COVENANT -- From a wife's perspective

Last I remember, Cov didn't have a terminal in the Memphis area; most likely they are at a drop lot.

RC and his trainer had to send that macro because they were hauling a high value load; Otherwise usually you just send your leaving stop and go. And while stopping the truck increases the chance that something will happen, sometimes you have no choice.

Glad to hear his confidence is increasing, keep in touch and good luck to both of you!

 

yeah it must be a big suprise to find out that a company this big doesn't have or wont install better, more humane ficilities for their drivers to use.
me and my girlfriend were at the columbus oh drop yard and all they had there was the "porta-potties".
i would rather burst than to put my rump on that filthy seat, and so would my girlfriend......
we were ther for 14.5 hours waiting on an mt trl, but since then we just bt where we have to to get to better facilities....
these companies don't care, we have allowed ourselves to be seen as less than human, so they will continue to demoralize us this way and rape us on pay/labor issues.
the question is how long will this continue? we are all definitely asleep at the wheel, slumbering away in what we feel are peacefull fields,
but one day we might all awake to the nighmare we have so willingly been nurturing with the sweat of our labor.
no one in this industry wants to unite and stand up to the tyrants that rule it, to stand up and demand our human rights and our rights to better pay and work ethics, we cannot simply be satisfied with getting a paycheck while they line their pockets to the hilt, so let us continue to slumber, and pretend that all is well in our fields............

 

MCR you're right on that one.

Redcoat called me this afternoon and he was furious. I think this backing thing along with all the other crap he's been putting up with has gotten on his last nerve. I found out they are in Olive Branch but not at a Covenant yard. It's another company yard and I forget which one he told me. He said Covenant must get all the leftovers that other companies' can't cover.

He said student drivers get treated no better than the tires on the truck. When you wear them out, you just toss them away and get new ones. He is just in a rotten mood today because he spent another couple hours working on his backing and he's just not getting it. He is tired of having a crowd watch him while he tries to work it out. He thinks he is his trainer's first student because he said the dude doesn't have a clue as to what to tell him to do to fix what he's doing wrong. Apparently today they were working on backing at an angle and he would cut the wheel one way to get the trailer going another. But evidently he can't tell when to start cutting it the other way to back it into the hole and he keeps missing. His trainer would show him and he'd watch but when he tried it, it just wasn't working. One guy was trying to help and was telling him to "just go under it." He had no clue on what he was talking about and he was like give me lefts and rights -- what's this "under it" stuff???

Anyway, he ranted in my ear about his backing frustrations and the fact that whosever yard they were in, they closed the bathrooms at 7 and so they had to go to the Pilot to get showers. Then he had to stand in line twice for his shower -- not sure what the deal was there but whatever it was he was mad about that too. Oh, and he found out that he needed 35 4-hour shifts before his training was done and that apparently was ramping up his frustration level along with all the other crap.

So Redcoat has not had a good day.

They do have a load assignment. They leave Wednesday night to drop a load off in Atlanta and then pick one up to take up to Atlantic City. So that means I'll be able to see him tomorrow as I'm leaving at dawn to head down toward Tupelo to stay with my mom for a few days as her sister died this morning. After the funeral, I'll head on over to Birmingham and get back to work.

I told Redcoat if this trainer can't figure out what to tell him to help him learn how to back in to a dock, then it's time to get another trainer who can. There has to be SOMEbody out there who knows how to communicate a trick or two to use to help decide when and how much to cut the wheel to get the trailer where you want it to go. There has to be some better advice than "you just have to sense it." That may be true but until he acquires this mysterious "backing sense" he really needs some hard visual clues to help him out.

 

I think what he was trying to tell him was the concept of getting the tractor lined up with the trailer. It's also called "catching up".

After the initial angle is created, between trac & trl and you begin to back in, it's necessary to begin decreasing the angle cuz if you keep going, you'll end up jacknifing the units.

Here's a little tutorial I found that may be of some help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGDienowlh8&feature=related

Basically, backing is something that should become second nature to him. After a while you don't think about, "which way do I turn the wheel?", you just do it and the trailer goes where you want. Next time they're in a drop yard, with time to kill, Redcoat should just practice the hell out of backing into a few different spots.

Sorry about your Aunt and good luck to you & Redcoat.

 

Sorry to hear about your aunt. I hope you and your mom are doing ok.

Backing is something you just have to keep practicing. My son in law told me to turn the wheel opposite of where I wanted the trailer to go, and although that is not all of it, it did help me quite a bit.

Hopefully, anytime Redcoat and his trainer will practice backing anytime they have down time. Also, does he GOAL (Get out and look)? No shame in getting out a dozen times if it helps and you don't hit something else.

Good luck to all of you! You are he are in our thoughts.

 

I have been reading this post, as I have been researching the driving industry. I am 40 yrs old and lost the job (plant closing) that I have had for 20 yrs, so now looking for a new job. Following the start and the training of a new person, is very helpful, Thank You for posting.The you tube video is very informantive. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

Hey redcoat's wife sorry to hear about your aunt.

On the backing issue now when I was in school I had people trying to tell me no you back this way then another this is how you do it.

