Questions for experienced drivers

I wouldnt do anything differently because I was well prepared before getting into the industry. I read books, visited forums like this one, watched videos, prepared for the worst case scenario and I do not regret a thing. The only bad thing which I had no control over was that they make it seem like trainers are certified professors who are excellent teachers... they figure if someone was in a truck for a while then they can relay all of the necessary information to a new driver. My trainer was a nice guy but didnt teach me a lot of things or he taught me the wrong things which got me in a trouble in my first week of running. For example, we have air based system to slide the tandems, and he said when you slide the tandems just pull off and they will automatically lock.

Well this is partly true, you have to set the trailer brakes and then slide the tandems, disengage the trailer brake, then apply the trailer brake again and do a tug test and hear it lock. So because of this misinformation I was driving down the road and my tandems were sliding from the front to the rear when I braked. The same thing happened when I was driving with him in the trainer truck and he said he didnt know what the jolting was but after my experience I know how to properly lock the tandems now. That is just one example, there were other things he taught me that were incorrect so if something your trainer says sounds weird you may want to confirm it with another driver after your training is done.

 

Many different opinions of what is best. Some think LTL is a gift from heaven and some, like me, wouldn't do it because it's extremely boring and routine. Many new drivers think local jobs are what everyone craves for and some of us put local jobs on the bottom rung of the ladder to be used only as a last resort. Best is to get all the endorsements and look for companies where the endorsements can be used. Many companies pay more if you have hazmat endorsement even if you never use it. For me the best is tankers running coast to coast or for reefers probably Lessors Inc. or Holland Enterprises Inc. running coast to coast. Some flatbed outfits are good such as System Transport, Waggoners Trucking, LoneStar, running coast to coast.

Some drivers would say, "Are you crazy? Everyone wants LTL or local!" Well, not everyone.

 

I'd say I would of went into specialised a little sooner maybe as I love tanker work and would never want to go back to dry van stuff. what I have learned in my short time in the industry has made me love my job even more. From OTR, dedicated, team, local to tanker all of it has been a great ride.

 

I pull a reefer now and I can do do without it. Negatives with reefer:

1. Most places want 3/4 of fuel or more when you deliver like all Walmarts (which is really stupid since I am only going to be there for a few hours and leave, isnt like im dropping the trailer there. They should lower it to half a tank or more when you are staying with the trailer). Most Walmart DCs are located in the middle of nowhere and do not allow truck parking so you have to time it right to have enough fuel to get into the DC. Then you may get a load that picks up down the street and the reefer fuel went down to half so you have to drive out of route to fuel up the reefer, and maybe even have to wash it out, and then go to the next shipper.

2. Some older reefer trailers are really loud, so loud I can hear it from all of the trucks in the truckstop while I am coming out of the Pilot/Flying J.

3. Some drivers, even reefer drivers start complaining if you park beside them with your reefer running.

4. Your truck can be in perfect condition but you still have a breakdown if the reefer isn't working correctly.

5. Some old tight truck stops dont allow the trucks to pull up far enough after fueling, so I have to wait for the driver to leave before I can finish fueling my reefer since I have to pull up to align the reefer tank with the pump

6. Most reefer loads I pull are frozen and some places I deliver to I have to stand inside of a freezing cold warehouse to report to the receiver since they do not have a separate room for drivers to report in.

7. It is hard to fuel up the reefer tank without the fuel shooting out onto the floor right when its nearly full.


So for those reasons I rather pull dry van even if the pay is lower it is not worth the hassle I deal with the reefer.

 

I'd have started with a tanker company that trained. Did two years and saved up enough to buy a nice glider. Then leased on somewhere or start own authority. Can really be too sure about own authority because I'm not there yet.