thats really weird....lol so you can ONLY drive for 11 hours total? 14 hours on duty? what the hell are you doing for the next three hours???? 8 days??? wtf?? :O
Are you expected to know your drive hours or what happens if you like forgot? could you ask how long? so you don't go over? or will they already know? bear with me I haven't gone to school yet...and do they have E-logs yet? I see the white dome shaped things on top of the trucks when they drive by so I assume theres qual. how was the training btw, blind dog? those tarps really feel like 120 lbs? I am a vet so I hope I'll make it through the training hope the instructors are cool and not dicks even to those who will give 110% effort. I went to walmart last night to see if I could find a fridge I could put in a rig(since I want to drive for TMC i thought of the peterbilts) any ideas? I'm told to stay away from coleman and go with koolatron? idk why 12v is popular but i'd like to get a ac dc plug in and stick it in the the little cubby thing, finding the size for those is probably why a 12v is popular these days..Id like one with a little bit of space..like I could put some waters, pb&j stuff, fruit and a few packs of cold cuts instead of having a bunch of ice -_-
Btw I was looking on their website for orientation and they mentioned that you get paid while you attend? might sound like a dumb question but is that the amount before taxes? or after? LOL I mean just kinda made me think 400+? before taxes? jeez doesn't seem like it'd come out to much after..
the coleman vs the koolatron, they are actually the same; $88 @ wal-mart. u can find a fridge @ a few trucs stops that have ac/dc plugs but their dimensions sometimes are either too big to fit in a closet space to be out the way. as far as going to a dealership, u will find the perfect size 1 there but will pay out the wahzoo for it. the coleman or the koolatron is ur best bet. keeps things cold & they last about a year & a half or longer depending on how u take care of them. the coleman & koolatron work very well it gets 40 deg below room temp & it will freeze ur milk in the winter (it did mine last year, lol). it does keep cold cuts, cheese, milk, water, mayo, jelly, etc cold like u would like. just saying
Dark, here's the jist of your hours situation. Every day, you start with 11 hours available to drive. You can knock out a good chunk of miles in that time...TMC I think is goverened at 62? So, the LEGAL max if you drive 62 for 11 hours straight (which mind you, isnt possible) is 682 miles. So, on a good day, you could drive anywhere between 600-682 miles. Now, once you start your day, your 14 hour clock starts. You have within those 14 hours to do all of your driving and your work, if you have to load or unload that day. If you can get your load or unload done in less than 3 hours, then you still have your full 11 to drive. If it takes you any longer, lets say for example you take 4.5 hours to load/secure, that will leave you with only 9.5 hours on your 14, so the MOST you can drive is 9.5 hours (minus any thing else you have to do: fuel, load checks, etc.) Now, after you reach the end of your 11 hours drive time or your 14 hour day clock (whichever ends first), you can do NO DRIVING whatsoever. You can continue to work, however. Say you're securing/tarping your load, and it takes you beyond your 14 hour clock...this is legal, but you CANNOT drive until you take a 10 hour break. Each day you have to fill out a log book, with a daily recap on the previous 7 days, so you shouldn't "forget" how many hours you have. One other thing you have to keep an eye on is you cannot go over 70 hours worked (driving AND on duty time) in an 8 day period. That's where the daily recap comes into play. It shows you haw many hours you have worked in the last 7 days, and how many you have available that day. Hope this was helpful, and not too confusing. lol
You will learn all about hours of service in cdl school, and in great detail at orientation. The white domes on the truck are for quallcomm, however it is also gps on your truck. Ive said this before and I will say it again.....YOU WILL LOG COMPLIANT WITH TMC! No if, ands, or buts about it. I speak from experience. I tried to fudge my logs so I could go take a shower. I got caught. I will NEVER attempt that again. Yes, the tarps are heavy. But I can pick it up and put it on my shoulder. I can tarp my load and make it pretty. If I can do it so can you!
Oh, I have the 12v coleman cooler, from walmart. I paid $88.00 for it. One of the best things Ive bought in a long time, and it fits perfectly in the closet of my truck.
