the yard to practice backing and docking.

After lunch, I watched safety videos and filled out the official hiring paperwork (taxes, payroll and whatnot).
Tim took the other two students on another overnight trip. RL (who must have drawn the short straw) will be with me tomorrow getting me ready to leave for Michigan. I have a few more videos to watch in the morning. RL is also going to take me to get the truck I'll be driving fueled. I also need to pick up a few tools and items for the truck before I leave Conover.

 

A HazMat reading and open-book test are part of orientation. W&S does not haul HazMat.