Starting MTI in Ohio on 24th Nov..

post training and pay?...it is what it is, the pay rate doesnt change, take the cents per mile and multiply it by how ever hard youve been driving
you will soon find out that if your knocking out regular 3200+miles a week that your driving pretty hard
very doable but your not being lazy about it either
its easy to do it for a week or two but doing it consistently means your working it
ya gotta remember that you get held up at shippers and receivers ( some more then others) so it isnt just straight driving
those places where you know they are slow about loading you ( youll learnthat real fast ) as soon as your at the dock jump into bed and get your self a nap which will refresh you and get you ready to get a good jump on your next load
some guys will take those 2 - 3 hours to get their blood boiling and get mad at teh world and count down the minutes and then come 11 pm they are too tired to drive any further or you could be one of the ones that get a good rest in and be ready to run...your choice
it took me 45 minutes to get to the fuel island in staunton (sp.?) virginia at a pilot a week ago
if you can avoid that pilot id recommend doing it; its very small and alot of trucks stop there since there isnt much either north or south of it on I-81
if you got the fuel id suggest getting yourself to the TA in roanoke, va. ( if your heading south bound)
as for showers ...personally i think TA is better then Pilot so i usually fuel up at TA's and get free showers by doing so and also build up my points on my road king card
food...i like the mom and pop places best
they usually have good daily specials and after awhile you'll have it figured out where you like to stop and plan your day around those stops
as for packing...once your on your own you can either bring a bunch of extra clothes and set up a dirty laundry bag in your side box and not have to do laundry every week or you can bring 5 days worth and have to do laundry all the time ( or wear dirty clothes) ...this is your choice too
when you go out with your trainer ask him how he runs things and he'll give you a good idea as to what you should bring
im sure your gonna have a good time throughout the learning process
havent heard too many horror stories as far as trainers go
im sure the 5 weeks in a truck with someone sounds like an eternity to you right now but youll soon see that it actually goes very fast and youll also see that its nice to have an experienced driver sitting next to you to keep you from screwing up too badly
take advantage of those 5 weeks adn ask all the questions that come up in your head and come out on the other side of the 5 weeks ready to really learn
school and the 5 weeks w/ trainer is only your foundation to your new career
your only gonna learn enough in school and on the road with trainer to keep you from getting into serious trouble , killing yourslef or someone else
take it slow and itll all come over time...slow is key, dont come down the steep grades going fast ( no matter what you see other guys doing ...they might know every crack in the road and they might not be running real heavy or they might just be plain crazy ) take it easy on the on and off ramps ( screw the line of cars behind you that look annoyed ) and just be safe and alert in your daily travels and you will do fine and enjoy your life and the things you encounter daily
dont look at driving a truck as a job but as an adventure with some responsiblities to go along with it and enjoy the people you meet, the sights you see and the places you go
be happy and dont let things you have no control over get you down ( traffic, the guy in the warehouse with the bad attitude etc) ...laugh it off and know that it is only for a brief moment that you have to deal with it and that soon youll be back on the open road listening to your tunes leaving the guy with the bad attitude in the dust to stew in his misery
good luck to ya

 

SWISSCHRIS62

Hey,are you running allot of the same routes or are you all over the place?

 

Well done and some great advice and tips!

I'm way more laid back now vs my younger days and agree with you that slow and steady win the race.

I went today and took the cdl test here in Illinois for my learners permit and passed all 3 tests with a 90% (i hate trick questions) so thats one more step completed on what I hope to be a great journey.

I hear you on the Mountain driving, I have made many trips through the blue ridge pkwy in a car or suv and could imagine the first time in a rig will be nerve wracking to say the least.

I saw truck 7080 today, wanted to say hi, but would hate to bother someone.
I was at the truck stop down the road from my house, and see Millis there quite often (monee exit on I-57 in IL)

Thanks again for that great post Chris!

 

hey mr express
im actually on home time right now which is why ive had time to sit on the computer
when im on the road i have my lap top with me and i have an air card but there are days i am too busy to get on line and then when i do get time i fall asleep before i ever log on
as far as my routes go....i do travel alot of the same routes, thats part of this biz
even for a guy who runs all 48 eventually he starts seeing the same roads on a regular basis and starts having places he likes to eat and sleep
i do get to different places though and i am always entering new addresses into my gps so that they are there at the touch of a button next time i go there
even when your traveling the same road you end up seeing different things along the way
its like watching a movie...if you watch a movie a second time youll see things you didnt see the first time
what i like about being on roads i am familiar with is you start knowing when to get in certain lanes and instead of paying more attention to directions you can stay more focused on whats going on nin front of you
i really enjoy photography and makiing videos so if there is something i want to take pictures of i do it when i have time (knowing eventually ill beback on that particular road)
i for the most part keep my door closed and drivebut when i do stop i hobby
im also big into skydiving and when i have the time i hit different drop zones along the way and keep my gear (parachute and such ) in the truck with me
not sure if you can tell by my writings but i enjoy what i do
i am very much at home on the highway
i have a family but my kids are off in college and my wife works too and we keep in touch via telephone and when i do get home we make it quality time
i like millis and they treat us pretty fair
i do wish they did 48 instead of just east of the mississippi
i am from the west coast originally and like the western half of this country better tehn the eastern half
so theres the long winded answer to your question
i wish you alll the best out on the big road, take things in stride and dont let things you have no control over make you crazy