Day by day adventures of a new solo OTR driver

10 months and 1 day ago I was loading up my pickup truck and heading for Charlotte. I took my company truck for its final drive back to the Charlotte OC today and was reminiscing over all the adventures that I have been on since I started.

A 2006 Century, a 2012 Cascadia, one little fairing accident in my own driveway (never, ever gonna live that one down), one citation for an expired IFTA sticker, every state east of I-35, at a moving average speed of 51 MPH for a total of 77,351 miles (GPS) come together to make one experience that I will remember for as long as I live.

I will never, ever forget that first trip up to that little grocery warehouse in Maine. Hannaford Bros, that's who it was... Middle of the winter, cold as hell, traveling through a part of the country that was to me an entirely different world. I still remember driving away from there in the dead of night, barely a soul around on the road. Whenever I think of winter, that drive is what I remember - a clear sky, with the blue moonlight reflecting off the seemingly endless drifts of snow, the orange glow emitting from the cozy looking houses as I slowly made my way through those back roads and little towns.

I've sat in traffic across the George Washington Bridge and the Tappan Zee in New York, and I've been literally the only vehicle on the road in the entire postage-stamp sized town driving through Illinois. I've had the chance to meet some truly awesome people from all walks of life, from other drivers, to the forklift operators, to the waitress at the hotel restaurant who was just glad to have an actual conversation with someone. I've been waved at with many middle fingers, but also by countless little kids wanting me to honk the horn, and always with another "thank-you!" wave from the mom or dad.

I didn't make a ton of money, but I never sat for more than a day waiting to get moving again. I never refused a load, anything they gave me I ran it. My DBLs never failed to get me home within 24 hours of my requested home time. I was never forced or pressured to do anything that I felt was unsafe. The two times that I have honestly come very very close to quitting were loads that involved hauling Coca-Cola products.

Looking back, on everything, the good and the bad, can I recommend Schneider as a good place for new drivers to start out? I think that would be a yes. Things are far from perfect. I didn't make much money. I didn't get many long runs, or get to see any of the western states. Empty trailer management is terrible, and the lack of true dispatchers can be frustrating (i.e. the trip planner does not give a #### about you, the driver. They have no idea who you are). Equipment can be iffy at times. Terminals are either nice, or a sad excuse of one. Support shift is an absolute JOKE.

But the vast majority of people you deal with in person (from other drivers, to your DBL, to the office folks and the OSRs) are very nice and helpful. If you aren't comfortable with the weather, or you are tired, just call in or message on the Qualcomm and 99% of the time you will get a no-questions-asked "thanks for letting us know, we will update customer service, please just keep us updated". Nobody will be blowing up your phone if you took a 12 hour break instead of a 10 hour break, yelling at you wondering why you aren't moving. If you are respectful, get the job done, act professionally and don't complain and throw a fit when every little thing does not go your way, at least from my experiences, I have always been treated pretty good.

If I had to come up with 5 things that I feel are pretty important to keep in mind, these would be it:

1. If at the end of your week with the trainer you don't feel ready, or need some extra practice on something, SAY SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

2. If you have some mechanical skills, USE THEM. Oh, that light is out on the trailer? The wire is broken, huh? Throw a fit and call for help? No. Strip away the insulation, make sure you've reached clean copper, twist it together, throw some electrical tape over it and get on with your life. 5 minutes and a little bit of dirt on your hands sure beats sitting around wasting 4 hours of your day for Jim-Bob's mobile trailer service to show up. Just make sure to report it as a defect so a more permanent fix can be made. On the other hand, if you really don't have any idea what you are doing, don't try to fix something you are unsure about.

3. Do your post trip reports and report defects on equipment you are dropping. Don't screw over the next guy by leaving him broken equipment. Yes, this may mean bending over under the trailer to shine your flashlight on the brake shoes and chambers for 10 seconds and a quick walk around to check the lights and tires. Get off your ### and do it.

4. Keep some tools with you. Vice grips are extremely useful for holding out the lever you pull to unlock the pins on the sliding tandems. Some are really worn out and won't stay put and will jump back in as soon as you try to move. A LARGE flathead screwdriver is very handy for prying out the spring on that one pin where the cup that pulls the spring back has broken free from the arm. (Just remember, REPORT THE DEFECT!) Sure beats being turned away from a customer because you can't slide the tandems back!

5. Take the time to keep your mirrors and windows CLEAN. You really won't realize just how much you wished you took the 2 minutes to clean off your mirrors until you're driving at night and all those little dirt spots that you burned on your mirrors from having the mirror heat on during the rain are refracting every headlight on the interstate all over your field of view. Grab a mini version of a window squeegee from Walmart, these work great for mirrors and your side windows!

Keep in mind with the above - I have 10 months of experience. I am still a newbie. I am not a trainer. Take them for what they are worth.

Schneider has now given me an opportunity to get a good start in the trucking industry and take the next step in my career. I am thankful for that and look forward to what the future holds.

This will probably be my last post in this thread, except when I start my new thread following my (hopefully smoother) adventures through the Schneider's IC Choice program. I'm really looking forward to hitting the road in my very own truck with that big red Cummins under the hood.

Thanks to everyone that has participated in my thread here, I learned a lot from everyone, new or experienced. Now... time to enjoy a little bit of home time and then its off to Green Bay this upcoming weekend!