My training with Roehl begin tomorrow.....

Well, my day has came for me to start my training to become a truck driver on the open roads. I am very excited and hap to get this started. I glad to be a member of this board because I feel it has helped me to get prepaired mentally. I will try to keep an updated log/journal of my experience in evo 1 and 2 and through out this trip that I am begining on tomorrow. Time for me to get some sleep. I have to be in Ellenwood at 8 am, so I will talk with you guys later.

 

Thanks, well today did not go as i expected but it was not bad. I get to the terminal around 745 and my day begins. Well first my nerves kick in, I am excited to be getting this on the way but I had the butterflies going in my stomach. Now that the butterflies are all awake, I just discovered that I left my phone and mp3 charger at home. Now my day is really going bad now. What a way to start my driving career. All of this happened before 9 o'clock. Well around 10 o'clock is when I got my assignment and this is where my day changed for the best. My trainer will not get in until 4 pm, and then he will be out of hours for today. I look at this as a restart and I am happy for it. I was upset and did not need to be driving a rig for the first time under these condition. So my launch is first thing in the morning at 7. I am looking forward to this day and kind of sad that I did not leave today.

 

I went out for the first time this morning and I have to say I enjoyed it. I must say that pulling an empty compared to some weight is complete different. I missed gears and grinded some for the most part of the day. It started to weigh on me but I was having spots where I would do everything right. So I just decided that this was my first day out and I would build on it and move forward.

Now for the events of the day. We had a load going from Ellenwood, GA to Rincon, GA. Nice way to get my feet wet I guess. When we got emptied in Rincon, I think we sat for 4 hours before bobtailing back to Ellenwood to pick up a load for SC later on tomorrow evening. I think after we drop there might be a good chance we might sit until Monday morning.

My trainer did the driving to Rincon and I did the driving back to Ellenwood. Also I drove to the cosignee and did the backing, with help from my trainer. I just have to remember to shift at 12 rpm on the low side and 15 on the high side. Plus I need to remember to raise rpm's back up when I down shift. I know that sounds as if I was a complete mess while driving today, but I don't think I did that bad and believe me when I say I am very hard on myself. The things I was doing was a result of driving a new truck, driving that truck with a load and just been nervous, excited and really wanting to do well. I do expect for me to do better tomorrow and to minimize my mistake if not eliminated them all together(wishful thinking, I know).

OH, the truck i drove in school when shift to neutral, it would line up in the 2nd and 3rd gear. The Roehl truck I drove to day when in neutral would be lined up in 4th and 5th. That was the monster for me today. I will end this now because I have been up since 6am est and I am sleepy. I will continue to post my experience. Any advice from the vets, I am all ears. Good night and drive safe.

 

Well Sunday afternoon we left Ellenwood, GA to make a delivery in Elloore, SC that was due at 7:30 pm. we arrived a hour early for delivery which was a good thing since we were able to bump the dock so we could get unloaded. Well, after a short 3/4 hour wait, we were told that parts of the load was incorrect. So we would spend the night here instead of heading up the road to pick up our preplan that is waiting for us. Well to make a long story short, we are still here at the cosignee and it is going on the 18th hour. So here I sit.

As for my driving I did minimize some of the things I were doing but I am still grinding and missing gears. I just need to remember not to press clutch all the way in and I should be ok. Also I need to remain calm. Driving is not hard but I will admit that it can be overwhelming to a new driver. I am still sitting here at the cosignee as they try to sort all of this out. So I will end this right here. I will continue to post my experience. Any advice from the vets, I am all ears. Drive safe.

 

I feel like a hostage on this truck. I must admit that I am having a hard time out here away from home. So to all the new guys who are coming into this field, make sure you are ready. I do have the mental capacity to adjust out here. During the day while I am driving or as long as I am busy I'm okay. I think about my family but its only for a second, then it's back to work. The down time is the hardest for me because that is when all the emotion, saddness, and being lonley can take its toll.

As for the hostage comment, I drive, do my log, and pull the truck up when my trainer is adjusting the tandoms.I went 23 hours with out eating and haven't took a shower since Sunday morning. I really don't get any feed back from him on what I'm doing. When I make a mistake then he has a remark in a smart aditude way. He could be joking but I do not feel like joking right now. I feel as if he is training just for what extra money he may be getting because I am working through my mistake on my own. Now by no mean am I saying he is a bad guy or peson, just a bad trainer in my opinion. So I don't wont it to sound like I am dumping on the guy, I just telling you guys how I feel about my experience.

Now on to my driving. Today we started off empty and I got back in to the swing of things. The truck and I are still getting to know each other but I did a whole lot better driving when we were under a load. Close to 73k lbs to be exact. I drove under load for 30 mins and then ask my trainer to let me out of the seat. Sitting at the shipper for close to 3/4 hours gave me a lot of time to think and it was not good. So I need out of the seat ASAP! But, I will admit that my driving under load has improved some what since Saturday. I keep saying under a load because there is a different driving with a load and driving MT. I can hold my own driving MT but I am still getting the feel of driving with a load.

I really don't have anything else to add, but I will let you all know that I did have a break down tonight. I think the stress and beign away from home took its toll today. So I call wifey and cried like a baby. I hate showing signs of weakness but how can I make it through this if I am not honest with myself and the ones I love. So new guys..please prepare yourself for this part of trucking. I took it lightly and now I am having to deal and adjust with it on the fly. I really don't think I can express how important this is.

Also, I think my trainer is trying to brake my will. I mean no food for 23 hours, no bath for over 24 hours and no help just smart comments. Well let me get some sleep because we have some hills to go up and down in the morning. We are head to Virginia. So I guess they will smell me coming. I will not be broken. Hell I have a family to provide for and I also want to drive trucks. But right now, I have to admit that it is hard. So I will end my venting and say, I will continue to post my experience. Any advice from the vets, I am all ears. Drive safe and Be safe.

P.S. I didn't go in to milage, but live loads and live unloads can eat away at your 14 hours and make for a really bad day as for getting miles. Over look some of the spelling. Thank you.