COVENANT -- From a wife's perspective

The latest.

Redcoat is in Wyoming. They made their drop in Utah and are now waiting for a load in Wyoming somewhere. Redcoat drove most of the way and still had a few hours left of his shift so he may still have some driving to do tonight if they get the truck loaded in time. He's at Arm & Hammer where ever that is.

He said the ride up from Utah was only a little unnerving going through the hills but he drank an energy drink and it perked him up a bit and he said he was still feeling OK. No panic attacks yet.

Personally, I think he'll be ok this time around.

Speaking of hazmat. Redcoat doesn't have his endorsement yet. When he went to Roadmaster school they told their students not to get it because of the order in which they process the endorsement. The instructors there said that first you have to apply and do the fingerprinting and background checks and after you pass muster THEN you go to take the test. So that meant that if you applied in Texas (where he went to school) that he'd have to go back to Texas to take the test. In hindsight, he probably should have applied anyway since he seems to go through Texas so much but he didn't because he wasn't sure where he'd end up.

But then his first Covenant instructor said it was the other way around, that you take the test and then do the background check.

So now I've heard it both ways. He read the book and it was clear as mud. Are all the states different as far as getting your hazmat endorsement?

AU Truckers Wife, I agree with you on that one. Seems like with all the time they have to spend in the truck, some of life's little comforts wouldn't be uncalled for. It's definitely cheaper to buy groceries than to do the truck stop fare but Redcoat doesn't want to shell out the loot for that stuff until he gets his own truck. And I also look forward to when his training is done so that we can start to make headway through our OWN financial mess. Thanks for giving me hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It's nice to know that there is someone out there making enough money to get caught up on the bills. I am definitely awaiting our turn!

 

Latest update.

Was able to see Redcoat last night as they had a load from (yes, AfterShock) Little America, WY to the Con-Way terminal in St. Louis. So I went down to see him and we had dinner together while they were loading the trailer. From what I understand, they were supposed to have the trailer ready by 3 a.m. and the load was going to Newark, NJ. That put alarm bells in my head because I knew they'd be using the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I've been down that sorry road more times than I can count. So I told my hubby that he was going to be in for a treat with the narrow lanes and the tunnels.

Talked to him tonight as he was passing through Hersey, PA and he told me he made it down the turnpike ok. The first tunnel gave him a bit of a pucker factor since it was going downhill but other from that his voice sounded fine. No nerves that I could detect so I'm thinking he's definitely got the panic thing under control.

Now he needs to get a handle on backing up.....

He says he always tends to get the trailer crooked even when backing straight. We are thinking it might be his eyes (maybe -- maybe not). He's had lasic surgery on his one eye so he has near vision with one eye and distance vision with the other. I told him to get a patch and try getting the trailer lined up with just one eye and then use both to get his depth perception to get to the dock. So he's going to try that the next time he backs into a dock to see if that will help.

I keep telling him to have patience that it will come. I know I've seen others on here that have had trouble learning to back but eventually they all seem to figure it out. I think Redcoat is looking for some kind of reliable reference point to use and so far he hasn't found one yet. His old trainer said he just had to "sense" when to cut it.
This trainer hasn't figured out the secret to teach him yet either. So now there is frustration with this part of his training.

But at least he's not a nervous wreck anymore so you can all feel a little bit safer with Redcoat on the road!!!

On a personal note, I am cutting my time here in East St. Louis short by two weeks. I will be leaving this area next week (not sure exactly when) to relocate down to the Birmingham area. I've picked out an RV park just north of Bessemer to stay which will put me within 20 miles of my territory which is mostly east and south of town. It also puts me only a little over an hour away from my mom who is now dealing with the coming death of her youngest sister. They are very close and my aunt always went with my mom to all of her doctor's appointments. But my aunt was diagnosed with terminal cancer a couple months ago and they've moved her to a hospice house for the end which is expected in the next week or so. I'd like to be able to see her before she dies which is why I'm relocating two weeks early.

So, again, if y'all see me heading down I-55 and then 78 Hwy from Memphis to Tupelo next week, give me a honk and a wave. I'll be the one in the gold Winnebago Tour with the Delaware plates towing a black Mariner with Air Photo signs on the doors and doing 55 mph so don't shoot me.:smt070 Just trying to save diesel ya know.

MCR thanks for the shout out and Hometime, I've come to the conclusion that the way Covenant makes their students team drive during training puts a huge burden on all the trainers to try to work with them and still get loads to their destinations on time. In my mind it's very questionable tactics on the part of the company to the detriment of the trainers and students both -- one for the lack of serious training and the other for having to choose whether to run illegal as far as hours in order to train correctly or turn the student loose to get some rack time. It's just not fair for either driver.