Talk about your first year of transport trucking! :)

My introduction to the field, was an unorthodox one. I didn't have a mentor. The boss stuck me in an automatic truck with a 53' trailer after driving a yard goat for 5 months. I was told to put 500 miles a night down, between Visalia and Stockton. Two round trips. I started out driving in the fog of all weather. The first night was 35MPH around turns I should have taken at 55 MPH, until I wasn't terrified of the truck.

Then we had to haul grapes. That was fun getting lost in a grape orchard somewhere between Bakersfield and Fort Tejon, just before ascending the grapevine into Los Angeles. Dawn was approaching and I had to wait two hours to load. It was so desolate, I didn't have cell phone reception. When I did get a hold of the grape dispatcher, the dude and I had a conversation in broken spanish,

Then there was the situation where I had to go pick up a truck on the west side of town. I got in the truck, and the previous driver had defecated in their hard hat, and then stuffed it in a series of two plastic bags. Rather than throwing it away like a sane and normal person would have done, they decided to leave this wonderful and amazing treat for me to discover in the middle of the night, fermenting in the summer heat. In addition to that, the truck was without fuel and it was determined that all of the diesel had been syphoned off by a thief. Looks like I wasn't going to Bakersfield in that truck. I called my dispatcher ,and told him the "dude who drove this truck #### in his hard hat and left it in the cab." He was horrified. "No ####ing way man, because the person who drives that truck is a woman."

It was a hell of a year. I bonded with our dispatcher over the death of a mutual coworker, who was quite a bit younger than me and had his entire life ahead of him. It was horrible. It was trying. But in the end, it built my career and I've never spent a single night OTR.

 

I can't stop laughting

 

I would not carry until the US Congress and President makes National Carry law. Even then some states will absolutely jail you if you do not have their specific permit. Maryland in particular. They are a may issue state and I could not get a permit with them because I have no history of being a crime victim there. I would have to wait for them to become a shall issue state and honor all other states permits before I would try to run there in the future.

There is a whole discussion about carry in a big truck. I support the concept generally because I believe society has gotten pretty dangerous in places like Memphis.

There are ways to use items like weapons if the time comes to do so. My tire thumper has a couple notches on it. Im just happy they did not show up with Mr Slugger Big bat to solve the problem of me. Or a gun or something else that day. Hot coffee is another one in chattanooga was a parasite and literally watched me eat a meal inside the diner until I was finished. Coffee got rid of him. I had salt inside of it instead of sugar for his eyes. Serves me right being stupid and stopping there at that particular diner downtown. I won't forget him anytime soon. If ten drivers gave him 10 dollars per day in there he would make a far better living that I am making while actually working. It's disgusting to me how people mooch, beg and in general enrich themselves on other's hard work.

Words and a fast wit in the mind to evaluate the situation and find a work around is my best weapon. I don't think I would care to try and use it now because if a predator says he wants money and you say no then you better clock him fast before he has a chance to take you out. Ive been off the road a while. And learned that in certain areas the predators have gotten even worse if such a concept could be understood.

But again, until our Government mandates National Carry like the way we have one license to drive in all 50 states and even international in certain other Nations I would hold off on things that shoot around big trucks. You will lose your freedom for having that in the truck or on you in certain areas. It's not worth the trouble yet.

As far as blades. Arkansas repealed Jim Crow laws dating to 1870 and other laws in 2011. You can carry a sword as long you show no intent to use it and the blade stays in the scabbard. Should you get stupid and pull that in public, you can expect a number of legal gun carriers to take you out here. There are no blade limits here anymore. I use a Marine Corps Ka-Bar in the old style myself. The way Im taught to use it is to strike fast with the pommel first (Handle) across the layrnx (Voice box) and maybe take a slice on the way past and while the bad guy is dealing with that problem the blade is coming back for one of three spots on the body of that bad guy really fast. If I can get it sunk into him before he finishes his draw (21 foot tueller drill in reverse) then Im good to go away without worry of him hurting me or anyone. The threat is stopped and EMT and police will show up rather quick. But what is legal here is definately NOT legal in certain states. They will arrest you on sight of some of those blades.

A side note, edited. My USCCA conceal carry insurance now covers ALL self defense situations with anything from guns to knifes to fists etc. They changed the policy last year to include all and any self defense situation. So that improved my situation a little bit.

That is all I have for you. A encoruagement to be very careful around people in bad areas with your mind and words. Until National Carry is passed by the Federal Government, once that happens then I encourage all truckers to carry arms and get training to use it properly. Employer policies be ######.

 

No trainer for me. I got my CDL and was hired by a tanker outfit that hauled oil-base mud from locations to disposal well/pits. I was immediately put in an old Mack Superliner daycab with a Super-10 (never driven one before) and given directions to the location. I read stories on here of folks that go to truck driving school for weeks and get a license and then go with a trainer for weeks and weeks...... all just to learn to drive. Well any job I ever had, it was taken for granted you KNEW how to drive and the only "training" you were gonna get is how to load and unload your wagon.

I did the mud-haulin' thing for a few weeks and hated every minute of it. Was making good money ($1,000 a week in the mid 90's was good money for a kid) but never getting to go home or even go to sleep. They promised us home time for Christmas, then we didn't get it. Then one of my buddies turned his rig over, loaded, coming off a lease south of Sweetwater. We were all running around in a daze. Enough is enough.

I quit and got a job hauling rock (belly dump) and really enjoyed that. Didn't make quite as much money but nicer equipment and got to rest when I needed to. Did that for a couple of years before getting into other stuff.

 

My first year was crazy,fun,and a learning experience! I thought I would go to work with my father but nope. He said he didn't want to show any favoritism so I went to work for someone else running 3 load of round wood into St. Zachary Quebec from all over northern Maine.
The truck was a typical woods truck build for the rugged back roads are mountains didn't look like much but she did her job quite well, Ford LTL9000 with a 425 cat and 8LL trans running super low 435 gears! Wide open she would do 70 , but she would do it up hill loaded lol. If you've never run log truck in northern Maine then you don't know what you are missing. Especially in the winter when you are chaining up 3-4 times a day and the heat almost works!

 

Ya that sounds about right I spent 3 days in class for about 10 hours a day. then you get put with a trainer.

 

My first week with a trainer.....

Stopped overnight at a TA that was 45 min away from the customer. Trainer woke up before I did, and got some breakfast. I woke up, pre-tripped the truck and started driving. I got to the customer, backed into a dock and then my phone rang... lol

 

I always thought logging trucks would be crazy. I'd see a ton in the Duluth and iron range area. Always old macks and western stars. Going up that monster hill on 35 leaving Duluth I'm going 30 with my flasher on as fast as I can go, and they are just blowing by me fully loaded.

My truck had some power too but they are on another level.