My first job in a van Trailer as a P&D Driver, Will track my first Year!

Hope you like P&D, it takes a little time to get use to. Sometimes you feel more like a secretary that also drives a truck. Don't count on the GPS always double check the routing it gives you. Keeps you out of a bad situation. I run P&D in Pittsburgh and have been in a few spots I wish i wouldn't have been in, but its part of the learning. Best advice I can give is stay safe, take your time and call your p/u or delivery if your not familiar with where you are going. It doesn't pay to rush through your day and take chances. If something happens you will be hung out to dry. In time you will learn your customers and get more proficient at the job. Job will be overwhelming if you let it. Be safe and good luck..

 

With the daylight driving comes the traffic x3. If you remember that its your CDL, and keep that in mind you will do fine. You will do things in P&D that goes against everything you learned on the road pulling a skateboard. There is no substitute for common sense. Always check everything out, like if there is a dock, can i get turned around once i pull in, things like that. Lots of places you have to back in off the road, or get loaded on the road. Lots of differences you will learn. But take it slow and learn your customers. Its prob going to take you a few months to settle in, but you can do it. It's a descent job and one of the better paying driving jobs. Home every night is a plus. Keep us posted on how things go for you.

 

Lots of great advice from NastyWardog! The above line about not rushing is an especially important aspect of driving, IMHO. Good luck with that GPS (I have the same one), but don't forget to have AND USE a good old fashioned paper atlas with you as well. In some areas like downtown NYC, the GPS reception is not very good and can cause an unpleasant surprise if you're always counting on that for guidance.
Enjoy your new journey!

 

Well you need your NYC truck route map if you're going in there, and try to stick to the red "thru routes" if you can. (The blue "local" routes don't always have 13'6" clearance.)

 

some words of advice josh....

get yourself a good handtruck, not the fancy one that turns into a cart but a decent one and strap it to the catwalk. doing ltl you might end up with either tailgating in the street or inside deliveries. if you do get them try to identify them as soon as you can so when you do hit a dock before one of them you can pull that skid or 2 to the tail making it easier on yourself. sometimes if the skid is light you can use the plate of the handtruck to slide the pallet to the end or unload half of it and then slide it.

if would always ask to see my run the night before so i could write down the address of any new delivers. then when i got home i would use streetview to see the building looking for docks, how tight it would be etc. saved my sorry *** more than once.

always have at least 3 spare 4 ways if you run a 102" to block in the pallet you pull back. always put it on the right side and leave it about 6" from the door. that way when you climb up you have somewhere to put your feet.

 

If you used a laptop w/air card on the road, and you still have the service, take it with you. You can use it for Google Earth to look at new stops. You may be able to do it on your phone, but the lap top screen, being bigger, is a better look.

Your company isn't expecting you to start off as a veteran LTL P & D driver. No matter how much experience you have, when you go from a road job to a local job, (or the other way, for that matter,) they know you will have a lot to learn.

The two biggest things are SAFETY, and customer service. And you will have folks who put the "CUSS" into CUSSTOMER. . .

 

having that pallet jack is great. 3 of my buddies and i went in on one together because occasionally we had to do house deliveries that were more than 4 skids and heavy. the worst was some places that had no dock, a forklift but no pallet jack. it was like really? you couldn't spare a couple hundred for a pallet jack?

as big don says if you can, carry that laptop and air card. if the aircard and wireless service is too much right now then carry the laptop and get microsoft streets and trips for all the maps you need.

i'm a little confused as to what you mean by

ask anything your concerned about and all of us will help you. you seem to be sincere and really want to do a good job. it's easy to help someone with that kind of attitude. a little more yes i can do this and less focus on the omg what have i gotten myself into and you'll be fine.