Day by day adventures of a new solo OTR driver

Yeah man, today was a perfect example of that. I'll gladly run short loads that are easy on/off the highway compared to 400 miles of state roads especially when you're grossing near max. They are just miserable.

So, got up right at the end of my 10 hour break and started my day. Ready to get this 3-live-load and drop on the 4th stop crap out of the way.

First one, just down the road from the abandoned Wal-Mart where I spent the night. Got there about an hour early, they loaded me almost instantly and I was gone within an hour. Nice.

Second one, about an hour drive away... got there, stopped at the sign out front that had a "map" of this industrial park on it. Couldn't see the place that I was looking for so I gave them a call. She gives me directions, I go down there, find it, stop and go in... get a couple confused looks. Finally someone comes over and says "yeah we don't deal with that place you are going to or the location, someone from Schneider called yesterday trying to schedule an appointment and we told him it wasn't us". Uhh... WAT. You mean someone from SNI called to schedule an appointment, got told "NO THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT SHIPPER" and just decided "**** IT I'M GOING HOME"????!!! Unreal. Anyway, that customer mentioned it might have been another one in the same park, drove around a little looking for them, couldn't find it. Finally called in to Charlotte and my DBL answered the phone, shes back from vacation it seems. She wasn't happy with the loads that I was given while she was gone and said they were taking advantage of me making me run these short loads. Its nice to hear shes looking out for me. She said after this run they had me scheduled for another load that totaled a whole 26 miles (LOL). After getting on the phone she told me where to look for this new place after talking to CS, and got me off the 26 mile load and got me a nice 500+ mile run down to NC.

So, hung up the phone, back up to the spot I was looking at earlier... guys were outside on break, asked them if I was at the right spot, nope, go over there just down the path... Ok, check THIS place, FINALLY at the right shipper. Little place #2 gets me docked up and loaded within 15 minutes flat. Sweet! Spent more time removing my straps and getting the boxes shifted around a little bit before part two went on than it took them to load me.

Ok, head out from there to stop #3. Arrived at stop #3, much larger facility, but again, docked up, loaded within 30 minutes, grab my bills, off we go!

Arrived at the receiver at about 1230PM. It took longer to get checked in for the drop and hook and get an empty assignment there than it did for all the others combined. Oh well... that load DONE.

Next headed for my pickup for my load headed to NC. Traffic all over the NJ TP ranges from bumper to bumper for several miles to getting my doors absolutely blown off the next.

Get to the shipper, go to the end of the lot to get turned around, a guy who works there flags me down and tells me to back up and wait behind a 5-ton. So, back up, park behind him, go in and get checked in. 4 hours left on my 14 at this point.

Talk with the 5-ton driver, blah blah finally with about 3 hours left I get a dock. Dock up.

Aww yeah we got supertrucker UPS driver behind me that was waiting for me to back in before he did. Hes obviously in much more of a hurry than I am. He grabs about 7 gears in the 100 foot space between where he was stopped and the point at which he pulled forward to back into the dock. Makes sure to leave the jake on as he comes to a stop. MAN WHY CAN'T I BE AS ###### AS THIS GUY? OMG SO COOL. Then he floors it in reverse obviously trying to show off his years of extreme backing maneuvers done with his single axle daycab Volvo and 45' trailer. I laugh as he has to slam on the brakes to pull up and correct himself as his attempt to show off fails miserably. What a tool.

After that... wait and wait and wait. Notice a lot of hazmat cargo getting loaded on the other trucks. Asked the guy that had put a few into my trailer to make sure that it wasn't hazardous as I don't have my endorsement. Thankfully, it wasn't.

With 1 hour left on my 14 I finally got loaded. Quickly went through the workflow, and started heading towards the Pilot I'm supposed to fuel at tomorrow. I knew I couldn't make it that far but there was a rest stop and a TA that were along the way. Getting close to the rest stop I saw NO FACILITIES. No facilities? NO THANKS. Slammed my foot on the floor to achieve warp speed in the Schneider truck, aka 64 MPH. 27 minutes on the clock now. Roll into the TA with 16 left, finally find a parking spot at the back, some guy with his stepdeck has the nose of his Peterbilt hanging halfway out in the isle. Had to be careful to avoid hitting him. Got parked, got food, sent in a pile of bills I got yakked at by CS to send in, and that about wraps up my day.

Tomorrow I could probably stop through home for my 10 hour break if I made good time, BUT I have this stupid trailer attached which I can't fit down the driveway, and its got the skirts on it which I would probably rip off if I tried to take it down to my neighbors shop where he keeps his equipment. Oh well...

So, that's the update from today. Hopefully I'll get some good runs now that my DBL is back to watch and make sure SNI isn't trying to screw me with shorthaul.

