From the schoolbus to Transland

Week 7

Sunday - It started like every other one. I showed up and loaded the trainer's truck with my stuff. He shows up an hour late but we get going. It's a load to Duncan, OK. A Family Dollar dist. center. I drive the whole way there and we sleep on the side road which was named "skid row". This is where all the trucks that have morning deliveries park for the night until their appointment time.
Monday - We wake and we bump dock at the appropriate time. But it seems here they do everyone in groups. So it was a long wait just to check in. Four hours later we are rolling. I am driving again. This time it's a deadhead to Muskogee, OK. It's a 215 mile deadhead for a load that will go 180miles to springfield. Hmm ok. We get to Muskogee and my trainer takes it into springfield. Next load is from the yard to Ardmore, OK. Great I like these ardmore runs. The trainer finally gets too tired at a cash box two hours away.
Tuesday - We wake and find ourselves 45 minutes late for appointment. This place is usually good about emptying the trailer in good time but this time because of tardiness and an issue with the load it's another 5 hour stretch. We deadhead to Muskogee again and take a load back to springfield. Apparently this place in Muskogee has five loads a day for us. It's glass bottles for those frappucino things. We shower and I end up driving to the yard. I sleep at home.
Wednesday - A long night due to tornado warnings all night I was tired. Our load assignment was to go to Columbia, MO and back. The trainer dries that run and then we have a load going to Kansas City and then a preplan back to the yard. Here's the cool part. This would be the last run with my trainer and it was to the first place we had for a load on my first week. I drive to the big city and back. We fuel and I go home for another evening.
Thursday - I AM DONE!!! My trainer cuts me loose and I am issued a truck. Low and behold to my dismay I get one of the volvos. After an issue with the keys I fuel it and start putting some of my stuff in it. I get my CB going. Here's the negatives. I don't know a darn thing about the volvos. I had never seen one inside until today. I had some trouble finding which controls were what. Thanks to a helpful shop person He helped me out. Now here's the good part. Our company has just started installing Tripack APU's and my truck is one of the first to get one. And it comes with a 2500 watt inverter. Sweet!! Tomorrow I will finish moving in and I do my first run solo on Sunday.

 

I will try to get pictures today. I left my last post tired so I will be more in depth now.
When I showed up yesterday thinking I had a day of driving ahead of me I get the notice that I was getting a truck a day early. Right off the bat they were asking me if I was willing to go to Dallas. Yikes! Well I agreed reluctantly but told them I needed time to get my stuff into the truck and set up everything. At the same time my trainer told the fleet manger that I wanted a Peterbilt if not one then a KW. He said that there was no Petes available but a KW was. Great! I wait for awhile and then I am issued a fuel card. Filled out some paperwork and on the card sleeve it there was a number. So I am told to go to the shop for the keys and the truck's location. Well they couldn't find the keys but gave me a key that was a master and told me it was the one out front.

At Transalnd they clean a truck up and put it on a display pad with a recruitment sign next to it. I go out there and it's a Volvo. I tend to try to look at the bright sides to everything and I say to myself "well it could be worse and who knows I might like this truck." I get in and I don't know where anything is. The controls are everywhere and none of them have english written on them just picures. I managed to start it and then the low fuel alarm comes on. That would look bad if I run this out of fuel my first five minutes of having it. So I bring it to a parking space near the shop. I return the key so they could make duplicates and go get my persoanal pick up truck and start moving the little bit of my stuff in. I go back to the office where I find out that the Dallas run has been covered and now there is no rush. Phew! I go back to the shop where some keys have been made but they dont work I grab the master and then told to fuel up the truck at the yard while they resolved the key issue.

I put in 180 gallons and bring the truck up. They keys are fixed and I go back to my original plan. The shop was helpful in telling me where all the controls were so now I feel better. I do a quick pretrip and I have a concern about a tire but that was it. I will address this today.

I sit inside and start exploring. Right away I see a 2500 watt inverter. I find the controls for the APU and started it up. It was remarkable how fast the truck cooled down. This was pretty neat and the company just started having thses installed so I am one of four or five trucks that have one. I shut it off and started up the truck and started to adjust mirrors and messing with lights and making seat adjustments. I take it around the lot a couple of times to see how it shifted. I get my CB radio transferred and start making a list of what I still needed. This thing has a cd player which is mp3 capable so that will be good until I can afford satelite radio. Today I had planned to get everything else I needed into it so I wouldn't have to do it before I go sunday.

Who knows I might like this truck. I will see how it rolls down the road. I have been told that these things are almost like cabovers when it comes to getting into tight docks and areas. As far as power goes that doesn't matter since all the trucks lost power when they were governed at 65 MPH. The fact I won't have to idle might make me start off on a good foot with the fuel department.

Another thing that happened yesterday was I got to sit down with my dispatcher. I got lucky here because all the drivers he works with like him. He asked what I wanted in terms of where I liked running and how I wanted to run. He said he is not the type to give you three hours to make a four hour trip. I was impressed by his attitude and he seemed likewse. I also have a rep at the company because I survived seven weeks with this particular trainer and that seems to be an accomplishment of sorts.

