Another Watkins Shepard Thread

Thanks, It was touch and go for a few days there. I did finally get my backing down good enough to stay on here. I think you will like it here. Just remeber to practice as much as possible here. Take full advantage of the trucks here to use. Practice everything, backing, tight turning, shifting and anything else. Good luck.

 

I guess my truck is actually in Santa Fe Springs. I will be dropped off in SLC to get some home time then pick up a ride in SLC to Santa Fe Springs.

The guy they let go just seemed to only concentrate on one thing instead of looking in all directions. He just didn't seem to use both mirrors, took corners to tight and from what I heard didn't stay in his lane. I never drove with him so I couldn't say for sure. Either way the boss here didn't feel he was safe enough to drive for W/S. Maybe if he went out with a trainer for a few weeks he will pick up some more skills needed and be more relaxed. He just seemed so nervous while driving.

Sure hope I get out of here soon. I want to see the family and get myself prepared for the road, at least as much as possible. Unitl next time, Be Safe.

 

I left yesterday around 1pm to head for home. I was getting a ride with a driver headed to LA and one other guy from the 10 day program. We took an empty trailer to smurf stone to pick up some heavy rolls of paper. The load weighed 44k and we had a total gvw of 79k. Just about maxed out. The driver went through the 30 day program about 5 months ago and he was really a nice guy. He gave some helpful tips for on the road.

We started on on the road and after we hit Idaho we changed drivers. I took the helm and drove about 300 miles. It was dark and I was pretty nervous. My first time driving 80k down a highway that I am not familar with was good reason to be nervous. I did pretty good, I put the cruise control on and the jake break and it was a nice drive. There was a few places where I had to down shift going up a hill, but all was quite until I hit outside Brigham City Ut, a little road construction caught me by surprise, the lane turned to a single lane with cones, then all of a sudden a concrete barrier pops up and its a real narrow lane. I was a little freaked out since I had 44k in the trailer of 9ft rolls of paper, so there is a high center of gravity and I didn't want to make any sudden turns. But I was far enough over that I only had to make a small turn to avoid the barrier. Scared the crap out of me. The rest of the drive went smooth. Some more construction in Salt Lake but nothing to bad. I made it home about 10:30pm. I must say it's good to be home. I don't go back out until Monday, I have to catch another ride to CA to get my truck. I am still disappointed about getting an automatic. What can you do? Just trade it in whenever I can.

Be Safe.