From the schoolbus to Transland

Ok this is a continuation from this thread:
http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...rs/37818-from-the-schoolbus-to-the-truck.html

I thought I would keep up on my experiences training with Transland out of Strafford, MO

Here goes.

After the two days of orientation I patiently sit at home waiting for my trainer to call. After two days I find out that the driver has been switched and he calls me Friday morning. I am told to be ready on Sunday at 5pm. So I gear up and enjoy my weekend. Sunday rolls around and my wife cooks a big lunch and I go get a nap thinking I was gonna be up all night. At 5pm I meet the driver and my kids get to see the truck. I am driving a Peterbilt 387. very nice indeed but I doubt that's what I will get when I get in my own truck.

Our first load assignment was to bring some carboard boxes from Springfield to KC. The load is a live unload that isn't due til 7 am so he took the time to introduce ourselves and watch him drive and get a feel for the truck. Once we get to KC he explains a few more things and we decide to park in the customer's lot. About 10 pm we hit the sack. Now my nap I had was keeping me awake. Not to mention the idling truck. Eventually I fall asleep and we wake to the trainer's alarm at 6am. We unload and we head off to another part of KC to trade our empty trailer for a full one. We deliver that in St. Joeseph, MO and we deadhead to KC again. This time a suburb on the KS side. Then we pick up a load of plastic bottles that is due south back in Springfield. I finally get to drive. within 8 miles I get to do my first scale. After that I eased up and just tried to get used to the truck. It's a far cry from the frieghtshaker I used at school. Once in Springfield we park and I get a ride home to my house. We go out first thing in the morning.

 

Yes they do long haul runs but the guy training me is doing short trips because his dad is ill and he doesn't want to be too far from the house.

So far I am not hating anything yet. My trainer seems cool. He is good at what he does. If I had to complain is that I have to listen to country music and it's taking me awhile to adjust to sleeping on a top bunk with the truck idling.

 

Our next load assignment was the same place in KC. Then we dead head to Junction city KS and pick up a load. It's going to Just outside of St. Louis, MO. It was my turn to drive. I get my first taste of heavy but still flowing traffic in KC and I am doing a night drive. I logged almost 400 miles. We make the drop very late and we park for the night about a mile from the next load.The next morning we pick up the load and then take it back to Springfield, MO. We pick up a load from Springfield and take it to Roanoke, TX. While going through Oklahoma we encounter Rain, Hail and tornado reports all the way to Dallas/Ft. Worth. When we fueled in TX the trainer opened his door and a gust of wind shoved the door so hard open that the entire thing cracked. Now the truck needs a new door. We drop in the rain and then parked at our next load location and napped while they shipper took it's sweet time to load us. (8 hours I beleieve).

At this point I hadn't driven since the night before to St. louis. The trainer drove and wanted me to see the route and I would do the driving the next day. But the next day there was a weight issue and he didn't want to take the chance of me getting a ticket so He drove back to our yard in Springfield. I should have two days off and then I will see what Sunday/monday brings.

 

Sunday I had off and I awaited instructions from my trainer. The truck was in the shop and wasn't due to be done until Wednesday which is when the trainer requested some time off. So Monday morning I show up and we grab a day cab off the lot and the trainer sets up cones. I do a few backings and he tells me I am doing well. After a couple of hours of this he says I have this down and to return the next day.

Tuesday - we do the same thing. About 11 am the trainer says go get lunch, come back and you will go with a city guy today and the rest of this week. Cool! This will get me into some real backing experience in the real world.

Basically our company has these local drivers in daycabs that drop empty trailers and bring back the loaded ones to the yard. Most of the trucks dispatched take the loads from the yard. If they bring them back to springfield then they drop in the yard and pick another one to take to the destination. The city trucks do most of the inner springfield work.

Tuesday afternoon - I meet the city guy and he seems cool. I ride for a little and then get behind the wheel after an hour. I bobtail for the first time, city guy helps me with my floating and gives me a ton of useful tips. Our first pickup is at my old work where I was a welder. Ha!! I got to say hi to a few ex-coworkers.

Wednesday - I get to drive a pup trailer and make some tight maneuvers. That lasted about two hours and then went back to a 53 footer. Did some two lane road driving and I am learning quick on dropping, hooking and connecting trailers. One particular drop was at a scrap metal place where everything was tight and so much was going on. A dangerous busy place indeed.

Thursday/today - Did more of the same but I was behind the wheel all day. I have learned a lot in the last few days. My turning, shifting, backing, and overall confidence is a lot stronger now. I am getting a good word said to safety about me and was issued a mailbox etc. Tomorrow I will go a half day with city and I go back with my otr trainer Sunday at ...get this 1:00 AM. Taking a load to OK and then picking up and going to Indiana.

Now don't get me wrong. My OTR trainer is training me well but having this week of city experience is gonna help a lot. Think about this. If I am being trained and we go 1000 miles that's a long time before I have to worry about driving in loading docks etc. It's all highway. Now when we get to the destinations I will have more confidence in my backing. Not to mention all the shifting practice I got running city where as highway it's not as much. I am going to tell the office that this should be a standard in training because it's helped me tremendously.

Sunday I will be back in the "bigtruck" and we will start my third week.

 

Attitude is a HUGE part of it. Yesterday the guy I was driving with was late and I went solo in a city truck and ran some trailers around. I was scared crapless but after I bumped my first dock it got easier. There were moments where I had to stop and think since I didn't have someone coaching me along. It wasn't too bad because after awhile there was one big distro area that I was shuttling to most of the day and I know the city pretty good. At the distro there was ridicule and I may have annoyed one of the yard dogs but I kept my attitude in check. Some of the old timers gave me a thumbs up and that was refreshing. There were times where I had it in the hole the first shot and there were moments where I had to circle the lot again to set myself up better. It's all a learning process. I was a busdriver. I had to stop traffic many times. Making others wait doesn't stress me out. I will do my best to stay out of everyone's way but I will also be safe too. I am considerate of others unlike some of these truckers who forgot that they were new once. One of these days I gonna go up to them and say "Hey do you also push little kids in the swimming pool and laugh at how they can't swim and say you are better?" People who have a ###### attitude towards new drivers need to quit driving if they are that miserable. Granted there are newbies out there who don't know what they are doing but a crappy attitude isn't going to sove anything except raise the blood pressure.

By the end of the day I was wiped out. In and out of the truck like 30 times, Sliding tandems, drop and hooks and all I ate was a banana and a donut. One time I even had to double drop. I brought a trailer in, dropped it, grabbed one out of a dock, dropped it nearby, grabbed the original and put it in the dock and then grabbed the other to take to the yard all because it had a hole in the roof.
Now I have a system in place. I hook to the trailer I do the tug test, hook the lines up, crouch down to check the kingpin (yes I know I did a tug test but I am paranoid), then the landing gear. Walk to the back to see if the four ways are working on the trailer, check the tires and I go.
Now I just need to build up my stamina for long long trips and get experience in weighing, some mountain driving and dealing with the moble max (qualcomm) and dealing with the BOLs and such. Today I am getting an atlas at the truckstop because it will be awhile before I get a laptop to help me with the mapping and everything.
Til next time, Cheers!