On the road with Millis

Hello all. I'm starting this this thread as a continuation of my previous thread. I am done with school, and I am joining my trainer either tomorrow night or the following day depending on how he gets routed to the next stop. I will do my best to make this thread as detailed as possible. If anyone has questions, or I leave anything out, feel free to comment. If you want to read the details of my schooling at Millis, look for the thread titled "Millis Transfer training school". I am packed (mostly) and ready to go. I will post again tomorrow, it'll mostly be recommendations for preparation. Specifically items you'll need and tasks you'll need to complete before you hit the road. Thanks for all those who followed my last thread. It is my intention to be as informative as possible. Again, please don't be shy about asking questions. Talk to y'all tomorrow

 

He's got an manual. It's an 8 speed.

 

Lol he's from Indy

 

Just got of the phone with my trainer. Meeting him tomorrow afternoon at a TA that is thankfully very close to home. It will in fact be where I'm going to park my truck when I come home from the road. So, it's last minute errand time. Per my previous post, I'd like to go over things you'll need for the truck, when your time comes. Every trainer is different, as far as how much stuff they will let you bring. It's very likely that your trainer might want to bring specific items because of they way they train. They'll let you know all of that. Since there will be two people in the truck, space is limited. Don't over-pack, but make sure you have all you will need for a week. Doing laundry and grocery shopping are things that drivers typically do just once a week. You should be able to get away with wearing the same clothes a couple days in a row. If you run flatbed, perhaps not, those guys have a more physical job for sure. Pretty much all my loads will be drop and hook. I'm taking a little extra, just in case. Especially socks, I have a thing about clean feet (nightmare roommate situation from college days, long story). Food storage is another problem. My trainer is unique here, because he cans meals, which is absolutely genius, I never would have thought of that. Refrigerator space is minimal. The refrigerator in the truck is not even big enough for one person in my opinion. When I get my own truck I will be purchasing a second fridge for sure. For now, I bought an electric cooler. It's roomy enough to get by. I made sure to ask my trainer before I got it, to make sure there would be room. I got such a good deal on it that he decided to go get one for himself lol I am keeping it minimal. Some milk, some yogurt, and some frozen meals. He has a microwave and a hotplate. Everything else I'm buying can be stored out of the refrigerator. Apples, bananas, protein bars, tuna, etc. Food is a very tricky thing and you need to be very careful about what you take in, as far as calories. I am going to be much less active than what I was accustomed to. So, I am going to be counting calories and boosting protein. It is very important that you pay attention to that. Multivitamins as well. Next is prescriptions. This is something I didn't think about until it was almost too late. I had to switch mine from 30 days to 90, to make sure I had enough. Same with contact lenses. I just ordered a year's worth which is (thank god) going to arrive in today's mail before I leave. Bills, that's another fun one. Make sure you get everything set up on auto pay. Last, and most definitely not least, is banking. My bank is extremely rigid when it comes to security. I have had my card cancelled before to prevent what they thought was identity theft. It wasn't. I was just out of state and used my debit card. The card got cancelled, had to be reissued, and I had to borrow money to get home. It is a very real problem that can happen to you as a trucker. CALL YOUR BANK BEFORE YOU LEAVE! Let them know what you are doing. I have to call every 30 days to put a travel notice on my account. I also added my wife to my account so that she can access it when she needs to. When I start getting paid this won't be a huge issue because part of my check will be going on my Comcard, so I'll always have money when I need it. But during school and your first bit of training, you're going to need to pay very close attention to that. Well guys and gals, that's it for now. I'm off to Wallyworld to get my groceries and finish packing. See you out on the road!

 

I am going to sound like a company hype guy, I know, but here goes....It is a very common theme from every driver here I have talked to so far. These folks are very happy, they love this company. They just don't leave. So many of the drivers I have talked to have been here for years. Even the young guys that planned on going elsewhere when they fulfilled their contract. This is a great company. It's family, and you'll feel it. You can't go wrong here, I promise.