50,000 miles in an orange governed machine...

That would bother me too much. Having the gps out of my normal line of sight is a good thing for me. The writing across the windsheild would be a major distraction. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad idea.

Over the years I have gotten better at having a singular focus on one thing, but it's still a fight. I check my gps regularly with my gauges and since I can speed read I'm good at it. Anything that breaks my focus though, which is why I mute my Qc and gps, makes the job difficult.

Now now. Some of us have jobs and we can't post all the time. You'll have to be patient!

Ah... Good old stories of Murphy... Murphy and I are such good freinds we used to go to the bar for a drink at least twice a week. ...'course the sob always forgot his wallet at home when it was time to pay.

Im no real trucker yet. I'm still in the making. Thanks for the complement though.

 

Update time!

Month 3: The return of the Jed...newbie trucker.

"Fall down 7 times, get up 8." - Chinese Proverb.

"The nature of our world is imperfect, therefore imperfection is perfection." -Personal Revelation.

"Sore losers curse the reason they have lost. Sore winners curse themselves for the lost. True champions wonder why they didn't lose before." -Unknown

Yeah, sorry. Starting off with quotes. You know what, nah I'm not sorry. The month of December was a month that I'll likely forget about the roads; it wasn't that they were boring or bad stuff happened, but the roads were not the things which brought me the greatest lessons. December was actually a very annoying and stressful month, but little of the stress occurred behind the wheel.

This month marks the month when I have taken my longest single trip. Forest Park, Ga out to Houston, Tx; a total distance just shy of 1,500 miles. A 3 day trip in that governed machine of mine. That trip I managed to perfect my trip-planning method for at least the average trip when Murphy only shows up in minor ways. Things like a bad meal the night before I could account for, or a tire that needed changing at the nearby SNI operating center. If I tried to verbally explain it then it wouldn't make a great deal of sense to anyone, and some may think it's nuts. It works for me though and requires about 2-4 minutes of mental math and and atlas. On my trip out to texas and back, I learned a few things about myself.

I truly enjoy this line of work, but I cannot stand having people breathe down my neck making sure I'm doing my job. In my previous job, I had a knack for getting this point across. New managers would come and go in the retail store I worked in. They'd all start off the same, breathing down my neck to make sure I'm doing my job right. I'd give them time to acclimate and some of them learned quickly that I didn't need to be watched. Those that didn't, they didn't last long at that location. I'm not a mean person, but as a previous problem-customer put it, "You're the only person I know of who can politely tell someone to step the F--- off, do it with a smile on your face, and that person backs away with a smile on their face." My mother calls it being passive aggressive, but I prefer the phrase, "Well bless your heart."

But before I go further into that, let me tell you about Texas. The 4-wheelers aren't so bad there, and frankly I know for a fact that Miami, Fl is much worse. When driving through Texas, keep a couple things in mind. You'll have to make sure you become opportunistic; if you see a space for you, take it and don't hesitate. That doesn't mean you have to be aggressive, but it does mean you have to keep your focus and know your rig and trailer. The other thing to remember, that "hoooooonk" you hear is real. Someone nearby you is likely impatient with you. As long as you're not moving, blocking an intersection or similar, you can ignore the horn and take your time to move out. If you are moving, or if you're blocking traffic... Figure it out and get out of that scenario quickly. People do not take kindly to us blocking them, but Texas is especially verbal about it.

From what I saw while driving through the area I was in, there were ample places for us to park. My limited driving experiences leads me to believe that Texas is rather semi-truck friendly. That being said, if you like BBQ there's a place off i20 with truck parking. I've been told it's a ####-good place to stop. So if you're ever headed out that way and then back to Atlanta, grab some for me to try. Please?

My assignment was simple, I was to take a lightly loaded trailer out to Houston (No joke, I had somewhere between 5-7k in the van.), do a live unload (the customer unloads it) and then pick up a non-related backhaul.

