My Journy with Swift

I was told that you will start driving 4-5 hours per day. That is how 2 of the people from my class have been doing it. My mentor figured that if I have a CDL then I should be able to drive. Doesn't bother me, as long as we have miles to run I will drive my 11.

 

After starting later than planned I picked up driving just across the VA/TN state line on I-81 heading south. We made a quick lunch stop just north of I-40 and shortly after getting on my trainer decided to get some rest. I guess he is fairly comfortable with my driving since he said that he has only done that during the first week a couple of times.

We made our delivery in Mississippi and headed to the Memphis terminal in TN. We were having an issue with the truck not having enough power to start. After arriving at the terminal we checked the batteries and found that the ground cable was loose. Tighten it up and the truck starts right up. Going to get some rest and hope we can get a load heading out tomorrow.

 

Sunday turned into a rather long day. We got load offer sending us to SC with a load that was already late. We were told to do our best to get it there that day. It turns out that the load had already been returned by another Swift driver because it was so heavy. We scaled it and we were right at 80K gross. What better way to experience my first 6% grade than running heavy.
After running hard until 1:30am we arrived at the shipper to be told they already had too much of whatever we were hauling and had no idea why they were getting more. They had an open dock however and had us unloaded very quickly. After delivery we found a small truck stop about 10 miles up the road. We were supposed to be picking up a two stop load on Monday with one stop in MD and the other back in NJ.
We woke up to find that the load was pulled and the customer had canceled. We were given two loads in its place. First one picks up Tuesday a few miles from the SC terminal and delivers in TN where we will pick up another load headed for Wisconsin. So we headed up to the terminal to get some showers and take care of paperwork.
Tomorrow will be the last day of week one for me. Can't believe it has gone by so fast. Still having a great time and learning something new everyday.

 

John,
Backing is not proving to be too hard. My trainer is talking me through most of it and helping me set up for the back. I think that getting set up properly is the biggest thing. Other than that I think it just takes practice and experience to become comfortable with it.

Rug Trucker,
As with any job you have people sitting in an office that write the policies and procedures and then those that actually do the job. Some students will never be able to operate a truck without supervision, others are competent after the first day. You may often hear someone talk about the "spirit" of a law or rule. Ask yourself, what was the reason or purpose behind a rule?
I am not advocating a complete disregard of the rules. I believe that it is the purpose behind the rule that is important. I have no complaints about my trainer. Could he get in trouble? Probably. But he has been a great teacher and has not once asked me to break any law or rule.
I am not trying to turn this into an argument, just offering you my opinion. It sounds like you got a good mentor that has worked out well for you. There are some real horror stories about bad mentors. I wish you the best of luck.