I told the instructors thanks but please leave me alone.
Once I told them that and they left me alone I got it.

Maybe redcoat just needs to find his own way and do it that way.
Some people no matter what can not get it form someone telling them how to do it.


He needs to pratice as much as possible on his backing. Tell him to try it with and without input from other people.

Yes I can understand his issues with other people watching him it makes me more nervous when others watch me too.

It is almost like they are waiting for something to go wrong.

His trainer should next time walk over and ask them not to watch as it makes the new driver nervous.

That is the best advice I can give you.

He also should not ask for a different trainer if the only problem is the backing atleast this trainer is treating him alot better.

If he asks for another trainer the company can say it is a problem with him not the trainers.


Even though as you described before the first trainer guy that redcoat had was not good.

 

"GETTING UNDER IT" means getting the tractor straight and back under the trailer, listen.. when i was being trained i started in the flatbed div. # swift, my trainer was patient and he was a friend, alot of these "trainers" are actually doing this to milk the crap out of students that are really wanting to learn......hence i call them "farmers".
when redcoat gets on his own he will find a way to back into parking spaces and docks in a way that he feels comfortable, it's something that comes with time, patience and the understanding that if you don't learn this, you won't get loaded or unloaded, you won't get a place at the truck stop to sleep and shower and eat..... i taught myself alot of what i know about backing through trial and error, when in doubt: stop, get out and look.....forget about all the sh**theads that look at you and snicker, they had to learn also. after a while redcoat will do this like tying his shoes...
as for the trainer, if he is halfway decent he ought to work with him, the next one might be a real bonehead, this one to me sounds like a "farmer".
if i were to train, first off you need to ask what the trainee feels he/she needs, be a friend and mentor, what they do after they leave you is a reflection of what you taught them.......
my condolences on the death of your aunt, best wishes to redcoat and tell him to remember that after training, he will aquire his own style and methods................time behind the wheel is his best friend.
also...he should observe how other drivers back up and try to "mimmick" what they do...........
best wishes mcr&deb.

 

RCW, sorry to hear about your aunt. Glad you will get to see RC on his way to jersey. 'Get under it' means get your tractor lined up with the trailer, so it is following the trailer, NOT turning it. This can take time, but I agree with MCR, maybe it's time for his trainer to just watch and let RC try and figure it out.

As for the gawkers, he needs to shut them out. I have had people watch me back at times where I didn't want them to, but that is out of my control.

And MCR, I agree with you 100% bro. But uniting drivers is #### near impossible, all we can do is watch out for each other and keep pressure on people who can affect change.

Covenant closing their C'Bus yard really sucks; that place was a dump, and the one lady in the office could be really #####y, but at least they had a shop (which helped me with a bunch of trailer problems) and a place to park (and Bathrooms!).

I went by the Sayreville terminal last year, saw that they let that go too (Landspan was using it then). That too was a dump, but again, in Jersey it was a decent place to park- and the Pizza joint nearby was awesome.
My favortie terminal had to be N little rock; even without a shop, they did have fuel, it was comfortable, and it was always empty. If RedCoat can get through there with some time to kill (and if Covenant still has it), then he could get some really good practice there. And the BBQ place nearby had some good 'que-and is was pretty cheap.

 

You have to watch both rear corners of the trailer when backing as to not hit anything, but the primary focus to get the trailer where you want is the center of the trailer tandems.

The trailer piviots at the axle, so watching the rear will either under or over steer the trailer.

I'm not sure what the term "getting under it" means. I have always used the term "follow it up". This means to bringing the tractor back in line with the trailer.

Set up so as to make as small of a manuver as possible when backing. Why try to make a 90 degree back when you can swing in close and then out, and only have a 45 degree back.

Once the rear of the trailer is sighted in and the back up starts, keep the focus shifted beteween the rear of the trailer and the tandems. When the rear is pointed in the right direction, and nothing is in danger of being hit, then start the jack according to where the tandems are in relation to where you want to go. Start the tuen a little before the tandems are where you want them, as no movement at the tractor is transmitted instantly to the trailer.

Turn the wheel in the opposite direction to start the turn. Once the trailer turn has started, start following up, or in other words, getting the tractor in line with the trailer, well before the trailer is where it needs to be. There is several feet of movement before the trailer reacts to the tractor, so start sooner with the follow up rather than later.

There are some tricks to getting into a place that is tight in two trys. This is if there is not enough room to swing the tractor around on the follow up, but plenty of room to manuver the trailer.

Ger the tandems tracking into the spot where you want then. This time don't follow up too soon. The object is to have the tandems in betweem the lines with the dock, but the trailer will be over jacked, meaning the rear of the trailer will be pointed toward the drivers side, while the nose is pointed away toward the passenger side.

Cut the tractor and pull straight out in line with the dock marker lines. When the pull up is complete the trailer should be in perfect line to back straight into the dock with very little movement of the wheel.

It is hard to write this down, but I could show him quickly. It has always been easier for me to walk next to the steps and tell the driver where to look and when to follow up, having him stop before each correction so they can see and evaluate the relationship of the truck, trailer, and dock. This visual, plus the correct information sinks in quickly.