Taking 1st step

plankton, I live in Shelbyville so I'm about as far from the terminal as you are. I don't mind the drive myself. It gives me the chance to decompress on the way home.

Each terminal is a little different, but the way Indy works is new linehaul drivers run at night. You'll have the same 5 working days all the time, but start days vary. I work saturday-wednesday. I'm supposed to call dispatch at 9 pm. for my gate time unless they call me earlier. Start/finish times vary depending on where you go, and as a new driver that could be just about anywhere in a 300 mile radius. Sometimes you get routed through another terminal on the way back to Indy, depends on the needs at the time. My average shift has been around 12 hours so far, but I'm still learning so I take a little longer hooking my sets so I don't forget anything.

Good luck to you. When do you finish school?

 

I went to the C1 school on Raymond. The co. I worked for at the time sent me there because it was the fastest way (not the best) to put a cdl in my pocket. I grew up in a trucking family and drove my grandad's old Mack at harvest time all through high school, so I had a little expeeience on the rest of my class. C1 is mostly good just for getting the license. The real learning comes after with a qualified trainer.

 

I certainly can. Despite the weather I've been running hard. I'm working the extra board, so I never know where I'm running until I get my hook card. I've gone from Indy-Detroit and Indy-Grand Rapids the most, with a few others thrown in here and there. Good miles, bad, bad weather. I've run out of hours and had to shut down in a hotel three times so far, and plenty of other times I've made it back to my home terminal with less than 5 minutes drive time left. I'm curious to see how this will change when the weather breaks. Will I get the long runs when I can stay hammer down, or will the more senior guys try and cherry pick those and leave me with shorter hops with vias to other terminals? I don't think there's such a thing as a "bad" run, but some are certainly more desireable than others.

I've completed my elog training on the Peoplenet Blu system. You have to run a paper log book until you have 7 error free days on Blu. We used the same system at the last place I worked, so I was already familiar with it. I kept that information to myself though, so as to impress with how fast I picked it up and got my training wheels off for good. Maybe I'll build up a little cred as a go to guy that gets it done and done right. There's not a whole lot of micromanaging that I've seen yet. Maybe it happens and I haven't been there long enough to encounter it. So far though, as long as I take care of business and keep dispatch informed when there's a problem (down for 4 hours because I lost all my trailer lights), I'm left to it.

The equipment is good, and generally very well maintained. The only problems I've seen so far were minor. Headlights out, things like that. A quick trip to the shop and I'm good to go. I did get a dolly once that had electrical problems so I had to break my set and get a different dolly, but that's what pretrips are for. The biggest mistake I've made so far is to grab the wrong trailer. It was one of those deals where the trailer number was almost identical to the trailer I was supposed to hook. I figured it out before I left, grabbed the right trailer, and was good to go. I can see how it is easy to make a goof like that, so I always check, then double check. Match the seal numbers to the paperwork, then check it all one last time. I haven't made it out of the yard with the wrong equipment so far, and I want to keep it that way. I don't want to get 300 miles away only to discover that I've pulled a trailer in the wrong direction. Same thing with empties. Columbus, Oh usually sends me back with empties. It only takes a few seconds to open the doors and verify they are actually empty.

My biggest complaint so far are the guys that hook their dolly to the lead trailer, then set up and back under the rear trailer. Sure it saves a little time, but it's a lot harder to set up and get it right. Some guys are very good at it and don't have any problems. They don't bother me. There are others though that think they can do it and really can't. I'm constantly finding dollys with crimps in the air lines or cuts in the electrical cord where the dolly got away from someone and pinched the lines between the dolly frame and the trailer. Come on, people. Take the extra two minutes and get it done right.

I'm extremely happy that I went to Old Dominion. Everyone that I've had contact with has been more than willing to help a new guy out and answer questions. The company culture is a lot more relaxed and open than where I came from, and it's a refreshing experience. The last place I worked considered trucks and their drivers as a necessary evil to doing business and get their product delivered. Here at OD, moving freight is their reason for being and they have a better appreciation for the folks that get it done.

 

Starting pay for linehaul is .56/mi. Top pay is .62/mi, which you reach after 3 years, I believe. One week vacation after 1 year, a second week after completing your second full year. Hourly rate is between 23-24 dollars an hour. I forget the exact number because I've only done 5 or so hours of city work in the past six months.

No pay for waiting at meets. Sounds horrible, but I've rarely had to wait long. Dispatch times it out pretty well. I take my 30 minute break, and the other driver is usually there by the time it is up. Longest I've waited is 2 hours because a new driver got lost on a detour. They might make an exception in an extreme case, but I've never encountered one so I can't say for certain.

I'm still impressed with the way the equipment is maintained. I've driven trucks with 6-700k that run as good as the 2016 I drove last night with less than 10k. The little issues get fixed before they have rhe chance to turn into big ones. That's a good thing, because the bid drivers swap the newest trucks back and forth. I can get a good one on the weekends, but starting monday night you take what's available. I've made friends with the guys in the maintenance shop. They won't hold a truck for me, but they'll let me know when a nice shiny 2015 with a radio will be done with its PM, and if I show up before it makes it back to the ready line, well, first come first serve.

This is still the best job I've ever had. Like anywhere else, terminal management can make or break a particular location. I've heard stories about smaller barns that are aggravating to work for, but things are more positive than not. My location is very large compared to most. The only people that know my name in the chain of command are the dispatchers and a few linehaul supervisors. Some people like a personal connection with everyone and the small terminal works great for them. I personally like to be left alone to take care of business. I figure that if the TM doesn't know who I
am, it means I haven't screwed anything up.

I've found that the loudest complainers where I work are new drivers that were promoted from within and the old grandpas that have worked there since the days when trucks had wooden wheels. The first group doesn't have a basis for comparison to other carriers to see how good they've got it, and the old timers can't remember what it was like to work anywhere else.

 

Sweet. One week vac is just enough to tease a man. I'd burn through that just catching up on the to-do list my wife keeps for me.