I actually hated the drive out there. Don't get me wrong, it was easy and I really enjoyed the scenery. ...though the "bear crossing" signs in Louisiana threw me a curve ball. What killed me was that i20 is flat. When I say flat, I mean flat. i20 after Mississippi is so flat, it's jealous of an 8 year old girl that's not even in a training bra. In the areas where there aren't many trees on the side of the roads, I fought hard with that 53 foot wall I was pulling behind me. The wind wasn't blowing hard, but there wasn't anything to stop the wind and I may as well have been pulling a piece of Styrofoam behind me. My trailer sang, "I believe I can fly..." all the way out there.

Coming back was actually awesome. I got a taste for heavy-loads and I love it when my trailer is loaded down to almost the legal maximum. I still didn't get a chance to stop for BBQ on the way back, but that was okay. I swear I'm stopping there next time I'm headed that direction though... Anyways, I wasn't but a couple grand from having 80k lbs total weight. (Truck, trailer, load all in one.) I had close to 20 tons of carpet destined for recycle in my back end. On the way back, I loved it. My trailer behaved and didn't want to wander around or fly. It wasn't until I got back to Alabama that I had my next occurrence of thoughts about this job. Turns out that carpet couldn't be delivered until Monday morning; so I had 2-3 days where I had to simply sit in my truck and wait.

During this waiting period, I learned a couple things.

1) When I'm sitting still, I can't stand myself.
2) Schneider won't send the secret police after me if I go off the beaten path.
3) People like mudflaps.

Yeah, number 3 I learned when I woke up one morning during the wait and had a sneaky suspicion that I should do a full pre-trip. I didn't have to move the truck that day, so I didn't feel it was needed to do, but if I've learned anything in this job... Your intuition should be listened to, even if you're a newbie and feel you don't know anything. My passenger side tractor and trailer mudflaps were gone. At this point, I decided that even if I wasn't moving the truck, it's wise to check everything. The DOT might not come into the truck stop and bug you, but if something does happen you'll be prepared. The rest of that is a short story, and you're welcome to view the thread I posted on it.

http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...69420-well-heres-your-chance-dot-missing.html

The bottom line is this, you do need your mudflaps. It's a DOT requirement. In my case, I could've purchased some from the truck stop I was at and installed them myself. I watched the service person at the TA fix them, the only thing I couldn't have done easily is make the holes in the top or cut them if needed. The rest just took a wrench. SNI insisted that the TA mechanic do the install though, so I wasn't going to argue.

The rest of the texan trip was easy, I delivered the carpet and got a chance to ask what they do with it. (The nylon carpet fibers are pulled from the backing, melted down and made into other products. If you've got nylon rope, a pickup truck with a bed-liner or something similar, they make some of that from the recycled carpet. Cool eh?)

As I said before, aside from Texas there wasn't much that happened on the road. Unfortunately, on the trip out to Texas I learned a horrid lesson that I am still cursing Schneider for.

The next bit isn't intended to be used for legal or health advice. It is mixed with personal opinion and speculation, and later on I'll make a post regarding sleep apnea with just the facts to help people not only understand what it is, but what to do about it.

Sleep Apnea is the latest and greatest thing for the medical industry to pad their pockets with. However, it is a real illness and can be life-threatening. That being said, I got a phone call from both Schneider's safety people and from Bailey, they both tell me some horrifying news. ...I must go in for a sleep study. I bed, plead, and ask why me and all I'm given in return is, "You took that survey right? You got flagged to take it. We don't know why."

Alright fine. I'm 80% sure I don't have it, my fiancee has told me I don't snore and she's never seen me exhibit the symptoms that sleep apnea presents with. Frankly, I haven't seen any symptoms personally that would cause alarm. But, SNI's safety department (and truthfully the DOT) have said my BMI exceeds their "safe" limit, so I have to get tested. Aside from that, I had no other reasons to get tested.

That 20% though, it knows that Schneider will not let me keep the job if I don't do the test and I also know that Sleep Apnea is a problem for my family. (We are all short and stocky people. ...fun-sized if you will, but we all know how to pull our own weight and have the muscle to prove it.) I will leave out my original fight on this, primarily because with Schneider, fighting it will get you nowhere except benched without a paycheck. I did however attempt to fight it the best way I knew how. I asked questions, lots of them. All of the people who I asked either referred me to someone else or didn't have an answer.

