Roehl Phase 3, life after RDTC

Really have enjoyed following Y'all. Looking forward to getting started myself, June 10 if everything works out.
I would love to hear what advice you have on.
Sleeping in Truck
Not sleeping while driving
What your eating on the road ? Exercise? Ive been working real hard on getting in shape don't want to loose ground on the road.
And just any other things you might find useful
Thanks

 

Thanks I will

 

Really enjoy your posts

 

You always keep things positive. Even when there negative

 

Im more of a lurker than a poster

 

I am just wanting in some medical paperwork then I will find out when my orientation date will be

 

I was in the same RDTC class along with goblue and TheOSU; here's my thoughts on your topics:

Sleeping in truck: This was one of the things I wondered about the most before getting into trucking. Would I be able to sleep? What about noises of other trucks driving around in a truck stop? I sleep on a waterbed at home, would I be able to sleep on a regular mattress in the truck? How about the temperature in the sleeper -- would it be too cold and/or to hot to sleep comfortably? What about my CPAP machine (sleep apnea)?
The answer is that I've been able to sleep just fine. I usually have the cabin's ventilation fan going during the night and I don't hear much of what's going on outside. I bought a memory foam mattress pad for the top of the sleeper mattress and that's made it plenty comfortable to sleep on. The heat and A/C in the sleeper keeps the temperature pretty much wherever I want it. My CPAP machine has a 12 volt adapter cord that I plug into the socket conveniently located above my pillow and I also have a 12-hour backup battery pack along in the truck in case I'm unable to use the truck's power for whatever reason. Finally, the truck has light-blocking curtains that go across the side windows and windshield. All in all it's very confortable and didn't take much to get used to sleeping in.

Not sleeping while driving: This is obviously a touchy and very important subject and there's lots of info available about it, but here are a few points from my own experience.

The first rule is to always, always get enough sleep in your bed! If you have to start your day early (and it often works out well if you do get an early start), MAKE SURE you go to bed in time to get the amount of sleep you require -- be it 8 hours, 7, 9, or whatever. Don't be tempted to stay up later just because it "seems too early to be going to bed at 7:30 or 8 in the evening." If you start your day early, you have to go to bed early...this is something people have been doing for centuries and things are no different in the trucking biz.

The second piece of advice may seem strange, but it's to get yourself completely off any caffeine habit you might be on. I used to work an office job and would drink several cans of caffeinated beverages (diet) during the workday. Before getting into trucking, I pretty much stopped all caffeinated stuff and switched to plain water, which is pretty much all I drink now while going down the road. What I found is that after a few weeks, I didn't feel like I needed the caffeine boost in order to be alert -- and, it became easier to fall asleep at night. In other words, it gets you off the cycle where you use caffeine to keep you awake during the day because you had trouble falling asleep the night before (because of the use of caffeine during the previous day...see the cycle?) Sure, I'll still have a diet Coke or diet Mt Dew once in awhile, and I do keep a few bottles of diet Mt Dew in the truck with me for the times where I have to get up a lot earlier than I normally do and want to be sure that I'm fully awake. But those are now rare instances. Just like it says in the books, the only cure for drowsiness is sleep. It's true.

Third piece of advice: treat driving like the professional job it is. Scan the area ahead of you, left, right, near, far -- don't just keep your eyes focused on a single point ahead of you. Scan the area around the truck by checking your mirrors. There's plenty of stuff to see out here; always stuff happening around you...it's there if you look. This is the part of being a professional truck driver that surprises some people -- you don't get to just sit back and leisurely drive like you might if you were in a car. You're piloting 80,000 pounds of machinery going down the road, at highway speed. It's work -- work you have to be on your toes and alert for, because the consequences of a mistake or delayed reaction are much, much worse than in a car.

Eating on the road: Yes, you can blow a lot of money eating out on the road. I limit myself on the fast-food stuff to about once a week. A couple times a week, I do partake of the buffet at the Iron Skillet restaurants that are in Petro truck stops. (Pilot and TA seem to have mostly switched their in-house restaurants to fast food outlets, not good for long-term use.) The Iron Skillet buffets have a well-stocked salad bar with lots of fresh veggies etc. and the overall quality of the food is usually very good. (There are also other buffets out there like Golden Corral, Ponderosa etc. but they usually don't have parking for a semi truck!) All the other meals, I eat food I've brought from home. Breakfast is cereal with milk, juice, and a yogurt from my cooler (I have one of the Koolatron solid-state coolers that's worked great so far). Lunch is usually quick and eaten while driving, since I don't want to use time from my 14-hour daily clock (though starting July 1st, we will all have to start taking a 30-minute break after eight hours due to new FMCSA regs...ugh) -- a sandwich, carrot sticks, maybe some chips or crackers, an apple or banana, etc. Dinner is after I've parked the truck and gone off-duty for the day. Usually some microwaved food I've brought with me, a salad with broccoli/tomatoes/cucumbers and other fresh veggies from my cooler. And like I said above, sometimes I'll go into the truck stop and do the buffet -- interestingly, it's usually about the same price as if you ordered one of the regular dinner items from the menu, around $11).

Exercise: Heh. Well, my best advice is...become a flatbedder! I get a great workout every time I secure/tarp or untarp/unsecure a load (and fold up the tarps). And it's a combination of muscle-building exercise and aerobic exercise. Since I started flatbedding, I'm in better shape than I've been in 20 years (this was actually the main reason I wanted to get into trucking and specifically flatbedding). But if flatbedding is not for you, I've heard that some drivers bring along small barbells or other weights, or you can always do situps/pushups, or just take brisk walks or jog around the parking lot. I've heard of some that have gotten memberships at gyms or national-chain health clubs, but in my own experience it doesn't seem like you're usually within walking distance of a gym location when you're parked for the night in a truck stop. (Maybe bring a bicycle along?)

General: It definitely helps to develop patience, and the ability to avoid getting worked up over things you can't control. You have to be able to maintain safety as the top thing in your mind (Roehl calls it the cornerstone value and you'll hear a lot about that) and that means that no matter what else is competing for your attention at the moment -- meeting your pickup or delivery times, traffic hassles, other drivers doing stupid or rude things, whatever -- you have to keep focused and stay safe. When you let the little things start getting to you and distracting you away from safety, that's when things tend to snowball downward. (Trying not to be preachy here, but it's true.) This job can be really enjoyable and I've had a lot of fun doing it so far. Relax, keep your sense of humor, and have fun!

 

Thanks for taking the time to share all the information, Ill be 54 June 10th so your and inspiration. Really looking forward to getting started.

Ill stay in touch
Thanks

 

Great thread... one and all.