My trainer said I could call him anytime I needed and he lives up to that because while running with him he had trainees call him often. It seems my trainer is also a human GPS. You name a city and he will tell you the route right off the top of his head and how long it will take to get there. I guess that comes from being a driver for 30 years. I got along ok with him except when I tried to introduce him to some Metallica and Slayer on the Sat radio. LOL.

I the spirit of Evertrucker's post about Crete I figured I would leave similar updates once a week so other newbies like me can read the experience. I also copy and paste these posts on my personal blog. I know evertruckers thread have helped me and the countless other threads here that have helped. I will continue this thread.
Thanks for reading and comenting.

 

Yes. Unless you are owner or lease you can't have one. Too many issues with the trucks being trashed by the pet owners if they leave. It seems that pet policies are becoming difficult to come by. I had heard rumors that a lot of companies due to turnover are either starting to charge out the wazoo for a deposit or eliminating pets.

 

Basically I found out that a company is a personal fit. CWTL seemed like a good deal but I knew for a fact that Transland would get me home more. Plus I am known as a person by my dispatcher not just a truck number. I would be making more money at CWTL but right now I wanted to ease into trucking. Coincidently one of my classmates just emailed me. He went to CWTL and likes it but hasn't seen home for three weeks.

I have also learned that companies can be decieving. There is a company here in Springfield that is called O&S. They had the best training program, best pay scale, best benefits. I was ready to sign with them when I heard from a good source that they were going to be all L/O or O/O. Sure enough a company guy that my instructer knew said that they were pushing the company drivers out that weren't interested in signing a lease.
I have also learned that no company is perfect. I try to approach things differently than some others do. When I was issued my truck I introduced myself to some in the shop. The foreman was checking up on a part my truck needed yesterday while I was putting more of my stuff in and I shoed him a tire I was concerned with. He said it was ok but then found something wrong with one that I had missed and it's getting fixed today.

Transland is like every other company out there right now. They are trying to keep their head above water with rising fuel costs and insurance rates. They have eliminated pets, governed their trucks and are putting APUs in. This is the new normal standard. I don't live outside my means. I only made $11,000 as busdriver last year. At 2500 miles a week I will quadruple if not triple my income. So this is why trucking will work for me. For some of these other newbies looking for 50,000 their first year might be hard pressed to find it unless you have a higher standard company or run your butt off.

Now to the Volvo. I am almost finished with putting my stuff in. I bought some sheets (at a thrift store of course) and I got the groceries that I need. Hopefully within the month I can get something to heat up soup and a cooler to put in the truck. I cleaned house and got everything organized. I compare this to moving into a new apartment. It might be awhile before I get everything just right. Sunday I might grab an empty trailer and and weigh the truck to see what I have got to play with in weight. Here lately loads have been heavier than what the BOLS say plus with the new APU the truck weighs more now and no one knows how much more.
I have my first load assignment and I leave Sunday afternoon.

 

Well tomorrow I start week four of being solo. I know I heven't updated like I have been wanting to but I am still adjusting to the lifestyle. The most I have been home for is for a couple of 34hr resets and a couple of nights here and there with barely enough time to sleep and shower let alone type on the computer. I have been keeping notes.

A few things I do that might help other newbies. One is everything that comes out of the qualcomm I write down such as load assignments, pickup numbers etc. On the back of those pages I make notes about the shipper like their process, can you sleep there etc. On a seperate notebook I do my trip planning. I will take the extra half hour and write everything out like what hiways ans turns to make. I will also count the miles so I know when to start looking for a place to sleep. I got the pocket truckstop book and I make note of restareas. In my notes I also make mention of the truckstops I do stop at and whether they are worth going to again. And I learned the hard way that you just don't go the "opposite" of the way you came through a big city without planning. I got in a hairy situation at about 10pm in Minniapolis and went where big trucks weren't supposed to go.
I keep these notes for future reference so it can be quicker when I return to these cities and shippers. I do my first repeat to Menonomee, WI tomorrow. I will do my updates with these notes. Hopefully in around 60 days from now I will have a laptop and this will be easier. Happy trails everyone.

 

Ok I am home for more than 24 hours so here is my experiences so far being a newbie on the road. I have been out for four weeks but will only type a week for each post. Hopefully I can catch up the three weeks during the time I am home.
Week one:
My first solo trip was to Minden, LA. For my first run I cheated and got directions off the internet. I was careful to double check the directions with the atlas to make sure there were no non-truck roads on their route. The first part of this run took me through US65 through Branson and Arkansas. This was a heavy close to max load so I had to learn quick how this truck shifted. I had heard that the Volvos that were cut back don't handle hills at all loaded and sure enough this was true. It took me half the trip to realize that I had to downshift two gears on certain hills or I would become almost stopped trying to get the rpms where I needed them. Once I reached I20 it was a breath of fresh air. I set the cruise, turned up my cd player and made some good time. I made one wrong turn when I had to leave I20 but that was due to a lack of a sign I needed and the internet directions were vague on this part. Five miles later I found a good turn around spot and headed the right direction. On the last part of the trip I was close to pulling over for the night and noticed a small convoy of flatbedder that were behind me chatting away on the cb. They were helpful in telling me where the Pilot I needed was at and that there was ample parking even late at night. A rarity for a Pilot I have discovered. The next morning I found my destination and bumped dock with no issues.


