Talk about your first year of transport trucking! :)

For me it;s a crazy time. There is no point in diving into that first year because most truckers today wont run into it. The biggest thing was that this was before 1994 (Late 80's) and certain things were possible then which is not acceptable today. Such as alcohol in the cab to ease the bad road provided you did not drink too much too fast. No air ride, no power steering 300 horse engines that need a couple minutes to get to 60 and so on.

I learned what not to do that first year. Caffinee pills for example. That's a no no. Body reaches tolerance and you have a whole box (equal to about 120 cups of coffee) and it wont help. Sleep will. I changed companies often because of either accidents or tickets etc.

My first year was all about Baltimore to NYC hunts point mostly. GWB time. (George Washington Bridge) There is no point describing how to run Jersey without paying toll. They made new laws requiring you to stay on the pike now in Jersey. Sleeping anywhere you wanted on the side of the road making sure you had room for 20 more friends who will park round you by morning. I generally picked bridges to put behind the trailer so that if anyone was to run off the road and hit me, they will have to smash on the bridge first and get deflected away. That was my secret anyhow.

No satellite comms either. And the weather was important. if it was 3 feet of snow and 50 miles until baltimore you ran it because they expect you to be there. My first year included a winter with a team driver as a trainer for Kentucy glass for GM in baltimore with a brand new Volvo 89 model with the Intergrated sleeper and 350 cat. That one we did battle with 2 or 3 feet across western Maryland into west virginia often. No chains either. We sometimes ran the pike in PA to bypass western maryland if the storms got major. talk about out of route. That glass has to get through anyway. GM will stop if they did not get it.

Most of my learning was dealing with parasites, bums and hookers. That was something I think about today looking back on some of the places Ive been. I would not think about going back without having my weapon and carry license today. It was that dangerous. I did have a big buck in it's holster next to the wallet open carry and no one cared. (As long it stayed in the holster. Job was mainly slicing pallet wrap in the grocery warehouses or the metal/plasitic bands)

If I was not driving I was playing mechanic under the cab or hood. Wrenching away at this or that prior to driving. talk about lack of certification on anything with them things back then. Not like today. You also relied on a half inch or a 9-16th open or closed socket wrench to adjust your brakes which were manual adusters in those days. As soon they faded, you went under there and tightened them up again. It's like having a whole new set of brakes. Until they faded out again.

You had to learn fast. And then never forget what they teach you. Well here I am over 50 and managed to forget some of these teachings anyhow.

Good luck. Just keep in mind even today's worst trucks that they will give you will have luxury you can appreciate if you can shut up and appreciate it. Your first year or two will be your most dangerous. preventable accidents and such will put you out of work a while if not permanently.

 

My first year was uneventful and filled with all the typical rookie mistakes tho I waited until about the 15th year to run out of fuel lol

 

I clean forgot about Canada. We actually went up there a time or two even then being new.

At the time Canada's exchange rate was .65 to the Dollar which means that 10 dollar meal has become about 7 bucks with tax when paid for in American money. Also in those days the age of adulthood was 14 for Canada versus our 18 or so depending on which state you are in. So you were careful how you associated with the ladies up there. Canada was fun. If you did not learn metric in school you sure learned it fast up there.

 

Never have carried a weapon tho I did take my ex wife with a few times .

 

I like Canada runs because I get a border crossing bonus each way. If I take 2-3 short runs into and out of Canada in a week, I've already doubled my average paycheck. It doesn't take long for me to cross anymore, either.

 

I'm currently in training for 6 weeks. My advice is just expect the absolute worst, don't get your hopes high. Get through training because you want to do this don't let training sour your taste. My trainer isn't all bad but he's clearly a rookie makes a lot of mistakes but thinks he's top dog. Bottom line is go with it don't have drama and do what you know is safe don't do anything you feel is stupid or dangerous even if your trainer is acting like a super trucker and says that's the hammer lane gang way. Your going to be pushed out of your comfort zone. I'm a non smoker but got put with a smoking trainer because I would have had to wait a extra week at the terminal for a non smoker so I said hell with it get me down the road. The pay isn't going to be what they tell you because they don't subtract tax. It'll probably be around $100 less than what the recruiters told you. All in all stay tough, don't let training get you down, look forward to getting your own truck, and welcome aboard! Good luck out there.