First year in trucking

Broke times ten, but the food boredom will kill you. I hate eating in the truck, but I do, due to the unhealthy nature of truck stop food. If they had an Outback Steak House with truck parking, I would eat there every night. High fat, low carb is the way to go out here if your body can tolerate it. Carbs will kill you, as will bread and starches.

 

Enjoy the moment. The first year only happens once.

 

Listen to as much advice as possible, learn to discern what is hogwash and what is realistic, take all on board and keep improving it will all fall into place with experience.

 

One rule that's kept me out of a lot of trouble is: NEVER DRIVE INTO ANYTHING ANY FURTHER GOING FORWARD THAN YOU ARE POSITIVE YOU CAN BACK OUT OF.

A lot of the screw-ups you see pics of every day would have been avoided with that one little rule.

 

I plan on driving in my state straight out of high school, which I have two more years of. I’m looking at old dominion. I’d like as much advice as anyone could give me for first year in state driving. Thanks!

 

Google Earth everything you go to. Before you get to a shipper or receiver, know which driveway you're going in to and what everything is going to look like.

Cross reference any state highway your GPS wants you to go down to your atlas's restricted route and low clearance section.

Don't become a sucker for Walmart. My girlfriend and I live on the truck full time and we boycotted Walmart some time ago. A truck can get into every grocery store in this country, they all have docks. Shop where you want to shop.

 

3. Good trip planning.
2. Post trip inspection so you don’t start your day with a flat.
1. Everything starts with a good nights sleep. A top professional driver is no different than a top professional athlete in that regard

 

I suppose it depends on who you work for and how much they pay. You know you aren't going to get any sleep while they change out that flat, will you fall asleep before they arrive? Do they need help finding you? they might want you to sign something when they are done. All while you need to be sleeping for the next day.

Do you burn the candle at both ends and make it your problem? Or worry about it in the morning?

 

You can’t schedule a repair for the AM until you know you have a problem

 

Read the reviews also. Look for information on check-in procedure, whether they allow on-site parking and if the receptionist is cute. Leave relevant info for other drivers if it's nothing but moaning.

Don't rely on Google maps for truck navigation but check it occasionally to avoid traffic jams. Leave it running if you have unlimited data.

Get unlimited data.