My next load assignment was from Monroe, LA to Branson, MO. The different ways one could go through Louisianna had my head spinning so I called my trainer who is a human GPS. Sure enough he gave me the roads to hit and of course took me through US65 again.Great. I find the shipper and find out that me fueling before I got there was a good move. I arrived in this open dirt parking lot and was directed to a scale. I know that this means I will be maxed out. But now I know what my light weight for my truck is, Yay.From the looks of this place I noticed that they make mulch here. And my load was going to a Home Depot in Branson. Now I am still nervous about tight difficult spots to back into so when I get a nice easy dock I am very grateful. This one was unique. I backed up to a portable ramp out in the middle of the dirt lot. After I was loaded I had to scale again. Too heavy. They took off two pallets, still too heavy. So through a crude method we weigh the axles seperately. I slid my tandems where they needed to be and I was still too heavy. Then they ask if I can slide my fifth wheel. I said no. Here's why. I learned that you want your fifth wheel smack dab in the middle of your drives. You don't want it too far forward or backwards so I take the guesswork out and keep it in the middle. I could move it but why mess with it. I told them I couldn't because it was broke. (Could be true for all I know). So three hours later I leave with the load. I am 70 pounds over my drives but I didn't have scales to worry about plus I would burn that in fuel anyways. I get to Branson no problem and sleep in their parking lot. I noticed a Swift truck was already there. When the store opened I had asked when shipping was due to arrive and they told me 10am but I could bump dock now if I wanted. Good, I can bump dock before any other trucks could be in the way. By noon they had me unloaded and even let me sweep out the trailer there and I dh to Springfield. Two accidents made a fortyfive minute trip two hours and I make it back to the yard.


Next load was to Menominee, WI. This was an open window drop and hook at a Walmart distribution place. I take the extra half an hour and thoroughly plan my trip. I had Kansas City, Des Moines, and Minnieapolis to contend with and I made sure I routed through these cities correctly. Now I just need to fix it where I TIME it away from rush hours. I make it three hours from my destination and slept at a rest area. I also need to plan stopping points a little better. Oh well I am still learning. Another easy drop and I DH to Chippwewa Falls. No local directions from the qualcomm so I call them. I follow the phone intructions. I get to a very tight and busy place. I show them my info and was handed a piece of paper with the new diections to the new wherehouse. Great. I go to the new place and the good thing that it was huge. Bad thing is that it took four hours to load. This load goes to KC. I follow the qualcomm directions and again find myself in a lot where I would have to do a blindside crooked bump at the dock. I show them my load info and was told directions to new where house. Alrighty then. I was grateful though as the new place was huge. A big truck could do figure eight races in this lot. This place had some staffing issues. In fact a guy quit while I was there. After some drama that I stayed out of and three hours later I was unloaded. Got a ton a free bottled water from this place too. They welcome you to take the cases that were broken. After wrestling with some tandems and a turn around due to a tree covering the interstate sign I barely had time to do the drop and hook in the other part of Kansas City. I get to the shipper. This is where a bad day got worse. I have trouble finding the placeand then trouble finding the shipping office. Once I find an office they tell me to go three blocks to get my papers. I get the papers after two more turn arounds and make it back to the original place where I struggle with my tandems again. The older trailers are a pain in the butt. I look to the sky and see it's about to rain and I wanted out of KC before nightfall anyways. After what should have been an easy drop and hook became a complicated mess mainly due to my inexperience. I get to the Flying J in Peculiar just in time. I go in for a much desrved and needed shower and hot meal. All over the tv sets were tornado and flood warning hitting KC. This was also after the two previous days of tornadoes and flooding that I have been prone to on this trip.

The next morning began at 0300 with a phone call from my dispatch making sure I was doing what I told him I was gonna do. I make it to OK City and find my next load home. It was Coca Cola and from a past experience during my training I was able to avoid having to turn around in their death gate system and another Transland driver that was there helped me with a different back up strategy, helped me with a log issue and told me how he gets to the Odessa, TX customer which was my load assignment after my 34 hour reset.


Everyone talks about the first run curse where a driver's first run is plagued by a breakdown or some other major event. Mine was a series of small events. The weather was highly tornadic for this week. I had more turn arounds than I care to admit. BUT I am learning out here. All the problems were mainly my inexperience and I remind myself that I learn by the school of hard knocks. The truck is doing ok but my cruise control doesn't work and I wish I had more space but this truck acts like a cabover in the tight places and for that I am grateful.
week 2 coming soon.