10 Things you Wish You knew when you were a rookie.

Keep your hands out of your britches, and the truck between the ditches.

 

I would have socked away 200 dollars a month in a energy mutual fund, tap the energy bonaza like many others, be grinning at 4 dollar diesel.

 

I'm really surprised that nobody mentioned this. But to my mind, the first rule, the most important rule, is to RESEARCH, before jumping into something.
Thinking of going to a driving school? Research the hell out of it! Is it a "company school" where you are going to mortgage your soul to the devil, (company,) for a few years in exchange for "free schooling?" Is it a private school that is going to jab you with excessive costs? Is it a private (or other,) school that doesn't give adequate training?
Or is it a good school, with a good reputation. Can you contact school graduates and see how they would rate their school, after being out of it for a year or so, and now have some experience with the actual job. DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE SALESPERSON FOR THE SCHOOL TELLS YOU, without doing a lot of checking on your own.
This may come as a surprise to you, but these folks will actually LIE!

And RESEARCH whatever company you think of going to work for. Don't just jump at the first outfit that offers you a job. Try to talk to some of their current drivers, and get a feeling for what the company is like. Look at salary, look at "extras" as far as pay is concerned, (drop pay, load/unload pay etc.) Look for benefits, ie health insurance, vacation time, possible pension plans (ha-ha in today's world. . .)
Look at equipment the company is using. Find out about any quirks such as speed limiters, (governors,) idle policies, ride a long policies, pet policies and any and everything else you can think of.
If the company tells you they will "hire" you, if you will lease a truck from them, RUN THE OTHER WAY! (Maybe after you have some years and miles under your belt, you might consider it. But why in the world does a company want to lease a truck to a rookie? Because they will make money off it at the rookie's expense.)
And again, as hard as it is to believe, company recruiters will LIE to you!
There are so many things to learn in this business, particularly if you've never been exposed to the industry. Most of them, you will learn as you go along, (with or without the help of a trainer,) but a lot of them will come with experience.
AGAIN, RESEARCH BEFORE YOU JUMP! If I could have found an uglier color to get your attention, I would have used it!
Good luck to you!

 

1. Baby wipes are useful, superior to toilet paper and you can give yourself a makeshift bath.
2. Keep some food on the truck, four days snowed in is a long time.
3. Stay with your first choice for a year, first will be hard and low paying nearly anywhere. (People will say they made 60-70k their first year and were home every night. But that's not likely and is probably truck stop buffet counter bs.
4. Invest in audio books, they will keep you entertained.
5. Rest stops are usually cleaner than truck stops.
6. Eat out of the truck, not only will you save money by prepping your own meals, but you can eat healthier.
7. CB radios are mostly used by lot lizards.
8. Eating while driving is distracted driving.
9. Carry a pen + your driver's license at all times.
10. This job is harder than I thought it would be.

 

I will agree will all of those but #2. Wouldn't wish a year of otr with a starter company on ANYONE. Humans deserve better.

 

I AGREE. IF YOU WANT TO MOVE OVER A LANE,THATS GREAT, IF YOU CAN. BUT NEVER SLOW DOWN, THATS LOSING CONTROL OF YOUR LANE. THATS WHY THEY HAVE TO YEILD TO BEGIN WITH.

 

Sure, HUMANS do. But heck, everybody knows truck drivers ain't humans. . .

 

it is a 8LL transmission..the blue button is used as a deep reduction off road..do not try to split while shifting gears..it is for low side of tranny only