In the end, I tested positive for sleep apnea. Something to note is that I barely slept at all that night, and I did a time of day when I don't normally sleep. My advice to you, if you have to do this, is to fight to test for when you're normally asleep and REFUSE to use the wrist/take-home method. Do an in-house sleep study. The wristwatch version of the sleep study is proven to work, however it is not as accurate for OSA (Obstructive sleep apnea.). That's not to say it isn't accurate at all, but it isn't as accurate. The test can be inaccurate, and the chances increase greatly for everything that is different from your normal sleep environment.

The margin I tested positive for was minimal, barely a full point above what the medial field considers positive. For Schneider, how severe you are doesn't matter. If you test positive, you use a CPAP machine. No exceptions. When it comes to the DOT however, my test results would've meant that I had the option to refuse to use a CPAP machine. Legally I have that ability.

What Schneider will tell you is that you're legally required to use the CPAP machine regardless of how positive you are. This is also what I heard from the people who watch over your sleep study for the first month. THIS IS NOT THE TRUTH. If they say this, even if you're above what the DOT says, call them out on it. (Your AHI must be greater than or equal to 15 for the DOT to care.) Now, here's the kicker. If you do accept the machine, regardless of how severe your testing results are, you are now required by the DOT to use and stay compliant with CPAP therapy.

I blame myself for not being educated enough about this from the get-go. How you handle it is up to you, but I mention this to warn others that want to work for Schneider. You may be asked to do a sleep study if they deem needed, and I'm not for allowing people who need the therapy to escape it. But if you're like me, you watch your health and you know what you're looking for, then it should give you a moment of pause.

Schneider's safety department at that point may treat you like the red-headed-stepchild from there on out. I know they don't like me much; I protested the use of the machine, the study and attempted to apply logic and reasoning to it prior to beginning. I was told that I had to begin therapy immediately or I would be put out of service.

Well, if you have the machine, use it. The shortened version of this whole "battle" is that you will be required to use the machine. They will watch your compliance. And if you ask questions about "alternate therapies" or issues with using CPAP you're shut down very quickly.

Unfortunately, while the job itself I still enjoy, the company I'm working for is beginning to tarnish my opinions and thoughts.

*Schneider will ask you to be legal, they expect it. This is understandable and I commend that. However, Schneider takes it to the next level and goes above and beyond the DOT's expectations. This is also commendable. However, as I've said in other posts, threads and to other drivers that ask about SNI, you're expected to have a "hive mind" when working for Schneider. By the third month I've begun to realize that I will fit in as a driver but I will not fit in as an employee. I rock the boat and ask questions when others think to keep their mouths shut. If you are similar, you would do well to either look at another company or expect to move on as soon as you have feasible experience under your belt. Schneider isn't a bad company, but they do like for all their drivers to do the same thing at the same time. It's far from "military-like," but it is very structured like the military.

When you work for Schneider, make sure your DBL knows and understands what you want from the company. I was able to do the Texas run and carpet run because I told Bailey that I wanted to learn. Because she knows this, she will often ask me to work other dedicated accounts so I can gain additional experience. Even if you plan to move on, this is still a wise thing to do. The more you know, the more you're covered as a driver in general and not just with Schneider.

The final thing I'd like to summarize is to be prepared. Some of the things I mentioned in the beginning may seem out of place, but they do fit with the things I've said so far. Often times the things you'll learn aren't on the road. You're bound to learn something about yourself along the way, but also with what you expect from your career. This whole bit fits in with doing your research on a company prior to being hired. I would've still signed on with Schneider, especially since prior to their nets I had slipped underneath the DOT's sleep apnea radar undetected.*

...hopefully I'll have some time in the next 24 hours to go back and edit this post. It seems rather jumpy to me and I feel I've forgotten stuff.

 

Im in agreement with you there.

 

Well, you get into a routine. I start from the back with a post trip, move forward to check where I'm dropping, drop the gear, pull the 5th wheel and then remove the hoses. It's not the SNI way, but it hasn't failed me yet!

But all the same, the keyword is, "yet."