how do i make a good first impression

Put the hammer down & keep it in the wind!

What type trucking are you doing with the new company?

 

#1 Be SAFE as possible. NO accidents, tickets etc.... Then if they give you 4 days on a load and can safely get there a day or 2 early do it. Call Receiver yourself on B.O.L. and tell them your early can you get in early or do they have a cancellation to fit you in. Then after unloaded send empty call. Sure you will do fine and welcome to the Trucking Industry.

 

Run 2 logbooks...

 

When you're talking to the boss, turn the cell phone off.

 

2 books? In order to successfully cook ur books, u need 3 at least.

 

Bone up on the technical side of the truck. A lot of it you will have to learn as you go, but make a point of asking other drivers "Hey how do I fix this", things like that. There is nothing I hate more than talking to a driver who has broken down who has the attitude of "Well im not a mechanic, so I am not even going to get out of the cab to assist!"

Note that I am not saying learn how to tear down an engine, although if you are personally interested more power to you, but more learn the basics of truck repair. Knowing how to free up brake shoes that have frozen to the drum, or any other number of things makes the difference between being down for hours, or only being down for minutes.

Edit: Having some basic tools on hand isn't a terrible idea either.

 

Keep your truck clean, especially your dash, this will effect what other drivers think of you, when you see a guy who has a bunch of crap spread across his dash it looks unprofessional, and it will also make DOT look at you like you are unorganized, and that puts a target on you going through the scale.

You need to be a cool hand, don't get all worked up, sometimes you just need to take a few minutes for yourself and cool down, if you sit there and get all spun up, well then you get all spun up and are liable to do something stupid that you can't take back. This is especially true when dealing with shippers, receivers and the motoring public.

Keep your truck ventalated, you need to let the smell living in a tight space generates out of the truck, your sleeper has vents, use em going down the road, and attack the place you sleep and your seats with febreeze frequently. There is nothing worse to other drivers than a driver and truck that reek of BO.

Also, get yourself a 5 gallon bucket and put it in the truck, get those white Glad kitchen bags and use it as a trash can, keep the trash out of your truck, there is no excuse to have filth and garbage on the floor of your truck.

Get a small dirt devil vacuum cleaner, use that to keep your truck floor vacuumed.

At 2 months in, when you have down time, you need to be studying and learning the business, you need to be learning the rules and regs, scrwing off online, watching netflix, playing video games ect can wait, you need to be learning the ins and outs to this business and as you do, you are going to discover there is a lot more to this business than just holding a steering wheel and shifting gears.

Also you see someone working on a truck in a truck stop, go up to them, tell them you are new ask if you can help/watch.

You are going to need to learn how to do things like adjust brakes, fix lights so on and so forth.

Also you need to be putting a tool kit together for yourself, in that kit you need wire cutters, crimpers and strippers, screwdrivers, a big hammer like a 3lb, a pry bar, 5th wheel puller, and so on.

You don't want to be the guy who had to have a 600.00 road service call out so a mechanic could come out and rebuild the plug on your pigtail, something you can do yourself in less than 15 minutes. With that you also need to learn the color of the wires going to the trailer and what they do. If your right turn signals are out, which wire are you going to check?

Don't BS experienced drivers with tall tales, most of us who have heard that crap before will just smile and nod and let you think you are getting away with it, some will then tell you are full of it, others will just walk away and write you off as an idiot. If you tell a story tell it how it happened the way it happened and as factually as you can, it will build integrity with other drivers.

 

All good advice so far , just remember you need to keep yourself clean as well not just the truck , be prepared if possible $ wise for the unexpected out on the road,

 

Don't look like a freak with tattoos and piercings. Try work boots, normal fitting jeans, and a decent shirt that is the correct size. If you need a dam shower dont be afraid to pay for one.