Running With Watkins & Shepard

Hey everyone! Finally a decent connection at the pilot here in Amarilo and a little time on my hands. I treated myself to a night out last night at a sports bar right next door. Shot some pool, made some friends and had a nice time.

It feels like forever since I've been here and a lot has happened since I last was.

When I got back into my truck they ran me between Jersey and NC like three times...LOL then a load from NC out to Denver and Denver to Helena, a turn to Shelby and back, then a red bull run to Bozeman and now a trip to San Antonio. Having a blast and really enjoying the trips.

I have to plug the Helena shop here. They are simply great there and take fixing the trucks very seriously. I had more done to Ole Betsy in a day and a half there than all the time I've been working on her since I started. There are still a couple things that need attention but I feel confident my next trip back there will be rewarding to that end.

cpape, I had a pretty good "base" idea of what trucking would be like going into it. I knew the "lifestyle" and completely understood and accepted that part of it. I'm learning the "mechanics" of it all now and it's quite an eye opener for sure. Now I never kidded myself into thinking it would simply be... get in the truck, get loads and drive lots of miles for lots of money. But I have to say the amount of responsibilty on the drivers shoulders to just make sure everything works out is a bit more than I expected. Not overwhelming or anything, just more than I thought it would be. There are times when I feel like I wear the hat of every position in the company...LOL From driver to dispatcher to mechanic.

The pay and miles are as described by W/S and aren't the best, or worst out there. I get 25 cpm as a newbie and for the most part, I can't complain about the miles I've been getting and now that I'm getting used to how things work and "my" efficency is improving, so are the miles. I haven't done the math but I'd say a rough average is around 3200 a week. I'm waiting until I have 6 months in to get a "decent" monthly average. Obviously a year will provide a more accurate picture there.

We don't have "set" D/Ms per say but I'm a pretty easy going guy and like to think I get along well with just about everyone. There was one dispatcher that required a little "man to man" talk but we shook hands and are moving beyond the bumps that arose. I find the dispatchers to be very nice and I do think they try to accomadate the drivers the best they can. We drivers have to keep in mind they have a tough job and it's simply not possible to make all of us happy, all the time. So when the less than desirable loads come my way, I take them with a smile, tell them I'm glad to help out where I can and thank them for it. We have to be a TEAM for all this to work. For instance that turn from Helena to Shelby and back. Not a killer run miles wise at 175 each way but a driver needed a favor to get home and it was my pleasure to help and a good feeling to know I was part of making it work out. I dropped that loaded trailer for him and the smile on his face said everything I needed to hear. We talked for a few minutes, laughed about a few things and I dragged that empty back to Helena (while avoiding heards of dear) with a smile on my face knowing I helped him out.

Simply put, there's more to life than money.

The coolest thing I've seen? Hmmmm.... that would be a tough call for sure. Being the nature lover I am I'm constantly amazed at Gods ever changing mosaic out here. Just this last run I took 310 to 16 to 14 to 20 out of MT into WY. It's a pretty flat run but then all of a sudden I came into Shoshoni and simply marveled at a spectacular canyon run. I really have to mount a video camera to the truck..... I'll see something beautiful, snap a picture, put the camera down and then around the corner is something even more beautiful...LOL Almost makes me wish I were riding shotgun so I could just take pictures.

On the other hand, the "people" side of things, I've watched drivers helping other drivers and that's really cool too. The other day a driver came up to me with a pretty worried look on his face. Had a hose clamp come loose on his cooling system. A pretty simple thing to deal with but he didn't have a long flat blade screw driver to tighten it up with. So I lent him one and presto! A new friend and a happy driver. Being a biker I truly enjoy the "brotherhood" we share. Although it's different, the same type of connection exists between a lot of drivers out here. That's VERY COOL!!

The most frustrating? Hmmmm...another tough call but I'd have to say it's folks just not doing thier job. That whole ordeal with my truck in Jersey that led to an 11 day lapse in driving for NOTHING is a good example. What a waste!! If you have no intent of doing what you say, don't say it!

All in all I'm really happy with my decision to become a driver and look forward to a LONG future burning up the miles. I had my first taste of driving in snow on my way to Helena the first time. I was rather hoping my first time would be on an open, flat interstate during the day..... Ummmm...NOPE! It was on Rt. 12 (a narrow twisty little road), at night. I'm cruising along on dry road and as I rounded the top of this long hill...BAM! a blizzard slams the glass. I mean 2" flakes coming at me so heavy and hard the nose of Ole Betsy just vanished into a blanket of white!!......

I'd be a lier if I said my palms weren't sweating a bit as I decended this 14 miles of twisty one lane road. With about 2 inches on the ground at the start and coming down hard there were no lines to see, no shoulder, no place to stop or pull over and plows coming up the hill at me with bright lights at various points....LOL I backed it down to between 25 and 40 and just nursed this load down the hill. At the bottom, the snow was gone and the roads perfectly clear again...LOL

A very unique and humbling experience for me to see things change THAT fast and one I won't soon forget as I travel the mountains in the future.

 

Hi PCDoctor,

Well, this is really a wide open thing. From WS that has no training to something like Covenant that has almost a YEAR I think it is? As far as the trainer "sleeping" while out there, that all depends on them. My buddy ORG decided on Swift and overall was really happy with his trainer for the 6 weeks he was out there. So I guess you could pick a company and get either a good or bad trainer.

Most of the larger mills provide a decent amount of trainer time out there. Smaller companies either don't have trainers at all because they only hire experenced drivers or have some kind of short period like 2 to 4 weeks.

As far as the "heartaches" you mention about wasted time picking up emptys, sleeping in tough conditions etc...that's just trucking brother and I don't know how much that would change from company to company. I suppose it's better at some than others but the truth is, trucking is a tough life filled with frustrating times and good times. You just have to be able to enjoy the good and roll with the bad in my humble opinion.

But absolutely be SURE what makes YOU comfortable as far as how much traing you feel you need. Once out there it's REALLY important to be comfortable "Driving the Truck" because most of your time will be spent learning the ropes of the business, getting lost, finding yourself in tight spots with seemingly no way out etc. etc. You don't need the added pressure of "driving" on top of it all.

The best advice I can give about any "particular" company is, talk to drivers for those companies. All the "research" I did really doesn't paint an accurate picture because the recruters....Ummmm.... shall we say, embelish things just a touch...

Best of luck to you and be safe out there.

 

Yeah buddy it is. Pinto beans and a whole LOT of them too...LOL Anything you can share about getting to the shipper would be greatly appreciated brother.

I don't have your number anymore as it's in my old phone so either call me or PM me with yours again if you would.

The shipper was a 4 hour long ordeal in itself. One dock with one truck ahead of me. I swear they were bagging it (2000 lb sacks) as they were loading me....LOL