Watkins & Shepard - The Adventure Begins October 8th

I have no idea how much you make in the first year, it would depend on how many miles you run (and for LTL runs, how many stops). You earn one day of hometime for every six days on the road, and it accumulates. I want to be out on the road the majority of the time and maybe take the occasional 2-3 days off do go home or spend time elsewhere [we have a terminal in Vegas ;o) ].

Hometime is generally doable as long as they have ten days notice that you want to get home (and if you've worked enough to cover the days you want off). I met a driver who manages to get home for his 34 hour reset every weekend, which is great. It all depends on where you run and how long you want to be away from home. It may also depend on where you live and whether there's a route like that in your area.

I chose Watkins & Shepard because I couldn't find a bad word about the company anywhere (and I read about them online for months before I got here). I first heard of them in a blog where female truckers were talking about horror stories they had from training (being assaulted by their trainers, abandoned in the middle of nowhere if they refuse to grant certain favors, etc) and a woman mentioned that she had worked for W&S for several years and hadn't had any bad experiences. Feeling safe is very important to me. I know we can't control who we meet out on the road, but you shouldn't have to be afraid of your coworkers.

 

I had a few hours of training stuff to do Friday morning and then I had to wait for my truck because it was being repaired. The shop finally brought it back to the terminal around 5:30pm. By that point, It was pretty late in the day. I decided it would be safer to stay at the terminal for the night and start first thing in the morning. I went to Lowe's to buy some basic tools and to Walmart to pick up water and food so that I'd be ready to go first thing in the morning. My route take me straight west into Tennessee (up the same mountain we drove in training) and then north through the Smokey Mountains. It was a beautiful drive, but I am so glad I didn't attempt it at night.

Your first day is stressful enough. Why add first solo mountain drive and first night drive on top of that?

I had planned to drive around eight hours the first day (thinking I would be really tired, since I'm not used to driving that much in one day). It had been absolutely freezing in the truck the night before and I knew I needed a warmer blanket. I stopped at several Walmarts (any I could see from the interstate because I didn't want to not be able to find my way back). Two of them had "no trucks except for deliveries" signs, so I couldn't stop there. The others didn't have parking lots big enough to fit a big truck in.

It was getting pretty late in my 14 hour shift and I stopped at a Walmart in Ohio because it would be my last chance to stop at a store for the day. You know those little yellow poles they put around lightposts in parking lots to protect them? I managed to hit one with my tandems. I was tired and distracted by other cars in the parking lot and I didn't keep an eye on my tandems in the mirror.

Reporting an incident to the Safety Dept was not how I wanted to end my first day. It was a stupid mistake and entirely my fault. I documented the incident, talked to the manager of the store and we got a police officer to make a report of it. As of yet, I'm not being terminated for it. There is a 90 day probationary period when you first get hired and I'm sure I am being watched very closely now to see if this kind of mistake is a one-time thing or an accurate depiction of my maturity and driving skills.

I am now waiting for the shop in Missoula to open (everything with W&S pretty much runs on Montana time) so that I can have someone change out the tire that got a groove rubbed into it. It might be safe to drive on (I only have three more hours of driving), but I don't have the experience to make that call, so I'm erring on the side of caution. I'd rather have the tire changed now than risk a blowout on the interstate.

I should have planned my day better to say the least. I took for granted that I'd be able to pull into any Walmart and pick up blanket. All I can do is try to do better on my next trip and learn from this. Other than the post incident, it was a good first day. I'd never been to the Smokey Mountains and they are beautiful!

 

I don't have regular access to the internet, so I have to find a place with free wifi. Some days, it takes some doing

 

Right now, I'm playing musical trucks. I drove a truck from Conover to Michigan to trade with another driver (so he could have a nicer truck). I'm driving his old truck now. Except for the fact that he's been smoking in it an everything inside is sticky with tar, it runs pretty well. I am driving this truck until I can get routed to Montana (where it will be sold) and I'll be put in a different one. I have no idea how long it'll be until I'm in my (relatively) permanent truck. When that day comes, I'll share all the gritty details.

It does not come with GPS or Satellite radio. Or a CB. The first truck was so cold because it had a 5 minute automatic idle shut off (so you couldn't keep warm that way). It had an APU (which is probably why it has the 5 minute idle shut off)... but I didn't know how to work it. I was only going to be in that truck for two nights and pretty much knew that the next truck wouldn't have an APU (most of them don't), so I would absolutely need a warmer blanket.

Blanket or no blanket, I should have planned my day better.

 

After staying overnight in the Walmart parking lot where I hit the post, I had to wait until the shop in Missoula opened so that I could call them and make arrangements (get the info and approval to call) for a tire replacement. I was on the road by a little after noon.

I got to the Taylor terminal, swapped trucks, took a shower and drove to my consignee. My delivery was scheduled for 6am the next morning, so I got a bay number from the guard shack when I checked in, backed into my spot and slept there overnight. They had me unloaded before 7, but I had to pull to the end of their lot and wait until my hours were such that I could drive again. It also allowed me to get my next route info from my dispatcher.

I called the shop in Missoula again (this time to get info to make arrangements ) to get the trailer fixed. The only thing wrong with it is the bent up tandem release arm. I called the local repair shop (that terminal doesn't have its own shop) and arranged to drop the trailer at the terminal and have them come out and fix it. I grabbed an emtpy trailer (my next shipper you have to leave an empty when you take a full) and drove to Ohio. I picked up my load (after getting gloriously lost when taking the wrong exit out of Toledo) and got back the interstate (after hours of tiny state highways from my shipper) and pulled into a rest stop for the night.

Getting lost had really eaten up a lot of my time, so I had to push hard yesterday. I drove 10.75 hours and made it to just north of Atlanta by the end of the day. I pulled into a truck stop (I generally prefer to sleep at rest areas... less crowded and much quieter) because I really needed a shower. I had trouble parking (only two empty spaces in the whole lot) but a nice guy saw me struggling and came over to help direct me in. The shower was clean and hot and the wait wasn't long. I did all of my paperwork/planning stuff (which I hope I get more efficient at as I get more experience) and went to bed.

I have about 1.5 hours of driving to get to my consignee this morning. Not sure where I'm heading after that.

Oh, and a bit of advice: if you can't find your underarm deodorant, never EVER think "oh, I'll just use this spray dry shampoo... it's practically the same thing!" because you will chemically burn your armpits.

Learn from my mistakes, people. They're hilarious!