Maximum Texas is fresh out of School his CDL...but where will he go??

Latest report, I am off to the Phoenix headquarters for Swift Flatbed this Saturday. It will be a 25 hour bus ride from Houston to Phoenix, then hotel and some sleep. We will start bright an early in the morning, I will meet other grads and get my paperwork in order. I should be there for five days, at which time I will either be assigned to Bubba the trainer and begin OTR right away OR I will be bussed back to HOU for one week to wait for Bubba to pick me up (I prefer OTR right away, I hate Greyhound).

I will try to keep up and post on the boards, follow the World Series and report from the road. I will let you know if my trainer is cool or completely sucks. I won't have a computer, but I will try to send a text from my cell.

Wish me luck.

 

I was raised in the Seattle/Tacoma area so I'm familiar with them, seen their trucks all the time on I-5 and I-90. Didn't hear anything bad about them (at least credible). I don't know if they go flatbed or not, I'll check it out, thanks.

 

It's friday night, and I'm prepared for the Greyhound bus and the long 24 hour ride to Phoenix.

I was told and I am expecting not to make a lot in the first year of abuse, just some to pay the bills and go to garage sales, but better than getting disconnection notices and having your sh|t cutoff.

I will learn the trade, know the in's and out's, learn who to bribe for the best runs and who to avoid and most of all, I will subscribe to the "FLATBED 101, Making flatbed WORK FOR YOU" school of hard knocks.

I need to pray for a trainer at the end of the 5 days in Phoenix. They said that if one couldn't be found, then I have to bus back to Houston and wait one week for Bubba to pick me up.

Buses suck and I need cash...

 

Just got back from Swift Headquarters in Phoenix. Took the Greyhound from Houston for the 25 hour ride to Phoenix. Busses really do suck, that's why I will haul freight that doesn't talk back...

The orientation was cool, Jack Workman was the dude there to welcome you, don't wear your hat though, he will make you take it off in the building. I had to have a physical AGAIN, the doctor made me strip down for my hernia test, but she wasn't a bad looking doctor so I let it slide, although I commented to her that I felt like I was going through a TSA screening. The overall staff was friendly and I got my questions answered. Swift is VERY big on safety (guess they paid out lot's of claims last year so Jerry is putting the clamps down before Swift goes public with round two of their IPO).

The big problem is mentors.....there are very few. Lot's of sleeping bags and duffels in the hallway, so many that they had to open up another room to store the items in. The hotel that I stayed at was the Premiere Inn. When I got there I was told that I would have a roomate and that if I went out to get a bite to eat, I most likely would come back to find a strange man in my room. I got the better room (no 6 person room with bunkbeds and a kitchenette) because I already come with a CDL and records so there I sit waiting for a roomate that ultimately never showed up (hooray, the room ALL TO MYSELF forthe week). The staff at the Premiere Inn was rude, they're all princesses, I guess that's what happens through years of abuse from truckers going in and out of the motel.

The continental breakfast consisted of donuts and coffee. Dont' get them on monday, they are 1-2 days old and taste like cardboard, tuesday is much better. They did provide lunch at the orientation. The first day was Arbys, two sanwiches, fries and a drink. On day 2 and 3 you get a $5 token for the Jake Brake truckers lounge. The food there wasn't too terribly overpriced, but bring an extra dollar so you can cover any overages. Flatbed class?? Bring a sack lunch, Swift aint paying.

Jack from orientation is one funny dude, he is a good guy. That one safety film they showed was disturbing. The rest of the orientation covered policy, procedures, qualcomm and they brought in speakers to cover everything from security to benefits to the Swift charities. The day is long and you have to log your hours. We had to get up at 5 am and get to the shuttle in time for the 7am class, over by 4-5pm. Get the shuttle early or it will be overloaded and the mean hispanic motel shuttle lady will complain to you about being a slacker that should've started earlier. Whatever you do DO NOT BE LATE, they will lock the doors and you will have to call your recruiter.

Cruising around the Swift terminal meant lot's of walking, it is HUGE, nearly a mile from end to end, the one thing that stood out is the fact that some truckers at Swift and in general are just #$%#$% wierd, I seen one dude that looked like an older Charles Mansion, he got called in to go out with a mentor "again". Other truckers had to go to Log Book Class again. Me and the other normal looking recruits were making fun of the weirdness of the other truckers there, I don't want to be that way when I grow up....some seriously strange cats....that's the thing about Swift, they'll hire "anybody" with a pulse.

Last day there (friday) finishing out the second day of flatbed class with Ray Pedersen and waiting to be coded, Ray is pretty cool, will answer ALL questions and knows load securement inside and out, whatever they pay him, it's not enough. During orientation I applied for my Fast Card to Canada and opened up a second-chance Wells Fargo account for my direct deposit (the Wells Fargo rep was there to take apps). I was told not to expect a mentor and at 3pm friday afternoon it was official:

I AN GETTING ON THE BUS BACK TO HOUSTON!!! AAAAUUUUGHHHHH!! THE HORROR!

Yeah, friday night and most people are going out or partying, not me, me and the other Swift drivers are sitting at the bus depot in downtown Phoenix. Besides the usual compliment of people consisting of wives running away from mean, scary husbands, teenage girls meeting "someone from the internets" off Craigslist and security guards that wished they had a "real job", there's nothing like puffing away in the smoking section listening to some ex-con talk about how great it is to "get out of prison". I guess you don't make enough stamping license plates to go SouthWest Airlines, it's Greyhound for you. Nevertheless, here we all were, no mentors, going back home.

I hope the ex-cons felt at home in the smoking section of the Phoenix Greyhound Depot.........it looks like cell block 6, all brick and little daylight.

Most of the Swft guys and one girl were going back to points south and west (Tucson, SoCal, etc.) just me and another driver were the only ones from Texas, the other guy was from El Paso, he would tell me that in El Paso at 3 in the morning, if you listen real close, you can hear automatic weapons fire from across the border in Cuidad Juarez, the worlds most dangerous city....that's pretty trippy.

Our bus was late to El Paso and the connecting bus to Houston was already GONE......guess what.....to get back to Houston, I needed to be rerouted THROUGH DALLAS, then add another 6 hours to the ride, here I am thinkin that I BETTER make some money with Swift, and that someday this will BE ALL WORTH IT....I guess I have to say these things to stay sane after getting told by the RUDE Greyhound "customer service rep" that I'm SOL (not sorry out of luck).....se habla espanol --- EL PASO SUCKS!

Back in H-Town, gotta call driver services to find out when bubba will pick me up and whisk me away. I hope Swift goes gentle and does a reach around, I chose them over TMC......who cares, I'll pay my dues, haul some flatbed loads, pay some bills and buy my wife flowers and a gift card.

I need flatbed experience, six months to a year........after that.....hmmmm......Melton, ATS, are you listening??

I'm out.

 

That's what Ray Pedersen was talking about, measuring the height, etc. I like putting loads together and did that with my granddad when he was hauling pipe and rebar. I will watch, learn and participate. Being in Phoenix to learn "The Swift Way" was an experience to say the least.
Most of the other truckers at Swift were cool, Jack did make a comment that there are too many Swift drivers fighting each other at the truck stops, and that truckers shouldn't fight each other, especially other Swift employees, I agree, last time I checked, trucking as a whole is suppose to be a brotherhood, at least on some level.....