Diary of a New Tanker Driver - Comcar CTL

I put on the hazmat suit while unloading. The shipper has always loaded for me so far. CTL pays $100 day during training.

I'm also reconsidering this, to be honest.

Yesterday I was given a trailer to load. I hooked up and took off...it had product in there. I took off, figuring it was excess from a previous unload and it would still be okay. STUPID ON MY PART, I admit, but I didn't know what else to do. I got to the loader and it was full. I called and was told the previous consignee refused the load, which is why the trailer was full, and I was to return to the yard and get an empty trailer.

Well, in the meantime I had to call the terminal manager about something and he reamed me out for Monday, where I delivered but didn't get all of the product out. The girl there told me their tanks were full, no more was entering, and the hose felt light. I was also lectured about doing a proper pre-trip so that I wouldn't pick up a full tank to go load. Yes, he is right, I screwed up, and he has an important job and he has to make sure all the i's and t's are taken care of properly...but I did not appreciate the tone of him talking to me like I was a bad 2nd-grader. (If anyone from CTL is reading this blog and is upset with me now, I don't care. I'm being honest and so far have painted your company in a good light.)

So I drove to the consignee and unloaded. Halfway through the unload, I was told no product was getting unloaded. What??? I checked all the valves and air hookup - all appeared to be good. Finally after about 15 minutes I called my trainer - a great guy, by the way - and he talked me through things. But product was still not getting offloaded. Finally I called the terminal and the manager answered. This time he was much nicer as I explained the problem. He troubleshooted that the internal valve wasn't open, and somehow it had closed. I figured it out and finished the job.

So the good part is I did get loaded and the customer got their product. The bad news was I wasn't going to make it back to the terminal within my 14 so I had to find a truck stop to spend the night, on another guy's pillow and bed with no overnight stuff of my own. I was able to back in (thank God there were 5 empty spots right in a row) with difficulty (and again, 5 spots!). I couldn't figure out how to get the APU heat to work so I woke up 1 1//2 hours later freezing and also now heard a VERY loud noise next to me. Great, a reefer parked next to me. Wonderful. I started the truck and got some heat, shut it off and went back to bed. Woke up another 1 1/2 hours later freezing and decided to just run the truck the rest of the night. Somehow I managed to sleep until my 10-hours was almost up.

It has been a VERY rough first three days, some of it my own stupid-rookie doing, some the company's. Today I'm going to have my best day - guaranteed - as they gave me the day off.

So as I said earlier, I'm reconsidering this. I think I got caught up in the romanticism of truck driving that I was blind the realities. But the problem is I have no other career options, none. So I'll do the best I can for CTL, for myself, and for my family.

 

I did suspect that the tank wasn't empty - the hoses didn't jump and it felt like product was still flowing. It was just stupid on my part.

On the other hand, I did have a great off-day. Shot 34 for nine holes.

 

I'll be getting some shirts shortly.

 

Okay, so first week by myself is in the books. To sum up. First, the bad & ugly:

- Paperwork and info wrong on very first load, 90-minute delay
- Directions to first unload wrong, another 90-minute delay
- Directions left me at a dead-end in a residential neighborhood
- Left heel in tank, first unload
- Got back very late that night, which led to...
- Dispatcher giving me impossible-to-fill load time 3 1/2 hours away, due to 10-hour break
- As a result, had no time to unload at consignee
- Given wrong tank to fill at loader, which led me to...
- Stupidly taking full tank to get loaded
- Got lectured to by terminal manager
- Got right tank loaded and unloaded, but ran out of 14 hours, which led to...
-Staying overnight at a truck stop totally unprepared
- Didn't know how to keep the truck warm at night and froze for several hours

Now the good:

- Driving is great - I love it. I've always enjoyed it and listening to satellite radio
- People are great so far at CTL (including the terminal manager...been very helpful after my initial screwups)
- People I've met on the road are friendly and helpful to a new driver
- NOTHING went wrong today (Friday)! Loaded and unloaded with no problem (and I didn't even have to unload...they did it for me)

What I've learned:

I've got too many mood swings. I probably had more problems the first week than most new drivers have in two months, but certainly that won't be the last of them. I've read the comments that the first year is hard, and I realize that. I have to embrace this new adventure and hopefully adequately provide for my family. When things go wrong - and they will - just have to learn from it and move on. I still don't know if tankers are for me long-term, but the more I get used to it, the more it becomes normal. At least now I don't feel like I'm on an alien planet anymore.