 

Got going around 0630 this morning. Reached my fuel stop after driving for about 2 hours, took a shower and got some biscuits from McDonalds and headed off. Made really good time until I got stuck in the traffic on I-95 south. I'll just go around it all next time even if its 100 miles out of route. Never again. Took HOURS to get anywhere, spent miles in low gear just crawling along. Luckily the chatter on the CB radio was extremely entertaining, especially when the conversation turned to "YOU'VE GOT THAT ECHO TURNED UP SO HIGH I CAN'T UNDERSTAND A DANG THING YOU JUST SAID" and then the next thing you know at least 5 drivers have it cranked up all the way doing the Budweiser "WAZZZZZZUPPP" deal from the commercials years ago. I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while. I would sit through that traffic jam again in a heartbeat if I could have had my phone hooked up to the CB to record that moment. Then there was another driver who decided to just keep repeating "10-4" at about 10 second intervals, making his accent stronger and drawing it out with every repeat so by the time he was stopped it was something along the lines of "TEEEEHHHYYYNNN FOWWWWAHHHH", as drivers inserted comments that I can't exactly post on this forum hoping to get him to reply "10-4" to.

Its the little things that keep us entertained, I guess. Else it'll drive you crazy.

Only got about 450 miles with the traffic today, drove down to about an hour and a half left on my clock. Made it right to the NC/VA border, glad to be back in the south. Nice quiet truck stop with a wide open parking lot with plenty of room. Not one jam packed at 4 in the afternoon like they are up north.

Anyway, got about 175 miles to go tomorrow, no preassignment yet, so who knows where I'm off too next. I guess I'll put in my home time request soon, I'll probably stay out for 2 more weeks, that'll put me at a full month and I'll try to go home for 5 days.

Until next time...

 

I appreciate your kind words, and thank YOU for your service. I'm sure you've heard some great trucking stories too from your father with this 53 years of experience! Wow, I think of all the adventures I've had in my first, what, 4 months, I can't even imagine what all one could see and go through in 53 years of trucking. Best of luck to you throughout the rest of your military career and then getting started with trucking! Stay safe!

 

So, update for today: Woke up with a bad headache at about 0530, took some ibuprofen and went back to sleep for an extra 30 minutes until it kicked in enough to dull the thing down. I made it down to my delivery in a small town outside of Fayetteville, NC this morning. Got there and took my paperwork up to the guard shack, got told my delivery appointment wasn't until 1700. But the work assignment I had showed a window ranging from some time YESTERDAY to 1700 today??? Anyway, she made a call, told me to go ahead in and go talk to the shipping office.

Got to the shipping office, handed the lady my paperwork. Lady looks over my paperwork and tells me to go around the back to dock so and so at 1030, but not before making a comment about how "I look like a little kid", as she put it. Seriously, what did mentioning my age have to do with anything remotely related to our discussion? I'm 23, yes, but I'm out here busting my ### just as hard as anyone else trying to make a career for myself instead of sitting around smoking weed and working at Starbucks. I felt like telling her that it was pretty obvious she was approaching the end of her 30s and should maybe lay of the McDouble cheeseburgers and tanning bed a bit.

Anyway, that aside, they had me unloaded and I was off within a reasonable amount of time. Just in time too, because there was a line of trucks forming on my way out.

After that I headed to a Wal-Mart I saw earlier on the way in. After cruising around the outer ring of the parking lot trying to find a way in without running my trailer up on the curb, I parked and did some shopping. Plenty of fresh bread, snacks, a little whisk and dust pan and some stuff to clean my tires and wheels later, I headed back out to my truck.

My preassignment was a high-value load and required a 3-way call with CS so they can check to see if you can make your pickup and deliveries on time, and to call in if anything comes up. Maybe a little tight on the delivery time, but assuming everything goes to plan it would be no problem, and I left shortly afterwards towards my pickup. It said not to show up earlier than 3 hours before the appointment window in the remarks, so I showed up about 2 and a half hours early just in case the load might be ready sooner and I could make that somewhat-tight delivery appointment a little looser.

Of course, trailer isn't ready, guard tells me to check back in at 1500. Ready time on the Qualcomm was 1600. Ok, no problem, I'm early so not their fault. I drop my empty, sweep it out, clean up my tires and wheels, mirrors, windows, etc. Sit around to 1500, go check with the guard, still not ready of course. Wait until 1700 now. Go check, STILL not ready. Ok, it was supposed to be ready an hour ago. Getting frustrated as I'm just burning up my 14 like nobodies business. Another hour goes by and finally the trailer shows up. 2 hours left on the 14 now, I was planning on about 4 and a half and being able to make it 200 miles to my first fuel stop. Not gonna happen now.

So, pick up this crap trailer, and by crap trailer I mean this is the oldest, crappiest trailer I have ever pulled, and am extremely embarassed to have it behind my truck. Found a nearby scale and took it there to weigh it, went in to get my ticket and use the restroom. Come back out and there is an hour left on my 14. No reason to go anywhere now. Great.

So, called support shift, let them know I was delayed at the shipper, they asked what time I could have it there, I did a "Schneider" trip plan with the miles x 1.1 divide by 50 mph blah blah before calling just in case they asked. Gave them the time, SS calls CS and let them know and said that if there are any problems CS would message me. No message yet, so a good sign I guess.

A frustrating day with way too much sitting and only 200 something miles. I hate spending all day watching your 14 burn up and there is nothing you can do to stop it.

Well, hopefully tomorrow will be a good day, I NEED it to be a good day in order to get this load there on time. I'd love to have some nice long runs with nice big appointment windows... but I guess this beats doing another 3-live-load deal for sure.

Until next time...