ever drive for a spotting service?

Thank yu sir..

 

well I got the job,hafta go in an pee in a cup and wait for the background check to come back,but I did get it!

 

I never did, but I was a Cowboy for a 500 mother cow operation in OK. That's more fun than backing trailers in a hole. I KNOW how to mosey.

If you don't set goals, you can't regret not reaching them. Yogi Berra

 

Driving a yard truck aint all bad. It does get boring pretty quick. But in the winter those things do great doughnuts!!

 

I did it for 6 months. Learned a lot. We used an 18 year old KW for a shunt truck, so learned a lot about how they run, the hard way.
As long as you're learning, you're ahead of the guy twiddling his thumbs waiting to get into school.
Wouldn't do it again though. It was tarping too where I was, and I don't think I could tarp that many loads a day anymore.
As for scum, it's an honest job that will give you exposure and experience that amost others don't have.

 

that's awesome, congratulations!

 

well this is at a brewery,so no tarps! it looks like their might even be some dock work,inside,to break up the monotony. from what I saw today they have nice trucks,the guys seem cool,looks like a win win.

 

ok after a few days this job is pretty cake I managed to move 30 in my first real day no sweat,coulda been more but it was slow.you learn to respect these machines quick! zero tolerance for stupidity. worst case you turn a trailer over,or kill someone,then if you set the reefer wrong for the kegs the whole load goes bad.you dont want to know how much a trailer full a bud cost's. turn a corner to quick and ya tear up a trailer,gotta keep an eye out for all the truckers comeing in,yet be quick!

man these things can turn on a dime! very cool. and yes they do great donuts in the snow.

 

I started out loading trucks, then being a yardman (hostler, switcher, shifter, yard dog, yard goat-- seems like there are a thousand names for the job), then got my CDL and drove. I'm biased, but I wish that every driver could do it that way. You learn so much about weight and balance loading trucks and so much about backing and moving in tight spots being a yardman.

Obviously, you won't learn everything you need to know about driving through yard work, but you will have a huge leg up on other new drivers. Of course, companies will view you as a new driver, because that's their scam (20 years driving + 1 year off= new driver and training wages!!).

Good luck. I think the hardest thing is getting complacent and getting in an accident. I don't know if this is true, but I always heard that 98% of accidents happen while backing up, which most drivers are doing 1% of the time. You'll be backing up 25-50% of the time. Don't jump the pin!!

 

Real happy that things are working out for you, Trey. The main thing with running a yard dog is just like any other part of trucking. NEVER GET IN A HURRY!

You can have five guys hollering to get their doorways cleared, and more hollering at you to spot a trailer in their doorways. Be polite, but let them holler! Get to it as fast as you can, of course, but don't let them get you flustered.

You can build your speed with time and experience. But think about how long it will take to deal with a problem, VS avoiding the problem in the first place.

Good luck, man!