Beginning the Long Awaited CDL Process

Greetings HAMADOWN. Pleased to meet you.

I attended Katlaw Truck Driving School in Austell, GA. It's a private school and the program lasts 3 weeks. Cost for the school was approximately $3000, but I was subsidized with a WIA grant.

The program was good, but their only task is to get you your CDL. The real training came when I was hired by US Xpress this past summer. I spent 5 weeks on the road with a trainer and have been a solo driver since August.

I know this thread is long, but if you're up to reading, I chronicled my day to day training activities early on in this thread.

Good luck with your training. I'd be happy to hear about your exploits.

 

Hello Everyone.

Just a quick update.

My DEF pump is being drop shipped from the factory. No telling when it will arrive, so I get to spend another day at the hotel.

I had a chance to visit the local Kroger grocery store for some supplies: apples, bananas, pickles, water, soda, Cheez-its, paper towels, lunch and dinner. Oh, and even got a haircut!

Today was batter dipped chicken for lunch and supper. Sounds redundant but it's OK with me.

I'm getting a little cabin fever sitting around waiting for the call from Freightliner. They were more confident on the pump arriving tomorrow than today. I hope I'm back on the road tomorrow.

Well, if I look at the bright side, HOS won't be an issue any more. I'll have a clean 70 by the time I check back into the truck.


So I'm putting my feet up, enjoying the down time, and watching Ghostbusters II....lol.


I'm sure there's more to come.




Thanks for reading.

-Wedge

 

Mixed blessing is right. The rest is appreciated, but I've grown use to the dynamics of driving. Although I stop for breaks, the industry keeps moving. Different times of the day are more active than others.

After 3 days I'm bored. I need to get out of here. Christmas is on the way. I have to keep working my way back east and home.

I call home....does that count?

 

Hello Everyone.

And so it continues.


This will be night 3 at the motel. Still no DEF pump for my truck.

I contacted the Freightliner dealership this morning for an update and was told they weren't sure when the DEF pump would be in. So as is protocol with USX, I called in to extend my stay here at the motel. After lunch, I walked by the office to be sure the motel had received authorization from USX to extend my stay another night. The desk clerk said "Nothing yet". So I got back on the horn with USX to find out what was going on, and was told that USX was in direct contact with Freightliner (the factory) to find out when the dealership here in Mt. Vernon could expect to receive the pump. Breakdown told me to sit tight, and someone would get back to me.

About 30 minutes later, I received a call from USX authorizing me a continued motel stay through the 19th.

Not exactly the news I was looking for, but my understanding is that the pump could be in at anytime. The extended authorization is to make sure I'm covered over the weekend. I have to say USX is mighty accommodating.

So it looks like I'll be hanging around here a bit longer. the biggest advantage of the down time is that I'm able to rest. The bad part is I'm not really making any money......well........I do get break down pay, but I'd rather be driving.

So I went back to the grocery store and picked up more supplies, and I'm settling in for the long haul (if it comes to that). With a little luck, I'll get out of here before the weekend is over. I have home time coming up on the 23rd and would hate to miss it.



Anyway, that's the latest. Tonight I'm watching "Star Wars II"!



Thanks for reading.

-Wedge

 

LOL...I was thinking that. I was watching Ghostbusters in my motel room on my second night here.

Last night it was back-to-back Brad Pitt movies. Forgot the name of the first one, and Troy was the second.

I wonder what's on tonight..........

 

Hello Everyone.

Just want to give you a quick update now and I'll fill in the blanks when I have more time.

Bottom line is they still had not received my DEF pump as of Monday. So USX decided to seat me in a new truck. 2012 Cascadia with 59K for mileage. Although it's pretty new, it will need some shop time when I get back to Ellenwood, GA.


Right now I have to hit the sack. I have a 10pm PU here in SC which delivers 0930 in Macon, GA.



I'm scheduled for hometime tomorrow. It's been a full 10 weeks and I need the break.



More to come....




Thanks for reading.

-Wedge