My first month with a trainer…

Sorry about your luck. Not much one can do if the trainer doesn’t want to or doesn’t know how to train!

I suggest you never be afraid to, be embarrassed to ask for advice or help from a fellow trucker. Also remember if one is watching and offers advice they are trying to make your life better so pay attention, make sure you understand what they say even if you have to ask them politely to repeat it several times.

 

It always has been since it became a nanny industry.

 

Garmin is pretty good. I just banked my rewards cash at Loves until I only had to pay half the price with actual money. You'll find a store one day that's selling them cheaper than others

 

But we can still think for ourselves and understand how we got the dimensions!

 

I can't remember how to use a slide rule anymore, it's been over 50yrs since I had to in high school.

 

Many, few of which are appropriate for polite company.

 

I'm going to get on you a bit, it's nothing personal, and if you can avoid taking umbrage you might find it useful.

The first thing is "how are you presenting yourself to others?"

The first thing I noticed about you was your user name "newdriver813". What does this name present to the world? You're not very creative, you act on impulse without thinking about long term effects, and you're not looking to be a member of the community. None of that may be true, but that's the message your name conveyed to me.

What sort of messages have you been sending your trainers? When getting back in the truck do you head for the driver's seat or the passenger? Are you asking questions, are you taking notes on the answers, are you putting those answers to work? Are you waiting to be told what to do or are you doing what you know needs to be done?


Secondly, are you asking "Why?"

Why is my trainer telling me X? Why is my trainer always fueling the truck? Why are you fueling at that particular stop? How does it fit into the trip plan? Why is it sometimes necessary to run your clock down to nothing and why is it sometimes a bad idea?

I shut down today with 2:11 on the 11 and 3:45 on the 14. On the surface it looks like I'm giving away a bunch of time that could have been used productively. When you dig into the Why, it starts making sense. I shut down in N Lima, OH and I'm headed to Carlise, PA. The next place to stop would be Oakmont, PA and that travel plaza is likely to be full at almost any time of day. After that it's Sommerset, PA, 100 miles away. I could get there, but would only have a few minutes left if the lot was full. Add in the weather and pushing on starts yielding diminishing returns. When you consider the most likely options for my next load, pushing on would be a colossal waste of effort as I will be ending tomorrow the same place no matter where I end today. Shutting down early means tomorrow morning I'm going to be well rested, clean and ready to attack the day instead of tired and stinky.

Most of my trainees never start thinking beyond the surface level so they never learn WHY things are the way they are. You chose a company that does team "training". You should have known that after the first week you were going to be expected to start acting like a full driver, which means that the trainer isn't "letting you fuel the truck". YOU need to be making the trip plan and arranging fuel stops in accordance to company policy. YOU need to start taking ownership of your own learning by asking questions and figuring out the Why's of life.

The next thought is "where are you going?". This question applies to everything from the basic of which lane do you want to be in all the way up to what your life goals are. Make active choices, don't let other make the choice for you.

 

I feel attacked.

 

I knew people that used a slide rule. I was a sneaky calculator type. I used a circular slide rule for private pilot study.
All hail the might E-6B

 

I used Trucker Path for a year while I saved up PFJ points to get a GPS. Took nearly a year but I got enough to fully pay for the 7” Garmin. I love the Garmin. Just having a dedicated device with a larger screen is so much better than using the phone for gps. If I had known how much of a difference it would be, I probably would have gone ahead and purchased it sooner.