Hey newbies! Pay Attention!

So as some of you know, I recently started with FFE. I went through orientation and was issued my truck. A 2009, Freightliner Century Class S/T. The truck had 47,000 miles on it. It is May, the truck went into service just before this past Christmas. Seems pretty good getting a brand new truck that's barely 5 months old, huh? It would be if a newbie didn't have it first. As I was going over this truck, I found his "Diploma" in an envelope on one of the shelves. Had "graduated" truck driving school less than a year ago. And it showed.

First thing that was obvious was the holes in the passenger side tank fairings. Either something hit him, or I'm going to say he hit something.

Next, as you move to the back of the cab you see the brace bar for the exhaust is smashed completely into the back of the cab. In addition to that, the grab handles are bent in and the cab fairing bent in on the passenger side. This was obviously caused by not checking how high a trailer was dropped and backing completely under the trailer and ramming the reefer into the back of the cab. Nice!

Next we see where he has gotten into a bind and got the truck twisted so that the bottom of the trailer has rubbed off on the frame. What I could not get a good picture of was the tread on the drive tire. It is so chewed up that it looks square as it spins.

Looking at the front bumper you can tell where he must have had to go over a curb and pulled it back out to the front. What is also not shown very well in the pics is how someone hooked up a couple pull chains to the front bumper and pulled the truck out of whatever mess it was in. This caused damage under the license plate and pulled the foot hold forward.

Moving inside the truck, I can not figure out for the life of me how someone possibly lives in the conditions this one was in. It looked like the truck had never seen a rag. It took a few days of constant work to get it to my liking. The floor had so much dirt and spills it took a full day of sweeping and scrubbing to get it decent. The cup holders and dash were covered in spilled soda and coffee. Even down the door into the pocket that held the permit book, which was a disaster in and of itself.Topped with a thick layer of dust and cigarette ashes this proved a tough clean. I had to use a tough foam cleaner and scrubbed with a scrubbing sponge to get it done.

I was told we get one truck wash a month, but this truck looked like it was never through a truck wash, ever. So, once I finally got a day it was not raining, I got it washed. Truck and trailer. No questions asked. Why newbie never did this is beyond me.

So all you newbies out there, pay attention. You don't pay for this truck, but you are entrusted with it's well being. Take care of it. Keep it clean. Some one else will be issued the truck when your done with it. They don't want to live in your mess.Know your surroundings and make sure your doing everything properly. Take the time to check, get out and look, make sure your your not going to damage anything.

The newbie that had this truck quit under dispatch. A message left on the qualcomm stated he was dropping the loaded trailer at the yard, the bills in the bill box. The truck was parked, his wife was going to be there in 30 minutes and he was leaving the keys in it and his fuel card on the dash. If he had another job lined up I'm sure they would not hire him knowing what shape he left the truck in and the fact he quit under a load. He didn't even have the nerve to quit in person like a man. This is newbie was one who just didn't get it.

Don't be like this newbie.