3rd Times a Charm?

Geezh! Perk up buddy! It is all what you make it, you can struggle with that shifting all you want after your trainers gone, would not let it bother you........backing, well you better start making your own moves on that end, you need to start doing all the backing, with him watching and you doing your own moves, so you can learn or you will be in a world of hurt. There is some great backing information on this site. My trainer was great, but he could not help me understand how to back. I learned from an old timer in the back of an old Kmart. I was good at straight and off set, but needed help with those soft 45 degree truck stop backs.

 

just remember no matter what, keep it safe! get out and look, check 25 times if you have to, dont worry about missing shifts, if you're worried about shifting going up a hill, then just dont shift and go slow. dont let the cars tail gating you boss you around, shifting will come just give it time, it took me forever to learn. no one really showed me, i was working at a lumber yard and one day they threw me on a truck with a 9 speed. i had no clue how to even shift it into gear. thankfully i had a phone with internet so i just punched in a few things into google. that was a scary day i dont think i down shifted once while stopping i just broke all the rules and put it in neutral and relied on the brakes. what helped me was to watch the tach, learn the sweet spot. play around with it, take any opportunity, maybe you hit a side road with lots of room, drive it and shift as much as you can. you will get it dont worry! just remember that safety is first, back up slow, double check, if you're blocking people screw em, let them yell, beep whatever it is, block it out and focus on yourself.

 

Yeah, I hate to say it but if your concerned about home time already I would hang it up now. That is the number one reason for new drivers quitting. For some reason they don't realize about being away from home until they are away from home. You are just going to end up being miserable out there. Plus if you start complaining to dispatch about it you will end up sitting. Maybe you can find a dump truck job or something along those lines.

 

It's hard - especially at first - this is when 'reality' sets in and you realized just what it is you signed up for... good luck to you!!

 

let me let you in a little secret, or rather the experiences i've had. getting a local job driving a straight truck is really not very hard, you will be working, getting in and out, loading and delivering what ever product you got, but most straight truck jobs they dont (again, as i have experienced) dont really care too much about experience. and the pay aint so bad either usually around 15 an hour and up depending on what you're doing.

personally if i was you, i stick it out for a little bit there, dont quit, get your hazmat and tanker endorsements, and then i would start emailing massive amounts of local companies, lumber yards, oil/fuel business's, furniture stores, anything. straight truck jobs are much easier to land, and if i was you i would try and get on with a company that has tractor trailers as you will eventually be moved up because local companies dont like people sitting around. check out milk companies, whats the largest milk company in your area? apply there, i guarantee you they have a high turn over rate because most people hate doing the milk routes, i do it, a lot of people say its extremely hard work but they've probably never stepped foot on a construction site. i was talking to a guy at another milk company and he told me they carry a 2 million dollar insurance policy!! they hire all the time, they always have signs on their trucks "hiring drivers".

so, maybe check those few things out. if i was you i would target straight trucks. local jobs arent that hard to get. the local jobs that are hard to get are the dump truck jobs where you just makes runs to the sand pits, lumber yards driving a tractor trailer flatbed with a forklift on the back. cushy local jobs where there isnt much manual labor involved.

 

Sorry to hear you are having these problems.. the LA basin cured my shifting issues for the most part. I still grind them once in a while, but not near as much..

I guess I am just lucky that I enjoy being out here.. I'll get home soon enough

 

onthefence,
What made you decide to get into trucking?